PixelSmiths: Stories of the Creative Minds Behind Indie Video Games

Larry Kilgore III and Clinton "Paperthin" Bader
  • 5.0 (5)
  • VIDEO GAMES
  • UPDATED MONTHLY
PixelSmiths: Stories of the Creative Minds Behind Indie Video Games

Video games are an art form. And on PixelSmiths, we talk to the independent artists whose creative minds power some of the most innovative titles on the market today. Developers, designers, visionaries and storytellers. It's their blood, sweat and tears that go into crafting unique experiences for players around the globe. Finally, they have a platform to celebrate their creativity, their drive and their vision. Hosted by eSports commentator Clinton "Paperthin" Bader and podcast producer Larry Kilgore III, PixelSmiths will explore the tales that unfolded from concept to release with game creators worldwide. We'll explore the obstacles they had to overcome during production, how the games changed their careers, and what new projects they're working on now. Subscribe today on your favorite podcast platform.

  1. Beacon Pines w/ Creative Director Matthew Meyer

    12/16/2022

    Beacon Pines w/ Creative Director Matthew Meyer

    On this episode, Larry & Clinton speak with Matt Meyer, Creative Director and founder for Hiding Spot Games. Their newest game, Beacon Pines, is a point and click adventure that takes place inside a story book, and is available on multiple platforms. In this fun chat, they talk about how Matt's love of music, and desire to work for himself, fueled his desire to make his own games. They'll also talk about the challenges he's faced creating games over the last twelve years, how and why Beacon Pines changed from a rhythm-based RPG into the fun adventure game it is now, and what we might be able to expect from Hiding Spot Games in the future. ----------------------------- Find Beacon Pines on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1269640/Beacon_Pines/ Follow Beacon Pines on Twitter: https://twitter.com/beaconpines Visiting the Hiding Spot Games website: https://hidingspotgames.com/ Follow Hiding Spot Games on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hidingspotgames Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    30 min
  2. Genesis Noir w/ Jeremy Abel & Evan Anthony of Feral Cat Den

    11/18/2022

    Genesis Noir w/ Jeremy Abel & Evan Anthony of Feral Cat Den

    On this episode, Larry & Clinton speak with Jeremy Abel & Evan Anthony, founders of Feral Cat Den, an artistic collective based in New York. Their first game, Genesis Noir, is a point-and-click adventure that spans time and space, telling a noir tale of The Big Bang. They talk about the growth of Evan and Jeremy's friendship in college, their work together in interactive media and short form content, their inspirations for Genesis Noir, how they learned to adapt their skills to the gaming medium, and more. Other media that is discussed includes: SILT, Vectorpark, Amanita Design, film noir, Buck Studios, Umbro Blackout, Italo Calvino, Radiolab, Sun Ra ----------------------------- Find Genesis Noir on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/735290/Genesis_Noir/ Visit the Genesis Noir website: https://genesisnoirgame.com/ Visit the Feral Cat Den website: http://feralcatden.com/ Follow Genesis Noir on twitter: https://twitter.com/genesisnoirgame Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    33 min
  3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge w/ Game Designer Frederic Gemus

    10/28/2022

    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge w/ Game Designer Frederic Gemus

    On this episode, Larry & Clinton talk with Frederic Gemus, the Game Designer at Tribute Games who was behind Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge. Shredder's Revenge is a retro-inspired beat-em-up, seen to be the spiritual successor to the TMNT games of the 80's and 90's. It is available now on most gaming platforms. Fred talks to the boys about his time developing AAA games at Ubisoft, figuring out how to go out and follow his own passions in the gaming industry space, joining his friends at their indie studio, and what it took to get Shredder's Revenge made. He also talks about his games store, Retro MTL, that is based in downtown Montreal. Other games and media discussed include: Ubisoft, Far Cry 6, Assassin's Creed, Just Dance, Rainbow 6: Siege, The Simpsons Arcade ----------------------------- Find Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1361510/Teenage_Mutant_Ninja_Turtles_Shredders_Revenge/ Follow Fred on Twitter: https://twitter.com/fredgemus Visit the Tribute Games website: https://tributegames.com/ Follow Tribute Games on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TributeGames Visit the Retro MTL website: https://retromtl.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    25 min
  4. SILT w/ Tom Mead and Dom Clarke of Spiral Circus Games

    09/23/2022

    SILT w/ Tom Mead and Dom Clarke of Spiral Circus Games

    On this episode, Larry & Clinton speak with Tom Mead and Dom Clarke, co-founders of Spiral Circus Games, and creators of SILT. SILT is a surreal underwater puzzle-adventure game, available now on multiple platforms. Tom and Dom talk about how their girlfriends 'matchmade' them to start their company, the difficulties of transitioning from their previous careers into being game developers, the dream-come-true trip to an accelerator in the woods of Sweden, and the struggle of getting their first project to completion. Other games mentioned include: Ecco the Dolphin, LIMBO, Subnautica, and Tarsier Studios games. ----------------------------- Find SILT Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1325890/SILT/ Visit the Spiral Circus Games website: https://spiralcircusgames.com/ Follow SILT on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SILTGame Follow Spiral Circus Games on Twitter: https://twitter.com/gamescircus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    32 min
  5. Cursed to Golf w/ Chuhai Labs Game Director Liam Edwards

