Award-winning composer Austin Wintory returns to the podcast to discuss his work on Indie Symphony II , a concert series performed by Orchestra Victoria on July 3 and 4 2025. Austin shares insights into the creative process behind scoring indie games like ABZÛ and Hades II , and how these soundtracks come to life in a live orchestral setting. We also revisit his previous appearance, where he talked about composing for Stray Gods . Tune in for a deep dive into the artistry of video game music and...
Jun 18, 2025•32 min•Season 2Ep. 243
The UNPACKING team return with their next game, the musical puzzle game TEMPOPO and composer and sound designer Jeff Van Dyck joins Lightmap for another episode. Pick the right sequence, keep trying until you get it right and find the flowers to rebuild your garden, this puzzle game for all ages is colourful and joyful. Find out what inspires Jeff to keep creating, the challenges and what he thinks about the future for aspiring video game composers. Catch up on the last time Jeff joined us by ch...
May 14, 2025•35 min•Season 2Ep. 242
LUSHFOIL PHOTOGRAPHY SIM is all about the vibes and heavily inspired by developer Matt Newell's own treks around the world with camera in hand. Originally starting as a project to create some fantastic scenery it morphed into a camera sim and featuring locations like Meelup and Castle Rock Beach in Matt's home state of Western Australia and his new home in Japan, this chill game is all about opening the lens and taking it all in. Listen to Gianni and Matt talk about the joy of photography and wh...
Apr 07, 2025•24 min•Season 2Ep. 241
CITIZEN SLEEPER 2: STARWARD VECTOR is a special kind of game, one that builds so gently and thoroughly on its predecessor, with a bigger universe to explore for lovers of heartfelt science fiction. Developer Gareth Damian Martin joins us again, to share design intentions about expanding this world, how players narrativise every choice they make, and why this might be the last video game in this world for a little while. Listen back to our previous episode on the first game CITIZEN SLEEPER before...
Mar 23, 2025•43 min•Season 2Ep. 240
One of my favourite things each year is when Meena Shamaly host of Game Show on ABC Classic sends me the big list of tracks that have made a massive impact. These games might not be winning massive awards, a lot of them do of course, but you know every piece of music you’re going to hear has made an impact on Meena’s heart. Meena Shamaly who is a composer, musician, Australia’s biggest Oud fan boy really loves game soundtracks. So much so that every year I’ve asked, and this is the third time we...
Jan 23, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 239
It took a couple of years but the Steam Deck is officially available today for players in Australia. The reason? Well why don't we let designers Lawrence Yang, Jay Shaw and Yazan Aldehayyat explain. Gianni sat down with Valve's handheld makers in Melbourne to learn how player behaviour has changed with the launch of the portable computer, what to expect from the next generation hardware, and what they are working on next. 256GB LCD A$649.00 512GB OLED $899.00 1TB OLED $1049.00 1TB OLED White $10...
Nov 18, 2024•22 min•Season 2Ep. 238
With a game series as long running as CIVILIZATION, how do you keep reinventing and refining when you hit the seventh title? With long campaigns and countless hours for each play through, these games take on a life of their own for each player. Recently at Melbourne International Games Week Firaxis Games developers Andrew Frederiksen (Lead Producer), John Fitzgerald (Lead Unit Artist) and Matthew Quickel (Senior Lead Environment Artist) shared their thoughts on the making of CIVILIZATION VII . W...
Nov 04, 2024•32 min•Season 2Ep. 237
If you love the feeling of racing until you perfect the line PHANTOM SPARK might be exactly what you're looking for. Joon Van Hove (NUTS) one part of Icelandic studio Ghosts shares how Torfi Asgeirsson nailed the gameplay before anyone else even came on board. How subtle storytelling, but no plot, was an essential design element, that builds to competitive online leaderboards. Enjoy the retro aesthetic but don't put too much emphasis on Wipeout or F-Zero when you play. Adam Christou guest hosts ...
Sep 17, 2024•40 min•Season 2Ep. 236
Comedian Tommy Dassalo who you might know from podcasts Filthy Casuals and Little Dum Dum Club, thought it might be too narcissistic to make a game about yourself and charge for it. Lucky SUPER DASSALO LAND is a free prequel to his latest comedy special, so therefore not as narcissistic, and he teamed up with talented Gameboy creator Gumpy Function ( GRIMACE'S BIRTHDAY, UNEARTHED ). It's a lot of fun so get on board as Kyle guest hosts Lightmap. Apple Arcade: Enjoy unlimited access to over 200 i...
Aug 21, 2024•47 min•Season 2Ep. 235
Have you every wondered what it takes to design one of those sprawling trading card games? It's not that often that a news series pops up, there are a few major series but one of the newest to hit the tabletops is DISNEY LORCANA by Ravensburger. Ryan Miller is the co-designer and brand manager and sat down to share how a childhood love of Dungeons & Dragons, time working at Wizards of the Coast and how The Princess Bride lead him to making this new game. Find out more about Shimmering Skies ...
