Pixel Pizza

Pizza à la mode? More likely than you think

For our 157th show (yes, really

Have you heard? Game Informer is BACK! Here to explain it all is Executive Editor Brian Shea. Brian and I discuss his start in music journalism and the risks he took to put himself out there in writing about games. Lots of talk about cooking and Pittsburgh too! Plus, some chiptune rock from Kade Kalka

Enter the Spooky Doorway (Studio) and meet its co-owner & narrative designer, Dave McCabe! Dave tells us about his background in filmmaking and tabletop games, and how he and his writing team flesh out characters for their mystery games: The Darkside Detective franchise and the upcoming Séance of Blake Manor. Chiptune music from Flleeppyy!LINKS:☁️ Spooky Doorway BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/spookydoorway.bsky.social

We're going beyond the average podcast experience with this week's guests, Beyond the Board devs Guilherme Gama and Bruno Mascarenhas ♟️ Their game is. The three of us discuss roombas, design sketches, and nonlinear puzzle design. Music from MoGesus!LINKS:

Get ready to get cryptic with a look into the works of narrative designer Jonas Tarestad! He's collaborated with award-winning Swedish game studio Simogo on games including Year Walk, Device 6, and last year's Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. We discuss engaging players outside of the game, the thin line between the player and the character, and pizza on a farm. Music from Luke Carlin!LINKS:☁️ Jonas's Bluesky: http://jonastarestad.bsky.social

This week we sit down with Brazilian 2D animator & 3D artist Juli Ivy! In her 10+ year career in the industry, Juli has worked on lavishly animated games including Skullgirls, Indivisible, and Dawn of the Monsters. We get into graphic design, accessibility in games, and giant robots

Wake up and listen up

This episode originally aired on February 10, 2023.I can't believe it's been two years since this great chat with Fallen Aces co-creator Trey Powell! In the time since then the game has been released into Early Access on Steam and garnered over 5,000 positive reviews! If you've been enjoying the game and want to know more about Trey, now's the perfect time. Music from Computrhead!*The game I mentioned at the end was The Forgotten City, available on all platforms*LINKS:

This week we welcome Canadian power couple Annie Macmillan and Lukas Steinman to the show! They run the studio Max Inferno, best known for their cozy puzzle game A Little to the Left. We discuss the process of translating everyday puzzles into game levels, expanding a game jam project into a full release, and using your website to tell a story. Music from John "Joy" Tay!LINKS:

Whether you're sober or...not so much, treat yourself to a pizza and a chat with COO/Executive Producer at Squanch Games, Matty Studivan! Matty has produced for projects like Dance Central and God of War: Ragnarok, but most recently has been part of the team at Squanch Games developing sci-fi/comedy games like Trover Saves the Universe and High On Life. We talk about the importance of understanding the entire game development process, building connections for collaborations, and being in a band. Music from 0x1444 (courtesy of Moth to a Flame Records)!Pizzeria of the Week: New York Pizza (in Boston)

Change of plans this week! Doing something I've wanted to try for some time, ranking my top 50 favorite games of all time. Strap in because this is a long one. (My voice can hardly handle it by the end

Joining us this week on the show is filmmaker and game director Adam Butcher! You might know him best from his viral YouTube horror videos like Crow 64 and Internet Story, but Adam has been making a strong foray into game development with his team at Triangle Wave. Their first major project, Stretchmancer, is a zany and inventive puzzle game inspired by 90's Saturday morning cartoons. Tune in to hear all about it! Music from Iceferno ❄️

This week on Pixel Pizza, we step into the mind of Creative Director at Sunset Visitor, Remy Siu! Remy and his team recently released the acclaimed sci-fi narrative adventure game 1000xResist. We dive deep into Remy's background in live performance production, what the average day of a creative director looks like, and the voice direction process. Music from 380bitworks~ Pizzeria of the Week: Maple Leaf Pizza in Vancouver

After a tumultuous start to the new year, we are BACK cooking more Pixel Pizza!

