Lightmap - Conversations with video game creators

This time we're going AAA, high profile and blockbuster, with some indie thrown into the mix.  Mainstream is a brand new podcast from the award winning team at Pixel Sift. Subscribe for free to get episode 3 next week! Apple Podcasts Spotify Pocket Casts Radio Public Overcast RSS Each episode the team will be discussing the games they've been playing as well as breaking down some mainstrea...

Matt Trobbiani joins us to talk about Team Fractal Alligator's latest game Wrestledunk Sports the game that features a collection of tight sports games that are quick to get in to but full of responsive gameplay. Wrestledunk Sports is a follow up to Matt's widely successful tittle Hacknet , Matt told Fiona and Mitch about the new direction he has taken his development. There are few games...

Muhammad Hanif Bin Ghazali and Tan Kang Soon of Joysteak Studios join us from Singapore to talk about their game Songbird Symphony . A side scrolling platformer with bubbly animations and  rhythm mechanics. The Game Developers Conference is the worlds largest event for games industry professionals. Providing opportunities for video game developers to learn from each other, share ideas and network....

BONUS EPISODE Featuring creative talents of Austin Wintory, Troy Baker, Elie Young, Chorus promises to be a roleplaying game like no other featuring a dynamic musical form of storytelling, and a strong pedigree. We had the opportunity to sit down with Liam Esler and Benjamin Ee of the newly formed Summerfall Studios to learn about how the game was developed and what it was trying to achieve. You c...

Back for another year live from the floor of PAX Australia 2019, Party Loaded and Pixel Sift team up again to chat about our favourite parts of the show. Fiona and Viv speak to Matt and Luke from Party Loaded, and talk lines, finding great games to play, and those nifty collectible pins. If you like Party Loaded why not give them a listen! They've got a new episode out every single week. Pixel...

Alexander Perrin and Joshua Tatangelo are the Co-Founders of 2pt Interactive the studio behind Heavenly Bodies , a game about two cosmonauts navigating the the challenges of a zero gravity environment. It uses a clever control scheme with each stick controlling a character in this hilarious physics based puzzle game. The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia has recently announced that Aust...

Maize Wallin (Sound Designer and Audio Programmer) and Jason Bakker (Writer and Producer) from Ghost Pattern join us to talk about their latest project Wayward Strand . Wayward Strand is an empathetic narrative game where players explore multiple story lines playing out simultaneously on an airborne hospital ship in 1970s Australia. It was recently selected as the one of the PAX Australia indie sh...

Death Hall is a mobile sidescrolling platformer where you try to survive to the end, that draws heavily from the challenging flash games of the early 2000s. Developer Thomas Janson has just won a spot at 2019's PAX Australia Indie Showcase with his game Death Hall, but it's not the first time he's done it, he picked one up in 2014 as well! Every indie game always asks you to wishlist t...

Jay Armstrong is Design Director at Massive Monster and joins us to talk about their latest project Never Give Up the action side scroller featuring fast paced gameplay a progressive player controlled difficulty management and violent traps. There is also a narrator that gives "encouragement" as you die, and die and die again... We also talk the wobbly future loot boxes with random with ra...

You might have seen back in May that for the first time in over a decade, video games developers in Western Australia would have direct content funding support from their state government. Screenwest is the agency that administers the Interactive Pilot Fund and first round offered $100,000 for creators of interactive experiences in Western Australia. Well the first recipients of the fund have now...

In an extended live panel discussion episode at XR:WA 2019, interactive writers Alan Butler , Anthony Sweet , Christy Dena , and Glen Spoors share their experience in story telling in the digital space. How do you tell a story where elements can change? And what happens when players break the rules? Pixel Sift is produced by Scott Quigg, Sarah Ireland, Fiona Bartholomaeus & Mitch Loh. Gianni D...

Paul Jakovich joins us to talk about Pico Tanks the competitive team based multiplayer game for mobile devices by Melbourne's very own Panda Arcade . Paul is the Creative Lead on the game and shared the challenges of balancing a game where 2 teams of 3 tanks do battle as well as maintaining a good work environment in his studio. The Interactive Games and Entertainment Association has released...

