Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!: Recent Episodes
Ellen, Stephen, and Mark
In this episode Mark talks about an awesome Game Jam he is planning in association with Global Game Jam - Listeners in the Midwest or the UK (or have the ability to get there) can make a game on a train in Junction Jam.
Mark rants about his new apartment, Stephen realizes that the purpose of this podcast is to rant and Lydia imagines what it would be like to have a following on YouTube, then waffles on sharing her social media TTRP in these show notes (let her know i the discord or feedback form if you want this)
Mark philosophizes about the artist's intent vs the receiver's experience. Lydia compares Slay the Spire to Slay the Spire 2.
- Junction Jam
- Junction Jam
- The clubhouse discussed Junction Jam in"We need more train service in this country." What We Did On Our Winter Break (2025-26)
- Mark's apartment
- Lydia rediscovers a game she made, and then she waffles on sharing it with everyone. If you want to see her materials, you can ask on the discord or the feedback form.
Story Players Won't SeeHe Won't Stop Making a Map to an Imaginary PlacePeople Make GamesYouTubeJerry's MapPolish Priorities
In this week's episode, the Nice Hosts want to make this year's IDGATC summer picnic the very best, like no picnic ever was. Lydia brings to the table a game that relies on knowing nothing about Pokémon, Mark accuses her of knowing too much about Pokémon, and Stephen does his best as their acting Person-Who-Knows-Pokémon (nicegames.club/feedback). Will they make a game in time to play that weekend? Stay tuned as the journey continues.
- Strange Finds (demo) - Steam
- Pinfinity
- Not-Game-of-Thrones Puzzle Room - Trapped Puzzle Rooms
- Puzzle Works Escape Co.
PromptTurn the Pokemon guessing game Lydia plays with her husband into a party game in time for the IDGATC summer picnic.Game typeTabletop gamePlayer count6+MaterialsElectronic device (laptop or phone)
Random Pokémon Generator (we use randompokemonpicker.com)
Grid of possible Pokémon pictures and names
SetupDivide into two teams of at least 3 people. The two Team Captains stand in front facing both teams.
Distribute the list of the possible Pokémon to the players, either physically or digitally.
Team Captains pull up the random generator on their device.
If you'd like to play at home, here is the graphic Lydia made for the IDGATC picnic, complete with rules and round order:
Rules* Gen 1, Kanto region, Unevolved, Default version Pokémon only * Two teams, 3+ people each, not including Team Captains * Both team are trying to guess the same, randomly selected Pokémon * Only Team Captains can see the selected Pokémon * Team Captains must know as little about Pokémon as possible * Team Captains may not reveal obvious physical characteristics in their initial description * 1 correctly guessed Pokémon = 1 point * First team to 2 points wins!
Round Order:
- Team A asks their Captain "Who that Pocket Monster?"
- Team A's Captain describes the Pokémon in a humerous, vibes-based way
- Team A may ask 1 obvious yes/no question about the Pokémon and it's appearance. If the Captain can't answer the question, they will say so and the team may ask a different one.
- Team A guesses which Pokémon their Captain is describing
- If correct, Team A gets a point and a new Pokémon is chose. If incorrect, the process repeats for Team B
Repeat steps 1-4 until a Team guesses the Pokémon correctly.
If the rounds are dragging on, the Team Captains may reveal the Pokémon and take a point (bragging rights) for themselves
In addition to the topics of this episode, we also revisit Lydia's bachelorette party game made in a previous episode! Listen to find out how it went, as well as the fascinating conversations your hosts talk through.
- We talked through Lydia's bachelorette party game in this Nice Thinking episode.Bachelorette Weekend Dinner Quest
0:12:23Discussing Scope0:32:06Inspiration Though ResearchValetWikipediaThe examples Lydia brings up in the show. More examples in the link below!1980-1989Karina ReddyFashion History Timeline
This week's guest has good advice, harsh truths, hard numbers, and a big smile. Amir Satvat, tireless advocate and resource-provider for game developers looking for work via his organization ASGC (Always Supporting the Games Community), enters the clubhouse to help your nice hosts wrap their minds around a difficult job market.
The Job MarketIRLAlways Supporting the Games Community homepageASGC Discord serverAmir Satvat - LinkedInGame Industry Coffee Chat Discord server
In this episode Lydia discusses how best to make all her friends hangry by making them do puzzles before releasing food. By which I mean, she got Stephen and Mark to do her work for her.
So, if you were part of the weekend of puzzles and quests that Lydia was preparing for, please tell us how Stephen and Mark did, at nicegames.club/feedback.
- Lydia got Mark a present, which the clubhouse audibly reacts to, but never describes. This is it:
Puzzeling the BachelorettesRebus
Rebus generatorfestisiteRebus generatorEduPicsPuzzle completion
Seatbelts, everyone! This week the Nice Hosts talk vehicles, which apparently means more than just cars. That's good news because none of them know much about cars (hopefully Nice Guest and vehicle specialist, Kris Roberts doesn't notice). So pile on in and buckle up: we're going to talk about the challenges of capturing the feel of a vehicle with video game inputs, what a solid vehicle system needs at a minimum, and the hobbyist racing scene.
Vehicle DesignGame DesignProductionProgrammingKris shared a couple photos of his sports car with us.His car, at another angle.Kris Roberts's Website - Kris RobertsSim Racing Streamers
After the supersized meta of this episode, your nice hosts discover (or rediscover in some cases) the joy of part-time work, and contemplate the intricacies of hints for games.
- Lydia gave this card to Stephen for his graduation party!
- Gabe Korth was mentioned during the meta, recently found in this Nice Games Jam episode!Repair-ent
0:22:45Part-time WorkSpeculative workWikipediaHintChicory: A Colorful TaleWishes Unlimited Games
Your nice hosts have talked a lot over the years about exploitative game design, and this week we brought in an expert on gamification to lay out some of the dark patterns in games that take players' money and time via deceptive framing and UX.
- https://samliberty.com
- Sam Liberty - Medium
- Sam Liberty - LinkedIn
Dark PatternsGame DesignWhy “Addictive” Gameplay Should Never Be The Goal - Lydia Symchych, ELB LearningHEXAD FrameworkAddiction by Design - Natasha Dow SchüllTiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything - BJ FoggHow to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be - Katy MilkmanHow dating apps weaponized loneliness against their users - Sam Liberty
In this episode, Yuri Lowenthal, prolific actor and Insomniac's Spider-Man, web-crawls into the clubhouse and does whatever a spider can, assuming a spider can talk into a microphone about the art of acting in video games. Mark explores the difference between screen acting and voice acting, Lydia takes comfort in the fact that when you have a team supporting you, you’re not going to mess it up on your own, and Stephen learns that snipping an Achilles tendon is a finishing move.
Working with Voice Actors AudioYuri Lowenthal on BlueskyYuri Lowenthal on Instagram - Instagram
Warm weather is on the way and you need to stay hydrated. As a start, take a sip of water every time you hear the phrase "in the 90's." This week we're learning about Interactive Fiction - its history, communities, and transformations over the years - from living archive of the medium, Andrew Plotkin. As a bonus, Stephen discovers that he isn't the only one who is wrong about things!
Credit for this episode's extra-thorough show notes goes to Andrew. Thanks, Andrew!
Interactive Fiction CommunitiesEventsIRLNarrativeColossal Cave Adventure - William Crowther and Donald Woods, The Interactive Fiction DatabaseThe Visible Zorker: Zork 1Interactive Fiction Competition (ongoing since 1995!) - Interactive Fiction CompetitionInform IF language launched around 1993 (https://www.inform-fiction.org/). You can find the modern version at https://inform7.com/ This allowed people to create games for Infocom’s original Z-machine, which was invented as a proprietary system in 1979 but is now open-source.The modern version of the IF community's FTP site - Interactive Fiction ArchiveInteractive Fiction Technology FoundationNarrascope ConferenceTwine - Chris Klimas, TwineryRise of the Video Game Zinesters - Anna Anthropy, AmazonThe Cuddled Little Vice (Sandman) - Elizabeth Sandifer, Eruditorum PressAndrew's Interactive Fiction and Game recommendations - IFcomp 2025 winners- Type Help- Roottrees are dead- Return of the Obra Dinn- Murder at the Birch Tree Theater
We talk of the old and the new in this episode, where we sort of revisit a long ago discussed topic and bring in a new topic for our (and your) perusal.
- Lydia, Mark and Dale (not Stephen) finishing Video Game Mayhem...
- ... and Wizard's Tower in record time!
- Trapped Puzzle Rooms
- MPS Community Education
- Lydia's family sewing machine!
0:09:39Exhibiting Your Game0:39:39Design InvestigationsReading backwards: Reading against the grainKatherine FirthResearch Degree Insiders
We welcome August Brown back into the clubhouse once more to discuss healthy criticism in the workplace, and how to foster that environment in your spaces.
Healthy CriticismProductionHotel Infinity - Studio ChyrNo Hard Feelings - Liz Fosslien & Mollie West Duffy, Portfolio
How is it April? The episodes have been so long lately it feels like it should be more than two months since the hiatus ended. As a countermeasure, the Nice Hosts have another set of roundtable topics to break up your week and retune the time dilation. Stephen tries hard not to talk about fighting games, Lydia ponders the nature of instructions, and everyone talks a lot more about Mario than they thought they would.
0:01:41Characterization Through MechanicsWe talked about characterization in Smash on a previous episode."I’m intrigued by big door."Lewis ChessmenWikipedia0:29:24Tutorials vs. InstructionsThe "tutorial" Lydia encountered at work that inspired this topic.
All of your regular hosts finally make it into the clubhouse again to present to you a roundtable! After a fairly lengthy meta (it's been a long time y'all, but all interesting stuff!), we expose elements of 3D lighting and discuss an internet meme that's maybe relevant for game development.
- No Kings Protests
- Erin Macdonald YouTube Channel - Erin Macdonald, YouTube
- GURPS Prime Directive Core Rulebook - Steve Jackson Games
0:26.123D LightingWe previously had Mark's friend and colleague Mike on to workshop Ladder Game.Ladder GameUniversal Render Pipeline documentationUnitySG Series Part 1: A Brief (and Incomplete) History of Baked Lighting Representa…MJPThe Danger ZoneReflectors: Your Secret Weapon for Amazing Portrait PhotographyOded WagensteinDigital Photography School0:58.43Menus vs Parkourmenus and parkourimGhostKittyRedditSave Room - Organization PuzzleFractal ProjectsSteam
WARNING: This episode is even longer than last week's! Settle into the back half of GDC 2026 with tales from your nice hosts about interesting talks, the "new" Festival Hall, what it feels like to be up for multiple major industry awards, running into people you know for the first time, and flying home to a impending snowstorm.
- In this Patreon-exclusive video, Lydia thought to mark her first GDC by capturing her first impressions of the conference's Festival Hall. Sign up at any level for instant access or, if you're not ready to enter a financial relationship with the program, you can purchase it à la carte!
0:02:44GDC 2026 - (Dale's) Monday/TuesdayWeaponized Play: How Extremist Networks are Targeting Children in Online GamesKatia Potapov, Rita Fabi, Jang Kim, Jessa MelleaGame Developer ConferencePage to Booth: Table-Reading and Performance Recording Live DemoAlexa Ray Corriea, Sam Maggs, Ben Starr, Jennifer Hale, Khris Brown, Amanda Rose SmithGame Developer Conference0:09:34GDC 2026 - WednesdayRules of the Game 2026: Revealing Techniques from Resourceful DesignersGame Developer ConferenceImprov Games for Game DevelopersRez GrahamGame Developer ConferenceDecolonizing Play and the Rise of African Game Development (2013-2026)Eyram TawiaGame Developer ConferenceSerious Games RoundtableMatthew Lee, Kathleen YinGame Developer Conference'SILENT HILL f': The Challenges of Creating a Melee-Only Horror GameAl YangGame Developer ConferenceTest Like the Top Studios: Actionable Player Insights in 60 MinutesHeather De BernardiGame Developer ConferenceThe IGF 2026 Winners Are An Exceptional Selection Of Indie Games You’re Going T…John WalkerKotakuTrump administration's "cruel and unnecessary" acts called out by Titanium Cour…Mark WarrenRock Paper Shotgun0:56:54GDC 2026 - ThursdayBuilding a Critically Acclaimed Licensed Game in 18 MonthsAmanda FaroughGame Developer ConferenceXbox Gaming for Everyone Community Networking Lounge Returns to GDC 2026MIcrosoftNobody Reads Anything: How Narrative Can Communicate So Other Disciplines Actua…Mark Slutsky, Laura Michet, Kevin SnowGame Developer ConferenceVeterans Q&A for New Writers and Narrative DesignersGame Developer ConferenceGaming the System: Creating Your Own Path to a Narrative Design CareerZoe Calamar, Luca Azenaro-AceroGame Developer Conference Worst.Game.Ever. Fixing Diabetes Management with a Video GameSam GlassenbergGame Developer Conference1:33:03GDC 2026 - FridayDigital Folklore: Crafting Playable Memory Through Photogrammetry and Animation…Verda MunirGame Developer ConferenceSan Francisco Railway Museum & Gift ShopThe Dialogue Design Panel: A Role with a Million NamesCharles Pateman, Kareem Shuman, Monet Gardiner, Heather Plunkard-SergeGame Developer ConferenceTop 10 Ways to Get Your Game Ready For SuccessShawn Alexander AllenGame Developer ConferenceLive Sky Sound Bath and MeditationthatgamecompanyInstagramEssential Debugging Skills for Every DeveloperRez GrahamGame Developer ConferenceExperimental Games ShowcaseGame Developer ConferenceExperimental Games Showcase DemosGame Developer Conference
This year's GDC Special is a big one. So big that this episode is over 2 hours long... and it's only part 1 (but your nice hosts don't know that yet)!
