Episodes
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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 🎄
LINKS:
🌐 Akash's Website: https://www.akashthakkar.com/
💿 Anodyna: https://anodyna.bandcamp.com/
🍕 Pizzeria of the week: Prince Street Pizza
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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:
💼 Mai's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mainamba/
💿 Kaiden: https://k9id3n.bandcamp.com/
🍕 Pizzeria of the week: Domino's
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Missing episodes?
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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:
🗣️ Exit 73 Socials: @Exit73Studios
🎮 #BLUD: https://www.bludgame.com/
💿 TLC: https://tlcmany.bandcamp.com/
🍕 Pizzeria of the week: Three Brothers in Jersey City, NJ
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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:
🗣️ Alice's Socials: @Bottinogames (Twitter), @Bottino.games (Bluesky)
🎮 Hyperbeat: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2263360/HYPERBEAT/
💿 Bit.umen: https://bit-umen.bandcamp.com/
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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
💿 Mistil: http://mistil.bandcamp.com
📕 The Algebra of Wealth by Scott Galloway
🍕 Pizzeria of the Week: Rocco’s Pizza in Seattle
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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 🦋
LINKS:
🎮 Moth Kubit: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2257830/Moth_Kubit/
💿 Floor Baba: https://floorbaba.bandcamp.com/
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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:
🌐 Stoyan's Website: https://stoyanovdesign.com/
💿 Siberia Zero: https://siberiazero.bandcamp.com/
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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 🎧
LINKS:
🗣️ David's Socials: https://pd-cgt.carrd.co/
💿 Mala Society: https://zingarmusiclab.bandcamp.com/album/8-beat-chipsounds
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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:
🌐 Kenny's Website: http://kennyyoung.com
🐦 Kenny's Twitter: @KCMYoung
🤖 Astro Bot OST: https://music.apple.com/ua/album/astro-bot-original-soundtrack/1770364118
💿 Vyryr: https://vyryr.bandcamp.com/
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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:
📺 Ulysses's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ulyssesatsea
🗣️ Ulysses's socials: @Ulyssesatsea
💼 Ulysses's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ulysses-at-sea-611a38135/
💿 Bartizan Chill: https://bartizanchill.bandcamp.com/
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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:
📕 Uncrank'd: https://linktr.ee/uncrankd
🗣️ XaniaLasagna: https://linktr.ee/xanialasagna -
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
📝 Devon's Tumblr: https://devsgames.tumblr.com/
📺 Devon's Twitch/YT: SlaughterNeko
🎮 Devon's Games: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45172739
💿 Caspro: https://caspromusic.bandcamp.com/
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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:
🐦 Jupiter's Twitter: @Jupiter_Hadley
💿 EKIA: https://ekiaa.bandcamp.com/
✉️ Contact us: pixelpizza at yahoo dot com
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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:
🖌️ David's Twitter: @Davidhellman
🧩 Nico's Twitter: @Cabezotta
🎮 Arranger: https://arranger.quest/
💿 Reia: https://reiaa.bandcamp.com/
✉️ Contact us: pixelpizza at yahoo dot com
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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:
🎮 Athenian Rhapsody: https://linktr.ee/athenianrhapsody
💿 _beto: https://betodev.bandcamp.com/
✉️ Questions? Comments?: pixelpizza at yahoo dot com
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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:
🐦 Capy Games socials: @Capygames
🎮 Battle Vision Network: https://www.capybaragames.com/games/battle-vision-network/
💿 Fouinne44: https://m.youtube.com/@fouinne44
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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:
🐦 Catherine's Twitter: @LitvacArt
🐊 Floridale Man: @TheFloridaleMan
💿 OverKissed: https://audiobambino.bandcamp.com/album/cut04-xx
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This week on Pixel Pizza, rock out with narrative designer Idris Grey MacChruteir 🤘 Idris's career has spanned across multiple countries and major studios-- they've worked at Monolith on Middle-Earth: Shadow of War, Guerilla on Horizon: Forbidden West, and are currently in Japan working with Unseen (Ikumi Nakamura's studio) on KEMURI!
Idris breaks down how they design for specific characters, make an open world feel alive, and write a meaningful cover letter. Chiptune music this week also comes to us from Japan via Maak!
LINKS:
🐦 Idris's Twitter: @SirensStrand
🎮 Unseen: @UnseenTokyo
💿 Maak: https://maakmusic.bandcamp.com/
✉️ Contact Us: pixelpizza at yahoo dot com
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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:
🐦Holy Wow Twitter: @HolyWowStudios
🎮Trombone Champ: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1059990/Trombone_Champ/
📀 Tim & Matt Play: https://youtu.be/bf021cCR7tQ
💿 JawGBoi: https://youtu.be/1pYm-_C91wQ
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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:
🐦 Eileen's Twitter: @Eileen_Holli
🌐 Capy Games: @Capygames
🎮 Battle Vision Network: @BVN_Game
💿 Hydragyrum Beholder: https://hydragyrumbeholder.bandcamp.com/
✉️ Contact Us: pixelpizza at yahoo dot com
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