Lightmap - Conversations with video game creators

If you've fought it out against your friends over games like Street Fighter II or Tekken you'll know the feeling of lighting fast reflexes, or in my case randomly mashing buttons. Some of the world's best fighting game players descended on Sydney to take part in the OzHadou Nationals 14, an annual event where every microsecond counts. Henry "Genxa" Sham, Tournament Organiser and Brand Manager of OzHadou joined us this week to talk about community, competition and congratulations. Head to OzHadou for more information on their monthly events.

If you were like me you were probably told off in class for playing games on your calculator, especially if you weren't in maths. Today we're exploring the use of games in education and how serious games can be used to teach concepts in engaging ways. The mechanics of gaming are even being applied to the classroom, with the gamification of lessons. How can games help people learn, and what can we learn from games to teach better?

Finally Riot Games, maker of the exceeding popular League of Legends has had a public stoush with some of the bigger eSports teams that make up their competitive scene. Following an interview by eSports team owner Andy Dinh, AKA TSMReginald, criticising the way Riot handles updates and patches to LoL, co-founder of Riot Marc Merril questioned the professionalism and pay that players are receiving from teams like Regi's Team SoloMid. With teams falling on either side of the equation and restrictions on the ways that teams can make money, we explore the value of work for eSports players and teams, and whether or not they are being paid adequately for their time.

Thanks to Brian for the giving us the news this week. You can sign up to the Audio Game Jam here http://jams.gamejolt.io/gameaudiojam, nominate yourself or someone else for an Australian Game Developer Award at http://gcap.com.au/agda, or find out more about Matt Trobbiani's Hacknet expansion, Hacknet: Labyrinths here http://hacknet-os.com/ . 

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

Support the show: https://sifter.store

We are joined live by Dr. Kate Raynes-Goldie, Director of Games & Interactive at FTI and winner of the WAITTA Incite “Achiever of the Year” award for her passionate advocacy for the Western Australian games industry, Kate filled us in on her hopes for the future of WA game development, her thoughts on the power of the indie game scene and how our favourite small creators may well hold the key to the future success of Australian made games. You can visit one of Kate’s projects, Playup Perth, a collaborative game testing night, at the The Nostalgia Box to sample some of WA’s finest indie games. You can visit http://playupperth.org/next-playup-event/ for tickets and details.

Last week Mitch had endless trouble trying to run No Man’s Sky on the office PS4 with no web connection, so this week we’re looking at the internet connection conundrum. With more and more games requiring the internet to even launch, total offline gaming could be a thing of the past. What happens if you’re in an area where internet is spotty, and you can’t experience the cultural phenomenon that is Pokémon Go? Can you make games if you aren’t able to study and learn from the works of others?

Finally we look at pastiche & homage games. With recent high profile fan made games AM2R, a remake of Metroid II, and Pokémon Uranium, a brand new adventure set in the Pokémon world being released then pulled, we examine what it means when developers copy or imitate the work of others. Is this a vital part of remix culture, or just a plain copyright infringement?

You can find us on all the social media sites, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and Steam. Just search for "pixelsift" and you'll find us!

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Live across the internet Steve Heller joins us, he’s Community Manager and Production Coordinator for indie publishing label Surprise Attack Games. Have you ever wondered what it takes to get all these Aussie indie games off the ground? Steve happily show us the ins and outs of indie game publishing. You can check out the growing stable of games Surprise Attack offer at http://www.surpriseattackgames.com.

Most console owners dream of buying one machine and sticking with it for the long run. Even our Mitch doesn’t have the patience to constantly look for new graphics cards or hunt for driver updates. With confirmation that both Sony and Microsoft will be prepping new mid-cycle revamps to their respective consoles are the hardware developers wanting us to update more frequently? With the Xbox One S already on the shelves, and Xbox One Scorpio and the PS4 NEO somewhere over the horizon we asked what this means for those of us who’ve been happy updating their console every 5 or so years.

Indie games are a particular favourite of the Pixel Sift team, and we took advantage of Steven’s knowledge from the inside of the publishing side of the fence to pick his brain about the differences between the indie and triple A marketing machines. We asked about expectations, and how that translates to pricing and where that machine might take us if we jump on.

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 had a chat to Bob Hayden, Bob is a West Australian developer working on a new game called Vectonic. Vectonic fills all your neon spaceship smashing needs. Bob filled us in on the challenges of creating good control feel as well as incorporating as many memes as possible into his colourful creation. You can find out more about Vectonic on http://www.vectonic.com

The Olympics are right round the corner and that got us thinking about the relationship between games and official sporting tournaments. With international interest in the Olympics seeping away with every passing instance, could the introduction of eSports into the Olympic Games be the key to drawing the crowds once again?

Aside from historians that spend their days in museums and libraries, no one is more obsessed with the past than the gaming community. Nintendo has a long history of catering for this with the release of a remake once every couple of years, however they have gone one step further this time with the NES Classic Edition. But in a world where emulating is the bread and butter of many players experience, where does this new box fit in the world?

You can find us on all the social media sites, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and Steam. Just search for "pixelsift" and you'll find us!

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Films and television have used political intrigue as a basis for their storylines for a long time, and today we look at the games that do the same. Games can examine the ever changing and volatile nature of the politics, and can transport us to different worlds and contexts. Whether showing the conflict of interest those in power have, or simply having a joke at the spectacle of it all, games help us to understand the impact politics is having on our lives.