0:15:49GDC 2026 - Monday GDC Encounters: Speed Networking Day 1Game Developer ConferenceThe Tension: Designing for Discomfort in 'Wanderstop'Steven MargolinGame Developer ConferenceThe Black Designers' Dilemma"Carl Varnado, Jabari Ali, Jarory DeJesus, Evan Narcisse"Game Developer ConferenceThe Games Industry Social (aka: GIG IRL)Media Indie Exchange (aka: The MIX)DogpileToot GamesGame Funding: Lessons from Outersloth"Victoria Tran, Forest Willard"Game Developer ConferenceOutersloth reveals its game funding agreement with developersAlex Forbes-CalvinGamesIndustry.bizFrom Beautiful to Playable: Texture Compression Secrets Every Game Artist Shoul…Jad DeebGame Developer ConferenceFour Artists Use Substance 3D to Texture 'Clair Obscur: Expedition 33'"Alan Reynaud, Mathieu Costat"Game Developer ConferenceGDC 101"Sam Warnke, Natalie Sam"Game Developer ConferenceFrom Reliable to Respected: Breaking Free of the Good Job TrapCecile HemeryGame Developer ConferenceEstablishing the Standards and Practices of Game Preservation"Garrett Fredley, Andrew Borman"Game Developer ConferenceFresh Grad to Art Director: My Journey at 'Love and Deepspace'Xianzi FengGame Developer ConferenceCutscene Pipeline in 'Love and Deepspace'"Xianyu Wang, Ji Zhang"Game Developer Conference1:06:09GDC 2026 - TuesdayGame Education Roundtable Day 1Game Developer ConferencePraise the Architect and Pass the Ammunition: Health & Damage in 'The Outer Wor…Game Developer Conference'Civilization VII': Impactful UI Sound Design at ScaleKadet KuhneGame Developer ConferenceWhy We Still Believe: A Conversation with Amir SatvatAmir SatvatGame Developer ConferenceAlways Supporting (the) Games CommunityAmir Satvat3rd Annual Game Developer's ConcertAustin WintoryGame Developer ConferenceTechnical Artists Roundtable (20th Year)!!! Day 1Jeff HannaGame Developer ConferenceThe Modular and Expressive World Art of 'Keeper'Nick MaksimGame Developer ConferenceLocal Game Community Organizers ForumMarlena Abraham, Michael Lee, Daniel Lin, Laia BeeGame Developer ConferenceTiny ConSociety of PlayBlack in GamingSo Your Game Got Cancelled: Navigating Personal Development and Career OutcomesMark LaCroixGame Developer ConferenceSince we recorded this episode, a major South Korean gaming website wrote up a very detailed recap of Mark's roundtable. [English Machine Translation]
MAR10 Day returns with festivities for fans of all ages in honor of the Super M…NintendoWhy Good Games Fail: The Startup Audit Every Studio NeedsLucien ParsonsGame Developer Conference'despelote': Capturing the Feeling of 2001 Quito, EcuadorJulian CorderoGame Developer Conference
In this Episode, Ian once again joins the clubhouse as Dale and Mark are off on a nerdy vacation. Lydia wrestles with the term "cozy," and Stephen does some self exploration to determine why so-called cozy games make him more stressed out. Then, he creates a whole topic just to talk about the fast travel system in Dragon’s Dogma 2.
- Stephen pitched Sledgehammer Bride to Melanated Games Kitchen.
- Melanated Game Kitchen
- The clubhouse hosted a Nice Thinking episode about Sledgehammer bride back in episode 240 Nice Thinking: "Sledgehammer Bride"
- Lydia and Ian went to Con of the North
- Con of the North
- Lydia and Ian are playing Blippo+
- Mark was a developer on the PC version of Blippo+ which is a 2026 IGF award finalist.
- Blippo+
0:09:15Cozy Games0:38:26Fast TravelDragon's Dogma 2
Watch out, Clubhouse! Evil Games Club is out of the air vents and back in orbit to interrupt your regularly scheduled Nice Programming.
Five years in the vacuum of space haven't dulled their ne're-do-well nature one bit. In fact, they just intercepted a game jam prompt from one of the Nice Hosts. Will Dale, Ian, and Sam prove once and for all that Evil trumps Nice?
Well, duh, of course they do! >:)
- The last appearance of the Evil Hosts.Evil Games Jam: Casino Go Fish
- Junction Jam Interest Form
- Mewgenics - Steam
- Axios Twin Cities, the folks who are cataloguing the Twin Cities' store cats - Audrey Kennedy
PromptMake a game about what actually happens when "the Cat Distribution System is at work." Matchmaking can be a secondary mechanic, but it should not be the focus.Game typeDesign documentPlayer count1SetupRulesNotes:
- Working title: Cat Comms
- What is the goal?
- Cats on a journey through an environment to find owners
- Different cats have different movement behaviors
- Torties need to meet twice
- Orange ones ignore herder but follow food
- Black cats are shy
- Single player - one person “herding” multiple cats
- Herding through an urban environment
- People (NPCs) have routes and different behaviors
- Grandma moves slow
- Jogger moves fast
- People going back and forth - work, library, grocery store, home
- Mechanics
- One-time use items
- Food for bait (burger, canned sardines from grocery store)
- Fire truck to block street
- Dogs
- More cats than people, some people may want more than one cat
- “End of level” time runs out or cats just kinda leave?
- More cats than people
- Cats get more chaotic/mischievous
- How to herd?
- Real-time movement, but you can select a cat to tell it its next move, but it keeps moving after that
- Map is a small town, each level introduces new cat types
- One-time use items
- Iterations
- Ragdoll cat - doesn’t move much
- People who can’t be tracked
- Bonus points for people getting their perfect cat
- No upgrades to your skills, just adding more challenges
- Matchmaking is secondary
- Any cat could match with any person, but they have a perfect match somewhere
- Dogs are a no cat zone
- Grocery store could match with a cat (bodega cat)
While Mark is off on a Star Trek cruise, the rest of your nice hosts invite Lydia's husband Ian Peters to discuss tabletop games, specifically RPGs! We've split this supersized episode and topic into three different acts for your listening pleasure.
0:01:58Holistic Connection of Theme and MechanicBlades in the DarkEvil Hat ProductionsGURPS: Generic Universal RolePlaying SystemSteve Jackson GamesThirsty Sword LesbiansEvil Hat ProductionsDialect: A Game About Language and How It DiesThorny Games0:33:41DiceCall of Cthulhu RPGChaosium Inc.Does a crit always mean success?MolaschiRedditDread the RPGThe Impossible DreamKids on BikesHunters Entertainment1:00:28FlexibilityLydia had talked about tabletop mechanics in her Untitled Memory Mechanic Nice Thinking episodeUntitled Memory MechanicCitizen SleeperJump Over The AgeSteam
Your nice hosts had an eventful time off from new episodes, but now they're back! So yeah, this is a long one...
What The Show Did on Winter Break (2025-26)Boot the Dispute - a thing that solves your problems!YouTubeArt & Fear Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of ArtmakingDavid Bayles and Ted OrlandLydia's WebsiteGlomNice Games ClubWhat Each of Us Did On Winter Break (2025-26)IDGATC Global Game Jam 2026Global Game JamThe first recorded character exploration of Henle, Lydia's D&D character, written over a year before the campaign started.Lydia finally started acting on the feedback the Nice Hosts gave on the memory mechanic she developed for D&D 5eUntitled Memory MechanicWebinar | Whose Game Is It Anyway? Live Learning Game Design ImprovYouTubeJunction Jam interest formStar Trek: The Cruise Blippo+
The 50 best games of 2025PolygonThe 12 Best Video Games Of 2025KotakuThe best games of 2025AV ClubThe 25 Best Games Of 2025, RankedInverseThe Besties game of the year 2025 is...The BestiesBaby Steps leads 28th annual IGF Awards nominationsChris KerrGame DeveloperThe New York Game Awards 2026 Winners Have Been Revealed!Philip WatsonCGMagazine
417Reinventing GDCInterview2025.11.27After the discussion, DeLoura turned the tables on your nice hosts and asked a question of his own. It didn't fit into the episode, but we saved it and put it up as a Patreon exclusive bonus segment!
Mark DeLoura's decades-long career in games includes roles ranging from Nintendo engineer to White House senior advisor. A longtime and passionate developer advocate, this year he's been tapped to help reinvent the industry's largest annual gathering, GDC.
DeLoura outlines the changes coming to this year's conference, defines what "festival" means in the context of GDC, and previews the ambitious goals for its future. But your nice hosts also raise concerns about the elimination of the lowest-priced passes, the accessibility of new programming, and the critical issue of attendee safety now that more official GDC events serve alcohol.
Whether you have or are planning to attend GDC, are one of its critics, or just want to know more about how the industry creates and manages its community, this episode is a must-listen.
Your nice hosts will be at GDC 2026, March 9th - 13th, 2026 in San Francisco. Look for our annual GDC special episode(s) then.Mark DeLoura on BlueskyMark DeLoura on LinkedInHITLab - Human Interface Technology Lab - University of WashingtonGame Programming Gems - Mark DeLouraDr. Miguel Luengo-Oroz (MalariaSpot) - Online game & crowdsourcing & malaria - The International Society for Neglected Tropical Diseases, YouTubeAbout FoldItVideo games owe a lot to President Obama's administration - Brian Crecente, PolygonMark DeLoura also co-hosts a podcast! His weekly gaming news/discussion show, Boss Rush, is available on YouTube!
After the discussion, DeLoura turned the tables on your nice hosts and asked a few questions of his own. It didn't fit into the episode, but we saved it and put it up as a Patreon exclusive bonus segment!
Reinventing GDCThe annual Game Developers Conference is changing - Michael McWhertor, PolygonCannes Lions International Festival of Creativity - WikipediaBlack Hat - Upcoming EventsGDC Passes & Pricing - Game Developer ConferenceSeattle Indies SLICECalling partners for GDC 2026! - Game DeveloperGames Industry GatheringFemale Game Devs Open Up About Harassment And Drink Spiking At GDC - Ahmad Hassan, RespawnFirstAmir Satvat's Games Jobs Resources
393"I’m intrigued by big door."Roundtable2025.06.12Mark rushes through the introduction to talk about his two rush projects, one of which, Blippo+, was announced on Sunday during the PC Gaming Show! You'll hear more about that next week, but until then, Lydia talks about feeling seen in Anime, Stephen laments that his filmmaking class has not only ruined movies for him, but also music, and Dale does a good job editing out Lydia’s coughs.
Blippo+, coming to PC and Switch this fall!You Need To See FMV Cable TV Simulator Blippo+ - Wesley LeBlanc, Game InformerEmotional Effects of MusicStephen McGregorAudioA New Foe Has Appeared!Lydia SymchychMisc.
381Dinosaurs of North DakotaNice Games Jam2025.03.13The clubhouse gets Cretaceous this week; your nice hosts have been challenged to create a game about dinosaurs and their feeding habits.
PromptMake a game about the feeding habits of dinosaurs or of paleontologists, bonus points if all the dinosaurs are from the same era.Game typeDesign documentPlayer count1Rules* Cretaceous period + Flowering plants evolved here + Early mammals here too + Velociraptors too! * Different sized dinosaurs * Name: Dinosaurs of North Dakota + Play as big (T-rex), small (dog-sized) and medium (triceratops) + Survive a day as each of these creatures + Order of play - Medium first (herbivore) - Big next (T-rex) - Small last (scavenger) - Then Paleontologist discovers (eats chicken with a PLASTIC fork) + Where you die determines how preserved the bones are during the paleontology phase - If you want more preserved bones you have to choose to not live as long (due to how the preservation works) + Gameplay - Play as the different creatures, the player chooses when that phase of the game ends * Can also end after a certain time played - Then you swap to a new creature and play as them, choosing when to end - When you get back to a creature, time has passed and things are different in the world (partly due to player influence from other creatures) * Player knocking down trees might be knocked down in future scenes, eating a lot of plants may make the area sparse in the future - Keep playing as the different creature until enough time has passed - Afterwards, play as a paleontologist and rediscover what you’ve done - Record what you’ve done with the knowledge the paleontologist has (and not the player), so it won’t actually be accurate to the player’s playthrough - Based on what the player’s done, it can affect what things the paleontologist will be able to say about the state of things after
405Fishing Minigame CollectionNice Thinking2025.09.04Stephen Business is back! And he’s attempting to make a meme into a reality. The clubhouse attempts to answer these (and other) questions:
- How many fishing minigames is too many fishing minigames?
- Is it okay to shoot fish with lasers?
- Who are those teenagers with emo hair in the Bentley?
- Should Stephen make something on the Playdate?
- Why do people go fishing?
- Does anyone actually like fishing? You can wishlist 'Blippo+' on Steam! - SteamFishingStephen McGregorGamingLydia kicked of this topic with a comment an episode, maybe this one?Revisiting Your GamesFishing Minigame Meme - RedditLydia learned about noodling from this youtube channel - Bon Appetit, YouTubeFeeding time at a Fish Hatchery is bonkers! - YouTubeLydia's nice list of games with fishing minigames
Tales of ArisePokemonAnimal CrossingStardew ValleyLegend of Zelda (many)SkyrimKirby The Forgotten LandVerdant SkiesSpiritfarerRed Dead Redemption 2Final Fantasy (many)Sonic FrontiersFar Cry 5Hades
3963D Workflows for Indie DevsInterview2025.07.03We welcome Freya Holmér back into the clubhouse to talk about 3D game development for independent game developers. We get into the specifics of the tools available for devs and why they work and don't work for different teams, but it's mostly an excuse to talk about Freya's new 3D modeling software.
Half-Edge - Freya HolmérShapes - Freya Holmér, Unity Asset StoreShader Forge - Freya Holmér, GitHub3D Workflows for Indie DevsGame DesignToolsUI / UXValve Hammer Editor - Valve Developer CommunityPicoCAD - Johan Peitz, itch.ioTrenchBroom - GitHubCrocotile 3DWhat’s the difference between OBJ and FBX? And when to you what - Reddit
391"The things that create the geometry."Roundtable2025.05.29Your nice hosts all secured a Switch 2 pre-order... from a certain point of view. Then, Stephen examines the body, Mark attempts a vocabulary, and Lydia has recommendations.
