High Resolution (formerly The Esports Moment)

Xbox is regarded by many as being the leader in game accessibility, with an inclusive vision that starts at the top. In recent years, the Microsoft brand has delivered various programs aimed at including people of all ages and abilities. From the Xbox Accessibility Guidelines for developers, to the addition of American Sign Langauge interpreters on official livestreams, and accessibility feature tags on the digital store, there are plenty of fantastic initiatives happening at Xbox. Anita Mortaloni, Director of Accessibility Xbox, explains how Xbox works with communities to foster inclusion and accessibility at all levels.Follow Anita Mortaloni on Twitter: https://twitter.com/anitamortaloniFollow Byteside on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bytesideFollow Chris Button on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BibbyBhoy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cult of the Lamb is yet another Aussie success story, having already welcomed more than a million cultists into its flock. Julian Winton, the Creative Director of the game, shares how Cult of the Lamb went through multiple iterations before settling on the satisfying gameplay we see today. Join us for an entertaining chat about the highs and lows of game development - no sacrifice required!Follow Julian Winton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JulianWilton_Follow Byteside on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bytesideFollow Chris Button on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BibbyBhoy Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are already many strong entries for the best game of 2022. Edmond Tran and Emily Spindler from GamesHub join Byteside's Chris Button to discuss the year in games so far. Elden Ring, Horizon Forbidden West, and Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes headline a selection of worthy contenders.Read the GamesHub best games of 2022 (so far) article: https://www.gameshub.com/news/features/best-games-of-2022-so-far-pc-ps5-xbox-nintendo-switch-mobile-23864/Follow Edmond Tran on Twitter: https://twitter.com/EdmondTranFollow Emily Spindler on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sagef0xxFollow Byteside on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bytesideFollow Chris Button on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BibbyBhoy See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Rogue Legacy walked so Hades could run. Now, nearly 10 years after the original, Rogue Legacy 2 is another shining example of the highly replayable roguelike genre.Cellar Door Games co-founder and designer Teddy Lee joins High Resolution to detail the tricky path to capturing success a second time.From finding popularity with Rogue Legacy, the commercial struggles of the studio's follow-up in Full Metal Furies, to the surprisingly emotional Early Access journey of Rogue Legacy 2, Lee explains it all.Also, there's a little discussion about the studio's early Flash games, including Don't Shit Your Pants, a game we've all played IRL at some point in our lives.To keep up to date with High Resolution, follow the podcast and subscribe to Byteside's twice-weekly newsletter examining all things tech, digital culture, and video games: https://newsletter.byteside.com/Articles referenced: https://www.destructoid.com/why-is-rogue-legacys-follow-up-considered-a-pretty-massive-failure/https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/rogue-legacy-2-early-access-takeaways/Follow Byteside on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bytesideFollow Chris Button on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BibbyBhoy See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Mighty Kingdom recently launched Conan Chop Chop, a chaotic rogue-lite that transforms the typically adult-focused Conan the Barbarian franchise into a more family-friendly cartoon outing. Hear from Kim "Kimbo" Forrest, studio creative director, and Jeff Wong, producer, as they discuss the sometimes challenging development of a game announced on April Fool's Day some years ago. It turns out that game development can be about the friends you make along the way!To keep up to date with High Resolution, follow the podcast and subscribe to Byteside's twice-weekly newsletter examining all things tech, digital culture, and video games.Follow Byteside on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bytesideFollow Chris Button on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BibbyBhoy See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Made by Studio Drydock, a remote team founded by former EA developers, Wylde Flowers is a cosy life and farming sim with a witchy twist. It launched via Apple Arcade earlier this year and has since become one of the top games on the subscription service ahead of its upcoming PC and Nintendo Switch release. In Wylde Flowers, you play as Tara, who moves to a charming rural island to help out her grandma and the family farm. However, she discovers not everything is as it seems...Amanda Schofield, Studio Drydock co-founder and creative director on Wylde Flowers, joins High Resolution to discuss her time working on The Sims franchise, the challenges of founding a remote studio, and what goes into making diverse characters.To keep up to date with High Resolution, follow the podcast and subscribe to Byteside's twice-weekly newsletter examining all things tech, digital culture, and video games.Follow Byteside on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bytesideFollow Chris