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 KoFi https://www.ko-fi.com/sifterHQ ‍? Wearing our merch https://sifter.store/ ‍? Ta ..read more

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 Joy ..read more

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 gami ..read more

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 ..read more

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 c ..read more

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 mer ..read more

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://ww ..read more

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 gameplay systems you've come to enjoy in Bethesda's roleplaying games. Does it live up to the hype after ye ..read more

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 this year and spoke about his creative process, filmic literacy in the audience, and why he stands with ..read more

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 like having to make games for a big foreign imperial culture that you've made the enemies in your ga ..read more