Chants of Sennaar - WikipediaNintendo Switch 2 preorders were a total mess — at first - Jay Peters, The VergeMissed out on a Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order? GameStop and Best Buy will have mo… - Demi Williams, TechRadarWhat Happened With Future Club0:22:17Stephen McGregorIRLProductionPart-Time Hero Campaign Ending - Future Club, KickstarterDesign Surface Area0:48:57Mark LaCroixGame DesignRubber duck debugging - Wikipedia
384Time Traveler Estate SaleNice Games Jam2025.04.10Roles reverse as Dale joins Stephen and Lydia for a Nice Game Jam prompted by Mark. The results are an antiques-fueled jaunt through time, and an unexpected win for Stephen.
Costcodle - Zak Kermitz, CostcodleTimeline Inventions - Zygomatic, ZygomaticHypodermic Needles - Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine, Maximum FunPrompt"Come up with a game where the winner is the player who gets (or gets closest to) a certain amount of points, but that amount changes from round to round. Hard mode variant: the players don’t always know what the amount is."Game typeTabletop gamePlayer count2-8MaterialsSet of item cards from various years
10 chips for each player
Set of years/events
Timer
Setup Place 8 item cards on the table easily accessible for all players. * Pick a random year/event. * Set timer for 1 minute. Rules Start the timer to start the round * While the timer runs, players place chips on items to bid on them * When the timer runs out, the player with the most chips on an item gets that item. In a tie, no one gets an item and it gets added to the pool during the next round * Items that are earned get their times revealed, player closest to the chosen year/event wins * Play repeats for three rounds, player with the most round wins wins the game
388Video Game IP LawInterview2025.05.08Your nice hosts get a crash course on video game IP law from lawyer and MinnMax cohort, Haley MacLeon. We learn about incorporating, publishing agreements, the difference between a lot of commonly used terms like "copyright", and the joys of contract templates.
MinnMax - MinnMaxGame Informer Revival - Game InformerVideo Game IP LawMarketingMisc.ProductionThe $10 Million Lawsuit That Hinges On An Oxford Comma - Anna King, NPRVideo Game Publishing Agreement Market Report 2025 - Kellen Voyer & Haley MacLean, Voyer Law Corporation
399"Half trash compactor, half empty."Roundtable2025.07.24Ellen's back for a serendipitously in-sync pair of metacognition-rich roundtable topics. In this episode, Lydia shares a chapter from one of her favorite books and tries to explain ganache while Stephen laments how easy it is to duct tape on features instead of solving problems. Together they discover four brains are better than one when it comes to figuring out how to get out of your head.
Composting0:09:56Lydia SymchychMisc.Writing Down the Bones - Natalie GoldbergBonbon - WikipediaThe Croissant Express diner mentioned in the book, formerly located on the corner of the Uptown Theater building.Overdesigning0:36:00Stephen McGregorGame DesignMuralMirovia. "Writing at Night: Lewis Carroll, John Milton, and Me" by Mike Mason. https://www.mikemasonbooks.com/writing-at-night-lewis-carroll-john-milton-and-me/
375Digital Escape RoomsInterview2024.11.28All of your hosts are together in the Clubhouse for a special interview! Lydia Symchych is an impact game designer who has been working with Ellen over the last year. Today, she shares her experience of making an escape room that needed to be rendered in both "physical" and and digital environments. Also, sound effects and pillows.
In the USA, November 28th is Thanksgiving Day, and November 29th is National Native American Heritage Day. Happy holidays, if you're in the USA—and if you're not, we hope you have something to be thankful for. 💖
Digital Escape RoomsGame DesignArticulate Storyline 360HyperCard - WikipediaExhibit Design - WikipediaEscape Room Races with the Lads - Northernlion, YouTubeEscaping a Room of Terrors - GameGrumps, YouTube
In this end-of-year tradition, your nice hosts talk about the games they played and the things that they accomplished in 2025, as well as the games they're excited to play and the things they hope to do in 2026.
Stephen and Mark both had an up and down year and both picked predictable nicests (if you know anything about them), while Lydia realizes that she missed the show's orientation day.
- For 2025, Lydia made a Bingo card instead of making resolutions.
0:03:002025 AccomplishmentsMark
Blippo+Nice Games AllianceGDC 2026 Speakers - Mark LaCroixStephen
Stephen successfully helped run an unsuccessful Kickstarter campaign, which he detailed in:"The things that create the geometry."Melanated Game KitchenLydia
Lydia joined the podcast this year! Her first episode as a permanent host was in the ironically titled"More Ellen in the future." What We Did On Our Winter Break (2024-25)Lydia went from a contractor to a full-time employee!0:18:002025 "Nicest" GamesLydia
Word PlayGame Maker's ToolkitSteamMy SimsWikipediaAge of Mythology: RetoldWikipedia(Honorable Mention) PeakWikipedia(Honorable Mention) Axolotl with a GunBright Bard Gamesitch.ioMark
Mario Kart WorldNintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour(Honorable Mention) Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2Stephen
Kirby Air Riders Blue Prince(Honorable Mention) Root (Honorable Mention) 2XKO0:36:402026 Most Anticipated GamesLydia
Slay The Spire 2Steam(hopeful) Tales of the Abyss RemakeWikipedia(hopeful) Persona 6RedditMark
Big WalkWikipediaSuper Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park …NintendoMark is hopeful, but not expecting, that Super Mario Galaxy 3 might be announced for Super Mario Bros.' 40th anniversary.Stephen
Stephen is always wishing for another Kirby gameNioh 30:47:222026 ResolutionsHear more on last year's resolutions in:Nicest of 2024Stephen
- Make stuff and be creative.
- Go to GDC.
- Get a job or work towards getting projects in Melanated Game Kitchen that are equivalent to a full time job.
-
Get or make progress on his degree. We interviewed a developer from Melanated Game Kitchen in:Mental Health and DiscriminationMark
-
Finish playing Chants of Senaar.
- Get out of post-release rut.
- Release something in 2026, such as Operators, Noble Tools, or anything else.
- Keep working for/on Nice Games Alliance and get grant funding.
- Organize a large indie developer community project or event.
- Maybe bring Blippo+ to other consoles.
-
Bring a project to pitch at GDC. Lydia
-
Go to GDC.
- Work on her website.
- Developer another escape room project.
- Make a game that features environmental storytelling.
- Play more games.
Part 3 of what your nice hosts are calling "Giving Lydia Therapy," we get into Lydia's thoughts on calling herself an artist and what it may mean to think of yourself in this way.
- Straight Line Was A Lie - The Beths, Bandcamp
- The ADA: Your Responsibilities as an Employer - U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
0:13:28Lydia is an ArtistPart 2 of "Giving Lydia Therapy""I saw a Beatle."Part 1 of "Giving Lydia Therapy""Argue with me, I guess."Platforms and EcosystemsBlippo+PanicAn unsettling indie game about horses keeps getting banned from storesAsh ParrishThe VergeGamers really overestimated the sales of the Steam Deck...MewWeebTwoReddit
Lots of thinking about thinking in this episode as the Nice Hosts attempt to define some core concepts to gameplay. What even is a game? Interactivity? Play? A failstate?!
Buckle in for an intellectual conversation, and remember to go to nicegames.com/feedback to tell Stephen exactly why he's wrong about any of it.
- Word Play - Steam
- This Is Minnesota Orchestra: Søndergård and Symphonie fantastique - YouTube
- Who is the Sky - David Byrne
- Twin Cities violin maker saves the day for David Byrne's bandleader - Brianna Kelly, Bring Me The News
- Noble Robot Website - Noble Robot
0:14:47Interactivity vs. PlayBlippo+Steam0:35:24Fail States in ArtThis topic is a continuation of Lydia's previous roundtable topic/therapy session in"I saw a Beatle."Stephen brought forward the concept of purposefully designing friction into games earlier in the year. You can find that conversation in"This is an impossible challenge."
Mark DeLoura's decades-long career in games includes roles ranging from Nintendo engineer to White House senior advisor. A longtime and passionate developer advocate, this year he's been tapped to help reinvent the industry's largest annual gathering, GDC.
DeLoura outlines the changes coming to this year's conference, defines what "festival" means in the context of GDC, and previews the ambitious goals for its future. But your nice hosts also raise concerns about the elimination of the lowest-priced passes, the accessibility of new programming, and the critical issue of attendee safety now that more official GDC events serve alcohol.
Whether you have or are planning to attend GDC, are one of its critics, or just want to know more about how the industry creates and manages its community, this episode is a must-listen.
- Your nice hosts will be at GDC 2026, March 9th - 13th, 2026 in San Francisco. Look for our annual GDC special episode(s) then.
- Mark DeLoura on Bluesky
- Mark DeLoura on LinkedIn
- HITLab - Human Interface Technology Lab - University of Washington
- Game Programming Gems - Mark DeLoura
- Dr. Miguel Luengo-Oroz (MalariaSpot) - Online game & crowdsourcing & malaria - The International Society for Neglected Tropical Diseases, YouTube
- About FoldIt
- Video games owe a lot to President Obama's administration - Brian Crecente, Polygon
- Mark DeLoura also co-hosts a podcast! His weekly gaming news/discussion show, Boss Rush, is available on YouTube!
- After the discussion, DeLoura turned the tables on your nice hosts and asked a few questions of his own. It didn't fit into the episode, but we saved it and put it up as a Patreon exclusive bonus segment!
Reinventing GDCThe annual Game Developers Conference is changing - Michael McWhertor, PolygonCannes Lions International Festival of Creativity - WikipediaBlack Hat - Upcoming EventsGDC Passes & Pricing - Game Developer ConferenceSeattle Indies SLICECalling partners for GDC 2026! - Game DeveloperGames Industry GatheringFemale Game Devs Open Up About Harassment And Drink Spiking At GDC - Ahmad Hassan, RespawnFirstAmir Satvat's Games Jobs Resources
This week the clubhouse is filled with emotions. Lydia was frustrated that she did not recapture the magic of her first escape room game, Stephen was frustrated that finding his critical eye makes for a different movie watching experience, and Mark was frustrated by the acoustics at a football stadium.
In other news, it's time to make your GDC Plans! Mark and Dale will be there, and probably some other nice hosts, too.
- GDC Festival of Gaming 2026: The Industry's Bold New Era Begins - Beth Elderkin, GDC
- Symphony of Seasons
- Paul McCartney "Got Back" tour
- U.S. Bank Stadium Officials Addressing Sound Concerns For Concerts - CBS Minnesota
0:16:06Being Honest With Your WorkLydia went to Chicago to run a escape style game at the Chest Medicine Conference about Eosinophilic Asthma. That was set in the 1920s prohibition chicago.CHEST Conference
CHEST Medicine ConferenceEosinophilic and Noneosinophilic AsthmaCHEST Journal Podcast(Yes, Dale included that last link because its host is named Dr. Pepper.)Escape room games
Lydia's first apperance on the show was as a guest to discuss last year's project, inDigital Escape RoomsLater on as a host, Lydia talked a little about this year's project, which was upcoming at the time, in"It's about trust."0:56:30The Critical EyeStephen has previously talked about his filmmaking class in:
Episode 367"Numbers go up."Episode 393"I’m intrigued by big door."
This week, Lydia provides all the fun facts about living on a boat while your nice hosts develop a card game based around scurvy management!
- Hoyle's Official Book of Games - Wikipedia
PromptCreate a pirate themed game about food and scurvy management.Game typeCard gamePlayer count2-4MaterialsEvent deck
Resource Deck
SetupShuffle the event deck and the resource deck separately. Deal 5 cards from the resource deck to each player.
Rules* Card game + Set making + Need to create as many sets as you can to create grog, while preventing vermin from being in your hand + These resources will keep you going in phase 2 when pulling from port of call / event cards + Whoever is able to travel farthest (successfully draw the most port of call / event cards) wins * Beneficial food + Grog (face cards) - Rum - Jack - Sugar - Queen - Water - King - Limes - Ace + Salt meat/fish - Pork or Cod (Hearts) - Salt (Diamonds) + Hard tack (Clubs) + Suet (Spades) (added to meat or hard tack to enhance it) * Vermin (clogs your hand and could cause problems in events) + Weevil + Maggots + Rats * Rules + Each turn you have one action. You can either: - Draw a card - Play a complete set + After a certain number of cards (10 as default), you all go to sail and have ports of call events - Draw an event card each turn * Ports of call / Events? - you get a point for every port you successfully make it to. Certain cards when “won” enter your stack and give you extra points or mechanical advantage + Windfall of resources - Everyone draws 5 cards and makes stacks + Ship cat - The cat joins the most rat-infested ship (removes all rats from hand) - OR spend the most salt meat to attract it to your ship + Trade with each other - Draw 3 cards and give 1 card from hand to the player on your left. Make stacks + Injured shipmate - Spend water and salt from your hand - Spend maggots from your hand + Threat of scurvy - Spend grog + Weevil infestation! - Lose a hard tack for every weevil in your hand. Discard those cards from your hand and stacks(?)
This week features a timeless topic followed by a timely one, both of them pretty important. Lydia prepares for Chicago, Mark shares his slides, and Stephen gonna chill.
- CHEST 2025 - American College of Chest Physicians
- Some of Lydia's escape room props!
0:05:26Naming FilesMuseum Accessioning: Numbering SystemsOklahoma Museums AssociationRice County Historical SocietyMontshire Museum of Science0:43:13Unity Security Vulnerability (2025)"Unity Security Update, What Do?" presentation slidesMark LaCroixUnity Platform Protection - Security AdvisoryUnityUnity Platform Protection - Developer Remediation GuideUnityUnity Platform Protection - Patcher ToolUnityCVE-2025-59489: Arbitrary Code Execution in Unity RuntimeRyotaKGMO Flatt Security Inc.CVE-2025-59489CVE
In this episode, Lydia and Stephen are rubber ducks for Mark as he talks through his ideas for a suite of Unity plugin tools. Buckle up, there's a lot! They also discuss whether to bundle or not to bundle tools, considerations of scope and price, and the deep appreciation for easy-to-use interfaces.