For our final show of 2024, we've got a super prolific guest in the sound design world! Akash Thakkar has brought his talents to hit games like Hyper Light Drifter, Destiny, and The Outer Wilds: Echoes of the Eye. On top of that, he hosts the Sound Business podcast, gives industry talks at conferences around the world, and creates YouTube tutorials on sound design skills. We cover his work across all of these different areas and how he manages it all. Enjoy and have a happy and safe holiday season

Joining us this week is our first-ever guest in the localization field, Mai Namba! Mai's got decades of experience in translating and localizing some of the most renowned Japanese RPGs including Persona 2-5, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and Metaphor: ReFantazio. Most recently they've brought their talents to NIS America. Our wide-ranging conversation covers the evolution of game localization with new technology, the multicultural effort that brought Metaphor to life, and what can be done to improve the emotional and professional wellbeing of linguists in the industry. Music from Kaiden! LINKS:

This week we welcome animation director Chris Burns of Exit 73 Studios to the show! Chris's career started with animated TV shows at networks like Adult Swim and Comedy Central, and his own game-inspired pilots eventually led him to pursuing game dev proper. His studio's first project, the dungeon crawler #BLUD, is a love letter to 90's animation and top-down action games like The Legend of Zelda. If you're in the northeast US, check his team out at MAGFest next month! Music from TLC. LINKS:

On tap for this week's show is a talk with Washington-based developer Alice Bottino! Alice's gamedev career has taken her to studios like Xbox and Harebrained Schemes, and to the indie space with her current project, the ethereal rhythm game Hyperbeat. We chat about making games out of spite, the similarities between game development and skateboarding, and the importance of a strong aesthetic vibe. Music from bit.umen! LINKS:

Joining us this week is talented game composer Star Victoria Power, aka Slide20XX ⭐️ They've recently done work on games like Calico and Bloodstained: Dominique's Curse, and were even featured as part of Bandcamp's best soundtrack releases of 2022. Having worked towards making music for games since the age of 13, Star offers a lot of meaningful insight into how to balance pursuing your passions while still being practical. With music from Mistil! LINKS: ⭐️ Star's socials: @Slide20XX

This week on the show we've got the two Brazilian devs that make up Helena Creative Studio-- Gabriel Felipe (Gabs) and Gabriel Vinicius de Souza (GV). Together they've been hard at work on their first game, the upcoming experimental RPG Moth Kubit. It's already made a big impression at the Tokyo Game Show and Latin American Games Showcase, and even been featured in a Nintendo Direct presentation! Listen to their story, plus music from Floor Baba, now

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:

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

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:

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:

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:

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

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:

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:

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:

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:

Joining us this week on Pixel Pizza is community manager and marketing expert Catherine Litvaitis! Catherine has helped build and foster communities for prominent indie games like Bear and Breakfast, In Stars and Time, and The Tartarus Key. She tells us all about writing social media in-character, what makes a great digital storefront description, and her work on the YouTube cult classic Shrek Retold! All that plus more, and music from Overkissed. LINKS:

This week on Pixel Pizza, rock out with narrative designer Idris Grey MacChruteir

This episode originally aired on October 26, 2022. Let's look back on a Pixel Pizza favorite in this chat with Trombone Champ developer Dan Vecchito. We talked about using the principles of improv comedy in games, going viral, and the best pizza in Brooklyn! For the full Trombone Champ experience, this episode's musical breaks were all in-game performances from YouTube creators. Find their links below and see you next week with a new show! LINKS:

Join us on this week's Pixel Pizza Podcast as we talk to Capybara Games President Eileen Hollinger! Eileen's had some incredible experiences in the industry, like working at ThatGameCompany and forming her own indie game publisher, Astra Fund. She tells us how she made the jump from educational content to working alongside the devs of Journey, Katamari Damacy, and the latest on her studio's newest game Battle Vision Network! Music from Hydragyrum Beholder! LINKS:

On this installment of the Pixel Pizza Podcast we speak with Unbound Creations CEO Jakub Kasztalski. Jakub and his team have made all sorts of games ranging from political thrillers like Headliner to chaotic cute games like Rain on Your Parade. We talk about using games as a teaching tool, what goes into porting to consoles, and the studio's next game, Just Crow Things. Music from Thefricolix! LINKS:

Cozy up and stay warm (or cool, if listening to this at time of release) with Benjamin Salvqist, CEO of Pine Creek Games. The studio recently made waves with the showcase of their hand-drawn survival game Winter Burrow, and we get deeper into the inspirations behind its atmosphere, game design, and worldbuilding. Music from KnifeHandChop! LINKS:

In a blast from the past this week, the director of Soundtrec studio and the Video Games Orchestra, Shota Nakama is here on the show! I used to see his concerts all the time when I was living in Boston and hosting Pixel Pizza on the radio about a decade ago. Since then he's expanded into production on high-profile Japanese games including Final Fantasy XV, D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die, and Bayonetta 3. Most famously at the moment, Shota has been helming the Sonic Symphony World Tour! Together we reminisce on the early days of VGO, talk about changing up your daily routine, and making deadlines. Plus, chiptune music from Caspro! LINKS:

This week on the Pixel Pizza Podcast we bird up

Coming to us from Mexico City is this week's guest, Anwar Noriega! He's the CEO of Wabisabi Games, developers of the recently released RKGK (aka Rakugaki). Anwar tells us about making a platformer for adults, creating game industry opportunities in Latin America, and Japanese pizza. Chiptune music this week comes from Leumaestro! LINKS:

Get ready to go Psycho Mode this weekend with an all-new Pixel Pizza! Today we've got Ukrainian developer Yehor aka Martingor. Together with his wife Masha, Yehor is developing the finger-shooting roguelike FPS Psychofinger! We talk about taking inspiration from anime, what it's like making a game with your partner, and advice for first-time developers. Music from Curious Quail! LINKS:

On a delightfully devilish Pixel Pizza, indie director Alfred Kamon is here to talk about his upcoming strategy roguelike RPG Food Devils! We discuss the massive success of the game's Kickstarter, what it's like to lead Studio Daimon, and making the leap of faith into full-time game development. Music from Bubble Blade! LINKS:

This week on Pixel Pizza we get radicalized by sound designer and voice director Ali Cedroni! Ali talks with us about the welcoming game audio community, giving yourself the freedom to fail, and how groups like her collective NokNok Audio are changing the traditional game company structure. Music from Kitsune²! LINKS:

The latest fresh interview we're serving here on Pixel Pizza is with AAA-turned-indie developer Nathan "Jitspoe" Wulf! Jitspoe worked on some of the most intense FPS games around, including Far Cry 3 & 4 and Lawbreakers. Now he's hard at work on two very different games: The Lovecraftian Quake-like KOOK and the atmospheric 2D platformer Fist of the Forgotten. Learn all about those and more, plus music from Tombofry! LINKS:

This week on Pixel Pizza we are joined by head honcho of the video game music/sound design studio A Shell in the Pit, Gordon McGladdery! The studio has brought audio to some of the most acclaimed games in recent years, including Untitled Goose Game, Wandersong, and Rogue Legacy. Gordon shares his story of finding his way into game development after pursuing woodworking, teaching English in South Korea, and studying film. He also gives us a condensed version of his GDC talk on sustainability in managing a game studio! With music from Nagz. LINKS:

On this week's episode of Pixel Pizza, we're speaking with 3D environment and prop artist Sophie Stübinger in Germany! In her five years in the gaming industry she has already worked on major titles including Fortnite and Party Animals, and has most recently brought her talents over to Double Fine. Sophie tells us about working from home, building a portfolio, and trying new art styles. Music from Pixelization! LINKS:

Roll for initiative before listening to this episode

Another week I'll be out of town, but not gonna leave you guys high and dry again! Here's a redux of one of our more popular early episodes featuring LakeFeperd, the beloved Brazilian developer behind the Spark the Electric Jester trilogy ⚡️

Hold onto your hats! This week's Pixel Pizza features a convo with Ubisoft Massive lead writer & narrative designer Aoife O'Friel. Aoife has helped bring Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora to life, and she tells us about the lore and research that goes into making those worlds as immersive as possible. And our music this week comes from Nicky Spacebum! LINKS:

Sleuth around with us on this week's Pixel Pizza as we chat with Julia Minamata, solo dev behind the adventure mystery game The Crimson Diamond

Is it cold in here? Maybe because there was no episode last week due to vacation, or maybe because this week we've got the Frostman himself, Digital Eclipse's Head of Production Stephen Frost! You might know Digital Eclipse for their in-depth collections of the Street Fighter and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games, or their interactive documentary Gold Master series. We discuss all of those and everything else Stephen has tackled and learned in his 20+ years in the industry. Music from Chosen Realm! LINKS: