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 to bring crashing down what they had built over the last decade. We also chat about coming full circle with the tabletop boardgame version of ARMELLO being developed by King of the Castle Games.

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SIFTER is produced by Kyle Pauletto, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Courtney Borrett, Daniel Ang, Adam Christou and Chris Button. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Audio Technica Australia for their support of SIFTER.

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

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‍👕 Wearing our merch https://sifter.store/

‍💬 Talking to us on the SIFTER Discord https://www.sifter.com.au/discord

SIFTER is produced by Kyle Pauletto, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Courtney Borrett, Daniel Ang, Adam Christou and Chris Button. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Audio Technica Australia for their support of SIFTER.

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 Maddy Annibale have just put out their newest title, SUPER FRUIT NINJA and Jetpack Joyride 2 for the Apple Vision Pro.

You can support SIFTER's independent gaming journalism by

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SIFTER is produced by Kyle Pauletto, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Courtney Borrett, Daniel Ang, Adam Christou and Chris Button. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Audio Technica Australia for their support of SIFTER.

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 Sunday 4th February 2024 (Monday 5th February in Australia)

You can support SIFTER's independent gaming journalism by

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💬 Talking to us on the SIFTER Discord https://www.sifter.com.au/discord

SIFTER is produced by Kyle Pauletto, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Courtney Borrett, Daniel Ang, Adam Christou and Chris Button. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Audio Technica Australia for their support of SIFTER.

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 Theme
• MORTAL KOMBAT 1 - A New Era (Main Theme)
• VENBA - Raasa
• THE LEGEND OF ZELDA TEARS OF THE KINGDOM - Main Theme

What made your soundtrack list? Leave us a review with your favourite soundtrack.

You can support SIFTER's independent gaming journalism by

☕ Tipping us on KoFi https://www.ko-fi.com/sifterHQ

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💬 Talking to us on the SIFTER Discord https://www.sifter.com.au/discord

SIFTER is produced by Kyle Pauletto, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Courtney Borrett, Daniel Ang, Adam Christou and Chris Button. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Audio Technica Australia for their support of SIFTER.

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 release and how Olivia's love of PlayStation 1 era games also shaped the game for the better.

You can support SIFTER's independent gaming journalism by

☕ Tipping us on KoFi https://www.ko-fi.com/sifterHQ

👕 Wearing our merch https://sifter.store/

💬 Talking to us on the SIFTER Discord https://www.sifter.com.au/discord

SIFTER is produced by Kyle Pauletto, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Courtney Borrett, Daniel Ang, Adam Christou and Chris Button. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Audio Technica Australia for their support of SIFTER.

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 audience.

You can support SIFTER's independent gaming journalism by

☕ Tipping us on KoFi https://www.ko-fi.com/sifterHQ

👕 Wearing our merch https://sifter.store/

💬 Talking to us on the SIFTER Discord https://www.sifter.com.au/discord

SIFTER is produced by Kyle Pauletto, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Daniel Ang, Adam Christou and Chris Button. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Audio Technica Australia for their support of SIFTER.

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 independent gaming journalism by

☕ Tipping us on KoFi https://www.ko-fi.com/sifterHQ

👕 Wearing our merch https://sifter.store/

💬 Talking to us on the SIFTER Discord https://www.sifter.com.au/discord

SIFTER is produced by Kyle Pauletto, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Daniel Ang, Adam Christou and Chris Button. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Audio Technica Australia for their support of SIFTER.

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 independent gaming journalism by

☕ Tipping us on KoFi https://www.ko-fi.com/sifterHQ

👕 Wearing our merch https://sifter.store/

💬 Talking to us on the SIFTER Discord https://www.sifter.com.au/discord

SIFTER is produced by Kyle Pauletto, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Daniel Ang, Adam Christou and Chris Button. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Audio Technica Australia for their support of SIFTER.

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 the game now.

You can support SIFTER's independent gaming journalism by

☕ Tipping us on KoFi https://www.ko-fi.com/sifterHQ

👕 Wearing our merch https://sifter.store/

💬 Talking to us on the SIFTER Discord https://www.sifter.com.au/discord

SIFTER is produced by Kyle Pauletto, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Daniel Ang, Adam Christou and Chris Button. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Audio Technica Australia for their support of SIFTER.

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.

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It's a massive universe to explore in STARFIELD a game that builds on many of the gameplay systems you've come to enjoy in Bethesda's roleplaying games.

Does it live up to the hype after years of development and delays? Well it depends on what type of player you are, but there is lots of fun to be had here.

Jess Zammit (Player2.net.au) joins SIFTER's own Gianni Di Giovanni for two pretty different galaxy spanning adventure.

A copy of STARFIELD on Xbox Series X|S was provided to SIFTER for the purpose of this review.

You can support SIFTER's independent gaming journalism by

☕ Tipping us on KoFi https://www.ko-fi.com/sifterHQ

👕 Wearing our merch https://sifter.store/

💬 Talking to us on the SIFTER Discord https://www.sifter.com.au/discord

SIFTER is produced by Kyle Pauletto, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Daniel Ang, Adam Christou, Omi Koulas and Chris Button. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Audio Technica Australia for their support of SIFTER.