- Will Mark complete these tools by Christmas?
- Will Stephen get a reprieve from the nagging about his fishing mini game collection?
- Will Lydia ever get over that one client project?
Stay tuned to find out!
- Star Trek: Starfleet Academy | Official Trailer - Paramount+, YouTube
0:13:22Noble ToolsRewiredUnity Asset StoreNoble EngineNoble RobotLydia really needs to listen to the episode where Stephen and Mark talk about the localization of Widget Satchel."I definitely thought of that ahead of time."Noble Menuitch.io
Sam! returns to the clubhouse to help your nice hosts decide that Lakitu is no longer a savoir that comes down from the clouds, but since he has a job as a referee, should therefore be wearing a little ref shirt.
- Sam Baeseman is a member of the IDGATC board, the Nice Games Alliance board, and founding member of JAMA Jam.
- Nice Games Alliance
- IDGATC
- JAMA Jam
- Sam! joined us last week to talk about:Creative Peer Communities
- Blippo+ (Mark's game) released, and you can buy it:
- Blippo+ on Steam
- Blippo+ on Switch
- Blippo+ on itch.io
- Lydia:
- Why Learning Is So Hard for Adults (And How Games Can Help) - ELB Learning, YouTube
- Before becoming a host, Lydia joined the clubhouse as a guest to talk about:Digital Escape Rooms
- Stephen is:
- not going to talk about his fishing game
- doing a game jam, Ludem Dare
0:15:30HealthCalculate your pet's HPPolygonYouTubeYour nice hosts talked about these health systems:
- Subnautica - oxygen/food/water
- Dave the Diver - oxygen
- PEAK - stamina
- Gauntlet - time
- Super Smash Bros. - percentages
- Star Trek Adventures (TTRPG) - stress
- Doom (1993) - health packs
- Doom (2016) - enemy damage
- Super Mario Bros. - mushrooms (2D) / coins (3D)
- Bloodborne - dignity
- Sonic the Hedgehog - rings
- Call of Duty - regenerating health
- Blades in the Dark - "harm" 42:31Developing for Speed RunnersWe talked about normal players vs. speedrunners in:Ladder Game
Your nice hosts welcome 3D artist and Nice Games Alliance board member Sam Baeseman into the clubhouse to talk about how online Discord communities become available and how to become a part of or lead such communities.
- Blippo+ (Out now!) - Panic
Creative Peer CommunitiesIRLMisc.Sam's Social Links - skrimbus, LinktreeJAMA Jam - itch.ioInternational Game Developers Association, Twin Cities ChapterGrape Juice City - Splashworks Studio, Steam
It's been awhile, but it's time for another video episode! This week, Mark's colleague Mike Lasch enters the clubhouse to build a digital prototype live on-air!
Ladder GamePlayable "Ladder Game" prototypeMichael LaschConstruct 3Kuru Kuru KuruinWikipediaRoundaboutNo GoblinSteamSokobanWikipedia
We invite Joanna May into the clubhouse again in this supersized episode to design a game about stowing illicit goods into spacecraft as it's being built!
(Note: Minor hiccup with the audio recording in the first 2 minutes, so Lydia is off mic briefly but it fixes itself.)
- Tangrams - Wikipedia
- We mention Dogpile!, a game we made in a previous game jam.Dogpile!
PromptDesign a puzzle game about loading passengers and/or cargo into various spacecraft (or other transport).Game typeTabletop gamePlayer count4 or moreRules* The ship is a pad of paper with outline of ship (legal pad sized) + The interior is blank, what you draw is the interior spaces + Each turn, the freighter captain draws the modules - False walls, freezers, to shape what you can put in there - They have their own secret goal + Each turn, the other players are smuggling things (they don’t know about what others are doing) - Contraband - Each turn they can put one thing in there or move a thing * Maybe you have to slide it only, you can’t pick it up after it’s been added * Each game has an ending determination and then also a scoring system + Everyone loses if ship gets caught * Hidden role game? + Freighter Captain - Makes the ship + Contraband smuggler - Tries to add the most of contraband as they can + Honest worker - Wants to add the most of the goal as possible + Inspector - Wants to find the smuggler
Joanna May returns to the clubhouse as a guest host! Your four nice hosts chat Tetris, knitting, and CSS, but also have a pair of actual topics to discuss...
- Mark's game Blippo+ is out NOW! Go buy it on Switch and Steam!
0:13:36Role-playingComplete History Of The Soviet Union, Arranged To The Melody Of TetrisPig with the Face of a BoyYouTubeTetris (film) - Historical accuracyWikipedia0:35:27To Rebuild or Not to RebuildJoanna previously joined us as a guest to discussSerializationGodot 4.5 release notes - SDL3 gamepad inputGodotNoble EngineNoble RobotGitHubThe Slow Way Is the Fast WayMark SamplesJoanna and Mark debated a concept called "Utility-first CSS"
A Year of Utility Classes (Pro)Michelle BarkerCSS { In Real Life }What is Utility-First CSS? (Anti)Heydon PickeringHeydonWorks
Your nice hosts Lydia and Ellen are on a seriously playful adventure in beautiful Rochester, New York for the Serious Play conference! They discuss game accessibility, D&D therapy, lexical gaps, validation, and more.
In addition, Lydia beats the pavement and gets the hot scoop on what attendees learned at the conference and the games that shaped them.
Many thanks once more to:
- Serious Play for Lydia's press pass.
- Ellen for the cute little lavalier microphones that made interviews possible.
- Ellen and Nikita for being the best travel buddies ever.
- Interviewees for sharing their thoughts with our nice listeners.
- Serious Play Conference
- Ellen's previous trip to this conference was recounted in:Serious Play Conference 2023
Serious Play ConferenceXbox Adaptive ControllerXbox.comPlayStation Access ControllerPlaystation.comQuadstickAble Gamers
In this episode, Mark and Stephen talk about what they are excited about. Lydia deals with a existential crisis about keeping too much stuff. And nobody talks about the full motion video game that Dale made during a Global Game Jam during the topic on video content, where they talked extensively about FMV games. Don't worry! Dale edited this episode and linked the game in the show notes below. ;)
- Lydia played some Dutch games
- Geharrewar in de Sushi-bar - Board Game Geek
- Port Royale - Board Game Geek
- Stephen is very excited about Kirby Air Riders. Is it as good as he anticipated? Past Stephen sure hopes so!
- Kirby Air Riders Direct 8.19.2025 - Nintendo of America, YouTube
- Mark went to L.A. for the Blippo+ Exhibition
- Blippo+ - Steam
- Pre-order Blippo+ on Switch - Nintendo
- Mark's favorite museum: LACMA
- Nice Games Alliance
- Nice Games Alliance is the org that supports the local community
- Beth Korth was recently on the show in Episode 382 to talk aboutNice Games Alliance Workshops
- When the club plugs the Discord, Mark mentions a Discord conversation the podcast's outro in Episode 400"From apocrypha or experience." 400th Episode Special
Video ContentBlippo+Telling LiesWikipediaDinosaur Hunter (aka 3D Dino World)WikipediaQuantum BreakWikipediaControlWikipediaWitnessWikipediaDragon's Dogma 2 Steak videoYouTubeAlan Wake 2Global Game JamGlobal Game JamThe FMV (Full Motion Video) game Dale and Beth made for Global Game Jam 2020, Corporate Espionage, is very campy. Enjoy!
Use the Dang Potion!The reasons Lydia doesn't use the Potion:
1) She might need it (more) later, I don't want to waste it2) Everything could matterAnd more reasons:
3) Things are power in a power fantasy game, and it's hard to give up power4) Potions feel like an assist mode, because you want to be better than that 5) Gambler's funCombatting the natural emotional response for players to keep their stuff
Make stuff very abundant, and add use ware (like Zelda Breath of the Wild)Add narrative context that the intention is to sell it for in game money (like in Spirit Farer) Add explicit indicators that an item is required for a quest.Create items that are specific to a single purpose.Discourage gathering more items by making them annoying to collect
Stephen Business is back! And he’s attempting to make a meme into a reality. The clubhouse attempts to answer these (and other) questions:
- How many fishing minigames is too many fishing minigames?
- Is it okay to shoot fish with lasers?
- Who are those teenagers with emo hair in the Bentley?
- Should Stephen make something on the Playdate?
- Why do people go fishing?
- Does anyone actually like fishing?
- You can wishlist 'Blippo+' on Steam! - Steam
FishingLydia kicked of this topic with a comment an episode, maybe this one?Revisiting Your GamesFishing Minigame MemeRedditLydia learned about noodling from this youtube channelBon AppetitYouTubeFeeding time at a Fish Hatchery is bonkers!YouTubeLydia's nice list of games with fishing minigames
Tales of ArisePokemonAnimal CrossingStardew ValleyLegend of Zelda (many)SkyrimKirby The Forgotten LandVerdant SkiesSpiritfarerRed Dead Redemption 2Final Fantasy (many)Sonic FrontiersFar Cry 5Hades
It is a joyous day for pancake lovers everywhere, and a joyous week in the Clubhouse for Lydia who successfully made a thing using code! WOW! She shares her experience learning how to make buttons (and everything else) in microStudio. Then the Nice Hosts get real about their experiences with min-maxing in games. You know it's a good topic when it promises at least one spinoff topic so buckle up.
Also in this episode: Mark is doing level design when he should be playing Donkey Kong Bonanza, new laptop(!), and the existential horror of the cozy game genre.
0:12:09microStudioLydia's starting point for her incremental learning plan."A Paragraph Signing"microStudiomicroStudioLydia's Experiment 1 - TutorialPress space to start. Use the arrow keys to move the slime to the cookie. microStudioLydia's Experiment 2 - Buttons PracticeClick the heart to add it to the skeleton’s chest microStudioLydia's Experiment 3 - Build a SkeletonClick on the buttons to add silly organs to the skeleton. Keep clicking the button to cycle through your options for that organ. microStudioLydia's Experiment 4 - Despawn PracticePress space to add 10 seconds to the timer. Click correct or incorrect to add or subtract points to the score. Clicking spawns sparkles! microStudio0:37:00Min-Maxing
Returning "favorite" Laura Onderwater re-enters the clubhouse to talk about task tracking, naming conventions, and paper trails of various kinds in an engaging discussion on concept art workflows. Even if you’re not part of an art team, there’s a lot to take away from this one!
- We spoke with Laura previously in an episode onVisual Worldbuilding
Concept Art WorkflowsArtProductionLaura on ArtstationLaura on Bluesky
As promised, the three Korths, Andy, Beth and Gabe, join us in the clubhouse for our hundred and two or so episode tradition! The clubhouse was too crowded to fit Mark in, but having five hosts makes up for it. Your nice hosts design a game about fixing the messes your child makes and then returning the favor as you age.
- Andy had brought up a chaotic game where you need to prevent your infant from getting into trouble, turns out there's a lot of those but here's an example!
- Who's Your Daddy - Evil Tortilla Games, Steam
PromptCreate a game where you need to follow around a person or a thing that is breaking stuff. You gotta fix it!Game typeDesign documentPlayer count1Rules* Child causes destruction and you have to fix it * Child become adult you have to fix parent stuff * Parent needs to work (remotely) and also fix whatever the kid has broken + You want to fix the things as best as you can before your partner gets home + Partner will do some fixing at the end of the day (to prevent negative feedback loop) * Each level is just one day in the life of this family + The last level, the parent retires and now the kid is an adult and has to fix parents’ messes + And maybe also has a kid they need to take care of * Mess examples + Older parent - Find keys - Knocking a pot off the stove - Install rail in shower/toilet - Bookcase falls down + Toddler - Pulling things with cords (as toddler) - Crayons on the walls - Legos (or any toy) + Pulled shower curtain + Teenager - Get mad at a thing and punch a hole in the wall - Leave the fridge open - Shave without cleaning sink - Dirty clothes - Plates everywhere - Dart board - Sticky slime - Leave milk on table * What does cleaning look like? + Different minigames * Co-op mode + Two parents, or parent and grandparent * Orthographic camera angle that slides from one room to another * Maybe the daycare couldn’t take the kid today + Basically these are snapshots of unexpected parenting that the player needs to deal with * Need moments of time for narrative/exploration time + When you find an important item, time stops so the player can appreciate it + You can find things that you made as a kid * More preventative tasks for the player to do + Place paper around so kid doesn’t draw on walls * Parent sim + Decisions impact future decisions and might cause problems depending + How you parent changes how you recover energy/your stats during elderly stages * Intro + Set the tone of the home + Ask questions for the player to adjust the game for them somewhat - How does a messy home make you feel? - How do you respond to criticism? How do you respond to conflict? - Center questions on the parent, not the child. - What kinds of appliances do you have in your home?
As is tradition, a couple of episodes after a hundredth we invite one or more of our pals the Korths into the clubhouse. This time we were lucky enough to have all of the family Korths (coming soon), and a bonus interview with Andy Korth! We talk with him about his recent work updating Verdant Skies.
Revisiting Your GamesGame DesignProductionUI / UXVerdant Skies - Howling Moon SoftwarePreviously we had Beth Korth on to talk about Narrative Design, in general and related to Verdant Skies.Narrative Design We had the whole Korth family on in this episode.Families in GamesAndy and Beth were both on in a deep dive into the code of Verdant Skies in this video episode.Code Comment: "Verdant Skies"And here's the episode that started the tradition!Steam GreenlightGamers using game controllers for PC gaming has tripled since 2018 — Steam surv… - Christopher Harper, Tom's Hardware
It's a big one for your nice hosts... and your newest nice host wants to know more. Lydia takes Mark and Stephen though the history of the program, in three acts.
0:02:04Act I: Interview0:57:38Act II: Quiz1:12:47Act III: Jam
Ellen's back for a serendipitously in-sync pair of metacognition-rich roundtable topics. In this episode, Lydia shares a chapter from one of her favorite books and tries to explain ganache while Stephen laments how easy it is to duct tape on features instead of solving problems. Together they discover four brains are better than one when it comes to figuring out how to get out of your head.
