Lightmap - Conversations with video game creators

If you’ve played any of the recent Bethesda Softworks games, while you’ve been blasting demons, fighting nazis or exploring space stations you’ve been listening to music of Australian composer Mick Gordon.

Hear how the soundtrack to iD Software's DOOM Eternal came together including the pumping tracks to the quiet ambience, how genre doesn't define Mick's work and why putting together a metal choir was one of the highlights of his career.

Head to our website to find a full written version of this story.

Thanks to Mick Gordon for use of the Doom Eternal sountrack in this story.

Presented by Daniel Ang, produced and edited by Gianni Di Giovanni.

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Ron Curry, CEO of Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (IGEA) joins us to discuss its merger with the Game Developers Association of Australia (GDAA) and what that organisation will look like going forward as the one representative body for games in Australia.

Nvidia's Geforce Now service allows you to stream games you've already purchased from a virtual computers to any device in the world, but developers have quickly pulled their games from it claiming they were not asked for permission.

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!

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Support the show: https://sifter.store

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This is a bonus episode from our MAINSTREAM another podcast we do that looks at those high profile titles from the biggest publishers.

Gianni has been platforming his way to victory in Crossy Road Castle, the follow up to Hipster Whale's smash hit Crossy Road and Sarah has been clicking heads like crazy in Rainbow Six Siege by Ubisoft.

NEWS LINKS
Kotaku: E3 2020's Host City, Los Angeles, Declares State Of Emergency
Polygon: Death Stranding and Control break BAFTA record with 11 award nominations each

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

Brian Fairbanks from Salty Dog Sounds composed the Mainstream theme music

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Josh Sacco from Deadleaf Games is the Lead Developer of Nom Nom Apocalypse a game about blasting a food zombie plague with your friends! Josh shared his experiences and a solo developer balancing his work load.

The COVID-19 virus has been having a huge health impact on many different countries and their business. We'll take a look at how the virus is affecting the games industry, from the postponement of the 2020 Game Developers Conference, the cancellation of major e-sports events to the mass exodus of big companies from the PAX Floor.

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

What is chiptune? Let Kristy Dossor and Alex Yabsley of Square Sounds, one of the longest running music festivals dedicated to chiptune music tell you. Head to our website to read a version of this feature story: Chiptune is an instrument not a genre: Square Sounds Festival 2020

Square Sounds is on Friday 21 February 2020 to Sunday 23 February and features musicians from all over the world including Italy, UK, Japan, France and Australia. You can check out a special playlist of Square Sounds 2020 artists on Spotify here: Square Sounds Sampler by Pixel Sift

Music for this episode kindly provided by Alex Yabsley, AKA dot.ay including the tracks Washed Away and Facer. You can find dot.ay on Bandcamp.

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

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Callum Harrington is Community Manager at Steel Sky Productions, who have just released the early access digital boardgame Warhammer Underworlds: Online. It's an adaptation of the popular tabletop game, and Callum tells us what it takes to make the work as a video game and handling player expectations.

2020 is officially the final year of Adobe Flash (formerly Shockwave Flash) and that means a lot of those games you might have grown up playing or developers started their careers making might be gone for good. With projects like Flashpoint saving over 36,000 games we discuss the legacy of the flash game, and you tell us why how much you loved Neopets.

‍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

Kris Antoni of Indonesia's Toge Productions joins us to talk about their newly released game Coffee Talk, a game about having heart-to-heart conversations with customers while you brew them the perfect cup. Kris shares the story of the very real people that inspired the characters of the game, and how the scope of a project can change very drastically once you get stuck into working on it.

Sony for the second year in a row pulled out of presenting at E3 as the world waits in anticipation for more news on the upcoming Playstation 5. We'll discuss what this may mean for the future of E3 as well as Sony's biggest competitors in the gaming industry, and what E3 means for the fans, and what the future may hold.

‍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

Michael Wentworth-Bell and Nick Acciarito from Melbourne’s Digital Lode joins us to talk about their VR game Espire 1: VR Operative. It’s a virtual reality single-player game that combines stealth and elements of Metal Gear Solid. Michael and Nick speak about the challenges they faced when combating motion sickness and what it feels like when the game is well received on on platform and slammed on another.

#GameDevsForFireys is an online auction led by Defiant Development’s Morgan Jaffit to raise money for Australian bushfire efforts to support those who battle the harsh blazes across the country. We’ll also be discussing the controversy around it as Marijam Didžgalvytė released a video criticising the efforts saying that it was just "self-serving," which received a fair bit of criticism she was forced to respond to on Twitter.

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

Shawn Toh of Singapore's BattleBrew Productions joins us to talk about his mobile game BattleSky Brigade:Harpooner, a brand new title for the Apple Arcade subscription service. It's described as a vertical shooter, that flips into a fishing game featuring cute rabbit characters. Shawn speaks about finding the right balance in difficult and developing his series into a franchise.

Speaking of franchises, the major gaming companies have said recently that a perpertual franchise model is their plan going forward so you can expect to see Halo 12, Call of Duty 47 and Diablo 19 at some point. We'll discuss how those franchises expand the series we enjoy, and Shawn gives his perspective on making an indie gaming franchise.

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 Dan Golding is a video game composer who has created soundtracks for the smash hit Untitled Goose Game, The Haunted Island: A Frog Detective Game and Push Me Pull You and has studied our relationships with video games.

He joins us to speak about his research, the book he wrote with Leena Van Deventer Game Changers: From Minecraft to Misogny, creating the dynamic soundtrack of Untitled Goose Game was created and how people who play video games self identify online.

‍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