Pixel Pizza

Get your weekend (or week/day/whenever you listen to this) off to a good start with an all-new Pixel Pizza! This week we've got Australian indie game developer & artist Olivia Haines on the show! She's working on the hotly anticipated Knuckle Sandwich as well as her solo project, the nostalgic and dreamlike Surf Club. Olivia and I discuss designing games around feelings, New Year's...

Sorry folks, another week with no new upload 😢 I really do promise there are more in the pipeline!! So again we've got a little trip down memory lane with an older pod for those who may have missed it. James Landino brought the passion and grooves back in June 2022, and he's still killing it today over in Japan working on games like Omega Strikers so this episode is as relevant as ever. H...

Another week with no guest, sorry folks...I promise there are some exciting ones in the near future!! To give you some weekly content anyway, I've refurbished another classic episode of Pixel Pizza that I really enjoyed making but may have gone unnoticed. Marcus aka Siactro has been making throwback 3D platformers for the past few years and found a lot of success on the Switch with Toree 3D an...

We are so back! This week is another brand new episode with a brand new guest and music selection. Joining us today is the incredible producer and marketer Dianna Lora-- her scrappy adaptable mentality has taken her through some of gaming's biggest studios including Sony, Ubisoft, Zynga, and Deep Silver! Dianna and I chat about supporting your team, taking on new skills, and starting one of th...

No new guest this week so, in the tradition of some great podcasts, reviving an old popular episode for those who may have missed it! Originally published on April 20, 2022 🔥, this talk with the brothers behind Ackk Studios goes in-depth into their creative process and the development & release of their cult hit RPG, YIIK. As the highly anticipated I.V release draws even closer, it's a pe...

💡🎥🎬 What goes into a game cutscene? What makes a cinematic sequence truly cinematic? Find out on this week's Pixel Pizza as we speak to Capcom Cinematic Designer Ryan Wetherall, who's worked on cutscenes for games like TellTale's The Walking Dead, Horizon: Zero Dawn, and Cyberpunk 2077! We discuss making the most of the tools in your utility belt, and the differences in Eastern and...

Hope you're feeling free this Friday 'cause we've got the Creative Director of the Game Bakers, Emeric Thoa! His studio is behind some of the most striking games of the past few years, like Furi and Haven. We discuss leading your own studio, the theme of freedom in Emeric's games, and what's next in the oven for the team 🥧 Music tracks from My Sister's Fugazi Shirt! LINKS:...

This episode is high art ✨ Award-winning illustrator and game art director Marlowe Dobbe is here to talk about her journey into the industry! From her local involvement with the Portland Indie Gaming Squad to working with big names like Terry Cavanagh (on Dicey Dungeons) and Mega Crit (devs of Slay the Spire), Marlowe has learned a lot and has some great wisdom to share. Music this time comes fro...

All the way from Sweden comes the founder of Studio Malosi, Niki Chalusi! In addition to leading her studio, Niki is also the producer and deisgner on the "androidpological" visual novel Flavor Favor! We discuss Niki's nonlinear path into the games industry, balancing wholesomeness and serious themes, and leveraging your team members' strengths. Featuring music from Neil Dinsmore! Plus a special g...

Jarvis, play Pixel Pizza. Coming to us from Montreal this week is accomplished game & TV writer Ashley Cooper! She's worked on a number of high-profile titles over the past few years, including Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2, Gotham Knights, and EA Motive's upcoming Iron Man game. We discuss Ashley's journey from TV writing to game writing, different types of game dialogue, and her background in sta...

Foodies rejoice! This week we've got an episode jam packed with not only game development talk but also good eats around the world. This week's guest, accomplished business director and technical director Gwen Foster, has worked on a lot of games you might know: Superhot, Among Us, and Stacklands to name a few. But her current projects, the mind-bending Viewfinder and the Philippines-based...

This week we're talking to the co-founders of the game studio Finji, Rebekah & Adam Saltsman! Finji both develops their own games and publishes other games from indie creators. Even if you haven't heard the name "Finji", you've definitely heard of the games they've put out: Night in the Woods, Tunic, Chicory, and Canabalt to name a few! Naturally there's a lot to discuss on how Adam & Rebekah supp...

Bored? Wondering what's for dinner? It's Pixel Pizza, of course! This week we have two incredible guests working on the cult interactive adventure-inspired game (iykyk), Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore. It's Seth Fulkerson, lead developer at Seedy Eye Software, and Audi Sorlie, producer at Limited Run Games! We go over the amazing story of how Arzette came to be, having a positive experience making...