Button on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BibbyBhoy See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Chris Button takes the reins from Seamus Byrne to prepare for a fresh new look at how videogames are made and the industry's wider cultural impact. Get ready for new episodes of High Resolution soon featuring guests from across the videogame industry, locally and abroad!In the meantime, subscribe to Byteside's twice-weekly newsletter examining all things tech, digital culture, and video games.Follow Byteside on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bytesideFollow Chris Button on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BibbyBhoyFollow Seamus Byrne on Twitter: https://twitter.com/seamus See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We're wrapping up the show to consolidate the Byteside podcast network into our core show, Byteside!Search 'Byteside' in your podcast app or hit the relevant link below to add it to your app of choice:Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/itunes/1482077503Overcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/overcast-podcast-player/id888422857Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1482077503Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5hY2FzdC5jb20vcHVibGljL3Nob3dzLzA0NzA5ZTVkLWU0ZTQtNDk0Ny1hYmNmLTYyZDM3MmIyZTFiNgSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43tUBmO4DknkGbd4Hw9dlbRSS: https://rss.acast.com/bytesideAnd get loads more written content at byteside.com.Thanks so much for tuning into the show – we've got a lot more in store, but all distilled into the one true podcast feed... Byteside. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

From the early announcements to the unknowns, Seamus and Kosta explore the E3 virtual experience and what's getting us excited for games in the year ahead. Playstation, Xbox, Indies, and more, we look at where the hype is justified and where it's... all hype. Will Xbox and Bethesda joining up this year be good or bad? Will Devolver be as crazy as ever? And does the Ratchet & Clank release set a new high bar for what we need to see to make something feel truly 'next gen'?Check out all the AusGamers coverage here:https://www.ausgamers.comFind Kosta on the tweets here:https://twitter.com/toadovsky See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Seamus talks to two of the lead developers on Diablo Immortal – Scott Shicoff, Principal Game Designer, and Kris Zierhut, Senior System Designer – about building an intricate, hardcore PVP system into the game. We explore how the Cycle of Strife works, how the game is being treated like an MMO, the style of play you can expect across PVE and PVP, and how they're going to approach class balance and other critical aspects for this experience. And, ultimately, just how much it means if you become the Immortal Leader. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Seamus talks to Jordi de Paco on the release of 'Essays on Empathy' and what it means to release a compilation of ten short-form narrative game experiences. A fun chat that digs deep into our need for shorter games and why sometimes a development team needs to take a big reset to remember why they love making games.You can find Essays on Empathy at Steam right here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1586880/Essays_on_Empathy/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

You'll be hard pressed to find someone on the planet today who doesn't know about Minecraft. It's one of those games that has evolved to become much more than just a game but also a tool for creativity and for education, and today I'm speaking with James Delaney, Managing Director of Blockworks, one of the world's leading design groups for creating amazing environments and architectural designs using Minecraft.Blockworks recently worked with NRMA to create a map called Climate Warriors, which is available for download through Minecraft Marketplace for free. It was designed to teach kids aged 7-12 about sustainability and the impacts of natural disasters on Australian rural and regional areas. I speak with James about his own journey with Minecraft, how Blockworks has developed its expertise, and the importance of working on projects like Climate Warriors and how it elevates Minecraft as a medium. Blockworks is a true world leader in this space so it's a pleasure to talk to James about his company and its place in the evolution of Minecraft and using these kinds of platforms for engaging styles of education like this.I start by asking James to remember that very first time he opened up Minecraft. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Seamus is joined by Jeremy "Junglist" Ray and Steve Farrelly from AusGamers to discuss this week's ABC Four Corners episode on manipulative techniques used in videogames, especially around predatory monetisation practices. We discuss our thoughts on the episode, what it got right, what it got wrong, where the nuance lies, and what we wish we saw more of in debates over the real issues that are attached to our beloved videogaming hobby.We're also joined via Twitter Spaces by Woody Wu from META High School Esports for some added comments and discussion.It's not lost on us that this episode is longer than the episode of Four Corners, too... