About 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.
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14. 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.
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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
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18 Nov 2022
13. Genesis Noir w/ Evan Anthony & Jeremy Abel 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
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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
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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
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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/
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23 Sept 2022
11. 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.
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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
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26 Aug 2022
10. 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,
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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
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22 Jul 2022
9. 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,
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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
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17 Jun 2022
8. 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.
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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
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20 May 2022
7. 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,
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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
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22 Apr 2022
6. My Lovely Daughter w/ Riris Marpaung of GameChanger Studio
On this episode, Larry & Clinton talk with Riris Marpaung, a librarian from Indonesia who left her 20 year career to become a game developer, about her studio's games, My Lovely Daughter, and the upcoming My Lovely Wife. My Lovely Daughter is an alchemist simulator that explores the depth of a father’s grief and how far he will go to resurrect his daughter.
In this conversation, they talk about adapting to her new career, the challenges of growing a game studio from scratch, and how her company uses real stories of trauma to create unique, emotional games with their My Lovely series.
Other gaming topics include: My Name is Mayo, Shower with your Dad, NSFW, GoBlock's Impossible Medley, Don't Starve Together, LIMBO
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Find My Lovely Daughter on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/580170/My_Lovely_Daughter/
Find My Lovely Wife on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1251930/My_Lovely_Wife/
Follow Riris on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rirismarpaung
Follow GameChanger Studio on Twitter: https://twitter.com/gchangerstudio
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31 Mar 2022
UPDATE: The Passing of Mohammad Fahmi of Pikselnesia
Clinton & Larry share their condolences over the passing of Mohammad Fahmi, creator of Coffee Talk & What Comes After, who was featured in Ep. 3.
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21 Mar 2022
5. Lacuna w/ Julian Colbus & Jasmin Pfeiffer of DigiTales
On this episode, Larry & Clinton talk with Julian Colbus & Jasmin Pfeiffer, partners for 12 years and co-founders of DigiTales Interactive. Their first game, Lacuna, is a 2D sci-fi noir adventure where your choices matter, and is greatly inspired by The Expanse.
In this conversation, the couple talk about working together creatively before the launch of DigiTales, Julian's experience as a composer in the gaming industry, the importance of listening to feedback during development, and the incredible enthusiasm and excitement they saw from concept to release of Lacuna. They also talk about the political turmoil of Russia/Ukraine and other conflicts, and how that helped inform the political aspects of their narrative.
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Find Lacuna on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1364100/Lacuna__A_SciFi_Noir_Adventure/
Visit the DigiTales Interactive website: https://digitales.games/
Follow DigiTales Interactive on Twitter: https://twitter.com/digitales_games
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18 Feb 2022
4. Trackless w/ Aubrey Serr
On this episode, Larry & Clinton talk with Aubrey Serr, an indie developer with more than a decade of experience, about his time in the industry, and going solo to create his game Trackless, an atmospheric, first-person, text-based exploration and puzzle game set in the distant future.
Aubrey also spent the early years of his career at Wolfire Games, where they were one of the first teams to pioneer what is now considered 'Early Access' as a way to develop their games.
In this conversation, they talk about Aubrey's variety of experience in the gaming industry, the challenges he faced creating his own game, the growth of the indie game scene over the past 20 years, and his experience giving a talk at GDC.
Other gaming topics include: Wolfire Games, 1992 Nintendo World Championships, LAN arcades, Overgrowth, Humble Bundle, Receiver, developer blogs, Shadowgate, Zork
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Find Trackless on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/586660/Trackless/
Visit 12 East Games' website: https://12eastgames.com/
Follow 12 East Games on twitter: https://twitter.com/12EastGames
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21 Jan 2022
3. Coffee Talk & What Comes After w/ Mohammad Fahmi
On this episode, Larry & Clinton talk with Mohammad Fahmi, Creative Director at Pikselnesia, and the creator of Coffee Talk and What Comes After. Both games are 'conversation simulators' that tell heart-warming stories.
In this fun conversation, they talk about Fahmi’s time at Toge Productions, his career path developing the skills he would need to start his own studio, the struggles of finding funding as a new studio, and the motivations behind the games he has created. Also, the announcement of his next game, and their favorite animes!
Other game/media influences that are discussed include: Midnight Diner, Bartender, Bar Oasis, VA-11 Hall-A, Neil Gaiman, Ico, Spirited Away, and Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad
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Find What Comes After on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1421760/What_Comes_After/
Visit Fahmi’s website: https://fahmitsu.com/
Follow Fahmi on twitter: https://twitter.com/fahmitsu
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17 Dec 2021
2. Klang & Klang 2 w/ Tom-Ivar Arntzen
On this episode, Larry & Clinton talk with Tom-Ivar Arntzen, the one-man virtuoso behind Tinimations, and creator of Klang & Klang 2. The Klang series is an innovative take on the rhythm game genre, combining the timed button combinations of traditional rhythm games with hack & slash combat.
In this conversation, they talk about how Norway's culture led to Tom's obsession with video games, his award-winning game development during his upper secondary (high) school years, some of the struggles of working with a publisher, and how music helped him find his ideas.
This discussion also includes: StepMania, God of War, Bayonetta, Devil May Cry, Dance Dance Revolution, & Guitar Hero.
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Find Klang on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/412660/Klang/
Find Klang 2 on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1111600/Klang_2/
Visit Tom's website: https://tinimations.net/
Follow Tom on twitter: https://twitter.com/Tinimations
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17 Dec 2021
1. Firegirl w/ Julien Ribassin & Gabriel Miller
On this episode, Larry & Clinton talk with Julien Ribassin & Gabe Miller, creators of Firegirl: Hack & Splash Rescue, out now on Steam. Firegirl is a 2.5D rogue-like where you take on the role of a new firefighter, fighting fires and monsters as she works to save her city, and grow her fire brigade.
In this fun conversation, they talk about Gabe's 'claim to fame' working on Strike Vector, Julien's rogue-like curse, drunken times at BitSummit, a driving game with dead fish, and the way their new game evolved from concept to finish.
Other games that are discussed include: illumine, Disney's Magical Quest, Cuphead, NetHack, Rogue Legacy, Hades, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES), Spelunky, and RemiLore
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Find Firegirl: Hack & Splash Rescue on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1608550/Firegirl_Hack_n_Splash_Rescue/
Visit their website: https://dejima.games/
Follow Julien on twitter: https://twitter.com/DejimaGames
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9 Nov 2021
Coming in December - 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.
And finally, they have a platform to celebrate their creativity, their drive and their vision.
Hosted by esports caster 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. Visit podcampmedia.com/pixelsmiths to learn more.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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