Lightmap - Conversations with video game creators

Gianni, Fiona, Adam and Nick sit down to discuss the completely online E3 2021 streamed around the world for all to enjoy. We've found our highlights and can't wait to share them with you, but why not share yours with us by visiting https://www.pixelsift.com.au/discord to join our Discord server. Pixel Sift is produced by Scott Quigg , Sarah Ireland , Fiona Bartholomaeus , Daniel Ang &...

Trigger Witch is a twin-stick shooter where firearms have replaced the magic of a fantasy world. You take on the role of Colette as she unravels the story of this mashup world, a world that writer Jono Pech helped shape. Developed by New Zealand's Rainbite , Trigger Witch takes you to a Super Nintendo inspired world as you unleash carnage. ‍Pixel Sift is produced by Viv Thum , Fiona Bartholoma...

Before We Leave is a mostly non-violent strategy game where players emerge from a bunker to reclaim their world after a disaster in a beautiful hex built world which has just made its Steam debut. Developers Anna Barham and Sam Barham from New Zealand's Balancing Monkey Games wanted to make a game that actively challenged the inherent colonialism in many other strategy games as you rebuild in...

Eastern Market Murder takes you back in time to the scene of a horrific crime, all while walking through the streets of Melbourne using augmented reality to meet the characters involved. Can you bring the killer to justice? Emma Ramsay and Andy Yong join us to talk about how they researched the history of this true crime, and worked with the descendants of the real world people involved to create...

Armaan Sandhu had trouble with a follow up release to his first game Rainswept . That feeling was captured in the narrative game Forgotten Fields , a nostalgic narrative adventure where writer Sid travels to his family home in Goa, India while formulating the idea for his next book. Recently shown as part of the LudoNarraCon online convention, Armaan shares his process of capturing the nostalgia o...

Lauren Clinnick of Lumi Interactive wants to build a game that can help players support themselves. It's called Kinder World and players share nice messages, care for their houseplants and work towards maintaining a community garden. Lauren shares how her experiences with making previous games like Critter Clash and playing games like Animal Crossing have shaped the game. Pixel Sift is produce...

John Romero is a pinnacle of the game development industry and most people know or love his work. Titles such as Doom, Wolfenstein, Commander Keen and his newest game Empire of Sin have been delighting players for years. Speaking as part of the XRWA conference in Western Australia , John shared lessons from his decades in the games industry, how things have changed and what he thinks about the Bet...

Ben Green is an ESL Australia shoutcaster and is one of the people behind the university Valorant tournament Red Bull Campus Clutch and he says now is the perfect time for you to get involved. He shares what the competitive scene for Valorant is like, how it feels that esports events are coming back in person, and what he does to prepare for a match. The Red Bull Campus Clutch is open to Universit...

Coral Island is the brand new farming simulator from Indonesian studio Stairway Games . Soma Putera is the co-founder and producer and sat down to share some of the intention behind the game, why everyone in Indonesia played Harvest Moon, and what their plan is now their crowdfunding campaign exceeded their wildest dreams. Pixel Sift is produced by Scott Quigg , Sarah Ireland , Fiona Bartholomaeus...

What games would you put in a museum? Arieh Offman, ACMI’s Curator of Video Games and Programmer, has pondered that very choice when building the new interactive Games Lab exhibit . It’s part of ACMI’s new “ The Story of the Moving Image ” permanent display part of a big revamp for the screen culture museum supported in part by Australian game development studio Big Ant. Pixel Sift is produced by...

Henry Mosse and the Wormhole Conspiracy is a point-and-click adventure game with a story focused on battling cosmic evil, family, and growing up. Ezra Artman the Director at Bad Goat the studio behind Henry Mosse joined us to talk about the importance of bringing the theme of family back into the adventure genre. Pixel Sift is produced by Mitch Loh , Scott Quigg , Sarah Ireland , Fiona Bartholomae...

Logan Branjord is the co-founder and lead programmer at One Shark , the international studio behind Doors of Insanity . Doors of Insanity card based, action RPG Roguelike with a focus on character creation and incredible loot. Inspired by the collective dreams of everyone that has worked on it. Pixel Sift is produced by Mitch Loh , Scott Quigg , Sarah Ireland , Fiona Bartholomaeus , Daniel Ang &am...

