Pixel Sift

Zamfir Dumitru, the Founder & CEO of MonsterScope Studios joined us this episode to Share his team's latest project Dawnblade the modern hack 'n' slash dungeon crawler and Action RPG for mobile devices. Zamfir talked about the challenges of taking his work to Gamescom in Germany and at the Tokyo Game Show and why exhibiting it at PAXAUS seems like a walk in the park in comparison and what it is like to be so close to the end of a long development journey.   The launch cycle of the hotly anticipated Red Dead Redemption 2 is in full swing and with it are the standard pre-release interviews happen with key creatives. Dan Houser, Rockstar Games Co-founder and writer caused some controversy this week when hesaid in an interview with Vulture that "The polishing, rewrites, and reedits Rockstar does are immense. 'We were working 100-hour weeks' several times in 2018" before quickly clarifying. Over the last few years we've seen a lot of push back against crunch culture in games dev

The infamous John Robertson, the mastermind behind the YouTube series turned popular stage show turned video game The Dark Room is our guest this episode. John has come back to his roots, working with Perth's own Stirfire Studios which brings the whole thing full circle. One of the first "games" on YouTube and based heavily on the 1980s style text adventures, John shared what it was like working with a team he'd known since he was 15 to make the Dark Room game. We also speak about participatory culture, which is a fancy way of saying fandom and audience involvement in media, and John shared his experience with the cosplay and gaming communities and how they have shaped his work. With years of experience as a cosplay contenst MC we learn how the small stories he saw play out on stage inspired his work, and how that works for his collaborative stage show. Pixel Sift is produced by Scott Quigg, Sarah Ireland, Fiona Bartholomaeus & Mitch Loh. Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Than

Locky Betts and Jeff Hayes of Fitzroy's Grease Monkey Games take us on a journey with their game Torque Drift. It's a competitve drift racing game made by drift enthusiasts. We learn about how they've translated the feeling of weight shifting in a car around a corner into a game you can take with you on your phone, and challenge your friends. For the hoon at heart, Torque Drift will be out in October. We also learn a little bit about how real products end up in games, and when a brand decides they don't want to play anymore. From car manufacturers to embracing the world of gaming, to them driving off into the sunset, with some input from Locky & Jeff who tell us what it's like to bring real cars into a game you're making. 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

Two of the developers from Melbourne based studio Pixel Engineers, James Koehne and Daniel Spiteri join us this week, they're the creators of Hunt 'n Sneak the asymetric multiplayer game where light is both your friend and foe. We learn exactly what it took to make this game that's still in development and the challenges of making a balanced game where each player has different goals. We also take a look at drastic measures some Fortnite players are taking to get their hands on a limited adition skin. Some are visiting retailers to covertly access the content on display devices. Even close friends of the Pixel Sift staff are getting in on the action with varying degress of success.  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

Aladar Apponyi joins us from Melbourne to talk about his game Eatvolve, the "eat em up" platformer that has players take charge of a base level lifeform climbing its way up the food chain by consuming different animals and stealing their abilities. We learn what its like moving to solo development after working at Team Bondi and the future of the game. Patrick Klepek at Waypoint wrote an interesting article this week on how playing games for an audience makes challenging and stressful games more enjoyable. From the arcade, to the couch, to streams with large heaps of watchers, they performative aspect of gaming isn't new, but it's definitely an ever increasing trend. 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'

Sean Simon AKA Those Six Faces joins us this week to talk about his game Snake Time. Developed by Sean alone Snake Time takes the traditional Snake gameplay and turns it into a move by move puzzle game. Sean spoke to us about building out his first released game, and what success looks like to him. We also take a closer look at the trend of games choosing to move away from traditional online marketplaces such as Steam and Google Play and create their own launcher and store for their games. The latest publishers to go it alone  are Epic Games and Bethesda. However there are concerns device security and user experience could be affected by this move. Is it a cash grab, will it allow for a more tailored game experience and is it actually be better for the players? 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 o

David Lloyd from Melbourne based studio Powerhoof joins us this week to share his new game Regular Human Basketball, where you take control of a giant mech to score dunks and three pointers in the normal sport of basketball. Following on from Crawl, another local multiplayer asyncronous couch game, Dave shared what inspired the game and what they learnt along the way. Regular Human Basketball is available on PC from 1 August 2018, and you can check out our PAXAUS first look here. A court in Germany has just made it illegal for game retailer to take preorders for games that do not have a definitive release date. This could really shake up the way publishers do business. With preorders a big component of early AAA marketing, and a revenue source for retailers, we took a look at how this compares to Australian consumer law, and whether or not a ban like this might come into force here. Pixel Sift is produced by Scott Quigg, Sarah Ireland, Fiona Bartholomaeus & Mitch Loh. Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive P

