Pixel Pizza

Gear up for an all-new Pixel Pizza with multidisciplinary artist Mark LaCroix! Mark runs the development & publishing studio Noble Robot. He talks about creating animations for the show Parks & Recreation, building an open-source engine for the PlayDate handheld, game design philosophies, and his involvement on previous guest JJ's Blippo+! Plus lots more AND music from Kaskatron!

LINKS:

🤖 Noble Robot: https://noblerobot.com/

🎙️ Nice Games Club Podcast: https://nicegames.club/

💿 Kaskatron: https://kaskatron.bandcamp.com/

Enter the strange world of the Outer Zone with its Denmark-based studio head Malte Burup! Malte is behind the dystopian psychology simulation Mind Scanners and the grid-based soulslike Death Howl (recently released on consoles)! He tells us about creating haunting pixel art, leaning into the perception of your game, and paper prototypes. With music from KB!

LINKS:

☁️ Outer Zone BlueSky: theouterzone.bsky.social

💿 KB: https://kamikazebitch.bandcamp.com/

Draw your sword and SLICE 'em up :P This week we welcome Danilo Barbosa, lead dev at Spanish studio Retro Reactor, to the show! Dan created the high-stakes samurai fighting games One Strike and Two Strikes, where as the titles suggest a single hit or two decides a match.

He talks about his previous work on educational games, authentically capturing Japanese history and style, and the inclusion of iconic manga character Baki in Two Strikes! Plus, we discuss the brand new DLC for the game! With music from Ariosodev~

LINKS:

🎮 Retro Reactor Games: https://www.retroreactor.games/

🎨 Gerson Oshiro (Two Strikes original artist): @Gmoshiro

💿 Ariosodev: https://ariosodev.bandcamp.com/

Throw some AA batteries into your listening device (it's totally there, I swear) and get ready for this week's show with homebrew Game Boy developer Max Oakland! Max recently released his open-world platformer, Wink & the Broken Robot, on real cartridges. He tells us about all the pieces that go into creating physical copies, his other creative passions like music and claymation, and taking level design inspiration from forgotten parts of our world. Featuring songs from KChG!

LINKS:

🌐 Max's Website: Maxoakland.com

🗣️ Max's Socials: @Winkwinkerson

🎮 Wink & the Broken Robot: https://maxoakland.bigcartel.com/

💿 KChG: https://kchg.bandcamp.com/

Get a crash course on all things gaming PR this week from industry vet Stephanie Tinsley Fitzwilliam of boutique agency Tinsley PR! Stephanie talks about her journey promoting games from the PS1 era to launching the Xbox 360 all the way to last year’s award-winning phenomenon Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. She dissects how media consumption has changed (for better or worse) in that time, and how we can adapt to the ever-changing ways people get their information. Plus music from Melocactus!!

LINKS:

☁️ Tinsley PR BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/officialtinsley.bsky.social

💿 Melocactus: http://melocactus.bandcamp.com

It's a blast from the past on this week's Pixel Pizza as I catch up with my former game development teacher Sam Eng! Sam is a founding member of the NYC developer workspace GUMBO, and the creator of last year's surreal hit Skate Story 🛹 He gives insight on capturing the danger and physics of skateboarding, promoting on social media, the benefits of avoiding reviews, and a whole lot more. Featuring music from Phanomium!

LINKS:

🗣️ Sam's socials: @BySamEng

🎮 Skate Story: https://skatestory.com/

💿 Phanomium: https://phanomium.bandcamp.com/

This week we welcome concept artist, UI artist, and 3D modeler Silvia Lara Blanco to the show! Silvia currently works at Undercoders, the Spanish development studio behind the upcoming high-octane train runner game Denshattack! She tells us about her passion for accessibility in UI, the way Denshattack's exaggerated sense of scale comes to life, and how she's been passing on her gamedev knowledge as a professor at the ENTI school in Barcelona. Featuring music from Jetdarc 💥

LINKS:

🎮 Denshattack: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2524850/Denshattack/

💿 Jetdarc: https://jetdarc.bandcamp.com/

Hey and welcome back to the show! On the mic with us this week is Creative Director at Thunder Lotus, Nicolas Guérin. An industry veteran of 20 years, Nick worked on AAA titles like the Assassin's Creed franchise before working on the beloved indie game Spiritfarer. We discuss the themes of his upcoming project At Fate's End, the artistry of Rayman Origins, and how games can help us process our feelings. With music from Incognizant!

*Spiritfarer Spoilers: 39:18-44:22*

LINKS:

🎮 At Fate's End: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2210150/At_Fates_End/

🪷 Thunder Lotus Games: https://bsky.app/profile/thunderlotusgames.com

💿 Incognizant: https://incognizant.bandcamp.com/

After a holiday hiatus, Pixel Pizza is hatching into the new year with Austo, lead developer at New Future Kids ✨ He's currently working on the cozy digital pet sim Bobo Bay! We discuss building upon the influences of Sonic Adventure 2's beloved Chao Garden mode, building a community on Patreon, water physics, and more. With music from Falling Starheart!

LINKS:

🎮 Bobo Bay: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1889810/Bobo_Bay/

☁️ Austo on Bluesky: http://austofrosto.bsky.social

👾 Bobo Bay Discord: https://discord.com/invite/HjBn4B6X47

💿 Falling Starheart: https://fallingstarheart.bandcamp.com/

Suit up for an all-new Pixel Pizza! Joining us from Chicago is the President of Trinket Studios, Tom Eastman. You may know their work from the Kickstarter success Battle Chef Brigade and the recently released sci-fi deckbuilder Battle Suit Aces 🚀 Tom shares stories about his time working on games for Disney, how he formed a three-person studio, and the unique challenges of developing and marketing a visual novel/deckbuilding game. Featuring music from P Crema!

LINKS:

☁️ Tom's BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/tom.trinketstudios.com

✉️ Trinket Studios Newsletter: https://trinketstudios.us6.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=834b406929647d10102efe915&id=6fd2af1b22

👾 Trinket Studios Discord: https://discord.com/invite/trinketstudios

💿 P Crema: https://pcrema.bandcamp.com/