Harry Nesbitt and Jair McBain are part of the creative and development team of The Alto Collection , combining Alto's Odyssey and Alto's Adventure the award winning mobile games into one package and making them available on modern consoles. They've just formed a new studio called Land & Sea , which aims to make "folksy" indie game experiences. They share what it's like...

Gianni, Adam, Mitch, Fiona and Daniel explore their favourite games of 2020, a year with a stack of amazing titles. Gianni: Umurangi Generation by Tali Faulkner Adam: Hades by Supergiant Games Daniel: Ori and the Will of the Wisps by Moon Studios Mitch & Fiona: Moving Out by SMG Studio Pixel Sift is produced by Scott Quigg, Sarah Ireland, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Mitch Loh, Daniel Ang, Viv Thum &a...

Art of Rally is a love letter to the golden age of Group B Rally, a series of intense races that pushed drivers to their limits. Creator Dune Casu and Developer Adrian Tessello from Funselekor join us to talk about how they brought this era back to life and developing with an international team. Pixel Sift is produced by Mitch Loh , Scott Quigg , Sarah Ireland , Fiona Bartholomaeus , Daniel Ang &a...

Meredith Hall wears many hats in the Australian Games Industry. At Aconite the developers of Holovista she is a producer and at Film Victoria she is the Games and Digital Content Officer . Meredith joined us to talk about her experience working with an international team to create an artistic game with inclusivity as a top priority. Pixel Sift is produced by Mitch Loh , Scott Quigg , Sarah Ireland...

Josh "Cheeseness" Bush is the Lead Developer of Hive Time the resource management game centered around a beehive. While playing you will need to adjust population ratios, conduct scientific research, and even occasionally engage in some diplomacy with neighboring insects. Josh let people pay what they wanted and launched it on the smaller indie platform Itch.io and was really candid about...

Matthew Cassells from Alderon Games ' joins us this week to talk about Path of Titans , a cross-platform MMO where you play as a dinosaur. The game is constructed for fans of dinosaurs of all kinds featuring more than 30 dinosaurs to choose from. During the episode, Matthew shared his thoughts on scientifically accurate dinosaurs and building a game with modding in mind. Pixel Sift is produced...

Round and round our voices spiral, to bring you tales of game developers great trials. The Ring of Pain beckons you nearer, will you heed the call and see it all too clearer? A roguelike card crawler where encounters come to you, Ring of Pain by Simon Boxer and Twice Different is a stylish and unique take on the genre. Simon takes us through the design process for the game and how he wanted to cre...

Brigitta Rena is the Lead Artist of When the Past Was Around by Mojiken Studio , a story, puzzle game about a girl trying to find her lost memories of a relationship with an owl headed man, a play on the classic beauty and the beast storyline. Brigitta shares how she was initially worried about making "girly" games in a male dominated industry, how she learnt to simplify her art style to b...

Windbound is a game about exploring the seas, living off the land, and building your perfect sailboat. Mitch Clifford, the lead animator and co-founder of 5 Lives Studios the studio behind Windbound joined us to tell us about the inspiration behind the game and his experience in the Australian games industry. We also get to know his dog Koji! SIFTER is produced by Mitch Loh , Scott Quigg , Sarah I...

Umurangi Generation is a game that is steeped in style and culture, a photographic adventure where you snap pictures as the world around you changes. Tali Faulkner lives in regional New South Wales, who designed the game to draw on layers of experience including his Maori heritage as well as anime and cyberpunk themes. Umurangi Generation was selected as part of the PAX EGX Leftfield collection an...

Paul Kopetko is a sound designer and musician who wanted to learn more about making a game from start to finish, so he put together food fight themed Boomerang Fu ! It's a six player brawler where boomerangs are your weapons, as you take control of an anthropomorphic coffee cup, watermelon slice or avocado and one hit KO your rivals. Featuring some character design by former guest Julian Wilto...

Dr Daniel Brown and his colleagues at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery in Adelaide have rebuilt one of the key observatories they use to detect gravitational waves inside the game of Minecraft. It's part of the Australian National Science Week , and they'll be giving audiences a guided tour of the device in game and live streamed on YouTube. The next tour is op...

Crossy Road Castle is the multiplayer, Apple Arcade sequel, tower climbing game featuring all your favorite characters from the smash-hit mobile game Crossy Road by Hipster Whale . Ashleigh Starmer-Lee  is the Lead Artist on the game and joined us to talk about her work process when designing characters for the game, working remotely and how her personal creative process is very different to how s...