Our special 100th episode guest is Tim Colwill, creator of Point & Clickbait and union organiser of the Australian chapter of Game Workers Unite. Point & Clickbait is a satirical gaming news site, described as The Onion but for games journalism, that aims to call attention to all the things that gamers and the games industry take too seriously, or doesn't take seriously enough. With a recent successful Kickstarter campaign under his belt for a print magazine version, Tim shared his thoughts on games journalism and what writing good satire should achieve. Game Workers Unite is a budding unionisation effort that formed around the 2018 Game Developers Conference, and part of a broader effort to stop workers in the games industry getting exploited for their passion. Tim is part of the organisation efforts to start Game Workers Unite Australia and draws on his work in an Australian union. Tim shares his thoughts on why unionisation is an important step for developers, journalists, streamers and anyone

Abi Rahmani joins us in the studio to talk about his game Project Wingman, the arcade fighter jet combat game taking Kickstarter by storm. Abi let us know what is took to bring the various planes to life from right here in Perth. Sony’s move to lock out Epic accounts from playing Fortnite if they have been linked with Playstation Network accounts have the community grabbing their pickaxes in anger. With even hardcore Sony fans like Greg Miller strongly criticizing Playstation for their actions.  Pixel Sift is produced by Fiona Bartholomaeus. Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Salty Dog Sounds for some of our promo music this week. SUPPORT PIXEL SIFT: We couldn't do what we do without your support. If you'd like to show your support on your exterior form why not head to our Merch store? You can pick up shirts, Totes and even socks! pixelsift.com.au/sifters  You can find us on social media, Discord, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and Steam. Just search for "pixels

Matt Kelly from Mokomoto joins us all the way from Japan to talk to us about his latest game Molemen Must Die. Matt spoke to us about how his team achieved Molemen’s unique new style retro look as well as the advantages and the culture of developing games in Japan. You can also check out Pixel Sift Plays: Molemen Must Die! to see a little bit of the game or you can find out more information here: Molemen Must Die! on Steam Last month, developers of "adult" visual novel style games were told out of the blue that their games would need to be changed in order to stay in the catalog of the popular online store Steam. This week Valve released a statement addressing the concerns that some developers have voiced over curation of the store, with many hoping it would clear up some of the questions they had about Valve's position on moderation. With some developers expressing their willingness to move their games to other delivery platforms, does Valve's inconsistent application of policies and backfl

Justin Ng is one of the creators of Muffled Warfare and Stifled, and he joins us to talk about how his two games both use the mechanic of echolocation in very different ways. Justin spoke about what it was like to bring these concepts into reality as well, what it's like to build a game from an April Fools joke, and what the future holds for his studio Gattai Games Epic Games, the creators of the mega sensation Fortnite, have pledged a whopping $100,000,000, towards Fortnite esports tournaments, and they've put an emphasis on being as inclusive as possible. What what will this mean for the game itself moving forward and competitive gaming as an industry? Pixel Sift is produced by Fiona Bartholomaeus & Mitch Loh. Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Salty Dog Sounds for some of our promo music this week.SUPPORT PIXEL SIFT: We couldn't do what we do without your support. If you'd like to show your support on your exterior form why not head to our Merch store? You can pick

Ian MacLarty is a prolific game designer and one that loves making small experiential titles that challenge the way you think about playing games. We had the pleasure of speaking to Ian this week about his minimalistic puzzle game Dissembler, where you flip colour tiles to match 3 and clear the screen. You can find all of Ian's games here on his Itch.io page. Well this week a writer at Destructoid called the new Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery "The cruciatus curse of mobile gaming" and called for everyone involved to feel ashamed of themselves. It's drawn some criticism from some of the games industry's biggest names, and it seems that one persons curse is actually the charm to million dollar daily revenues. Pixel Sift is produced by Fiona Bartholomaeus, Mitch Loh & Scott Quigg. Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive ProducerSUPPORT PIXEL SIFT: We couldn't do what we do without your support. If you'd like to show your support on your exterior form why not head to our Merch store? Y

Nicholas McDonnell of Samurai Punk, is our guest this week, and he's joined us to share how his team created their new VR game The American Dream. The American Dream is a satirical VR title that has players navigate a world using only guns, and no problem is too big or small to be solved without them. Nicholas filled us in on what was like to make such a game and how the American audiences reacted when touring the game to US conventions. Nick joined us back in Episode 19, and you can listen back to that show here where we learnt all about Screencheat.. For a long time, the value of a game was based on how many hours of gameplay it could provide, but now the tide appears to be changing. With game audiences getting older, and priorities shifting shorter focused games are becoming a godsend for the time poor player. Are games too long, or have our tastes changed? Pixel Sift is produced by Fiona Bartholomaeus, Mitch Loh & Scott Quigg. Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive ProducerSUPPORT PIXEL SIFT: We coul

