This week on Pixel Sift we had to do without our fearless leader Gianni. In his absence Mitch took the helm along with guest presenter Brad Power. A long-time friend of Pixel Sift, Brad is a lecturer in Games Art and Design at Murdoch University.

 We started off on a grimmer tone, with a discussion on how the Australian Government has recently cut funding to the arts, which may see many of the indie studios that benefit from more general arts funding losing out. 

Earlier this week we spoke to Lisa Evans, a PHD candidate at Murdoch University and developer with Stirfire Studios. Lisa was kind enough to share her knowledge on implementing video games in research, and how that research will help with teaching people about science. Lisa is looking for more participants so if you have a moment to contribute, or you'd like to learn more about Lisa’s project visit her website to sign up.

With game betas getting more publicity every year you could be forgiven for mistaking a beta period for the actual retail release. As more resources are being thrown at all-inclusive beta programs, are players wearing themselves out on the unfinished product only to pass on the game when it really hits the shelves? Brad Power helped us out with some industry insight into the matter.

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