Lightmap - Conversations with video game creators

Ben Chandler joins us on the show this week to talk about the upcoming roleplaying game Nighthawks, where you play as a fledgling vampire in a modern world where their existence is no longer a secret. Ben is an artist and animator in the games industry and has worked on titles such as Blackwell Epiphany, Unavowed and Shardlight.

Ben shares with us how he got started working as an artist in the games industry as well as what the process is like working as a remote dev creating artwork and assets for Nighthawks and Wadjet Eye Games.

‍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

How do you shape a competitive League of Legends player into an esports star?

Chris Lee is a coach at the Chiefs Esports Club Academy, his job is to find the up and coming talent and shape them into professionals. 

He’ll be working with the Australian winner of the Red Bull Solo Q tournament, a unique format of the League of Legends game where two players face each other one on one, as they take their skills to the world.

Read a written version of this story here: Scouting for the next League of Legends champion: Coach Chris Lee of Chiefs ESC

This episode of Pixel Sift is hosted by Mitch Loh and produced by Gianni Di Giovanni. Music in this episode is Flute of the Traveler by Harris Heller

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Brimstone Brawlers is a couch multiplayer game that features a collection of unlikely heroes from hired hunters to measly shop keepers fighting their way through Victorian-inspired 3D battlegrounds. Christopher Galea, a developer from Ategig the studio behind Brimstone Brawlers joined us to talk about how he brought his skills from another industry to the game development scene.

How do you feel about hacking in single-player games? Recently some players of the latest Animal Crossing have been doing whatever it takes to get quality of life changes, specific villagers, and custom fruit trees into New Horizon.

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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.

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Support the show: https://sifter.store

Fledgling Heroes is a side scrolling flap 'em up game where you play as collection of brave birds taking on the world. Brendan Watts is the Director at Queensland's Subtle Boom the studio behind Fledgling Heroes join us to tell us about how the game was made. Fledgling Heroes is available on Apple Arcade and the Nintendo eShop.

We all have games that we just can't access anymore, but when these games become harder and harder to access, whose responsibility is it to make sure we can always revisit them? You could of course port them to a Myki card public tranport card reader, but for older games that aren't as popular as Doom ?

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

Game designer Max Myers wanted to make an experience that played out in real time. Each time you visit Glenn Island in [soon, only the ocean] time moves forward and you bear witness to the slow ecological collapse as it sinks into the sea.

Adam Christou speaks with Max about the inspiration behind the game, and you can head to pixelsift.com.au to read an essay about what it was like to visit Glenn Island when it was above the waves.

This episode was written, presented by Adam Christou. It was produced and edited by Adam Christou and Gianni Di Giovanni.

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Robin Arnott from Andromeda Entertainment thinks he might just have the "Trojan Horse" that'll get video gamers into meditation and mindfulness.

It's called Soundself: A Technodelic, and it's virtual reality experience that some users have compared to the effects of taking psilocybin, the hallucinogenic ingredient found in some mushrooms.

You can read a written version of this story here: Soundself: Video games meet virtual psychadelia - pixelsift.com.au

This episode of Pixel Sift was reported by Jason Head, and produced by Gianni Di Giovanni.

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Moving Out is cooperative chaotic local multiplayer game where you fling, chuck and heft household items into a moving truck with hilarious results. Ash Ringrose founder of SMG Studios shares how Moving Out was made and the challenges and benefits of working with an international team, including Worms developer and publisher Team17.

Keeping players engaged and playing your games is one of the biggest challenges of any developer, and this week digital storefront operators Valve released some tips on how to keep your game thriving long past it's release date.

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

Esports casters Jordan Mays "Elfishguy" & Brandon Langiano "Raven" star in a new season of Red Bull Response where they give their tips to level up your competitive skills.

They shared their experience on getting into professional gaming, whether esports has hit that mainstream moment yet, and what the future looks like.

Thanks to Harris Heller for use of the track "Trendy" in this episode.

You can find a written version of this story here: https://www.pixelsift.com.au/post/jordan-mays-elfishguy-brandon-langiano-raven-on-how-to-level-up-to-competitive-esports

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Ben Chevalier is the Art Director at Mighty Bear Games in Singapore the studio behind Butter Royale. Butter Royale is a food fight battle royale for all ages for iOS devices, with a top down isometric experience that is designed to be as accessible as possible.

The stereotype of the lone gamer has been touted by mainstream media for the longest time, but with much of the world forced to distance themselves from one another physically, those that have found games have never been more connected and even former critics like the World Health Organisation are on board.

‍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

Theo Kipen from Not Dead Design is the Lead Developer of Kana Quest, a puzzle game that aims to challenge players problem-solving skill wild also teaching the basics of Japanese Kana, and describes it like "the very best primary school teacher you ever had"

With many game franchises coming back from the dead including the long awaited Half Life series, we take a look at why they even want to replicate the older games and talk about which games have done it well.

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