Dean Walshe (Void Bastards) & controversy and excitement for Play Date

Dean Walshe is the 3D Art Lead at Canberra's Blue Manchu and they've just released their comic styled rogue-lite shooter Void Bastards. Looking like the science fiction comic worlds of the 2000AD comics, Void Bastards is a game built by System Shock and Bioshock designers, where every death is a lesson and a progression. Dean shared what it was like to build a game that even after years of working on it was still a blast for him to play. Void Bastards is available now on PC and Xbox One. Well it was dropped into the world with much fanfare, the tiny yellow handheld called Play Date by software developer and publisher Panic made a big splash. Featuring an unconventional design, it got people equally excited and confused, but not without first causing a bit of controversy with a naming clash for an event featuring marginalised creators. Is the Play Date a gimmick, or has it changed the game? Pixel Sift is produced by Scott Quigg, Sarah Ireland, Fiona Bartholomaeus & Mitch Loh. Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Salty Dog Sounds for some of our promo music this week. SPONSOR: Thank you to Murdoch University School of Arts for their support over every single episode of Pixel Sift. We couldn't have done it without you. If you want to bolster your skills in media, journalism or game development, check out the Murdoch University School of Arts website for more information! You can find us on social media, Discord, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and Steam. Just search for "pixelsift"Support the show: https://sifter.store