Lightmap - Conversations with video game creators

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 Ireland, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Daniel Ang & Adam Christou. Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer.

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

‍SPONSOR: Thank you to Murdoch University School of Arts for their support over every single episode of Pixel Sift. We couldn't have done it without you. If you want to bolster your skills in media, journalism or game development, check out the Murdoch University School of Arts website for more information!

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Support the show: https://sifter.store

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 and you can pick up a demo of the game on Steam right here: Umurangi Generation Demo on Steam

Pixel Sift is produced by Mitch Loh, Scott Quigg, Sarah Ireland, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Daniel Ang & Adam Christou. 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 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 Wilton of Massive Monster the game has had a surprisingly popular run as people challenge each other at home during lockdown.

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

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

SPONSOR: Thank you to Murdoch University School of Arts for their support over every single episode of Pixel Sift. We couldn't have done it without you. If you want to bolster your skills in media, journalism or game development, check out the Murdoch University School of Arts website for more information!

Support the show: https://sifter.store

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 open on Saturday 22nd of August, at 2:00pm local Adelaide time, which is 12:30PM in Western Australia, and 2:30PM Australian Eastern Standard time and you can RSVP on Eventbrite here: Exploring Gravitational Wave Observatories in Minecraft

You can join the server directly in Minecraft Java Edition by opening the following server address: minecraft.ozgrav.org:25593

You can find a written version of this story on the Pixel Sift website: Aussie scientists use Minecraft to build a replica gravitational wave observatory and you can visit it during Science Week

Support the show: https://sifter.store

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 she works. 

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

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

SPONSOR: Thank you to Murdoch University School of Arts for their support over every single episode of Pixel Sift. We couldn't have done it without you. If you want to bolster your skills in media, journalism or game development, check out the Murdoch University School of Arts website for more information!

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Len's Island is a game where you can build a new life for yourself using only the tools in your backpack, once you're done grab your weapons and explore the dark dungeons below.

Julian Ball from Flow Studio joined us to talk about the creation of his dream game as well as funding through Kickstarter and balancing game development with a successful YouTube channel.

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

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

SPONSOR: Thank you to Murdoch University School of Arts for their support of Pixel Sift. If you want to bolster your skills in media, journalism or game development, check out the Murdoch University School of Arts website for more information!

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Support the show: https://sifter.store

A new study from New Zealand’s Massey University found that in many cases there is no reason to believe violent video games cause violent behaviour.

Senior lecturer at Massey University and lead author of the study Aaron Drummond said there has been a rise in exposure to violent video games, and that in the highest quality studies, the effect is so small that it is indistinguishable from zero.

You can read a written version of this story on the Pixel Sift website: Study of 21,000 participants finds violent video games have no significant effect on behaviour

This episode was reported by Jason Head and Mitchel Loh. Edited by Jason Head. Gianni Di Giovanni is the Executive Producer.

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Shooty Skies Overdrive is the virtual reality sequel to the popular mobile hit Shooty Skies, and Mighty Games CEO Matt Ditton shares why it made sense to convert the Shmup experience to full body 3D bullet hell.

Matt started his career in game development in Queensland, working on games like Ty the Tasmanian Tiger, before moving to Victoria to become a producer and CEO.

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

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

SPONSOR: Thank you to Murdoch University School of Arts for their support over every single episode of Pixel Sift. We couldn't have done it without you. If you want to bolster your skills in media, journalism or game development, check out the Murdoch University School of Arts website for more information!

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Daniel Hindes is the Lead at Sneaky Bastards and over the last six years this team has built Wildfire a stealth platformer built upon systemic gameplay . Wildfire is a game where  you're only really limited by your imagination and experimentation as you control different elements to win.

Before Daniel was a game developer he was a games journalist and editor, and it was conversations with game developers when covering games that encouraged him to make his own. He shares the lessons he's learnt along the way, and tells you why you shouldn't do what he did.

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

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

SPONSOR: Thank you to Murdoch University School of Arts for their support over every single episode of Pixel Sift. We couldn't have done it without you. If you want to bolster your skills in media, journalism or game development, check out the Murdoch University School of Arts website for more information!

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Well you probably have heard the news by now, PAX Australia won't be going ahead in October this year, joining PAX West which has also been cancelled for 2020.

In its place is PAX Online, a new digital festival that runs over 9 days between September 12 and 21, streaming content 24 hours a day.

Luke Lancaster of ReedPop Australia shared what it was like when he realised that physical conventions just wouldn't work in 2020 due to COVID-19.

Music in this episode is "Shopping for the Future" by Bit by Bit Bert and you can find it on itch.io

This episode of Pixel Sift is hosted, produced and edited by Executive Producer Gianni Di Giovanni

Support the show: https://sifter.store