Ellie Balson joins us in the studio this week to talk about her latest project Brine Scene Finvestigation , a point and click adventure game where the player investigates the disappearance of the dolphins at the local aquarium. Ellie creates quirky artistic games, with plenty of nostalgia and style. Ellie creates games from an artist's perspective, using the Adventure Game Studio to craft her...

Being creative can be hard, but there are those among us who seem like they are never ending creativity machines. On this special episode of the award-winning Pixel Sift podcast recorded live at Supanova Perth 2019 in front of a live audience, Twitch Partner Cabalia, Cosplayer PikaPi and Battlestar Galactica Deadlock writer Anthony Sweet about what it takes to make the things we all admire and enj...

Leon Zawada and Simon Rance were next door neighbours and grew up playing Doom and Quake, before deciding to make their own games. You can see that inspiration in their newest game Amid Evil , a retro styled magical shooter built with modern technology. If you like the speed of those nineties shooters, but with a contempory twist this could be the game for you. Amid Evil is now available on Steam,...

XR:WA is a brand new Western Australian immersive reality festival running in conjunction with Revelation Perth International Film Festival . The event aims to bring together great VR experiences from around the state and bridge the gap between traditional screen and interactive media. We are joined live in the studio by Dr Kate Raynes-Goldie the producer of XR:WA and Sof Mather the Curator of Pla...

Dean Walshe is the 3D Art Lead at Canberra's Blue Manchu and they've just released their comic styled rogue-lite shooter Void Bastards . Looking like the science fiction comic worlds of the 2000AD comics , Void Bastards is a game built by System Shock and Bioshock designers, where every death is a lesson and a progression. Dean shared what it was like to build a game that even after years...

How do you translate the essentially visceral experience of taking to the sea into the world of VR? Well Greg Dziemidowicz is Director and Lead Programmer at Melbourne's MarineVerse and along with his crew of sailing VR developers have done just that. It's not just for people who sail regularly but it also allows those people who can't sail to enjoy the experience. VR Regatta is out no...

Hey I know you know that we're a podcast, but did you know that on our website we've got articles as well? Cool right? Well here is a bonus episode and extended version of our story "What does it mean to be indie?" Freeplay Festival celebrates 15 years." If you like this please jump on the Pixel Sift Facebook page or send us a message over on Twitter or say hello on Discord . S...

Hamish Wagstaff is the Director of Aberrant Realities in Canberra, the studio behind Double Shot , a virtual reality game that has players pour and concoct drinks for their customers all while defending their bar from attackers with a variety of weapons. It's set in retro 1980s aesthetic and it's a cocktail filled to the brim with style. You might have read this week that Epic Games, the m...

Neil Rennison is the Co-Founder and Creative Director at Tin Man Games and one of the developers behind Table of Tales: The Crooked Crown , a VR adventure game featuring an evolving game board, a fully voiced dungeon master companion and an evolving story based on your actions. Neil started Tin Man Games over a decade ago now and has had an extensive career in video games before that. We spoke to...

Katie Stegs is the Marketing director of Lumi Interactive a company that started out as a marketing and consulting company but then started creating games of their own. They've just launched Critter Clash , a mobile PvP game that combine the classic sling shot mechanics of Angry Birds with the nuanced complexity of deck building wrapped in a colourful animal filled package. You can pick up the...

We've got some exciting news! We're finalists at the Australian Podcast Awards in their inaugural Gaming category! It's super exciting and there are a lot of big names also nominated. You might also be wondering why there isn't a new episode this week, well we've gone and done a switcheroo so we'll be bringing you episode 118 next week when we speak to Katie Stegs of Lumi I...

Matt Sanderson is the creator of the brand new game Mars Underground, a post apocalyptic adventure game inspired heavily by the movie Groundhog Day where players are trapped in an endless time loop of their first day in a new school. Matt worked on this game mostly by himself, programming, creating art and music, a project that he describes as "consuming him" for years. If you like retro i...

Owain Bolt from Canberra's Great Helm and joined us to talk about their latest game Dismantle: Construct Carnage , a game with customisable characters and fast paced limb ripping combat. As long as you've got a head and torso you can still win in this local multiplayer arena brawler. We first spoke to the team at Great Helm back in 2016, so we find out exactly what's changed that time....