    08/26/2022

    Cursed to Golf w/ Chuhai Labs Game Director Liam Edwards

    On this episode, Larry & Clinton talk with Liam Edwards, Game Director for Cursed to Golf, out now on multiple platforms. Cursed to Golf is a challenging golf-like adventure with rogue-like elements, where players are tasked with playing a crazy obstacle-filled course to making it out of Golf Purgatory. In this exciting conversation, they talk about Liam's winding road that lead to him being a game creator in Japan, his experience with crunch culture and burnout while working QA for Rockstar, the wonderful team that helped him make Cursed to Golf a reality, and the high level of interest the game saw from announcement to release. Other topics that are discussed include: Mario Golf, Castlevania, GTA V, freelance game journalism, Starfox, SNES, Nintendo, Cartoon Network animated shows,   ----------------------------- Find Cursed to Golf on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1726120/Cursed_to_Golf/ Follow Liam Edwards on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LiamBME Follow Cursed to Golf on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CursedtoGolf Follow Chuhai Labs on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChuhaiLabs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    50 min
  6. Children of Morta w/ Dead Mage Studio Director Amir Fassihi

    07/22/2022

    Children of Morta w/ Dead Mage Studio Director Amir Fassihi

    On this episode, Larry & Clinton talk with Amir Fassihi, Studio Director at Dead Mage Studios, creators of Children of Morta. Children of Morta is a hack'n'slash action RPG with a rogue-lite approach to character development, where you don’t play as a single character - but a whole, extraordinary family of heroes. In this interesting conversation, they talk about the creation of the studio in 2010 and how it's grown, how Amir's role at the company has changed over the years, some of the lessons learned while developing their previous releases, and how Children of Morta grew from a side project that was only supposed to take 6 months, into a game they spent 5 years on, and is the biggest release for the studio so far. Other games discussed include: Garshasp, Shadow Blade, God of War, Hades, Binding of Isaac, Nuclear Throne, Risk of Rain, the Diablo series, ----------------------------- Find Children of Morta on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/330020/Children_of_Morta/ Visit the Dead Mage Studios website: https://deadmage.com/ Follow Dead Mage Studios on Twitter: https://twitter.com/deadmagestudio Follow Amir Fassihi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ahfassihi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    41 min
  7. Chinatown Detective Agency w/ Mark Fillon, Ricardo Juchem, and Rik Godwin of General Interactive Co.

    06/17/2022

    Chinatown Detective Agency w/ Mark Fillon, Ricardo Juchem, and Rik Godwin of General Interactive Co.

    On this episode, Larry & Clinton talk with Mark, Ricardo, and Rik from General Interactive, creators of Chinatown Detective Agency. Chinatown Detective Agency is a cyber noir point-and-click adventure game that blends pixel art style with innovative mechanics. It is also a tribute to some of Mark's favorite games growing up; The Carmen Sandiego games made by Broderbund Software. In this episode, the guys talk about the state of General Interactive from their early days to now, how the internet and social media allowed their team to grow and adapt around the globe, the importance of listening to both good and bad feedback about your game, and what's next for them. Other game/media influences that are discussed include: the Age of Empire series, Blade Runner, Total Recall, The DaVinci Code, In the Name of the Rose, Ghost in the Shell, Altered Carbon, Deus Ex, Liam Wong, Raymond Chandler, James Elroy. ----------------------------- Find Chinatown Detective Agency on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1172190/Chinatown_Detective_Agency/ Visit the General Interactive website: http://www.generalinteractive.co/ Follow General Interactive on Twitter: https://twitter.com/genintco Follow Mark Fillon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrkfillon Follow Ricardo Juchem on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RicardoJuchem Follow Rik Godwin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tafdolphin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    47 min
  8. CrossCode with Radical Fish Games Co-Founder Felix Klein

    05/20/2022

    CrossCode with Radical Fish Games Co-Founder Felix Klein

    On this episode, Larry & Clinton talk with Felix Klein, co-founder of Radical Fish Games, and one of the creators of CrossCode. CrossCode is a retro-inspired 2D Action RPG that combines 16-bit SNES-style graphics with smooth physics, a fast-paced combat system, and engaging puzzle mechanics. In this conversation, they talk with Felix about making hobby projects with RPG Maker as a teen, his path to studying computer science and programming, growing his dev team through remote work relationships, and spending almost a decade growing CrossCode from a detailed puzzle game into an in depth sci-fi RPG. Other games/media that are discussed include: Final Fantasy, Legend of Zelda, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Terranigma, Xenoblade, Portal, Devil May Cry, Golden Sun, Ricochet Robots, Yoshi's Island, .hack, and Sword Art Online, ----------------------------- Find CrossCode on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/368340/CrossCode/ Visit the Radical Fish website: https://www.radicalfishgames.com/ Follow Felix on twitter: https://twitter.com/lachsen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    40 min
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About

Video games are an art form. And on PixelSmiths, we talk to the independent artists whose creative minds power some of the most innovative titles on the market today. Developers, designers, visionaries and storytellers. It's their blood, sweat and tears that go into crafting unique experiences for players around the globe. Finally, they have a platform to celebrate their creativity, their drive and their vision. Hosted by eSports commentator Clinton "Paperthin" Bader and podcast producer Larry Kilgore III, PixelSmiths will explore the tales that unfolded from concept to release with game creators worldwide. We'll explore the obstacles they had to overcome during production, how the games changed their careers, and what new projects they're working on now. Subscribe today on your favorite podcast platform.

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