Lightmap - Conversations with video game creators

Neil Rennison is the Co-Founder and Creative Director at Tin Man Games and one of the developers behind Table of Tales: The Crooked Crown, a VR adventure game featuring an evolving game board, a fully voiced dungeon master companion and an evolving story based on your actions.

Neil started Tin Man Games over a decade ago now and has had an extensive career in video games before that. We spoke to him about his extensive experience in the global industry and how the scene has changed here in Australia.

Pixel Sift is produced by Scott Quigg, Sarah Ireland, Fiona Bartholomaeus & Mitch Loh. Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Salty Dog Sounds for some of our promo music this week.

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!

You can find us on social media, Discord, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and Steam. Just search for "pixelsift"

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Katie Stegs is the Marketing director of Lumi Interactive a company that started out as a marketing and consulting company but then started creating games of their own. They've just launched Critter Clash, a mobile PvP game that combine the classic sling shot mechanics of Angry Birds with the nuanced complexity of deck building wrapped in a colourful animal filled package. You can pick up the game now - Critter Clash on Google Play.

Well when From Software's newest title Sekiro:Shadows Die Twice came out, the idea of an easy mode in games has set the internet on fire with many industry professionals now weighing in on the topic. We take a look at what some of them have to say, on how it could be achieved and how easy and accessible are not one in the same.

Pixel Sift is produced by Scott Quigg, Sarah Ireland, Fiona Bartholomaeus & Mitch Loh. Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Salty Dog Sounds for some of our promo music this week.

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!

You can find us on social media, Discord, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and Steam. Just search for "pixelsift"

Support the show: https://sifter.store

We've got some exciting news! We're finalists at the Australian Podcast Awards in their inaugural Gaming category! It's super exciting and there are a lot of big names also nominated.

You might also be wondering why there isn't a new episode this week, well we've gone and done a switcheroo so we'll be bringing you episode 118 next week when we speak to Katie Stegs of Lumi Interactive about their move from games PR to game developers!

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Matt Sanderson is the creator of the brand new game Mars Underground, a post apocalyptic adventure game inspired heavily by the movie Groundhog Day where players are trapped in an endless time loop of their first day in a new school. Matt worked on this game mostly by himself, programming, creating art and music, a project that he describes as "consuming him" for years. If you like retro inspired adventures with the look of the Mother series and the wit of Monkey Island this might be for you.

According to a new report parents in the US are spending more money each year on all entertainment for their kids, but a bigger proportion of that overall spend is now on games. Could one reasons for that be the shift from games as a product to games as a service? Scott and Sarah take a closer look at recent gaming trends and the spending habits they are creating.

Pixel Sift is produced by Scott Quigg, Sarah Ireland, Fiona Bartholomaeus & Mitch Loh. Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Salty Dog Sounds for some of our promo music this week.

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!

You can find us on social media, Discord, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and Steam. Just search for "pixelsift"

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Owain Bolt from Canberra's Great Helm and joined us to talk about their latest game Dismantle: Construct Carnage, a game with customisable characters and fast paced limb ripping combat. As long as you've got a head and torso you can still win in this local multiplayer arena brawler. We first spoke to the team at Great Helm back in 2016, so we find out exactly what's changed that time.

It has been a turbulent couple of weeks for the international development community with massive job losses in companies like Activision Blizzard, makers of Overwatch and Call of Duty and arenaNet, developers of Guild Wars 2. The news even hit close to home here in Australia with Melbourne based studio EA Firemonkeys also making a number of it's core staff redundant. We discuss what it's like when companies who are making record profits, still sack huge amounts of their staff.

Pixel Sift is produced by Scott Quigg, Sarah Ireland, Fiona Bartholomaeus & Mitch Loh. Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Salty Dog Sounds for some of our promo music this week.

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!

You can find us on social media, Discord, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and Steam. Just search for "pixelsift"

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Ian Mclarty joins us again to talk about his latest game JUMPGRID a fast paced puzzle game that features a combination of quick fire action gameplay, sort of a plays a bit like Pacman but with teleporting. With a kicking soundtrack and cosmic level design JUMPGRID looks like it's a big departure from Ian's last game Dissembler but things might be closer than it seems. We first spoke to Ian on Episode 96 of the podcast so you check out that if you're interested in learning more about how he makes games.

Developing a game by yourself is something that many indie developers are choosing to do but in a new article by Brendan Sinclair, Joakim Sandberg, developer of Iconoclasts says that solo development may not be all it's cracked up to be. We dig into the difference between solo game development and isolated game development and why one is preferable to the other.

Pixel Sift is produced by Scott Quigg, Sarah Ireland, Fiona Bartholomaeus & Mitch Loh. Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Salty Dog Sounds for some of our promo music this week.

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!

You can find us on social media, Discord, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and Steam. Just search for "pixelsift"

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Aidan McKeown from Ultimerse is our guest for episode 114, and he is the lead developer of Paperville Panic, a project that was initially planned to take three months, but ended up taking two years. Paperville Panic is a VR game about a town made entirely of paper that has just experienced its first fire and you are the single rookie firefighter with the power to save the day. Paperville Panic is now available on Steam and Oculus stores.

There is more than one way to launch a game. Long expensive marketing campaigns that last for years or releasing a game seemingly out of nowhere without any warning. EA has done both with their latest titles Anthem and Apex Legends. Is it better to drop in from the sky into the battle royale arena of game releases, or work on the slow build of a marketing campaign.  

Pixel Sift is produced by Scott Quigg, Sarah Ireland, Fiona Bartholomaeus & Mitch Loh. Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Salty Dog Sounds for some of our promo music this week.

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!

You can find us on social media, Discord, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and Steam. Just search for "pixelsift"

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Daniel Elston joins us this week from Elston Studios in Melbourne to talk about his game Guile and Glory: Firstborn, a game featuring tactics, puzzles and most importantly adventure. Daniel spoke about the humble beginnings of his studio and how this retro tactical game was prototyped as a boardgame.

We take a look at look back at the charity stream run by Hbomberguy and how a simple run of Donkey Kong 64 to spite a conservative comedy writer turned a classic game into a symbol of trans rights around the world and raising just under half a million dollars for Mermaids, a charity that supports trans rights in the UK. This 57 hour marathon streaming session featured celebrities like Chelsea Manning, John Romero, and politicians like Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez who made the bold (but fair) claim the N64 is the best console ever.

Pixel Sift is produced by Scott Quigg, Sarah Ireland, Fiona Bartholomaeus & Mitch Loh. Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Salty Dog Sounds for some of our promo music this week.

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!

You can find us on social media, Discord, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and Steam. Just search for "pixelsift"

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Brigitta Rena is the Art Director and Writer of the adorable and stylish She and the Light Bearer, the brand new point & click adventure game from Surabaya's Mojiken Studio. Rena shared her journey from illustrator to game developer, and what it took to make this classic yet modern fairytale. She and the Light Bearer will be released on the 17th of January.

Gamers in the middle east have been swept up in the phenomenon that is Fortnite, but while the world is more connected than ever before, the lack of dedicated servers is making life hard for those going for the victory royale. #ForniteMiddleEastServers is a campaign started by Alaa "DvLZStaTioN" Ebrahim to help fight the massive lag that players experience when outside of the US or EU. We look at what it's like playing games if you aren't in one of those major markets.

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

‍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!

You can find us on social media Discord, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and Steam. Just search for "pixelsift"

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Support the show: https://sifter.store

Ellen Jurik from Sydney’s Blowfish Studios joins us in the studio this week. She is the Game Director of Storm Boy: The Game, an interactive adaptation of the classic Australian children's novel by Colin Thiele. We spoke about what it took to adapt this game, and capturing the essence of the story.

We also talk about Epic Game's aggressive push into the videogame delivery market. With better deals for developers and the promise of curation for its library it looks like they are out to give Steam a run for its money.

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

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!

You can find us on social media Discord, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, and YouTube . Just search for "pixelsift"

Support the show: https://sifter.store