Aug 08, 2024•24 min•Season 3Ep. 234
Apple Arcade: Enjoy unlimited access to over 200 incredibly fun games with no ads and no in-app purchases. From puzzle and adventure games to sports, racing, and multiplayer action games, everyone can count on finding something to love. Head to sifter.com.au/arcade to start your free trial* of Apple Arcade today and you'll be supporting independent video games journalism. * New subscribers only. AU$9.99/month after free trial. Plan automatically renews after trial until cancelled. Ewoud van der ...
Jul 10, 2024•27 min•Season 2Ep. 233
Have you ever wanted to make the ultimate super hero teamup? Inspired by XCOM: CHIMERA SQUAD, CAPES is the new tactical super hero game where positioning and combo moves are the way to win. Want to put together your own fastball special? Squad composition and positioning is the way to win. Cade Franklin one of the original team on HAND OF FATE joins Lightmap to share the design intentions, making it feel super and how the team who made one of the most interesting Australian made games is back to...
Jun 13, 2024•25 min•Season 2Ep. 232
Chris Conte & Dean Ferguson from Queensland's 5 Lives Studios share COZY CARAVAN and ask you te enjoy lo-fi hip hop beats to open a market stall to. Learn why the team wanted to make something that was decidedly smaller than their previous titles, designing this cool stepped animation and why they still want to return to SATELLITE REIGN one day. Apple Arcade: Enjoy unlimited access to over 200 incredibly fun games with no ads and no in-app purchases. From puzzle and adventure games to sports...
May 29, 2024•30 min•Season 2Ep. 231
Can't get your friends to come join you at your house for a night of tabletop gaming? BALADINS by French studio Seed by Seed takes the fun of rolling dice and playing a character and distills it to a cool timeloop adventure. Jean Nicholas and Thaïs Arias join Lightmap to share their narrative game which was featured as part of Ludonarracon , their coop studio structure and prototyping this cute multiplayer adventure. Apple Arcade: Enjoy unlimited access to over 200 incredibly fun games with no a...
May 12, 2024•36 min•Season 2Ep. 230
It's been nearly eight years since Trent Kusters one of the co-founders of Melbourne's League of Geeks joined me on the podcast. Back in the Pixel Sift days, Trent was working through the early days of ARMELLO their groundbreaking digital board game, but the last twelve months have been some of the hardest for the company. JUMPLIGHT ODYSSEY was shelved in order to limp along and get SOLIUM INFERNUM across the line. In a very candid interview Trent shares what went wrong and how it felt to have t...
Mar 29, 2024•45 min•Season 2Ep. 229
Did you grow up blasting through Green Hill Zone or Casino Night Zone? Maybe you spent hours defeating the nefarious schemes of Dr Wily. These colourful platformers hold a fond place in the hearts of many including Zu Ehtisham solo developer of the new BERSERK BOY where you blast through levels switching elemental powers as you go. Learn how Zu build a modern platformer that is inspired by but isn't beholden to the past. You can support SIFTER's independent gaming journalism by ☕ Tipping us on K...
Mar 06, 2024•25 min•Season 2Ep. 228
Queensland based Halfbrick have been making games for almost 25 years, and chances are if you’ve picked up a phone in the last decade you’ve played one of their games. Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride, Age of Zombies or maybe you’re a bit more oldschool and played one of their Gameboy Advance games or PlayStation or Wii titles. In an industry that surges and wanes, Halfbrick has been one of the enduring stories of game development in Australia. Shainiel Deo is CEO and one of the founders, and Mad...
Feb 27, 2024•31 min•Season 2Ep. 227
The groundbreaking STRAY GODS: THE ROLEPLAYING MUSICAL is pretty unique and the very first Australian made game to be nominated for a Grammy Award, which will be awarded today. Composers Austin Wintory (JOURNEY, ASSASSIN'S CREED SYNDICATE) Scott Edgar and Simon Hall from musical comedy group Tripod, singer-songwritter Montaigne aka Jess Cerro join Summerfall Studios Liam Esler to talk about what it was like to make this branching musical adventure. The 66th Annual Grammy Awards will be held on S...
Feb 04, 2024•42 min•Season 2Ep. 226
We listen back through this incredible year of games with our friend Meena Shamaly , musician, composer and host of ABC Classic's The Game Show. It's Shamaly Selects 2023 and boy are there some incredible pieces to listen to. Here is what delighted and made the top eight this year. STRAY GODS: THE ROLEPLAYING MUSICAL - Adrift & Challenging a Queen (Red Edition) TCHIA - Main Theme BALDUR'S GATE 3 - Down by the River MARVEL'S SPIDER-MAN 2 - Greater Together ASSASSIN'S CREED MIRAGE - Mirage The...
Dec 14, 2023•54 min•Season 2Ep. 225
If you grew up playing the Gameboy Advance and the Nintendo DS, you might have missed the aesthetic those games created at the time, but you'd definitely remember the vibes. Those vibes are what Andy Brophy and Olivia Haines are trying to recapture in their weird and wonderful roleplaying game KNUCKLE SANDWICH . With some kicking tunes and fun turn based battles, this is a game that might just inspire the next generation of video game creators. Learn how this project went from flash game to full...
Nov 20, 2023•34 min•Season 2Ep. 224
SLAY THE PRINCESS is a horror narrative visual novel where you've got one task. You're here to slay a princess, but if you do is actually up to you. This game brings branching narratives and a style of roguelite gameplay to the visual novel genre where all your choices can lead to an ending. Developers Abby Howard and Tony Howard-Arias join Lightmap to share how their small side project SLAY THE PRINCESS was made while developing episodic game SCARLET HOLLOW and how it's found them a brand new a...
Oct 31, 2023•39 min•Season 2Ep. 223
THE PLUCKY SQUIRE feels like a world of pure imagination. Jonathan Biddle and James Turner head up All Possible Futures a completely remote studio working on the gorgeous game that acts as a love letter to some of your favourite genres and games of the last 30 years. Gianni sat down with Jonathon Biddle at PAX Australia to explore how this collaboration came together, inspirations from Nintendo games past, and what to expect when the game hits your consoles next year. You can support SIFTER's in...
Oct 18, 2023•25 min•Season 2Ep. 222
If you want to play a video game you have to plug something in, that power comes from somewhere and Dr Ben Abraham , has completed the second annual Net Zero Snapshot for the games industry. Ubisoft is leading the charge dropping their emissions, despite being one of the world's biggest studios, but for many other Triple A game developers they just aren't making enough of a change according to Abraham. You can read the full report over on the After Climate website . You can support SIFTER's inde...
Oct 02, 2023•16 min•Season 2Ep. 221
When you first hear the soundtrack for CULT OF THE LAMB it's immediately clear how much of a part it is to the experience of the game. Narayana Johnson who performs under River Boy made his first soundtrack when working on Massive Monster's smash hit, and it will be rearranged and performed this Melbourne International Games Week with Orchestra Victoria . Narayana shares the origins of this work, some of the techniques used to make the music, and what it's like to be making all the sounds for th...
Sep 25, 2023•25 min•Season 2Ep. 220
We've got some brand new episodes of Lightmap on the way, featuring some very cool guests but to get you there here is the latest episode of Drop Rate featuring Chris Button, SIFTER EP Gianni Di Giovanni and Player2.net.au writer Jess Zammit talking all about STARFIELD Bethesda's huge spacefaring roleplaying game. Follow Drop Rate on your favourite podcast player here New episodes of Lightmap next week. --- It's a massive universe to explore in STARFIELD a game that builds on many of the gamepla...
Sep 13, 2023•36 min
The first thing you notice when you see a game made by Half Mermaid the studio lead by Sam Barlow is that it doesn't really look like a game, the full motion video looks more like a TV show or movie. For Barlow what initially started as a creative and budgetary constraint of being a small indie team has become a defining feature of his work, with his most recent title IMMORTALITY which explores three decades of filmmaking. Barlow will be making his way to Australia for SXSW Sydney in October thi...
Aug 10, 2023•36 min•Season 2Ep. 219
You know when you just look at a game and think, everyone is going to be talking about this? LAIKA: AGED THROUGH BLOOD combines some of the best motorbike tricks of TRIALS with a stylish story featuring some of the coolest anthropomorphic animals in game since CULT OF THE LAMB. Ivan Papiol one of the artists from Spanish studio Brainwash Gang joins us to share the origins of their pirate collective studio, how Newgrounds flash games inspired the distinctive look & studio ethos and what it's ...
Jul 25, 2023•28 min•Season 2Ep. 218
How do you condense more around forty years of interactive history into one book? Games journalist Jordan Minor (PC Mag, The Escapist) has taken on this task, with a new beautifully illustrated book " Video Game of the Year " which charts the biggest moments in games. Jordan shares his history as a games writer, the limit of a single game per year and why certain games were chosen over others. It's also an interesting insight into the politics of games over the last four decades. You can support...
Jul 10, 2023•35 min•Season 2Ep. 217
Subscribe to Drop Rate our new review podcast for free. Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Amazon Music Pocket Casts -- STORY OF SEASONS: A WONDERFUL LIFE revisits the 2003 farming simulator GameCube classic. In the years since its original release, farming games have risen in popularity: Stardew Valley , Wylde Flowers , and Disney Dreamlight Valley , just to name a few. Ruby Innes (Back Pocket) and Courtney Borrett (Power Up, Kotaku Australia) join us this episode to explain why this modern...
Jul 01, 2023•37 min
It might not look like it, but PLANET OF LANA is actually Wishfully's very first game after a long career in TV and animation. Lead game designer Adam Stjärnljus and script writer Klas Eriksson who both co-directed the game have been working together creatively since they were thirteen years old and have always wanted to make a game. We dive into the process of telling a story in an invented language, how composer Takeshi Furukawa (THE LAST GUARDIAN, STAR WARS CLONE WARS) fell in love with the g...
May 23, 2023•39 min•Season 2Ep. 216