Mike Blackney the developer of the highly anticipated road trip survival game Dead Static Drive is our guest this week. Dead Static Drive draws heavily on nostalgic classic americana, with drop of monster movie chucked in for good measure. We asked him about how it felt to leave his stable teaching job to become a full time game developer, what inspired the style of the game, and what sort of response he wanted players to have. Dead Static Drive is currently in development and you can check out our first impressions of the game at PAX Australia 2016 here. We're also talking about cheating in games, with a great video by Wrestling With Gaming about the history of the Game Shark and Game Genie cheat devices bringing back memories of cheat codes scribbled in the back of manuals. Why do people cheat in games, is it ok, and what happens when they take their cheating tendencies online?Thanks to James Morrison for jumping onto the show this week to take the hosting duties. Pixel Sift is produced by Fiona Barthol

We take a look at the first-person speedrunner Nova Flow, and to help us along is Lachlan Juzva, the Creative Lead at Wrecked Angle Studios, the developers behind the title. We found out what it took to bring the team together and finally settle on a name for the project, all while dodging the snarky remarks of Lachlan's co-workers in the Twitch chat. Game developer unionisation is a hot topic after the idea was addressed in depth at this year's GDC (Game Developers Conference). With stories of developer exploitation and burnout becoming the unfortunate norm these days the idea of unionisation is looking like a better idea. 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

This week as we are joined by Tim Bermanseder, a Director and Technical Artist at Cardboard Keep, the studio behind Witch Thief. Witch Thief combines a fun magical girl art style with the chaotic projectile dodging action. Tim went into detail about what it took to bring such a game to life, and how it all started with a Witch. The game preservationists at the Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment (MADE), are leading the charge to preserve servers and other digital spaces,from falling into obscurity, all in the name education and study. However the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), is pushing back against this idea, saying that this allow easy theft of valuable IP and copyrighted content. How do games fit between historical objects and saleable products? 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're joined by Ally McLean this week, and she's a Gamerunner at Robot House, the studio behind RUMU, a game that features a sentient robot vacuum cleaner with plenty of love and emotion. We spoke what inspired the game and influenced its design, as well as games that respect your time, and the giving your robot a hug. We also got the chance to speak to Ally about about a new program called "The Working Lunch" which aims at mentoring and supporting women in the Australian games industry with skilled mentors the help their career development and open new doors. If you're interested in being involved make sure you follow Working Lunch on Twitter to keep up to date. 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

Nico King is the Creative Director at Chaos Theory Games in Sydney and one of the creators behind Rainbow Reef. The game combines Nico's passion for coral reefs and aquarium building by putting players in charge of a small section of reef and cultivating the coral to attract and foster different sea creatures.We learn all about why Chaos Theory Games does what it does and what it's trying to achieve with the games it makes.   Facebook has made a strong push to re-tool its platform to capture some of the every expanding market of gaming streamers, and has recently announced that it is providing tools and incentives to attract content creators back to the website. But a recent deal between ESL and Facebook to stream majore DOTA 2 tournaments has resulted in massive decline in viewership, and actively shutting down any alternatives.   SPONSORS: Murdoch University School of Arts: Combine your love of making media, whether it's let's plays or your own games with a world class education with a degr

Matt Clark is the Technical Director at The Voxel Agents and  he joined us this week to speak about their upcoming game The Gardens Between. This stylish and calm puzzle game drops two friends into surreal nostalgic worlds where players do not control their movements but the direction of time itself. The Gardens Between were selected for the PAX Australia Indie Showcase in 2017, and we learn how the game has developed since we spoke to Henrik Pettersson from the show floor. After absurd amount of time (642 days to be exact) the the Australian Federal Government has finally responded to the eight recommendations from "Game On: More Than Playing Around." We discuss what the government said, after missing their deadline to respond by more than a year and how game developers have been reacting. SPONSORS:Murdoch University School of Arts: Combine your love of making media, whether it's let's plays or your own games with a world class education with a degree from Murdoch University School of Arts. C

Roman Maksymyschyn joins us to talk about Bit Dragon's latest project Hyper Jam, an arena brawler that has players fight with colourful attacks in neon soaked maps. Roman spoke to us about moving from 2D to 3D style gameplay and the impact of grants like the Unreal Dev Grants will have on the development of his game. With big personalities Robert Kraft (owner of the New England Patriots) willing to drop big money on Overwatch League teams, such as Boston Uprising, we are now seeing the next generation esports competitions. With traditional sporting leagues such as the US based Major League Soccer, and local A-League in Australia using their existing teams to sign pro-gamers under these existing brands to play their digital counterparts in "eleagues"   SPONSORS:Murdoch University School of Arts: Combine your love of making media, whether it's let's plays or your own games with a world class education with a degree from Murdoch University School of Arts. Click here to learn what is on offer.