Interview - Social Media Marketer Corina Diaz

Are you interested in becoming a social media marketer? What about running a marketing campaign for your indie game on a low-to-zero budget? Corina Diaz is here to answer all those questions and more as we discuss indie games, and marketing around them.

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Google Play, or SoundCloud. And Patron's at the $4+ level got this episode 2 days early.

Interview With Storyteller Mohammed Hasan - Why Do We Play Video Games?

Mohammed is a local Toronto author who prides in storytelling in video games. He recently wrote a blog post about why we play video games.

Mohammed and Steve discuss story in games, and the recent Telltale closing.

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Google Play, or SoundCloud. And Patron's at the $4+ level got this episode 2 days early.

Interview With Dan Rodrigues - Composer Behind Runbow

Make sure to following Dan Rodrigues on Twitter and remember to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Google Play, or SoundCloud.

Patreon - Galal Hassan Interview

Patreons get interviews early, and the most recent one is with Galal Hassan who spoke about his time developing ARia's Legacy, his time as a game developer, and his experience at E3 and more.

Check it out here!

New Podcast And Interview Up On Patreon

Today we recorded two podcasts. The first was with Alex Bethke where we talked about his extensive game creating history, and his work with Toronto Game Jam. The interview will be up for everyone on Tuesday, but if you're a Patron at the $4+ level you can grab the episode here.

I also recorded a E3/catch up podcast episode with Bret. We went over the games released so far this year, what we've be playing, and our predictions for E3. It'll be up tomorrow, or you can check it out on Patreon if you're at the $1+ level.

Remember to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and Google Play! 

TorontoGameDevs Interview Recap

Hey! So we've done six interviews so far and I wanted to make sure you didn't miss any - here they are!

• Jason Canam after releasing Way of the Passive Fist on PS4, Xbox One, and Steam.
• Twitch Streamer SteelRain27 on his history as a streamer, and thoughts on recent game releases.
• Dan Stopnicki on the release of Skies of Fury DX on Switch.
• Jean and Blair Leggett from One More Story Games discusses their successes with creating narrative focused games.
• Voice Actress Felicia Valenti on his history as a singer and voice actress.
• Indie developer Benjamin Rivers on his games Home, Alone With You, and his next game.

Remember to subscribe on iTunes and Google Play, and Podbean.

And remember that Patron's get the podcast a few days earlier, so head over to our Patron to help support TorontoGameDevs.

Interview -Indie Game Dev Benjamin Rivers

This week on our weekly interview show, I chilled out with Benjamin Rivers. An indie developer here in Toronto, Ben has released Home on PlayStation 4, Vita, iOS, and Steam, as well as Alone With You on PlayStation 4, Vita, and Steam. He is also a teacher, illustrator, and Twitch streamer.

We talked about his history as a gamer, and then game developer, as well as his two releases and teases for his next game. Remember to subscribe on iTunes and Google Play!

This interview was available to Patron's first.

Interview - Voice Actress Felicia Valenti

Interview number five! This week I sat down with voice actress and singer Felicia Valenti, who has done voice work for anime, tv shows, and video games. We go over her history as a opera singer, a gamer, her tips for becoming a voice actress/actor and rant a little bit at the end as well. It's good times. You can check out her work here, and follow her on Twitter here.

Remember to subscribe on iTunes and Google Play!

Interview - Creating Narrative Story-Based Games With One More Story Games

In the midst of Ice Storm 2018, Steve sat down with Blair and Jean Leggett from One More Story Games on their individual history's, starting a studio focused on story-based games, the games they've created and what's in store for the future. 

Remember to subscribe on iTunes and Google Play!

Interview - Skies of Fury DX Developer

Skies of Fury DX is coming out to Switch this week on April 12th, and I was fortunate to site down with Dan Stopnicki, the Chief Innovation Officer at Seed Interactive. In the talk we go over Dan's history as a game developer, talk about Seed Innovation's previous games on mobile, then we go in depth about their first console experience: Skies of Fury DX.

What's it like from going from mobile to Switch? What did they go with Switch, and Skies of Fury? All that a more! Check it out below!

Remember to subscribe on iTunes and Google Play!

Interview - Twitch Streamer SteelRain27

This week I interviewed Toronto Twitch streamer SteelRain27 where we discussed his past, how he got into Twitch streaming, and his thoughts on the state of gaming, specifically what he thinks on Sea of Thieves, and much more.

You can follow him on Twitter and Twitch and check out the interview below. Friendly reminder that Patrons at the $4.00+ level got early access to the interview.

Interview - Jason Canam From Household Games

Our first audio-interview! We've put the podcast on hold for he time being, and instead we'll be doing interview with local developers/people. Bret and I have a few ideas on hand as well.

