Lightmap - Conversations with video game creators SIFTER

Retro inspired videogames are a dime a dozen but what happens if you lean in all the way, play with the nostalgic experiences of those people who grew up with the NES and the Gameboy to make something truly modern.

Joshua Hallaran from Critical Games has been working on 8-BIT ADVENTURES 2 for seven years, studying the classics and creating a true love letter to the pixel graphics and chiptune of the early nineties.

Support SIFTER's independent gaming journalism by buying us a coffee on KoFi or some merch on the SIFTER STORE

Join the SIFTER Discord to be part of the conversation

SIFTER is produced by Kyle Pauletto, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Daniel Ang & Adam Christou. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Omny Studio for their support of SIFTER.
Support the show: https://sifter.store
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is a game without it's soundtrack? Meena Shamaly, composer and host of ABC Classic's The Game Show joins Gianni for a musical journey through some of the best sounds in video games.

Check out the full list on our website: The Best Video Game Soundtracks of 2022 with Meena Shamaly

Support SIFTER's independent gaming journalism by buying us a coffee on KoFi or some merch on the SIFTER STORE

Join the SIFTER Discord to be part of the conversation

SIFTER is produced by Kyle Pauletto, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Daniel Ang & Adam Christou. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Omny Studio for their support of SIFTER.
Support the show: https://sifter.store
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's our bumper Game of The Year special, we've got six different games for you as well as a bunch of honourable mentions from the SIFTER team. It was a very hard choice this year with lots of incredible games.

You can read a full write up of our favourites on the SIFTER website. SIFTER's 2022 Games of the Year

Support SIFTER's independent gaming journalism by buying us a coffee on KoFi or some merch on the SIFTER STORE

Join the SIFTER Discord to be part of the conversation

SIFTER is produced by Kyle Pauletto, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Daniel Ang & Adam Christou. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Omny Studio for their support of SIFTER.
Support the show: https://sifter.store
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alex Johannsson has been working on MORSE, inspired by a love of alt controllers and limited button inputs, in this game that combines real morse code and grid based combat.

Alex joins Gianni to talk about the development of the game over many years and why cool weird controllers are really a big source of inspiration.

Support SIFTER's independent gaming journalism by buying us a coffee on KoFi or some merch on the SIFTER STORE

Join the SIFTER Discord to be part of the conversation

SIFTER is produced by Nicholas Kennedy, Kyle Pauletto, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Daniel Ang & Adam Christou. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Omny Studio for their support of SIFTER.
Support the show: https://sifter.store
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Miltia is one of the biggest Vtubers in Australia, a partnered streamer on Twitch and she's made a career connecting with fans all over the world.

You'll find her playing Apex Legends most days and she said vtubing as really allowed her to connect better with her audience.

Mitch finds out what it's like vtubing, how the community responded to her new look and what she thinks of the current Apex Legends metagame.

WATCH THE VIDEO INTERVIEW on our website  - What is it like being a vtuber?

Support SIFTER's independent gaming journalism by buying us a coffee on KoFi or some merch on the SIFTER STORE

Join the SIFTER Discord to be part of the conversation

SIFTER is produced by Nicholas Kennedy, Kyle Pauletto, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Daniel Ang & Adam Christou. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Omny Studio for their support of SIFTER.
Support the show: https://sifter.store
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jeff Van Dyck is a BAFTA award winning composer and sound designer, who has worked on FIFA, the TOTAL WAR series, and most recently UNPACKING as one third of Queensland based studio Witch Beam Games.

Jeff shares the story of how he came to work with a small indie studio after working Triple A titles for years, the story telling in each of the pieces of music and how the next project TEMPOPO mixes rhythm and puzzle solving.

You can catch Jeff Van Dyck at Melbourne International Games Week as part of APRA AMCOS High Score, presenting the closing keynote on Sunday 2nd of October.

Support SIFTER's independent gaming journalism by buying us a coffee on KoFi or some merch on the SIFTER STORE

Join the SIFTER Discord to be part of the conversation

SIFTER is produced by Nicholas Kennedy, Kyle Pauletto, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Daniel Ang & Adam Christou. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Omny Studio for their support of SIFTER.
Support the show: https://sifter.store
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.