0:09:56CompostingWriting Down the BonesNatalie GoldbergBonbonWikipediaThe Croissant Express diner mentioned in the book, formerly located on the corner of the Uptown Theater building.0:36:00OverdesigningMuralMirovia. "Writing at Night: Lewis Carroll, John Milton, and Me" by Mike Mason. https://www.mikemasonbooks.com/writing-at-night-lewis-carroll-john-milton-and-me/
Ellen’s back in the clubhouse, let’s see what she remembers. Lydia brings a Dungeons and Dragons mechanic about recovering memories called 'Untitled Mechanic,' Stephen feels part of a club that is not Nice Games Club, and Mark brags about playing 2nd Edition in middle school.
Untitled Memory MechanicLydia's websiteLydia SymchychOneshot inspirtationZacSpeaksGiantYouTubeLydia's google docLydia Symchych
Your nice host return to the complex and sometimes underappreciated world of quality assurance in the game dev space, and also explore discovery as a design focus. In this episode: Lydia is still looking for recommendations while at the Serious Play Conference (answer in Discord!), Mark hates on Jira and Stephen finally catches up to the latest gaming trend a couple of months late.
- Chants of Sennaar - Rundisc, Steam
0:06:27QA WorkflowsWhat Is A Kanban Board? The Ultimate GuideLaura Hennigan, Cassie Bottorff, Rob WattsForbes0:50:37Designing Discovery
We welcome Freya Holmér back into the clubhouse to talk about 3D game development for independent game developers. We get into the specifics of the tools available for devs and why they work and don't work for different teams, but it's mostly an excuse to talk about Freya's new 3D modeling software.
- Half-Edge - Freya Holmér
- Shader Forge - Freya Holmér, GitHub
- Shapes - Freya Holmér, Unity Asset Store
3D Workflows for Indie DevsGame DesignToolsUI / UXValve Hammer Editor - Valve Developer CommunityPicoCAD - Johan Peitz, itch.ioTrenchBroom - GitHubCrocotile 3DWhat’s the difference between OBJ and FBX? And when to you what - RedditFreya HolmérGuestFreya Holmér is game developer, co-founder of Neat Corporation (makers of VR stealth game Budget Cuts), and creator of developer tools including Shader Forge and Shapes. She spends a significant amount of time interacting with people on her gamedev Twitch stream.
External linkFreya on TwitchFreya on Twitter @FreyaHolmerFreya on YouTubeFreya on Instagram @freya_holmerNeat Corporation's WebsiteNeat Corp on Twitter @neatcorpBudget Cuts on SteamBudget Cuts on OcculusShader Forge on GitHub
This week, your Nice Hosts have a new prompt from a new source. Lydia's husband, Ian, draws from a rainy source of inspiration and the Hosts are all-in. We brush up on the water cycle, requisition the equipment, practice our Trans-Atlantic accents, dunk on hot dogs, and puzzle over water-based cloud economies.
- Big Pharma - Steam
- Le Ballon Rouge - Wikipedia
- Water Cycle - Wikipedia
- Loop Hero - Steam
- Human Resource Machine - Steam
Promptto match the current weather - what goes on inside the clouds during a thunderstorm?Game typeDesign documentPlayer count1Rules* You control a cloud factory and manage what the cloud distributes * Mission-based, scenarios + Plenty of fun fantasy options * Condition options + Sunshine + Water + Static (use a balloon?) + Wind + The shape of your factory/cloud * Water is your core resource + Use it to build the factory, use it to make the rain and complete tasks, use it to expand + Gain it from water vapor and such (water cycle) + Your factory is also water, you can reuse it * You go through a campaign + Pick between a set of jobs each time, bigger jobs give more rep * Isometric view * Level 1: rain on the hot dog cart + Have the cloud rain over an area for a specific period of time + The mission before you just needed to dump some water + The player needs to collect water to have enough rain on the hot dog cart + Automation is the game + You need to shape the cloud to fit all of the machines that you order from a catalog - Catalog has a ton of options, with their own efficiencies * Level 2: rain on a hot dog festival * Level ??: Flood the Nile
Your nice hosts talk about saving both your position in a game and saving your secrets from being spread around. Also in this episode: Stephen's birthday is coming up, Lydia's been presenting in webinars for a while, and Mark's got a new game coming soon!
- Category Quest - ELB Learning
- Webinar | Let’s Play! Category Quest: ELB Learning’s Newest Game - ELB Learning, YouTube
- Webinar | Escape Room Rx: Innovating Game-Based Clinical Education - ELB Learning, YouTube
- Episode we interviewed Lydia on before she became a host!Digital Escape Rooms
- Blippo+ - Panic
- Blippo+ on Steam - Panic, Steam
0:09:50Save SystemsBuilding Cognitive Accessibility Into Your GamesGame Developers ConferenceYouTubePassword SaveTV Tropes0:33:20Keeping Secrets
Mark rushes through the introduction to talk about his two rush projects, one of which, Blippo+, was announced on Sunday during the PC Gaming Show! You'll hear more about that next week, but until then, Lydia talks about feeling seen in Anime, Stephen laments that his filmmaking class has not only ruined movies for him, but also music, and Dale does a good job editing out Lydia’s coughs.
- Blippo+, coming to PC and Switch this fall!
- You Need To See FMV Cable TV Simulator Blippo+ - Wesley LeBlanc, Game Informer
Emotional Effects of MusicA New Foe Has Appeared!
This week in the club house Adrian Sandoval describes how video games are speed running art history. Your nice hosts have their minds blown many times and Steven discovers he might actually like history!? Stay tuned to find out where the 90 day return policy came from.
- Little Nemo and the Nightmare Fiends - Team Nemo
- Chris Totten, co-author of Adrian's book, has been on the showTeaching Gamedev to Young People, Again!
Adrian SandovalGame DesignHardwareMarketingSpacewar! - WikipediaAdventure (Atari 2600) and its designer's easter egg - Atari OnlineAlex Smith, They Create Worlds - They Create WorldsEp. 22: Remembering Atari with Howard Scott Warshaw - Robin Kunimune, Video Game History HourTeach Me Something in 5 Minutes 2 - What Games Can Learn from Theatre w/ Adrian… - Adrian Sandoval, YouTubeConsole Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle That Defined a Generation - Blake J. Harris, GoodreadsAdrian SandovalGuestAdrian Sandoval is a professional game designer, historian, and educator with 15+ years of industry experience. He currently teaches game design, production and history at Drexel University. His book, "World Design for 2D Action-Adventures", co-authored with Christopher W. Totten, is available on the Routledge store.External linkhttps://www.adriansandoval.net/https://bsky.app/profile/adriansandoval.net
Your nice hosts all secured a Switch 2 pre-order... from a certain point of view. Then, Stephen examines the body, Mark attempts a vocabulary, and Lydia has recommendations.
- Chants of Sennaar - Wikipedia
- Nintendo Switch 2 preorders were a total mess — at first - Jay Peters, The Verge
- Missed out on a Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order? GameStop and Best Buy will have mo… - Demi Williams, TechRadar
0:22:17What Happened With Future ClubPart-Time Hero Campaign EndingFuture ClubKickstarter0:48:57Design Surface AreaRubber duck debuggingWikipedia
The clubhouse welcomes Ashley Phipps, producer for the game Clock Out at 2, to discuss the topic of mental health and discrimination.
Mental Health and DiscriminationGame DesignGamingNarrativeClock Out at 2 Demo - Borderless Studios, SteamWhat to know about microaggressions - Anna Smith Haghighi, Medical News TodayQueerty Gamers - Queerty GamersSpooktober 2023 Clock Out at 2 Build - itch.ioDepression Quest - Zoe QuinnAdventures with Anxiety - Nicky CaseFight, Flight, Freeze, or Fawn: How We Respond to Threats - "Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc", Simply PsychologyGood Reps for Mental Health depiction
Final Fantasy XIV - SquareEnixThe Cosmic Wheel SisterhoodTales of Arise - SteamAshley PhippsGuestProducer and Community Manager with 10+ years of experience in project management and leadership. Producer for the game Clock Out at 2.External linkWebsiteInstagramClock Out at 2
In this episode the club house talks about the games that they have been playing. Mark attempts to define the terms good friction and bad friction, declares his distaste of rouge-likes, and talks about friction in his current projects. Lydia shows us how to make scoring sound way more academic.
- Civilization VII
- Age of Mythology Retold
- Blue Prince
0:18:21Friction by DesignMark tries to define some terms:Good Friction - something that was designed into the game, or that could be described as a bug, or only confuses a playerBad Friction - unintentional friction0:45:47Diversity in ScoringHuffington Post News Triva GameHuffington Post
Your nice hosts get a crash course on video game IP law from lawyer and MinnMax cohort, Haley MacLeon. We learn about incorporating, publishing agreements, the difference between a lot of commonly used terms like "copyright", and the joys of contract templates.
- MinnMax - MinnMax
- Game Informer Revival - Game Informer
Video Game IP LawMarketingMisc.ProductionThe $10 Million Lawsuit That Hinges On An Oxford Comma - Anna King, NPRVideo Game Publishing Agreement Market Report 2025 - Kellen Voyer & Haley MacLean, Voyer Law CorporationHaley MacLeonGuestHaley is a Canadian lawyer who advises clients on tech, corporate and intellectual property law. She previously worked as a journalist in the video game industry and continues her work with video game companies, now as a lawyer. In her free time, she appears on numerous gaming podcasts and video content.External link@haleyfax on TwitchVoyer Law Corporation
A new Nintendo is on the way, and your nice hosts talk about both it and the world it's being born into. It kicks off a longer than usual episode where Lydia just wants a way to experience horror games, Mark has an unpopular opinion, and Stephen thinks players have too much agency already.
0:31:57Let's PlaysEndoparasiticmizizizizitch.ioLet’s Plays: A Copyright ConundrumAlexandra ChampagneSlaw Why I am Hesitant to Declare Let's Plays as Fair UseAquasonReddit1:17:44Responsive Game DesignWhat Capcom Didn't Tell You About Resident Evil 4Game Maker's ToolkitYouTubeWe should talk.Carol Mertz
Your nice hosts settle their differences in opinions when it comes to food to serve up a fresh game design document in a new Nice Games Jam episode.
PromptCreate a game with one of my favorite things, food! It cannot be about/or have mechanics that are cooking. Think: growing food, pairing foods, making an international food court, menu design, using foods in season, etc.Game typeDesign documentPlayer count1Rules(Stephen note: This is more of a set of notes taken during the episode outlining a game design document.)
- Human in an alien culture, giving recommendations for pairings for food
- You should need to learn the rules before you can break them
- Gain credibility
- People order categories of food and you put it on the plate (no cooking)
- Gamer Journey
- You’re a plater at an alien restaurant
- You first do it like a human (based on taste)
- You get feedback that opposes basing plates on taste
- Player starts to get curious about how to make better plates to meet needs
- Sense criteria
- Touch
- Sight
- Temperature
- Spiciness
- Taste the “wine” to know what it “tastes” like
- The threat is if you do poorly you get shipped to another planet, they have different foods and different desires for foods
- Options to change
- Two ingredients (tomato and other tomato? Looks similar)
- Position of foods
- Container of foods
- Orientation of foods
- Aesthetic of the restaurant?
- You design the special
- Create one dish for the special, you get an amount of feedback based on the size of the restaurant
- You can tweak your dish based on the feedback you get
- Things change as you go through the game and impact what you have available and what patrons like
- The goal is for players to experiment with the different foods (positions, containers, etc.) so they begin to understand the rules of the game
- There can be clues with the background/worldbuilding so players can learn why the foods these aliens like are why they like them
- When do you get to influence cultures? Do you get to at all?
- Yes, you need to figure out a way to get aliens to love the food and not just like it
Mark is still out sick, so Dale takes his place in the clubhouse and brings a topic! The club makes a prediction that by the time that this episode comes out, Mark will still be sick, and if you are listening on Patreon, that is absolutely true. If you aren't listening on Patreon, you probably should be.
The group talks about how often and when to say no. Stephen admits that he is the bottleneck, Lydia talks about things that she finds delightful in video games, and Dale makes a bold admission.
1:33The art of Saying NoGatchamari - Dale (and Mark)'s Global Game Jam GameGlobal Game JamMini Post-Mortems on Global Game Jam GamesIGDA TCYouTubeFTL PostmortemJustin Ma and Matthew DavisGDCCeleste team Cancels a project (Earthblade)ExokEarthblade OST SoundtrackLena Raine0:31:30Tiny InteractionsSkyrim's myth of the treasure fox finally explainedWesley Yin-PooleEurogamer
Roles reverse as Dale joins Stephen and Lydia for a Nice Game Jam prompted by Mark. The results are an antiques-fueled jaunt through time, and an unexpected win for Stephen.
- Costcodle - Zak Kermitz, Costcodle
- Timeline Inventions - Zygomatic, Zygomatic
- Hypodermic Needles - Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine, Maximum Fun
Prompt"Come up with a game where the winner is the player who gets (or gets closest to) a certain amount of points, but that amount changes from round to round. Hard mode variant: the players don’t always know what the amount is."Game typeTabletop gamePlayer count2-8MaterialsSet of item cards from various years
10 chips for each player
Set of years/events
Timer
Setup Place 8 item cards on the table easily accessible for all players. * Pick a random year/event. * Set timer for 1 minute. Rules Start the timer to start the round * While the timer runs, players place chips on items to bid on them * When the timer runs out, the player with the most chips on an item gets that item. In a tie, no one gets an item and it gets added to the pool during the next round * Items that are earned get their times revealed, player closest to the chosen year/event wins * Play repeats for three rounds, player with the most round wins wins the game
Beth leads Mark and Stephen through a therapy session. Stephen talks Kickstarter, Mark talks Patreon, and everyone agrees Beth's game Verdant Skies is great.
