Game director Stoyan Stoyanov unmasks his journey and process on this week's Pixel Pizza! We get deep into his problem-solving strategies, talk about his quest design on Cyberpunk 2077, and reflect on the rapidly changing state of the games industry. Music from Siberia Zero!

LINKS:

🌐 Stoyan's Website: https://stoyanovdesign.com/

💿 Siberia Zero: https://siberiazero.bandcamp.com/

This week we welcome indie developer David Peters to the show! David recently started his career in games with the shoot-em-up Cycle Chaser H-5 and the surreal platformer Somnabuster. Both games are defined by their striking hand drawn art style and arcade like gameplay, both of which we dive deep into on today's show! Featuring music from chiptune artist Mala Society 🎧

LINKS:

🗣️ David's Socials: https://pd-cgt.carrd.co/

💿 Mala Society: https://zingarmusiclab.bandcamp.com/album/8-beat-chipsounds

Honored this week to speak with 7x academy award nominated sound designer/composer Kenneth C.M. Young! Kenny's recent work on Astro Bot got rave reviews this year, and his previous time at MediaMolecule included LittleBigPlanet and Tearaway. Kenny dives into his upbringing with Scottish & Applachian music, his unique path into becoming a game composer, and making audio feel like its own character. Chiptune music this week from Vyryr!

LINKS:

🌐 Kenny's Website: http://kennyyoung.com

🐦 Kenny's Twitter: @KCMYoung

🤖 Astro Bot OST: https://music.apple.com/ua/album/astro-bot-original-soundtrack/1770364118

💿 Vyryr: https://vyryr.bandcamp.com/

Today on the program we're chatting with South African sound designer Ulysses at Sea! You might've heard his work in games like Desktop Dungeons: Rewind and Tales of Kenzera: Zau. Ulysses and I talk about creating an ecosystem of sounds, building creature voices, and the unexpected ways sounds can resonate with players. Music from Bartizan Chill~

LINKS:

📺 Ulysses's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ulyssesatsea

🗣️ Ulysses's socials: @Ulyssesatsea

💼 Ulysses's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ulysses-at-sea-611a38135/

💿 Bartizan Chill: https://bartizanchill.bandcamp.com/

No pizza this week, just lasagna! Xania Lasagna, that is-- our guest known for her work throughout the PlayDate scene. Xania not only makes games for the indie handheld platform, but also publishes Uncrank'd Magazine and produces the YouTube news show Uncrank'd TV. She tells us about finding the best games on the platform both big and small, her character-first game design process, and more. With music from Squaretune Magician!

LINKS:

📕 Uncrank'd: https://linktr.ee/uncrankd
🗣️ XaniaLasagna: https://linktr.ee/xanialasagna

This week on the show we've got Canadian solo indie dev Devon Wiersma! Devon's best known for the graffiti sandbox Bombing!! games, which were inspired by their own experiences as a street artist. They're also currently working on the procedurally generated mech action game Centauri Dark, so there's a lot to talk about with their varied catalog of work! Tune in for that and chiptune music from Caspro & friends.

LINKS:

☁️ Devon's Bluesky: https://devonwiersma.bsky.social

📝 Devon's Tumblr: https://devsgames.tumblr.com/

📺 Devon's Twitch/YT: SlaughterNeko

🎮 Devon's Games: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45172739

💿 Caspro: https://caspromusic.bandcamp.com/

On this week's Pixel Pizza we talk with indie game journalist & community manager Jupiter Hadley! As a co-founder of news site Big Boss Battle she covers the most innovative releases and game jams. Plus, as a CM for Toya Play Studio, she works on licensed Roblox experiences for popular IP like Miraculous Ladybug. Jupiter gives us some info on her upcoming book about indie games, talks introducing her own kids to gaming and the internet, and delves into the importance of a community-first approach to indie game development. Music from EKIA!

LINKS:

🐦 Jupiter's Twitter: @Jupiter_Hadley

💿 EKIA: https://ekiaa.bandcamp.com/

✉️ Contact us: pixelpizza at yahoo dot com

We've got two incredible guests for you this week! Coming to us from Furniture & Mattress Games are co-founders David Hellman (art director) & Nico Recabarren (game designer). David's best known for his work on the landmark indie game Braid, and Nico made a splash designing acclaimed puzzle game Ethereal. We go over both of their past experiences as well as their time working on their latest project, the puzzle/RPG hybrid Arranger! Music from Reia!

LINKS:

🖌️ David's Twitter: @Davidhellman

🧩 Nico's Twitter: @Cabezotta

🎮 Arranger: https://arranger.quest/

💿 Reia: https://reiaa.bandcamp.com/

✉️ Contact us: pixelpizza at yahoo dot com

Shoutout to all the Rhapsodogs this week, because we're talking with Nico Papalia, creator of the hit indie RPG Athenian Rhapsody! Nico shares his stories about playtesting for comedy, staying physically active while making games, expanding his IP, and making his own pizza. This week's music comes to us from _beto!

LINKS:

🎮 Athenian Rhapsody: https://linktr.ee/athenianrhapsody

💿 _beto: https://betodev.bandcamp.com/

✉️ Questions? Comments?: pixelpizza at yahoo dot com

Capy Games Director Dan Vader joins us on this week’s show! Over the past 15 years his studio has brought us some incredible original titles, like Grindstone, Super Time Force, Superbrothers: Sword and Sorcery EP, and Below. In our lively and wide-ranging discussion, Dan talks about working on games with very different tones, the collaborative environment at Capy, and how the best ideas come up when you’re getting coffee. Music from Fouinne44!

LINKS:

🐦 Capy Games socials: @Capygames

🎮 Battle Vision Network: https://www.capybaragames.com/games/battle-vision-network/

💿 Fouinne44: https://m.youtube.com/@fouinne44