We also had the pleasure of speaking to the founder and director of CheckPoint, Jane Cocks. CheckPoint is a new non-profit organisation dedicated investigating how games can be applied and designed to promote a positive headspace, or how games can help us understand the experiences of mental illness. Head to CheckPoint’s website to learn more about their mission http://www.checkpoint.org.au/

Valve’s DOTA 2 tournament “The International 2016” this week blew through the last prize pool record reaching a staggering $18,771,084.00 and counting. With the humungous financial stakes invested in eSports, we explored  some of the numbers and how these types of prizes are raised.

You can find us on all the social media sites, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and Steam. Just search for "pixelsift" and you'll find us!

Support the show: https://sifter.store

We’ve reached our fortieth episode this week, and like every week before it we’re exploring the world around gaming. Have you ever seen another player gloat about winning a match or display less than sporting behaviour?  We’re looking at when other players aren’t “good sports,” the sore losers and the arrogant winners. Is it just part of online culture, or should we be working together to encourage more civility in competitive multiplayer?

The last time we spoke to League of Geeks it was all the way back in episode 11, this time we’re joined by community manager Darcy Smith. Darcy was kind enough to talk to us about how LoG have made Twitch streaming a part of the way they work as a game development studio. We also brushed off the crystal ball and looked into the future of media and what part live streaming might play. You can watch League of Geeks do their thing over on http://www.twitch.tv/leagueofgeeks

Finally we’re talking classism and elitism in games. In days gone by a person’s gear was measured in hours play or skills earnt. With micro transactions becoming more prevalent, many new games are implementing systems that allow players to pay small amounts for a tiny leg up or cosmetic element. Do these boosts impact the way players interact with one another? Could a growing divide between the haves and have nots be moving in on our online worlds?

You can find us on all the social media sites, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and Steam. Just search for "pixelsift" and you'll find us!

Support the show: https://sifter.store

This week we tackle cultural appropriation in video games. It's no secret that video game developers tend to borrow heavily from historical events and cultural tradition, but is this changing the way we approach history and culture for better or worse?

We also got a chance to talk to Ari Gibson, William Pellen and Dave Kazi of Adelaide's Team Cherry. They talked us through the ins and outs of their new game Hollow Knight, a stylish platformer where you take control of a ground dwelling insect hero uncover the secrets of a mysterious and decaying world. You can find out more information about Hollow Knight at teamcherry.com.au

We take on Pokémon Go for a second time this week. It's been a wild ride over the past eight days, as a result productivity has hit an all-time low due to Mitch and James contantly forsaking their duties to go after the nearest Pokéstop. With so many stories of heroism and cowardice revolving around the app what does the future hold for Niantic's newest world dominating game?

You can find us on all the social media sites, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and Steam. Just search for "pixelsift" and you'll find us!

Support the show: https://sifter.store

This week we return to the Counter-Strike Global Offensive gambling scandal with news that prominent YouTubers Trevor 'TmarTn' Martin and Tom 'ProSyndicate' Cassell were revealed to be the owners of Counter-Strike skin gambling site CSGO Lotto. CSGO Lotto and sites like it have been accused of specifically targeting children and minors who wouldn't normally be able to gamble, but are spending real money on in game items. TmarTn and ProSyndicate have been accused of fixing matches on their site to make it appear that the odds were better than they actually are, and with audiences of more than 10 million people this has a significant impact.

Joining us this week is Sydney based developer John Kane of Gritfish joined us on the line. We spoke about his newly released game Killing Time at Lightspeed which explores a cyberpunk future through the familiar world of social media. We spoke about some of the challenges of an extremely connected world, but the isolation that also brings. You can find out more about Killing Time at Lightspeed at http://www.killingtimeatlightspeed.com

Finally today we explore "spaces of play." Games have the ability to transport us to many different worlds but with advances in technology we can now bring games into different environments. With the release of the highly anticipated Pokémon Go, people are taking their game out into the world. We explore what that means for building and designing games.

You can find us on all the social media sites, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and Steam. Just search for "pixelsift" and you'll find us!

Support the show: https://sifter.store

Its federal election time here in Australia and with less than 48 hours until voting begins. We were fortunate enough to have a chat with Western Australian Greens senator Scott Ludlum. The Greens have just announced a policy to not improve funding for game development in Australia, but broaden incentives for foreign companies making games in Aus based on feedback provided by the industry. With a half quota for senate seats, and polls sitting and nearly 50/50 smaller players like The Greens could have a big say in Australia's future. 

We’re also talking violent vs non-violent problem solving in games. It seems that more often than not developers are pointing us toward an armoury as opposed to a handshake or negotiation. We explore why this is. Can we find peaceful solutions to the problems in our games without pulling the trigger on sight?

Lastly the team take a closer look at Twitch’s new “Cheering” initiative. This new tool provides an alternate option for viewers to support their favourite streamers, but some people have criticised the margins that Twitch is taking off the top when the transaction is made. The team try to wrap their heads around this new payment system. We asked developers from across Australia who make gaming a big part of what they do. 

You can find us on all the social media sites, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and Steam. Just search for "pixelsift" and you'll find us!

Support the show: https://sifter.store