- Part-Time Hero: I'm Broke But I Have To Save The World! - Future Club, Kickstarter
- Dreamsettler - Tendershoot, Patreon
0:06:40Begging for Money0:52:09Quality of LifeQuality of LifeMichael “Kayin” O’ReillyKayin WorksVerdant SkiesHowling Moon SoftwareSteam
Beth Korth, board member of Nice Games Alliance, enters the clubhouse to talk about the purpose of the NGA and how to best fulfill that mission. They discuss how workshops, talks, and conferences fit into their plans. And how they can provide unique experiences and services that the gamedev community can't get elsewhere. They also emphasize the importance of lunch.
Nice Games Alliance Workshops
Lydia joins the clubhouse for her first regular episode as a host (it's calendar math)! The clubhouse discusses the release of Civilization VII and how it is taking up all of Stephen's time. Lydia brings to the table the question of how she can learn more games, and how tutorials don't work for her. Stephen regrets not being able to fully develop the world which is the setting for his five-minute student film.
- Civ VII
- Civilization VII
- Switch 2
- Switch 2 mouse control - Kyle Orland, Ars Technica
0:15:01Incremental Learning Lydia talks about her success learning knitting, and her rectangle projectionsThe club talks about differences between recipes and game development tutorialsTasksxkcd0:54:10Making Science Fiction WorldsThis topic was inspired by Stephen's science fiction student film. You can watch that here:"All Good Things"Stephen McGregorYouTube"For All Mankind"WikipediaWidget Satchel
Widget Satchel is a game that Mark, Stephen, and Ellen worked on. Mark developed a lot of background story, including this:"I do not wish that the troubles of the past be carried into the stars. I imagined better for us and expected better also. But we do not realise our whole future in sequence, small futures each after the other. We must go anyway, blind and smiling, emissaries of wonder, explorers. On this day, at this place, together, we launch an expedition for which we are unprepared. Yet we are now even, a collected peoples concerned of justice looking in order to see our whole future, ahead of us. Widget Satchel is on Itch and other platformsAlso check out this episode from when we released Widget Satchel"Space ferrets lift off!" Widget Satchel Special
The clubhouse gets Cretaceous this week; your nice hosts have been challenged to create a game about dinosaurs and their feeding habits.
PromptMake a game about the feeding habits of dinosaurs or of paleontologists, bonus points if all the dinosaurs are from the same era.Game typeDesign documentPlayer count1Rules* Cretaceous period + Flowering plants evolved here + Early mammals here too + Velociraptors too! * Different sized dinosaurs * Name: Dinosaurs of North Dakota + Play as big (T-rex), small (dog-sized) and medium (triceratops) + Survive a day as each of these creatures + Order of play - Medium first (herbivore) - Big next (T-rex) - Small last (scavenger) - Then Paleontologist discovers (eats chicken with a PLASTIC fork) + Where you die determines how preserved the bones are during the paleontology phase - If you want more preserved bones you have to choose to not live as long (due to how the preservation works) + Gameplay - Play as the different creatures, the player chooses when that phase of the game ends * Can also end after a certain time played - Then you swap to a new creature and play as them, choosing when to end - When you get back to a creature, time has passed and things are different in the world (partly due to player influence from other creatures) * Player knocking down trees might be knocked down in future scenes, eating a lot of plants may make the area sparse in the future - Keep playing as the different creature until enough time has passed - Afterwards, play as a paleontologist and rediscover what you’ve done - Record what you’ve done with the knowledge the paleontologist has (and not the player), so it won’t actually be accurate to the player’s playthrough - Based on what the player’s done, it can affect what things the paleontologist will be able to say about the state of things after
NEWS! New episodes now come out a week early on Patreon!! Sign up to listen to next week's episode now! We talk about why, and the silly reason why now, in this episode, along with another, much bigger piece of NEWS**.
And of course, your nice hosts continue the show's annual tradition of recounting what they did during hiatus.
SO. MUCH. NEWS.
- Nice Games Club on Patreon
What We Did On Our Winter Break (2024-25)Twin Cities Gamedev community
Join the IGDATC serverDiscordDonate to Nice Games Alliance ("no" relation)IGDATC 2025 gamesGlobal Game JamStephen
UFO 50Civilization VIILydia
Play Lydia's team's GGJ game, Meowlogue MittensMeowlogue Mittens - Main ThemeEdison BoerkeSoundCloudLydia's team invited everyone at the event to vote on the name of thier game's main character.Mark
Play Mark's team's GGJ game, GachamariEllen
Mars First LogisticsSteamMartian ChessLoony LabsRoboCoSteam
373Puzzle SystemsInterview2024.11.15Releasing 2019's "Baba is You" after more than a decade of making puzzle games was a milestone for this week's guest, but it was also just the beginning of his design journey. Arvi "Hempuli" Teikari talks to your nice hosts about the balance between giving players freedom and constraining their expression, the pacing and sequencing of individual puzzles, what happens when a "cool" design annoys players, and more.
Arvi's cats make a spirited apperance in the back half of the episode. Here they are basking in the Finnish sun.Puzzle SystemsGame DesignToolsMultimedia Fusion 2 - ClickteamClickteam Fusion 2.5 - ClickteamConstruct - Scirra LtdMP2MP2 Chowdren EngineBring the ice cube to the goal without exposing it to heat. - IncreparePuzzleScript - IncrepareCovechrome - Hempuli, itch.ioYou nice hosts previously discussed what happens to players who become developers in:"Numbers go up."Arvi "Hempuli" TeikariGuestExternal linkHempuli - social media linksHempuli on Itch.io
368“That’s way too many pawns.”Roundtable2024.10.11This week, Ellen kicks things off with a chat about how games tell players, “This might be tough!” and how to make that fun and fair. Stephen and Mark jump in with their takes on what makes difficulty settings shine. Then, Mark thinks about the practice taking familiar game mechanics and twisting them into something fresh. Think pacifist runs or limited equipment modes. Why limit yourself to one way to play when you can remix the whole game? As always, there are some goofs in here, too.
Unity 6 Preview is now available - Nancy Larue, UnityUnity is canceling the Runtime Fee - Matt Bromberg, UnityUnite Conference - UnityHasbro Game Night (for Switch)We Were Here Series - Total Mayhem Games, SteamLoopy: a tool for thinking in systems - Nicky CaseMachinations: Create digital twins for your systems, processes or economiesCommunicating Difficulty0:21:44Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignReally Bad ChessPuzzmo - Orta Therox & Zach GageAggro Crab Studio"Why Quitting Is Usually Worth It" - David Duchovny & Stephen Dubner, Freakonomics Radio NetworkRemixed Play Modes0:40:35Mark LaCroixGame DesignMetro Nexus - Noble Robot10 Most Unique Multiplayer Modes In Video Games - James Kennedy, The GamerExtra game modes - Universal Videogame ListPARKS Board Game - 59 Parks
366OptimizationInterview2024.09.26Entering the clubhouse this week is our the third Owl (employee of Owlchemy Labs) and first Peabody Award winner (as lead developer for We Are OFK), to talk about the "dos," "don'ts," and "good enoughs" of optimization.
Cleveland video game designer Jarryd Huntley wins Peabody Award for ‘We Are OFK’ - Joey Morona, cleveland.comWe are OFK - Peabody AwardsCleveland Game Developers - LinktreeOptimizationHardwareProductionProgrammingIs Using LINQ in C# Bad for Performance? - James Vickers, The Startup For Vs Foreach In C# - Sagar Gavand, C# CornerJarryd HuntleyGuest
349Dialogue Through GoalsNice Thinking2024.05.29Stephen brings a half-baked thought into the clubhouse for this Nice Thinking episode: how can we improve dialogue systems? He's got some opinions, which Mark and Ellen immediately debunk, but it leads to some engaging conversation.
Dialogue Through GoalsStephen McGregorGame DesignNarrative
361"The lensing effect of the window."Roundtable2024.08.22It’s hot in the clubhouse and hot in Ellen’s greenhouse this week, so your hosts are eager to crunch through some discussion. Ellen introduces the concept of the MDA framework, and the differences between Theming and Aesthetics, and Stephen comes to a major conclusion about parrying.
Theming vs. Aesthetics0:06:40Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignThe MDA Framework - WikipediaEllen promised Dictionary.com definitions, so here you go:Aesthetics - Dictionary.comTheme - Dictionary.comWe talked about theming and aesthetics for a GameJam Game from a previous episodeThe Bike BoomAlien Isolation Themes explored n : Demystifying the Terror of Alien Isolation - Andy Robertson, WiredParries0:28:56Stephen McGregorGame DesignStephen's list of why parries are so popular:1) A way to reward mastery or paying attention 2) Rewards participation3) An appreciable way to consider mastering the gameThe different variations of Parrying1) Just Dodges 2) Traditional Parrying (miss = block)3) Dynamic Parrying release parrying 4) Alternate button (paper mario parrying)EVO Moment 37 - Wikipedia
371Tutorialization with PuzzlesInterview2024.11.01"Tutorials shouldn’t feel like tutorials!" Like most aspects of game design, it's an easy concept to summarize but a difficult one to pull off. Luke Spierewka and the team at Afterburn Games have mastered it, using their charming approach in successful titles like Golf Peaks and Railbound. Come learn the arcane secrets of the puzzle game tutorial! Also featuring some great room sound.
Afterburn Games (studio)Tutorialization with PuzzlesGame DesignOn crafting Railbound, a cozy track-bending puzzle game - Evgeny Obedkov, Game World ObserverDynablaster (game) - WikipediaLuke SpierewkaGuestLuke is a game designer, programmer, and jack of all trades. He makes games, organizes events, gives talks (and interviews) and does "lots of other stuff." He's worked on many titles, including Railbound, Golf Peaks, Gwent, and SUPERHOT. Learn more about Luke at http://spierek.net/
347"A slow meat computer"Roundtable2024.05.16In the episode, Mark, Ellen, and Stephen talk local events, including (don’t worry everyone’s fine) a fire in the clubhouse’s building, construction, and the games they are playing, so if you are just here for the topics, go ahead and skip to minute 23. Ellen learns about King Making, Stephen humble brags about being good at Smash Brothers, and Dale plays kingmaker in naming the second topic!
News
Masu Fire - Paul Walsh, Star TribuneBus Rapid Transit (BRT) - Jared Brey, GoverningWhat We are Playing
Dragon's Dogma 2 - WikipediaPrincess Peach Showtime NPR Review - Rakiesha Chase-Jackson, NPRKing Making0:23:00Stephen McGregorGame DesignStephen has been QA testing Harvest Kingdom - Ben Hunder, DiscordThe YouTube video that Stephen references - Distraction Makers, YouTubeKingmaking in Root (Leder Games) video - Cole Wehrle, GDCSmallworld - Board Game GeekThinky Bits (Off-Screen Gameplay)0:49:17Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignGames discussed
Return of the Obra DinSpirit Island - Board Game GeekDeath Drives a Bus - itch.io
338EddiesNice Games Jam2024.03.11The clubhouse is caffeinated and ready to jam, game jam that is.
The clubhouse is giving a prompt where air movement is the main mechanism of action and they create a physical game for a tabletop (in the style of 'Hungry Hungry Hippos'). The notoriously unpredictable 'Eddies' of air movement gives this game it's name. The main challenge for the team - a more sanitary air blower mechanism than drinking straws: a tiny bellows, small whoopie cushions, slide whistles, or party noisemakers?
Prompt"Create a game where the main mechanics are fans and or leaf blowers."Game typeTabletop gamePlayer count2 - 8MaterialsBlowing mechanisms - one per player (drinking straw in playtest)
A bunch of small peices of junk
A container for the small peices of junk
Playing feild (box, 8 sided)
Rule Card Deck
SetupThis is a game about some young teenagers who find some leaf blowers in their (octagonal) cul-du-sac and make a game with them.
Each player will select a side of the playing field (the box) as their home territory. The goal of the game is to have the least amount of junk (points-wise) fall off of your side of the field.
Rule Cards:
- Separate the Rule cards into the three categories: Puff Variants, Point Variants, and Zone Variants. Shuffle the cards from each category, and pull three of each category to start each of the three rounds.Cards rule examples
- Puff: Each player has 3 puffs per turn
- Point: Each black item is worth +1 point, all other items are worth -1 point
- Zone: The windy end of your blowing mechanism may not be placed within zones 1+2 of the playing field
- Shuffle the remaining rules cards from three categories together.
- From the combined deck, deal 4 cards to each player.
- The player may look at their hand of cards
Place Junk (perform at the start of each round):
- Gather some junk and place it in a container. Typically dice and pieces from other games will make up the majority of the junk, but this may also be dodads from your junk drawer like golf pencils, nails and screws, magnets etc.
- At the beginning of each round a different player will grab a handful of junk from the container and place it in the center of the 8-sided playing area.The junk placer may not arrange the junk when placing it down. Any junk that falls off of the playing field will be returned to the container of junk. RulesAfter the junk is placed the rule for each category is revealed, by flipping over the top rule card from each of the three piles: Puff, Point, and Zone. The displayed rules are now in effect.
The player who placed the junk will go first.
Each player turn has three phases:
-
The play may put a rule card from their hand into play by stacking it on top of the exsisting rule for the category which it belongs to (puff, point, or zone). That rule is now in effect and the rule that was covered up is no longer in effect.
-
The player uses their "leaf blower" to puff the objects in on the playing field the number of times indicated by the Puff rule. They must follow any Zone rules in effect.
-
The player's turn is scored according to the rule cards in effect. The player draws back up to 4 cards in their hand.
The round ends when each player has had 5 turns.
New junk is placed in the center of the playing field, new rule cards are revealed and the next round starts.
The object of the game is to have the least scoring junk blown off your edge of the playing field. Highest scoring player (usually player closest to 0 wins), as most junk is worth negative points.
354The Intersection of Puzzle and StoryInterview2024.07.05Narrative designer and pal of the program Beth Korth fills in for Ellen as guest host this week and next!
Your nice hosts welcome famed designer Ron Gilbert (Monkey Island, Thimbleweed Park) into the clubhouse to discuss the virtues of inexperience, friction for its own sake, how it's all about story, and it's puzzles all the way down.