Are you MAD? Are you ANGRY? Chill out and listen to a new Pixel Pizza! Joining us from Cape Town, South Africa is Luc Wolthers of the studio Free Lives. Some of his notable and outrageous works include BroForce, Gorn, and the upcoming Anger Foot. Luc is an art generalist, so we dive into all aspects of designing character concepts and implementing them in smart and interesting ways. Music from Pow...

We unlock the door to the Pizza Realm on this week’s show, speaking with solo game developer Yahya Danboos. He works in VR for UniVRs as well as on his own original title, the Kingdom Hearts-inspired Luminous Nights! We discuss his highly successful YouTube devlogs, the 1001 Arabian Nights, and the importance of making the games that you want to play! Music by Yellowpop! LINKS: 🐦 Yahya's Twitter:...

Joining us from Melbourne, Australia is Tom Lockwood-- better known as Gumpy Function! Tom specializes in making games for the original Game Boy. If you didn't know Game Boy games are still being made in 2023, there's a lot to it. We dive into the thriving homebrew scene and the business side of it too. And of course we discuss the development of Tom's breakout hit: The official Grimace's Birthday...

Swooping into your subscription feed is a new Pixel Pizza! BAFTA-nominated solo dev Tomas Sala joins us this week to talk about making The Falconeer and the upcoming Bulwark: The Falconeer Chronicles. Topics discussed include designing believable bird flight, incorporating narrative themes into your game mechanics, and video games as a mental health resource. You'll love it! LINKS: 👾 The Falc...

This week's guest has built up an impressive online following through his weekly development updates on Twitter. It's Ryan Mahony, solo dev of the PS1-inspired shooter/RPG called Gunmetal Gothic 💀 Ryan tells us about the technical challenges of networked play, designing for both single player and multiplayer, and perfecting the authentic PS1 look. And we ask @Ynoham himself the important...

Let's give a warm welcome to Japanese indie dev Justin Matsuzawa, developer of the upcoming RPG Starlight Legacy! Justin tells us all about his game and we dive into the everlasting appeal of Pokemon, feedback from both Japanese and Western audiences, and making a game that isn't meant to be revolutionary but just fun. Our music this week comes from Parasitic Humanoid Volleyball Club 🏐 LI...

All the way from Portugal, we've got Vertical Reach Games' Kevin Colegate on the show! His technical prowess has not only brought the iconic visual novel Aviary Attorney to Nintendo Switch, but also created the eerie PS1-inspired horror adventure The Tartarus Key. (He's also listened to 30 episodes of the show?? 😳) We discuss networking with other devs, scanning 19th century artwork, and the horr...

Been very excited to do this one! Joining me this week are the two faces behind Analgesic Productions, Melos Han-Tani and Marina Kittaka. You might know their distinctive work from the Anodyne games, Even the Ocean, Sephonie, or the recently announced Angeline Era. We run through the development of all of those games and look back in honor of the studio's 10th anniversary! Music comes from spoken...

This week on Pixel Pizza we've got a multitalented artist and 3D modeler who's worked in a variety of mediums, Kylee Solari! But make no mistake, she's worked on a bunch of awesome games including the hit dodgeball arena game Knockout City! Topics discussed include influence from collectable creature games of the 90's, making realistic pastries in-game, and Brooklyn pizza + cookies...

Blazing into your eardrums at the speed of sound, it's a brand new Pixel Pizza 💨 This time around we've got game director & designer Noah Copeland on to discuss his recently finished passion project, Sonic Triple Trouble 16-Bit. He talks riffing on your team's work, the importance of a great intro, and a little bit about his next original game. The music comes from Noah too! LINKS...

A little behind-the-scenes: Up til this point I have always been the one to reach out to the guests we have on the show. But recently I actually got my first email from a game developer who wanted to come talk on Pixel Pizza! So I'm honored to have Prateek Jadhwani, developer of the very promising farming/life sim Brocula, as this week's guest. We go over learning game development from scr...

Our guest today has probably been on more podcasts than I have, and that's saying something! Video game composer Chase Bethea has over a decade's worth of industry experience working on all kinds of games in all kinds of genres. Jazz, Calypso, chiptune...you name it, he's done it! So as you can imagine there's a lot to dive into. We discuss what it's like hopping from genre to...