Lightmap - Conversations with video game creators

Johnny Galvatron of Melbourne's Beethoven & Dinosaur almost became a 3D animator, but musical success with his band the Galvatrons saw him head down another path. A love of games and storytelling never left him and once the touring was over his next project began with the musical adventure THE ARTFUL ESCAPE.

This narrative sci-fi adventure game combines Hollywood talent like Lena Headey, Jason Schwartzmann (who turned up to recording sessions in cosplay) and Carl Weathers, baby, for a cosmic musical story set in a beautiful world.

Pixel Sift is produced by Nicholas Kennedy, Viv Thum, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Daniel Ang & Adam Christou. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer.

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Webbed is an cute pixel art platformer from Queensland based Sbug Games and features an adorable spider using her web-spinning skills and LASER EYES to save her boyfriend! Originally designed as a Just Cause 2 demake, the web like linking grappling hooks inspired this much anticipated game featuring stacks of Australian animals.

‍Riley Neville (Programming, Art, Sound and Game Design) and Noah Seymour (Level and Game Design) Join us on the show to talk about the origins of the mechanics and how some of the levels began their life on paper!

‍Pixel Sift is produced by Viv Thum, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Daniel Ang & Adam Christou. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer.

Thanks to Salty Dog Sounds for some of our promo music.

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Dr Michael Kasumovic is an evolutionary biologist at UNSW and founder of science education organisation Arludo who this week is taking to Twitch as part of National Science Week to teach kids through video games.

Quokkapocalypse is a free game developed as part of the Sydney Science Trail that shows the impacts of predators and prey in an environment as you balance the populations.

You can watch the livestreamed event which is in partnership with the Australian Museum on Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/arludo at 3:00PM Sunday 22nd August Australian Eastern Standard Time.

The music in this episode is Guitar House by Josh Pan.

Pixel Sift is produced by Viv Thum, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Daniel Ang & Adam Christou. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer.

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Gregory Louden (Returnal, Quantum Break, STONE) and Convict Games are back with BURN a brand new interactive narrative game with a branching story following pop start Nina Burn through the different phases of her life.

Building on the experiences of making STONE, the hip-hop stoner noir game, and as Narrative Director on Housemarque's Returnal Louden shares how the story weaves music and stardom with a a soundtrack follows your choices.

Pixel Sift is produced by Viv Thum, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Daniel Ang & Adam Christou. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer.

Thanks to Salty Dog Sounds for some of our promo music.

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Developer Paul Schnepf, one third of Grizzly Games who made Islanders and Superflight, was inspired by Tony Hawk Pro Skater to take up skateboarding when he was a kid, but nothing ever really captured the actual feel of skating.

That's why he made THE RAMP, a isometric minimalist skating game with no points that looks amazing and tries to capture that state of flow.

Music in this episode from the game The Ramp composed by Paul Schnepf and Hendrik Lux. Thanks to Paul for providing us with a copy of the game.

Pixel Sift is produced by Scott Quigg, Sarah Ireland, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Daniel Ang & Adam Christou. Mitch Loh is our Senior Producer, Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer.

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Alisha Stone is the Creative Director of Tasmania's Myriad Game Studios, a small team that have just released the narrative story game Where The Snow Settles. Where the Snow Settles draws inspiration from filmic genres telling the story of Aurelia as she travels through a world facing ecological collapse.

Learn how the team juggled other work and balancing their expectations to deliver a game that can be enjoyed by anyone regardless of their level of expertise with games.

Pixel Sift is produced by Viv Thum, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Daniel Ang & Adam Christou. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer.

Thanks to Salty Dog Sounds for some of our promo music.

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Paul Turbett and Anthony Sweet of Perth's Black Lab Games are no strangers to big franchises, they made the critically and fan acclaimed strategy game Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock, but when the opportunity came to work on one of the biggest science fiction universes Warhammer 40,000 they leapt at the challenge.

Warhammer 40,000 Battlesector is that game, which has been released this week to rave reviews exploring the stories of the Blood Angels Space Marine chapter in their clashes with the beastial Tyranids.

WATCH A VIDEO VERSION THIS STORY HERE: Warhammer 40,000 Battlesector - How a small team in Western Australia made one of the best 40K games

Pixel Sift is produced by Scott Quigg, Sarah Ireland, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Daniel Ang & Adam Christou. Mitch Loh is our Senior Producer, Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer.

Brian Fairbanks from Salty Dog Sounds composed the Mainstream theme music.

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Put your urban planning hat back on for Mini Motorways a minimalist puzzle game where you build roads in an ever expanding levels and makes its Steam debut this week.

Casey Lucas-Quaid is Community Manager at New Zealand based Dinosaur Polo Club and share the fun feedback given by players, how to set up a good community ground rules and how this game evolved from Mini Metro which we featured on Episode 80 of the podcast 

Pixel Sift is produced by Viv Thum, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Daniel Ang & Adam Christou. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer.

Thanks to Salty Dog Sounds for some of our promo music.

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Build your own cross-planet delivery vehicles and trek across the great red marble in Mars First Logistics, the newly announced game from multi-award winning game designer Ian MacLarty.

We spoke to Ian about the ideas behind the game, designing the perfect mars rover and more.

Pixel Sift is produced by Viv Thum, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Daniel Ang & Adam Christou. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer.

Thanks to Salty Dog Sounds for some of our promo music.

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Jump behind the wheel of an amazing transforming spy-machine in Agent Intercept by New Zealand's PikPok which has just made it's Steam debut after arriving on Apple Arcade last year.

Rick Stemm, Design Manager & Robin Wilson-Davey, Production Artist shared their design inspirations and what it took to bring this mobile game to your PC.

Pixel Sift is produced by Viv Thum, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Daniel Ang & Adam Christou. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer.

Thanks to Salty Dog Sounds for some of our promo music.

Support the show: https://sifter.store