The Intersection of Puzzle and StoryGame DesignNarrativeProductionReturn to Monkey Island will have a hint system because the internet exists now - Joshua Rivera, PolygonVerdant Skies - SteamClassic Game Postmortem: Maniac Mansion - GDC, YouTubeThe phrase "confederacy of dunces" derives from a Jonathan Swift quote.
Examples of movies that feature a poorly-received genre twist include Serenity (2019), Remember Me (2010), and Safe Haven (2013).
Ron GilbertGuestOwner of Terrible Toybox, the designer/creator of Monkey Island, The Cave, Pajama Sam and the designer/co-creator of Maniac Mansion, DeathSpank and Thimbleweed Park. Co-designer of Return to Monkey Island.External linkMastodon - @grumpygamer@mastodon.gamedev.placeBlog - Grumpy GamerStudio - Terrible Toybox
353"The super-powerful beam or whatever."Roundtable2024.06.27This week, your nice hosts talk about code that isn't yours and ask about the natural conclusion of the narrative. Mark is handy, Ellen kinda wants to add a note, and Stephen is grounded.
It looked so easy in the brochure, but the brochure lied - Antony Ingram, HagertyCode Libraries0:07:41Mark LaCroixProductionProgrammingToolsBest practices for writing code comments - Ellen Spertus, Stack Overflow BlogDeclare namespaces to organize types - Microsoft LearnYour nice hosts discussed licensing in a previous episode:"What's a little grand larceny?"Game OversStephen McGregorGame DesignNarrativeAlternatives to the Game Over screen - Game DeveloperWe didn't mention it in the episode for some reason, but our "Metroidvania-lite" game Widget Satchel had no deaths, game overs, or failure states.
It's a cheery and bright episode to get you through the dark cold days of winter! ☃️ Your hosts (plus guest Joanna May) wrap up 2024 with a readout of their nicest things from the year—nicest games, nicest accomplishments, and nicest procrastinations. Plus, plans and projects for 2025, some soft resolutions, and a review of some exciting upcoming titles you're likely to see hit various storefronts in the next calendar year. A happy year's end to all!
- Cover image credit goes to Animal Crossing World.
This year's selection of Nice Replays start next week. See you in 2025!
2024 AccomplishmentsMark
- Founded a 501(c)(3) organization, Nice Games Alliance.
- Got a new job, on a still unannounced game.
- Renewed the lease on the Noble Robot office
Stephen
- I made two movies! (Or at least I will have by the end of the year)
- Immense progress on Future Club game
Ellen
- My RSV game won multiple industry awards <3
- Hired Lydia
- Running out of plant room
Joanna
- Solved generalized serialization
- Palette generation too
-
Lots of iterative things that were worked on last year 2024 "Nicest" GamesThis is not a “best of 2024” or even a definitive list of our favorites. It’s just a few games we want to be nice to.
-
Ellen
- We Were Here series
- Bonza
- Mark
- Astro Bot
- Stephen
- Dragon's Dogma II
- UFO 50
- Puzzmo
- Joanna
- Helldivers II
- Breath of the Wild 2025 Most Anticipated Games* Ellen
- Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
- Winter Burrow
- FragPunk
- Borderlands 4
- Rift of the Necrodancer...???
- Lunar: Remastered Collection (for Eric)
- Mark
- Civilization VII
- Star Trek Ascendancy: The Final Frontier (the Gorn!)
- The Switch 2
- Stephen
- Dragon Dogma II DLC (I’m cheating I know)
- Civilization VII
- Honestly probably Switch 2 stuff, too
- Joanna
- Paralives 2025 Resolutions* Ellen: Finally put together a portfolio site!
- Mark:
- Dreamsettler, again!
- Unannounced project
- Release Operators!
- Get Nice Games Alliance some sponsors/donations!
- Stephen: Play more games! Do more stuff outside of my apartment.
- Joanna: Put out a bigger better game demo!
We invite Joanna May into the clubhouse to discuss serialization. We get ever so slightly closer to discovering what serialization even is with Joanna's help! We also have a little time to throw a little shade at Stephen's commenting style and brackets on their own line.
- Chickensoft
- Tibo, artist of the Chickensoft mascot.
- Eating your own dog food (Dogfooding) - Wikipedia
- Logic Blocks - Wikipedia
SerializationProgrammingToolsSerialization - WikipediaBinaryFormatter migration guide - gewarren, jeffhandley, terrajobst, adamsitnik, Microsoft Learn@JsonSubTypes vs. Reflections for Polymorphic Deserialization in Jackson - Ovidiu Mihai Tacu, BaeldungWhat are the advantages of just-in-time compilation versus ahead-of-time compil… - Stack OverflowIntrospection - jolexxa [Joanna], GitHubIL2CPP Overview - UnityMartha had mentioned unit tests (which Mark and Stephen still don't do) in a previous episode.“That wasn’t the angle I was going for.”Chickensoft Development Philosophy - ChickensoftJoanna MayGuestJoanna May is the creator of Chickensoft, open source tools for Godot and C# as well as a grassroots community. External linkChickensoft
In this episode Lydia is back to discuss join the clubhouse in both a discussion of her first job, and making a game about set job. But, because the club can't choose, it is also about Ellen's job at her parents' pet store.
- When introducing Lydia to the concept of a nice games jam, the stages of the nice game jam are referenced. Here are the stages:1) Panic2) Prompt3) More Panic4) Scramble5) Oh, we can do this6) We did this - let’s do more
- We have throw pillows now
- While designing this game Stephen mentions the phrase "experience bij." This comes from the 'Star Trek the Next Generation Interactive VCR Board Game."
- Star Trek the Next Generation Interactive VCR Board Game - Board Game Geek
- Compilation of "Experience bij." - YouTube
Prompt"Create a game based on one of your team’s first job (either gig-based, such as babysitting or lawn mowing or paycheck based), but set in a world with either evil robots, monsters, or aliens."Game typeTabletop gameMaterialsVHS tape
Mall map
Rules* Takes place in a mall, in a starbase + Theater, retail, pet store, cafeteria + Pen and paper RPG, players need to figure out what’s going on outside without leaving the mall/their jobs + Communication is limited somehow + Nosy kids? + Point where we’re in too deep? + It’s now a VHS tape/DVD game. + Each character has unique roles and abilities based on their job - Cafeteria unboxer person, sees recycling bins, can make things out of trash - Retail, interacts with customers regularly - Pet store, young kid who does mischief things - Theater, technical expertise, interacts with other staff of theater + Mall wide announcements (security, mall, etc.) + Different locations have a stack of cards containing information, they have unique ability to access these different decks. Info from cards cannot be talked about, you need to move to another player to give them that information. + NPCs move on a track separately, they move during the “computer” turn, the mall is a separate turn/entity + NPCs control how much players can move (they may have customers they need to deal with) + Each round the players have certain actions, different actions if there are customers in the store + Some cards are gossip (from customers), some cards are evidence (physical things you find) + Some of the gossip is false, good/juicy information is rare + Narrative - Three acts * Act 1: Something’s going on! + Busier than normal, more security, longer shifts than normal because everyone needs to be in the mall, the management wants to keep everyone there + A lot of the rumors are about not being able to do their regular jobs outside of the mall * Act 2: It’s one of three things * Act 3: Did we figure out what’s going on? + You have to figure out what the threat is, afterwards pick some number of ways to deal with it, depending on the response you have a list of tasks to complete to fulfill. If the tasks you did relate to the actual threat, you get points.
All of your hosts are together in the Clubhouse for a special interview! Lydia Symchych is an impact game designer who has been working with Ellen over the last year. Today, she shares her experience of making an escape room that needed to be rendered in both "physical" and and digital environments. Also, sound effects and pillows.
- In the USA, November 28th is Thanksgiving Day, and November 29th is National Native American Heritage Day. Happy holidays, if you're in the USA—and if you're not, we hope you have something to be thankful for. 💖
Digital Escape RoomsGame DesignArticulate Storyline 360HyperCard - WikipediaExhibit Design - WikipediaEscape Room Races with the Lads - Northernlion, YouTubeEscaping a Room of Terrors - GameGrumps, YouTubeLydia SymchychGuestLydia is a collaborative game designer and cross-disciplinary translator, who approaches design with compassion and ✨ sparkles ✨. She creates interactive and interpretive learning experiences, including museum exhibits and positive impact + educational games. Ellen thinks she is great.External linkYou can find Lydia on LinkedIn
Your nice hosts chew over a concept Stephen brings into the clubhouse: a series of "game jams" where participants iterate on one specific idea in each session.
- Playdate Update - Fall 2024 - Panic, YouTube
- Noble Engine - Noble Robot
- IGDATC Events - igdatc
0:04:30Iterative Game JamMeditations
Releasing 2019's "Baba is You" after more than a decade of making puzzle games was a milestone for this week's guest, but it was also just the beginning of his design journey. Arvi "Hempuli" Teikari talks to your nice hosts about the balance between giving players freedom and constraining their expression, the pacing and sequencing of individual puzzles, what happens when a "cool" design annoys players, and more.
- Arvi's cats make a spirited apperance in the back half of the episode. Here they are basking in the Finnish sun.
Puzzle SystemsGame DesignToolsMultimedia Fusion 2 - ClickteamClickteam Fusion 2.5 - ClickteamConstruct - Scirra LtdMP2MP2 Chowdren EngineBring the ice cube to the goal without exposing it to heat. - IncreparePuzzleScript - IncrepareCovechrome - Hempuli, itch.ioYou nice hosts previously discussed what happens to players who become developers in:"Numbers go up."Arvi "Hempuli" TeikariGuestExternal linkHempuli - social media linksHempuli on Itch.io
In this episode Ellen usurps the normal process for a nice game jam prompt to explore her own idea on tabletop mechanics. Who would have thought the scoring system for this game would be 'Points for the Future War'?
- Stephen's One-Minute Movie - Stephen McGregor's Group, YouTube
- Discussion during development
- Subbuteo
- Soapboxderby.org
- Bullet Bill Soapbox Derby Car - Lou Whitmire, Mansfield News Joural
PromptMake a tabletop game where the core mechanic is modulating the friction on the board.Game typeTabletop gamePlayer count3-5MaterialsBoard - 5x5 grid where tiles can be placed
5 racer sleds
Racer weights
Tiles with different friction coefficients (terrain tiles)
Mission from HQ Cards
Special Objective Cards
Setup1) Racer sleds and racer weights are randomly distributed to the racetrack row. 2) Each racer sled gets the name of a racer. Each racer name should be silly, like Jenny Too-fast or Billy Tumble.
3) Each player draws two Mission from HQ cards and picks one to be their secret objective.
RulesPlayers are given each a set amount of time-travel credits.
On their turn, each player uses a time-travel credit to either replace or swap terrain tiles.
When each all players have spent their time travel credits, the race is on! All racer sleds are released from their starting box, and the results of the race are observed.
Each completed mission results in the number of 'Points for the Future' on the mission from HQ card awarded to that player. The number of points is based on the difficulty of the mission.
After the weekend derby is complete (15 rounds), the player with the most point for the future war is declared the winner, but not for 20-30 years.
"Tutorials shouldn’t feel like tutorials!" Like most aspects of game design, it's an easy concept to summarize but a difficult one to pull off. Luke Spierewka and the team at Afterburn Games have mastered it, using their charming approach in successful titles like Golf Peaks and Railbound. Come learn the arcane secrets of the puzzle game tutorial! Also featuring some great room sound.
- Afterburn Games (studio)
Tutorialization with PuzzlesGame DesignOn crafting Railbound, a cozy track-bending puzzle game - Evgeny Obedkov, Game World ObserverDynablaster (game) - WikipediaLuke SpierewkaGuestLuke is a game designer, programmer, and jack of all trades. He makes games, organizes events, gives talks (and interviews) and does "lots of other stuff." He's worked on many titles, including Railbound, Golf Peaks, Gwent, and SUPERHOT. Learn more about Luke at http://spierek.net/
This week, your nice hosts talk a little bit about our civic duty before getting into two very on-brand topics. Make a plan to vote on (or before!) November 5th. Information at https://vote.org/
- Everything You Need to Vote - Vote.org
- What States Allow Same Day Voter Registration and When? - Rock the Vote
- The Only Patriotic Choice for President - The New York Times
- These are the Republicans endorsing Harris over Trump - Niha Masih, The Washington Post
- Donald Trump Is Unfit to Lead - The New York Times
- Donald Trump’s First Term Is a Warning - New York Times Opinion, The New York Times
Runtime Asset ManagementPhaserSimplify your content management with AddressablesUnityWADDoom WikiDouble Jump vs. DashGames Are Better With Double JumpsHeather AlexandraKotakuWhy Celeste's dash feels great Alex WiltshireRock Paper ShotgunKaizoWikipedia
We welcome Timothy Staton-Davis into the clubhouse to talk both the broad strokes and the nitty-gritty of combat design.
- Melanated Game Kitchen - itch.io
Combat DesignArtGame DesignWe talked about "juice" in game design way back! You can find links related to the topic here as well."I am a Juice Journeyman!"Pacing - Robert Yang, Andrew Yoder, The Level Design BookTimothy Staton-DavisGuestLead Encounter Designer for Brass Lion Entertainment, and Creative Director of Melenated Game Kitchen.External linkhttps://melanatedgamekitchen.itch.io/
This week, Ellen kicks things off with a chat about how games tell players, “This might be tough!” and how to make that fun and fair. Stephen and Mark jump in with their takes on what makes difficulty settings shine. Then, Mark thinks about the practice taking familiar game mechanics and twisting them into something fresh. Think pacifist runs or limited equipment modes. Why limit yourself to one way to play when you can remix the whole game? As always, there are some goofs in here, too.