First up is Jason Canam from Household Games who just recently released Way of the Passive Fist on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Jason and I chat about his time at Drinkbox Studios, starting Household Games, accessibility in games, trophies/achievements and more!

Check it out and remember to subscribe on iTunes.

IGN Interviews Devon On Riverbond - Shows New Gameplay Footage

Devon Wiersma, Game Designer at Cococucumber as well as our own reviewer here at TorontoGameDevs, was interviewed by IGN about their upcoming pixel/voxel RPG Riverbond. In the video he talks about the level design, different characters and more. Devon also confirms a Fall 2017 release for "all consoles and PC".

You can check out the interview below:

Check out GDC 2017 'best in play' winner, Riverbond! Watch the best from IGN here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p_wFVfDxJQ&list=PLE196726F02565118&index=1 Catch the latest game and movie trailers here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMN0IeR7qyg&list=PLraFbwCoisJAvwhU-EjfZNFqj5jlAk8hk&index=1 ------------------------------­---- Follow IGN for more! ------------------------------­---- IGN OFFICIAL APP: http://www.ign.com/mobile FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/ign TWITTER: https://twitter.com/ign INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/igndotcom/?hl=en WEBSITE: http://www.ign.com/ GOOGLE+: https://plus.google.com/+IGN

Interview: Aakaash Rao, Composer For Valley Discusses Creating The Soundtrack And More

A few months ago, I was reached out by Aakaash Rao, the composer for Valley from Blue Isle Studios, asking about an interview. I really dug the soundtrack in Valley so I of course said yes! You can check out the interview below, and a lot of Aakaash's work can be found right here.

TorontoGameDevs.com: Thanks for doing the interview! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? What your role was in creating Valley?

Aakaash: Thanks for reaching out! I’m a game composer based jointly in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Chicago, and I had the privilege to compose the soundtrack for Blue Isle Studios’ Valley.

TorontoGameDevs.com: How long have you been creating music? What other games or projects have you worked on?

Aakaash: I’ve been composing ever since I learned to play piano as a child, but I only got into games a couple of years ago. Since then, I’ve worked on several PC, console, and mobile titles — I particularly enjoy writing story-driven soundtracks for RPGs. One of my larger project, a voxel-based sandbox called Planet Explorers, came out late last year.

Valley just came out on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. I'll have the full review in a week or so, but figured I would give my impressions on the first person adventure. Check out the latest at http://www.torontogamedevs.com/

TorontoGameDevs.com: What was the design process like for Valley? Did you have free range to create the music you thought would fit the mood, or was there specific notes from different members of the team?

In general, I had a lot of creative freedom. One thing I really appreciated about working with Blue Isle is that I had a working build of the game almost from day one — which happens a lot less often than you might think. The game itself was a fantastic source of inspiration, and I’d often hit upon ideas while exploring the landscape or leaping around in the L.E.A.F. suit.

That said, the other two members of the audio team (Brenden, the audio and technical director and Selcuk, the SFX designer) definitely gave me plenty of input through the process. I’ve worked with a lot of big audio teams in the past, and I think there’s definitely a “too many cooks spoil the stew” effect when too many people get involved in the music, but Selcuk and Brenden did a great job of balancing their own visions for the game’s soundtrack with my ideas. The live musicians with whom I worked also gave me some very helpful input, particularly in regards to using world instruments with which I was not familiar.

TorontoGameDevs.com: There's a lot going on in Valley. There are open world elements within forested areas, buildings, underground mines, etc. You get to move really fast, and jump extremely far as you traverse this world, but there is a lot of historical pieces from the 40s told to the player while they are playing. How did this contribute to the overall soundtrack for the game?

One of the biggest challenges in tackling projects of this scope is balancing variety with cohesiveness. You don’t want to bore the player by repeating the same motifs over and over, but you also don't want a complete musical disconnect between the themes associated with different areas. For example, I made a conscious choice to write sweeping orchestral music for the outdoor areas and more distorted, electronic music for the darker indoor environments, but I approached the indoor areas with a mindset of muting and warping the outdoor style rather than selecting a whole different musical palette. Amrita, the theme for the final level and one of my favorite pieces from the soundtrack, blends pads and electronic sounds with some warped live flute.

There’s a lot of subtle melodic and textural motifs weaved into the soundtrack, so the idea is that they help weave the disparate elements together. This is probably more of a subconscious phenomenon — I doubt that most people are listening intently to recognize the musical motifs as the play the game — but I think it does contribute to the player’s immersion. This is most important at the end of the game, where the final track states outright a lot of the themes that previous pieces have been hinting at. As I’m sure your readers who have finished the game can attest, the ending of the game is definitely a cathartic experience, so I hope that the final piece reflects and amplifies the feeling of cleaning and completion.