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Interactive Games and Entertainment Alliance, IGEA, released a survey of the Australian games industry that captured the state of the community in 2020. Hundreds of millions of dollars sounds good, but it's a tiny fraction of a percent of the global industry revenue. So how does the industry grow? What support does it need? What's working now?We discuss all this and more with Ron Curry, CEO of IGEA, and we even get into the difficulties of the politics and how the industry struggles with generational change and not being 'political' enough to get the attention it deserves. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We sat down (through the magic of our screens) with Dean Ayala and Chadd Nervig, two of the critical members of the Hearthstone design team, to talk about all the new things coming to the game in coming weeks.Catching up just after the BlizzConline announcements we talk about what to expect from the new Core Set, what it means for the future of the game, and then we talk Forged in the Barrens and what that new set brings to the mix in such a year of big changes.And we find out how the pronunciation of Hearthstone seems to have taken on an almost regal quality. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tim Ruse is the CEO and co-founder of Zero Latency, a world leading free roaming virtual reality centre that is now in 46 locations around the world. Make that 47 with the launch of Sydney this week!We talk to Tim about the five years of Zero Latency since it launched in Melbourne, how the tech has evolved, and how they've developed their experience. They've worked with hardware companies to help make their backpack and tracking technologies work better, and they're even working with Ubisoft on a Far Cry experience for 2021.You can book now for Sydney, or any venue, via zerolatencyvr.com. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we've got highlights from a roundtable with Hearthstone Game Director Ben Lee and Game Designer John McIntyre, talking about the latest expansion Madness at the Darkmoon Faire, which lands next week (November 17). They talk new cards, new game modes, new progression systems, and also a lot of behind the scenes thinking. How did they approach designing new iterations on the Old Gods? What went into getting the Yogg-Saron spinning wheel just right? And how are they evolving the business model through new ideas for welcoming new players or bringing back those who've taken a break?The Hearthstone team has been doing a great job over the past year, with lots of really cool new ideas and evolutions on the game. This chat reveals a lot of the thinking behind how they've approached keeping the game fresh recently and in the year ahead. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We've got a special double episode of Byteside to share over the next two days. In the last show, Seamus Byrne and Alice Clarke looked at the Xbox Series X (and Series S), with both having review units over recent weeks. This time it's the PlayStation 5's turn! What's the future of PlayStation look like? How is the new DualSense controller? And we wrap things up by looking at the 'Xbox vs PlayStation' question and how the console market looks for the new generation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We've got a special double episode of Byteside to share over the next two days. Seamus Byrne and Alice Clarke discuss and debate the merits of the new Xbox Series X, with both having review units over recent weeks. What does the future of Xbox look like? And what about the new controllers? Should you be running out the door to knock people over to find one? Or is it OK to wait? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Kitty and JW sound way too nice to have made a game that is all about killing you with vicious sawblades. But they have and DISC ROOM looks great, so we had a chat about the game, the inspiration for trying to murder players with such vigour, and their thoughts on forming an indie collective instead of a dedicated company.Check out the details here: DISC ROOMAnd the Gamejam: Disc Room Gamejam See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We catch up with Andres Jessen and Maya Sand-Grimnitz from Epos Audio, the new gaming headset brand has formed as an offshoot of the former Sennheiser Gaming sub-brand. We talk about building a new brand in a competitive space like gaming headsets, building the right reputation and partnerships, and what tech factors they believe set them apart. Plus why calling your mother is a great way to test your new headset. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tonight, League of Legends World Championships for 2020 kick off in Shanghai, China. No surprises that the live event was very close to not going ahead this year. Riot Games cancelled the mid-season invitational this year but they've found a way to push ahead with the biggest event of the year.Teams travelled to Shanghai two weeks ago, quarantining for two weeks to keep things safe and get the worldwide teams bubbled up nicely. Of course, the teams have been training hard through that time and from Australia, the 2020 champions, Legacy Esports, are there to represent the Oceanic Pro League community.This morning I had a quick chat with Tim Wendel, who has run the team since 2014, has captained the team himself in the past and is now Head of Esports for the Adelaide Football Club, who has owned the team since 2017. We caught up via Microsoft Teams from his setup with the team there in China to hear his thoughts on this year's campaign and the Worlds competition they've been preparing for.We're just hours away from the first match when we spoke, so it's great he fit us in for a chat. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Last week we ran our interview with founder and CEO of World of Tanks makers Wargaming, Victor Kislyi, and this week it's a kind of part two as we look at the local story of the same company.Today we're hearing from Steve Wang, General Manager of Wargaming Sydney. Before that he was the CEO of Big World, the middleware developer that used to make massively multiplayer systems and license them to companies, including Wargaming, before being acquired to become part of the World of Tanks family and run this critical aspect of its online infrastructure for the whole company and all its games.We talk about that transition, about working and collaborating in a global organisation like Wargaming, and on the state of the industry in Australia and NSW, and also how we can keep improving the environment to ensure we are growing great talent to create more opportunities like the one Big World made for itself. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The local Wargaming office has been really generous with their time lately - we spoke to Thaine Lyman back in July - and this week we go all the way to the top off the back of all the 10th anniversary celebrations for World of Tanks. Today I'm talking to Victor Kislyi, the founder and CEO himself, direct from his HQ office in Cyprus. We explore the history of World of Tanks as well as the much longer history of Wargaming and what it was like to finally make a game that defined a genre. Victor has some really insightful thoughts on what it means for a game to become a real hobby for its fans, and how to respect your audience by never forgetting a few critical factors that maintain the trust with your audience. We also talk about having studios all around the world and what values that brings to a game company too.This is part one of a pair of episodes, with Victor's global perspectives this week and then next week we'll look closer to home when we chat to Steve Wang, the head of Wargaming Sydney, about how his local team has evolved and become such a critical part of the global Wargaming empire. Let's hop to it, my chat with Victor Kislyi, founder and CEO of Wargaming.net. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A few months back we spoke with Rich Lambert, Creative Director on The Elder Scrolls Online about the Dark Heart of Skyrim year of storylines currently taking place in the game. This week the latest dungeon DLC is added into the game, and Bethesda offered us a chat with Mike Finnigan, the Lead Encounter Designer.Finnigan has been on the team a long time but just recently took charge of all things 'encounters'. So we talk about blending story with core gameplay and the way these ideas flow back and forth and around the team, and delve into lots of other ideas around inspiration, about when to keep things comfortably similar to previous content and when to push new boundaries, and lots more.As I said, the two new dungeons, Castle Thorn and Stone Garden, are now in ESO and there's also the usual badass trailer for the new content you can check out too. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week's show is a chat with two of the leading lights from the League of Geeks, co-founder and design director Blake Mizzi and lead producer Lisy Kane. It's a really fun chat with two people I admire a great deal in the local scene and we spend a lot of time talking about the culture they've cultivated at the company as well as how their great game, Armello, has evolved over the years since its launch.The very first time I visited Melbourne's indie game developer hub, The Arcade, a good few years ago I met some of the fine folks from League of Geeks. I always loved their passion for making polished games and their attitude toward building a positive and inclusive company. Blake kicks us off with his thoughts on founding the studio back in 2011. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

I'm talking to Jasper Koning, Founder / Designer at Ronimo Games about their new game Blightbound, a 3-player dungeon crawler that looks like a new Golden Axe but might have more in common with Destiny or Diablo, as we discuss in the interview.We talk about their past games, and then dig into the dungeon crawler genre, even how weird a genre it is to define with such a diverse history of games under that umbrella. And we talk a lot about the systems that will make Blightbound unique to the category.We also touch on what it's like to work with publisher Devolver, who has carved out a really great space offering up clever indie-ish games that explore weird and crazy ideas. It's like knowing a Devolver game will have a certain taste or sensibility about it, but we talk about what it's like on the other side of that relationship too.I'm excited for Blightbound, I'm getting really great nostalgia vibes without the feeling that it is nothing but old hat. It hits Steam Early Access on July 29. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week Seamus speaks to the team behind Fall Guys, the hotly anticipated 'Battle Royale' that is more Japanese game show than Fortnite. Lead Game Designer, Joe Walsh, and Senior Level Designer, Meg Ralph, join the show to talk about the concept behind the game, delivering a family game that can hold the attention of any player of any age, and designing levels for something as chaotic and weird as this looks.Fall Guys hits Playstation and Steam on August 4 and you can get early access by hitting the game's Discord to join their beta test crew. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Thaine Lyman had 17 years at Activision under his belt working on major PC and console games like Call of Duty before he headed to Wargaming to work on World of Tanks. After a first stint in the PC team he headed to Minsk in Belarus to lead the mobile team on Blitz. We talk about the new era of 'real' mobile games, how free to play models have changed, and the fights over creating fantasy tanks and skins in a game with a long pedigree of historical accuracy. It's a really fun chat so dive in and enjoy! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Seamus talks to Run Curry, CEO of the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association, about how the industry has been dealing with the pandemic, the highs and lows of the first half of the year, and the politics that holds back better support for the business of games in this country. If you're in the industry, or you want to be, or you just want to know what's going on, Ron is the guy and this episode is a great update on everything that's been happening and where things might go next. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week I'm talking to Rich Lambert, Creative Director of Elder Scrolls Online. Rich has been working on the title since its inception, which makes it a 13 year journey working on the game. Keep in mind it was in development for seven years before its official release in 2014.The game struggled for a while but it has carved out a unique patch in the MMO space after some big changes a few years back. We discuss this and other aspects of what defines Elder Scrolls Online and how the big story arcs like we find in the new Greymoor expansion help to keep its fans coming back again and again.Greymoor is now available and while this latest expansion has a cost, you can dive in and try ESO for free and enjoy an awful lot of the game without ever being forced to pay.I'm a long-time WoW nerd and I've spent some time in ESO lately and after some initial confusion found the different combat and deeper approach to storyline built into the quest lines to be a really refreshing angle. It's always a good thing for there to be diversity in the MMO category. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Philip Mayes is the founder and CEO of Mighty Kingdom, an Adelaide games studio closing in on its tenth anniversary. The studio was named Studio of the Year at the 2019 Australian Game Developer Awards, with a super successful focus on developing games for big brand licenses including the likes of Disney, Lego and Conan. Their games reach tens of millions around the world and they're one of the biggest studios in the country in terms of both head count and output.This is another fantastic conversation, exploring Philip's big desire to see more studios really extending themselves toward bigger ambitions, wanting to see more small-to-medium studios pursue bigger and bigger ideas to chase the dream of becoming big studios in their own right.It's really great hearing Phil talk with a clear mission to create a big and successful business in the games industry, and the desire to develop positive competition and look to lift all ships along the way. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week I'm chatting to Dylan Miklashek from Gameloft in Brisbane, he's the Studio Manager and has been with the company since it founded its Australian operation. This is a longer chat than usual, but Dylan was super insightful and really candid about both the studio and the wider industry so it was a chat that I was happy to just dig deeper and deeper into.Dylan has a really interesting background that led him to arrive where he is today and he has strong opinions about the need for government schemes like tax incentives as part of building a thriving and globally competitive ecosystem. While he's not from Australia originally, and perhaps because he's not, he's got some great thoughts on why this is such a great country to be a game developer in, but also looks at the difficulties of finding the right staff when running a development studio in Brisbane and we explore what's needed to help train developers, to get more of them to the right tier of experience, and to spread the industry around the country and not just always talk about how great things are down in Melbourne.It's an honest mix of the difficulties and the opportunities in the scene today and I hope you get a lot out of the discussion. We dive in as Dylan explains where his journey in Gameloft began. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Seamus speaks to François-Xavier Dénièle (Esports Director, EMEA) & Jérémy Somville (Senior Esports Manager, EMEA) about changes to the global regional structure for Rainbow Six Siege esports, as Ubisoft launches new leagues and new broadcasting setups over recent weeks. Siege is bigger than ever, and nabbed official 'tier 1' esport status from The Esports Observer, so we discuss the journey so far, the impact of the new changes, and how the coronavirus has influenced their esports efforts this year See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The gaming influencer and content creator agency Click Management represents some of the world's biggest names in the space. LazarBeam, Loserfruit, MrFreshAsian, Muselk, and more. Grace Watkins co-founded the company and runs the show, having peeled off from working at PwC to take on this role.Gaming content creators are a massive force in this industry, so it's great to get Grace's insights on the role Click aims to play both locally and globally. And how they engage in that tricky space where global reach doesn't always align with where marketing dollars want to go.This was recorded in the 'before times', at Fortnite Summer Smash back in January. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Australia is known as a nation of sport lovers. Right now, loving sport is a hard task when there's nothing out there to watch. But, there's always the land of video game sport sims! And it's not just fans embracing those kinds of games, it's the sports codes as well!This week I'm chatting with Ross Symons, CEO of Big Ant Studios, Australia's most prolific maker of sports video games. Cricket, AFL, tennis, rugby league, and even lacrosse, Big Ant has got them all in its library. What unites designing sports games of so many stripes? How has Big Ant dealt with licensing? We explore these questions and many more.Ross is a true veteran of the industry and shares so many great thoughts about games development since some of its earliest days and how to carve a path in the industry. So we start by heading all the way back to where it began for Ross to show just how deep his knowledge of the business goes. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this episode I talk to Ash Ringrose, Head of SMG Studio, just ahead of the launch of their latest game Moving Out.It's a crazy fun, family friendly, physics based couch co-op game landing on Switch, Playstation, Xbox and Steam this week!Find out everything about Moving Out right here:https://smgstudio.com/movingout/SMG Studio has a diverse catalogue but every one has been an eyecatcher. One More Line, Over The Top Tower Defence (OTTTD), Death Squared and more, as well as licensed versions of Risk.Ash has a background in advertising which comes up in our discussion as part of pinning down the clarity of vision the studio hits on with each of its games and also right here at the start as we kick off the call with the realisation Ash and I once worked together 20 years ago...Quick technical note, the phone line was not the best, but the conversation was top shelf so I figured there's more value in sharing it than leaving it on the shelf. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On today's show I talk to Ben Goldhaber, co-founder and CEO of Juked.gg, a fantastic esports aggregation website that makes it easy to just see all the esports happening live online right now. When you hit the site you just get this great dashboard of live feeds as if you're looking at a bunch of screens in a sports bar. It launched in 2019 and I've been a fan since I first spotted it - it solves the classic problem of not knowing what's on and not being sure where to find it.Ben has a huge background in both esports and live-streaming, and was even on the founding team when twitch.tv was born. So it was great to catch up and hear his thoughts on why he's created Juked as well as his thoughts on making esports easier to watch and where this still very new service might go from here. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week I've caught up with Nico King, co-founder and Executive Creative Director of Chaos Theory Games, an independent games studio based out of Sydney, Australia.Chaos Theory is a great blend of pragmatism and idealism, creating games for brands to help them with marketing initiatives right through to games for good, helping charities, educators and environmental causes to deliver fun and engaging experiences.They've worked with businesses as big as eBay, M&Ms and Samsung to create mobile games and even AR and VR experiences. And then they've helped Sydney University gamify dermatology education, and created the Bleached Az game tie-in for a viral animated cartoon series. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We last caught up with Michal 'Carmac' Blicharz, VP of Pro Gaming at ESL, at Intel Extreme Masters Sydney last year. This year, Australia's IEM is moving to Melbourne to headline Melbourne Esports Open. Or at least, it's meant to be. If we're amazingly lucky, and we're probably not going to be lucky, we'll all get to catch up in Melbourne and enjoy the show in August.One of the big lines in the sand for seeing the coronavirus shut down a lot of major events around the world was this year's IEM in Katowice, Poland, in the country where Carmac is from. The event was all systems go until the very day before the doors opened. With travellers already in the city, ESL had to make the announcement that authorities had decided they could no longer enter the arena to watch one of the most beloved events on the annual calendar.In today's conversation, we talk about how esports has had to respond to the crisis in the age of stadium events as a norm, how the shock now turns to opportunity for the industry, and whether this will be a chance to change minds and open the door to new fans and new perspectives on what esports has to offer. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ben Lee is the co-founder and Managing Director of Blowfish Studios based in Sydney. He's been a games and software developer for over 20 years and Blowfish has been producing games for nine years – and recently they also started publishing games too.They're best known for their Siegecraft games but have a super diverse range of games across consoles, PC and mobile. Lee is also particularly insightful on running a game studio as a business, and what you can learn from other businesses of all stripes, not just other devs. We had this chat a couple of weeks ago in the Blowfish offices in North Sydney. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Seamus caught up with Josh Inman, Operations Manager for ESL Australia, a few weeks ago around the AO Summer Smash event (ESL was behind the scenes on production) to talk about the importance of that event to the local scene.Plus Josh dropped the IEM Melbourne news on Seamus in this chat so you get to hear his raw reaction to the news and then they discuss just how Melbourne is getting so serious about being Australia's "home of esports". See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Seamus chats to Siobhan Reddy, Studio Director at Media Molecule, about her creative journey and what she loves most about making games like Dreams and LittleBigPlanet – and building creative communities around MM games.This interview first appeared on the Uplink podcast. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Seamus speaks to Fortress CEO Jon Satterley and Dell General Manager Ben Jackson during a visit to an under construction Fortress Melbourne. From the theories about its events calendar to the business model its pursuing, and the importance of getting the tech just right through the partnership with Alienware. If you want to understand the thinking behind Fortress - this is the conversation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Do it once, you're testing the waters. Do it twice? You must really see value in esports. Seamus talks to Mark Reidy, events organiser at Tennis Australia, about AO Summer Smash 2020 and his thoughts on the value for local esports players, fans, and how it fits into Tennis Australia's Australian Open program. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The show formerly known as The Esports Moment is returning as High Resolution, covering a wider view of the business behind videogames. We'll still explore esports, but also game development, content creators, and the many other folks behind the scenes that bring games entertainment to life.To whet the appetite we're sharing an interview with David Gaider – the wonderful narrative designer who spent 17 years at Bioware before more recently launching a new studio, Summerfall Studios, based in Melbourne. Enjoy the interview and we'll have more really, really soon! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A special panel at PAX Australia 2019 featuring a trio of amazing industry experts to explore the topic of shifting gears from just playing to truly pursuing esports as a passion.Jocelyn Brewer: https://twitter.com/JocelynBrewerAndrew Kinch: https://twitter.com/gameawareprogr1Brandon Defina: https://twitter.com/SINJuvesFind Seamus here: https://twitter.com/seamusFind Byteside here: https://twitter.com/bytesideCatch all the Byteside podcasts and our weekly newsletter via https://byteside.com/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Seamus rounds up his thoughts from being there, as well as the mainstream media interest that blew up around the event. Plus why the haters need to calm the farm - Fortnite is an esport and it's not going away anytime soon. And the positives of the shift into a new phase of Fortnite esports starting just days from now with Season X. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A quick podcast at the end of the Fortnite World Cup preview day. Seamus shares his initial thoughts on what he thinks the weekend is shaping up to look like and what the event is really focused on – it's all about the fans and the players! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we're taking a bit of a dive inside the new sponsorship deal between Intel and Acer and the Meta High School Esports program, owned and operated by Adelaide Crows Football Club.These are global companies getting involved in an Australian grassroots esports operation, so it seemed an interesting opportunity to talk to all involved about why it's happening, what it means for Meta and the value for Intel and Acer.So I spoke to reps at all involved - Intel, Acer, Meta, and the Crows, plus I also had a chat with one of the teachers at a school that participates in the Meta program to get a sense of how this league is impacting on some of the students too.The first half of this episode will talk to the dealmakers. Nigel Smart, COO of the Adelaide Crows; Darren Simmons, Managing Director at Acer Australia; and Santosh Vishvanartan, Managing Director of Intel covering Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia. I spoke to each about the drive behind the partnership, why they care about this space and what they hope this sponsorship deal enables in the category.In the second half, I talk to Woody Wu, Commissioner of Meta High School Esports, about the program and its progress after the first year and a half of operations, and then Toby Fogarty, a teacher at Northern Adelaide Senior College, on the value he sees for students getting involved with Meta. Interestingly, it goes beyond just the playing in tournaments as well and touches on learning a lot of the skills associated with running events too. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Seamus talks to Jamie Skella, Chief Strategy and Commercial Officer at Mogul.gg, an Australian-owned online tournament platform that first launched across South East Asia but is now pushing to build its presence at home. Jamie has quite a history in esports and gaming - from playing high level CS 1.6 and Magic Arena, helping develop Telstra's GameArena platform back in the old days, and being an owner of Melbourne's GGEZ bar.We touch on a little of everything while focusing in on Mogul and what it's trying to achieve and the path ahead.Find Mogul here: http://mogul.gg/Find Jamie on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JamieSkella See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.