Valley - Available now! Enter the vast and beautiful world of Valley using the power of the L.E.A.F. Suit: a fierce exoskeleton that grants exceptional speed and agility along with the phenomenal ability to manipulate the life and death of all living things.

TorontoGameDevs.com: In your mind, what game excels with its soundtrack?

I’ve always been a huge fan of Nobuo Uematsu’s work on the early Final Fantasy. These were some of the first games I played, so there’s an element of nostalgia, but I still think it’s absolutely incredible how much emotion he was able to convey under the console’s technical constraints. Arnie Roth’s Distant Worlds albums include some fantastic orchestrations of Uematsu’s work. More recently, I’ve also really enjoyed Austin Wintory’s Journey and Gareth Coker’s Ori and the Blind Forest.

TorontoGameDevs.com: Is there anything else you'd like to tell our readers? What can we look forward to next?

As I mentioned, Planet Explorers came out last year. I’m also currently working on a strategy RPG called Liege, which is a dark, strategy-driven RPG somewhere between Fire Emblem and A Song of Ice and Fire. Now that I’m done with Valley and Planet Explorers, though, I’m keeping my eye out for interesting new projects — I’d love to do a more intimate soundtrack for an RPG or puzzle game.

Thanks so much to Aakaash for taking the time, and remember that Patreon's got access to this interview early. You can check out Valley on Steam, and all of Akaash's work right here.

Exclusive: Allied Games Talks Shadow Heroes: Vengeance In Flames

To go along with our podcast, and the eventual release of Shadow Heroes: Vengeance In Flames, Justin from Allied Games took some time to talk about his life as a game developer, Allied Games, and Shadow Heroes (which you can get on Steam right here).

TorontoGameDevs: Can you tell me a little bit about yourself? What kind of gamer are you?

Well, I’m what indie studios tend to call a unicorn. I’m a programmer who can do art. I went to Seneca college here in Toronto for art. After that I studied programing and game design followed up by some business courses where I focused on project management. In terms of what kind of gamer I am, I’m a big time strategy guy. Real time, turn based you name it. I play Civ for hours on end, love Starcraft and Warcraft, The X series and on a larger scale I play Eve every now and then where you really need a lot of cunning to get ahead. I guess I just like games that require a lot of thinking on your feet. 

TorontoGameDevs: Want to just share with us a little history about Allied Games, what other titles have you worked on?

Well, we didn’t start as Allied Games. At first, we were Darkwave Studios but after a number of the partners decided to move on due to other commitments or burning out, we reincorporated as Allied Games. In the past we worked on a number of mobile projects. Including Xetrix, a pattern recognition based puzzle game, Yummy Rainbow, a color matching casual game, and Shadow Heroes: Chibi Fight, a reflex based game where the characters from shadow heroes duel each other. 

TorontoGameDevs: Getting to Shadow Heroes: Vengeance In Flames, what can you tell us about the game? How does it compare or differ from other strategy games?

Shadow Heroes is not your typical Strategy Game. We started with a concept for gameplay then built a world around it. Not a small world either. We have created a fractured country with a background and history. Generations have passed and mysteries have been uncovered. Shadow Heroes takes place in this fantasy world and has particular impact on the nation of Three Towers. Within the nation of Three Towers, Magic is considered incredibly dangerous and should controlled or destroyed for the safety of all citizens. History is on the nations side as well. The last time a powerful magical artifact fell into untrained hands it twisted the possessors mind and transformed them into a demonic monster who raged havoc on the entire continent. Over the years, Three towers has become more and more strict when it comes to magic. Even those born with ability to use magic where considered dangerous and immediately confiscated by the state to be controlled and monitored for their entire lives. 

Other nations don’t take such a heavy stand on the subject. Some train people with an aptitude to cast defensive spells or spells that would help cultivate the lands. All agree that powerful artifacts are too dangerous and should be locked away. Many such artifacts have been locked away in areas known as monasteries. The collection of magical artifacts in these area permeate the land with magical radiation so only those who have been changed by magic tent to live in these areas and protect the artifacts from looters. People changed by magic in this way are known as Andres.

In the campaign you play as the young Garrison Capitan Armas Vilhelmi who is tasked to protect the southern border town of Faircrown from a freespell rebellion. The freespell believe that all magic should be free to use and all magic users should be left to their own devices. They team up with likeminded combatants in violent rebellion and are trying to gain a foothold in Faircrown.  It is quickly evident that there is more to this rebellion than meets the eye. The rebels are too well equipped and too well organized and it’s your job to get to the bottom of it.

In terms of gameplay, there really isn’t a lot out there like Shadow Heroes. We don’t have typical resource gathering, tech trees, research or base building. We focus on the streamlined battles. We like to call Shadow Heroes a Real-time Battle Manager. You don’t control any units directly. You can’t order units to move to a location or attack a specific target. Instead you build an army and provide formations. You choose who has what equipment and if they should use it all the time or in short bursts for greater effect. You never really take part in the battle directly. The result is a massive Tug-of-War battle where both sides are trying to constantly push through the other sides army as reinforcements come in waves. That doesn’t stop your job from being frantic as you have to split your attention between setting up the reinforcing army and monitoring what the enemy is building so that you can best counter it. 

Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/398670 Allied Games: http://www.alliedgames.co/ Shadow Heroes: http://www.shadowheroes.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlliedGamesInc.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/alliedgames instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alliedgames/

TorontoGameDevs: You guys are currently doing an Early Access on Steam. What made you go that route? Do you recommend that for other game developers? What have you learned from the experience?

 One of the primary goals of early access is to get the community to provide feedback and help shape the game. Going into early access we took this principal to heart. We changed our develop cycle to be hyper agile so that we could quickly act on any feedback we received. We started posting updates every week. Not just development update posts on a website either. Full patches to the game. We take community feedback very seriously. Since we have been working on Shadow Heroes so closely for so long, Things tend to be a bit out of perspective. You know the inner working of the mechanics so learning them is no big deal but to someone who is new to the game it might be completely convoluted. 

Would I recommend early access to other game developers? For sure. While there are worries of people not getting the proper impression of your game because it’s not done, most media outlets won’t really look at early access games. That means you basically just get the early adopters who, usually, understand that the game is not finished yet and there are improvements to be made. Even so, you will get people who don’t like your game and that’s completely alright. Look at their feedback and ask yourself how you can make the game better as a result. If possible engage those users and see if they are willing to work with you to make the game even better. 

We have learned a lot given that this is our first real venture into the PC gaming market. A few of the major misconceptions that I’d love to share would be that simply being on steam didn’t guarantee that you would be seen. There are so many games on steam and since greenlight adds games all the time, you don’t get a lot of time in the spotlight. I also learned that steam is a lot more hands on than I expected. Unlike systems like facebook, Steam is willing to put in change requests for new features and help you make your game a success. It’s not exactly their primary goal and it can take a long time, but at least the option is there. 

Finally, and I get asked this a lot by new developers, is the whole steam greenlight thing. Greenlight is in my opinion incredibly frustrating. I know it sounds strange to hear that but let me explain. When we first went on steam greenlight, we got a ton of votes and everything looked great. Then, out of nowhere, basically nothing. So many people submitted new games in a 24 hour period that we were pushed to page 2 or 3 of the new games on steam greenlight. This was before the new discovery features though so maybe that’s changed. For about 2 weeks we checked on the votes multiple times a day and sat thinking something was wrong. Comparing our game to other titles that went on greenlight the same time as us. Then, again out of nowhere, someone at valve decided to greenlight over 100 games. It was a massive relief but a bit of that triumph had been taken away when we realized just how many games where accepted at the same time as us. It didn’t really leave us knowing if the game was going to be liked by the community or if it was just in the top 100 games on greenlight at the time. With the new discovery systems, I hope that has changed for other developers. I’ll have to see if that’s the case with our next game. 

We're back with episode 60! This time Justin from Allied Games came by to talk about Shadow Heroes: Vengeance In Flames. You can check out the game on Steam here: http://store.steampowered.com/app/398670/ Subscribe on iTunes!: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/video-game-podcast-toronto/id1025606427?mt=2

TorontoGameDevs: What is like working at a game developer in Toronto. How has the game developerment scene in Toronto helped you out? Finding talent, etc.

 Working at an indie studio in Toronto is what I imagine it would be like working essentially anywhere. We have most of our communications online and deal with people all around the world. The good thing about being in Toronto is the number of tech savvy people there are and people who have experience you lack. In our early days we went to events like MaRS and GameOn events by interactive Ontario where we were able to learn a lot and make connections. The schools in the area also provide great talent. We worked with George Brown to provide internships for multiple students and still go back to some of our old interns for freelance work because we know they can do it. Taking some of the work out of the hiring process means a lot. 

TorontoGameDevs: What's next for Allied Games, and Shadow Heroes? 

 The next goal is to launch Shadow Heroes and see how it does In the market. We are going to be releasing the game episodically later this month and are working super hard to makes sure everything works and the early game tutorials are up to snuff. Anyone who purchases the game right now will receive all the future episodes as well. After Shadow Heroes, only time will tell.

TorontoGameDevs: Any last things you want to share? 

A big focus of Allied Games is to help the Indie Community. That’s why we are working with schools, stream our development 3 days a week and actively try and answer peoples questions. So, for anyone out there who has a big idea, wants some insight on the industry or is thinking of the game industry as a career, drop us a message and we will try our best to help. Everything is easier if we work together.

Thanks again to Justin for taking the time to chat with us, and make sure to check out Shadow Heroes: Vengeance In Flames on Steam.