- Unity 6 Preview is now available - Nancy Larue, Unity
- Unity is canceling the Runtime Fee - Matt Bromberg, Unity
- Unite Conference - Unity
- Hasbro Game Night (for Switch)
- We Were Here Series - Total Mayhem Games, Steam
- Loopy: a tool for thinking in systems - Nicky Case
- Machinations: Create digital twins for your systems, processes or economies
0:21:44Communicating DifficultyReally Bad ChessPuzzmoOrta Therox & Zach GageAggro Crab Studio"Why Quitting Is Usually Worth It"David Duchovny & Stephen DubnerFreakonomics Radio Network0:40:35Remixed Play ModesMetro NexusNoble Robot10 Most Unique Multiplayer Modes In Video GamesJames KennedyThe GamerExtra game modesUniversal Videogame ListPARKS Board Game59 Parks
In this episode, Ellen does some work research. Everyone else gets to learn about what Ellen was like as a student. Stephen wonders if he’s made a huge mistake. And Mark insists that there is no such thing as magic.
- Stephen started a new class: Film making
- Ellen forced her parents to play another game!
- Parks Board Game
- Mark saw the Badger Badger Mushroom song for the first time and was underwhelmed. Consequently, Dale was editing and then also got to see it for the first time, and found that this was the correct response. This video is over 20 years old (2003).
- Badger Badger Mushroom - Weeb's Stuff, YouTube
- Mark is (still) working on some User Interface Tools in Unity, called NobleTools
0:11:26Scoring 101The four types of scoring discussed:1. Victory Points2. Experience Points3. Stats based scoring4. Hit PointsPerplexity conversationNoodleThe Training ArcadeKurt Vonnigut The Shape of StoriesStephen JohnsonBig ThinkSumming Salt - Mario Kart DSSumming SaltYouTube0:42:39Turning off the Gamedev BrainMoonwalking with EinsteinWikipediaEllen has been watching the behind the scenes special feature for ' The House that Dragons Built'
Entering the clubhouse this week is our the third Owl (employee of Owlchemy Labs) and first Peabody Award winner (as lead developer for We Are OFK), to talk about the "dos," "don'ts," and "good enoughs" of optimization.
- Cleveland video game designer Jarryd Huntley wins Peabody Award for ‘We Are OFK’ - Joey Morona, cleveland.com
- We are OFK - Peabody Awards
- Cleveland Game Developers - Linktree
OptimizationHardwareProductionProgrammingIs Using LINQ in C# Bad for Performance? - James Vickers, The Startup For Vs Foreach In C# - Sagar Gavand, C# CornerJarryd HuntleyGuest
There are now episodes of Nice Games Club for each new day of the year! When you get to the last day of that year, you'll hear about Audio Middleware and Psychic Distance from us in the clubhouse.
- About the Fair - Minnesota State Fair
0:17:06Audio MiddlewareAn example of audio tech conversations we've had in the past.Game Audio Tools and WorkflowsWwiseAudiokineticFMODFMOD0:51:32Psychic DistancePsychic Distance: what it is and how to use itEmma DarwinThis Itch of Writing
In this episode the boys are back in Minneapolis, but they are still thinking about their time with Ellen in Duluth, or Roboluth ;) s
So they are using this episode to talk about instructions, again, but this time though the lens of the different types of "user personas" who will be reading it.
InstructionsWhat is Roboston?
Roboston is a tabletop game that the the Nice Games Club came up with during an podcast Game Jam Episode. For anyone new to the podcast, we recommend starting two episodes back (at 362), for some background on the game. For those of you who wish for a full memory restoration, here is the full episode list:The original Nice Game Jam where Roboston was concievedRoboston! (Live at 2D Con 2020)A follow up episode 197 continues the devlopment because they were so excited about RobostonRoboston! (part 2)The club worked on the game over winter break in 2020-21, episode 207 summarizes what they worked on."It’s March tomorrow."We again visited Roboston over our 2023-24 winter break, and talk about in in episode 337"The Roboston Sessions"Mark and Steven visit Ellen in Duluth where they play a bunch of Roboston"Apply your context, thusly."Rulebook is
More than a script for “the teach”Verbal and visual (and, increasingly, multimedia)Define your PlayersSteve BromleyGame User ResearchDefine your Players
User persona is the UX term, Player persona is used in gamesThings to add to the FAQs
Does the value affected by the repeater also get multiplied if you’re adding a part?Does the value for a new part always have to come from the torso?Can you send the robot without having arms/legs/heads?How many dice should I try to go for in this check?Player Personas1. Roboston new players
Box inventory list Anatomical diagram of a robot Game setup diagram (game as a whole, what’s in your hand)Reference cards (player actions, game phases, etc.)2. Roboston experienced players
Table of contentsStats for nerdsIndex (?)FAQ section3. Inexperienced tabletop game players
Invitation to play, sense of funBuild trust with the player as the rulebook progresses4. Experienced tabletop game players
Resource, reference Allow them to get right to the core, fast
Once again from hilly Duluth, Minnesota! On Day 2 of a game design weekend retreat, your nice hosts tackled rules—writing rules, rewriting rules, and playtesting them. It was a long day, culminating with a family playtest of Roboston, featuring a newly written rulebook. How did it go? Well, there's more work to be done, but we learned a lot. Your hosts discuss this and more in today's episode, recorded on Day 3 of Mark's and Stephen's trip to Duluth.
- Minnesotan Phrases - Wanderlust In Real Life
- Dante is the adorable troublemaker who barked MULTIPLE TIMES during the recording session.
Resources for Rules-WritingTop Six Rules for Writing RulebooksMeeple MountainHow to Teach GamesThe Giant Brain
It's a nice sleepover as this (and next) week's episode is recorded from Ellen's basement in Duluth. Mark has an angle, Ellen shares her topic, and Stephen manages.
- The view from the rotating resturant that Mark took Stephen to - Ragnar Eythorsson, YouTube
- Karen Puzzles - Karen Kavett, YouTube
-
- 178 (TNG) + 176 (DS9) + 7 (TOS movies, including "Generations" because Kirk was in it) = 361 episodes
- Nice Games Club = 362 episodes
- One Piece aired it's 362nd episode 16 years ago. As of press time, it's up to 1116.
- Our next target is My Three Sons, which has 380 episodes. We will reach that milestone at the end of 2024.
0:07:31Instructions0:33:35Cynicism
It’s hot in the clubhouse and hot in Ellen’s greenhouse this week, so your hosts are eager to crunch through some discussion. Ellen introduces the concept of the MDA framework, and the differences between Theming and Aesthetics, and Stephen comes to a major conclusion about parrying.
0:06:40Theming vs. AestheticsThe MDA FrameworkWikipediaEllen promised Dictionary.com definitions, so here you go:AestheticsDictionary.comThemeDictionary.comWe talked about theming and aesthetics for a GameJam Game from a previous episodeThe Bike BoomAlien Isolation Themes explored n : Demystifying the Terror of Alien IsolationAndy RobertsonWired0:28:56ParriesStephen's list of why parries are so popular:1) A way to reward mastery or paying attention 2) Rewards participation3) An appreciable way to consider mastering the gameThe different variations of Parrying1) Just Dodges 2) Traditional Parrying (miss = block)3) Dynamic Parrying release parrying 4) Alternate button (paper mario parrying)EVO Moment 37Wikipedia
We invite music producer and sound designer Dave McKee into the clubhouse to talk about accessibility in games this week.
AccessibilityAccessibilityGame DesignControl Accessibility Report - "Vivek Gohil, Ben Kendall", Family Gaming DatabaseInclusive Gaming: How Game Developers Can Make Video Games More Inclusive And A… - Accessibility.com* Visual impairment accessibility musts: + High Contrast - User-set color schemes + Big Icons! (more important even than large text, which is also important) + Leverage Haptics (HD Rumble) paired with visual cues + Toning the music down (Dave recommends, regretfully) + Accessibility options should come up at a game’s first-launch The next Forza will help blind players race by listening to ‘beeps and boops’ - Tom Warren, The VergeRay Tracer - WayverbHow Next-Gen Audio Improvements in Snowdrop Could Mean Real-Time ‘Ray-Tracing A… - Youssef Maguid, UbisoftTekken 8 Accessibility Features Are Causing Controversy - Trumann Tu, GameRantThe Importance of Audio Described Cutscenes - Dom Parker, LinkedInSelf-Voicing - Ren'PyAdditional Resources not talked about on the show
Xbox Accessibility Guidelines V3.2 - MIcrosoftCan I Play That? - Can I Play That?XR Access - XR AccessDave McKeeGuestAn electronic and orchestral music producer and sound designer going by the name ViRiX.External linkLinktree
We face complexity head-on this episode with two topics that will get your neurons firing. Mark walks through considerations involved with publishing a game to multiple platforms. It's not easy, but it's a lot easier if you plan for it from the start! If you've listened to recent episodes, you'll know that Stephen has been obsessed with the tabletop game Spirit Island. Today, he shares some of the work he's done in creating a new, customized spirit for the game. Also, Mark experiences glitches, and the hosts plan a visit.
- Twin Cities Playtest from IGDA-TC - Eventbrite
0:06:56Targeting Multiple PlatformsWe talked about porting games in Episode 175.
"Kapow?"Git fork vs branchGreg FosterGraphiteSlayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengeance of the SlayerFandomAllow controls to be remapped, reconfiguredGame Accessibility GuidelinesA Brief History of the Playstation’s Confirm And Cancel ButtonsThe Wired Fish Network BlogA Brief History of A & BMatthew GallantThe Quixotic Engineer Blog0:46:49Spirit Island SpiritsSpirit of Creation channelDiscordSpirit Design Deep DiveemilintleGoogle DocsSpirit IslandGreater Than GamesHow to Play: Spirit IslandGreater Than GamesYouTube
"Pillar of the community" and creator of Chipmunk2D Scott Lembcke visits the clubhouse to talk velocity, constraints, and rigidbodies. Ellen gets the music in her head, Stephen didn’t learn the opposite lesson, and Mark makes a pretty good joke about friction.
Physics 101ProgrammingChipmunk2D - Scott Lembcke , GitHubGopher (protocol)Building Excalibur.js - Erik Onarheim, YouTubeI'm pretty sure this was the song stuck in Ellen's head.
What is an AABB? - Michael Rubloff, Radiance FieldsVeridian Expanse - Howling Moon Software, SteamIs pool actually just mathematics? - Stand-up Maths, YouTubeWhat is up with the spherical cow? - Rhett Allain, WiredAdvanced Character Physics - Thomas Jakobsen, Carnegie Mellon UniversityArc length of an ellipse - Ed Sandifer, The Euler ArchiveBox2D version 3.0 beta test has launched! - Erin Catto, MastodonTen Minute Physics - YouTubeScott LembckeGuest
In this episode, Stephen gets excited about Summer Games Done Quick, reveals some Doctor Who spoilers,and then is shocked that Flappy Dragon has more dragons.Ellen ponders rituals, and why she comes back to some games and not others. And finally Mark wonders if it is okay to get lost in a super-fun mini-game.
0:12:21FamiliarityEllen asks the internet: What are "casual Games"?https://www.perplexity.ai/search/What-are-casual-lDsnct7cTKiv.pJMXYef6wEllen asks the internet: What are "Cozy Games"?https://www.perplexity.ai/search/What-are-cozy-9nReq70iRU6wRyzD1TTSEA0:34:34Pacing MechanicsPaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Sets the Standard for Classic Game RemakesEric RavenscraftWired
In the first Nice Games Jam in a few months (and we made it a long one!), your nice hosts explore the history of bicycles to develop a racing board game.
- Our last Nice Games Club episode:Eddies
- Two Wheels Good - Jody Rosen
- Safety Bicycle - Wikipedia
PromptDesign a racing game in a historical setting.Game typeTabletop gamePlayer count2 - 4MaterialsMap book
4-sided dice
Meeple to represent racers
Setup Choose a map to race on in the map book (only one made right now) * Choose a starting point and an ending point on the map * Draw a conditions card from the conditions deck (not made yet! We just used rain, where you have to make a Stability check each time you make a turn) Rules Same area through time * You choose your rider and bike (each with different stats) based on how the map looks * You spend your resources to get new bikes or upgrade a bike * We started with penny farthings (bad stats), you can buy better ones later. * At the start of the race you draw a “condition”, affects the course to make more stability checks * You also randomly get a start and end place (we just set it as corner to corner for testing) * Types of stats: + Speed: how far you can go + Weight: how heavy your bike is, how hard uphill is and how fast downhill is + Capacity: how much you can hold on your bike + Stability: how easy it is to get past stability checks + Durability: how much failing a stability check affects you
Time is money, friend! Okay, not always. Sometimes time is a puzzle involving many interlocking responsibilities. That’s Beth’s situation, and she asks Mark and Stephen for advice on time management in the second half of this roundtable episode. During the first half, Stephen shares some BIG NEWS that will soon place some additional responsibilities on his shoulders. Beth and Mark offer suggestions.
0:4:40Creative Direction0:31:35Time Management
Your nice hosts welcome famed designer Ron Gilbert (Monkey Island, Thimbleweed Park) into the clubhouse to discuss the virtues of inexperience, friction for its own sake, how it's all about story, and it's puzzles all the way down.
The Intersection of Puzzle and StoryGame DesignNarrativeProductionReturn to Monkey Island will have a hint system because the internet exists now - Joshua Rivera, PolygonVerdant Skies - SteamClassic Game Postmortem: Maniac Mansion - GDC, YouTubeThe phrase "confederacy of dunces" derives from a Jonathan Swift quote.
Examples of movies that feature a poorly-received genre twist include Serenity (2019), Remember Me (2010), and Safe Haven (2013).
Ron GilbertGuestOwner of Terrible Toybox, the designer/creator of Monkey Island, The Cave, Pajama Sam and the designer/co-creator of Maniac Mansion, DeathSpank and Thimbleweed Park. Co-designer of Return to Monkey Island.External linkMastodon - @grumpygamer@mastodon.gamedev.placeBlog - Grumpy GamerStudio - Terrible Toybox
This week, your nice hosts talk about code that isn't yours and ask about the natural conclusion of the narrative. Mark is handy, Ellen kinda wants to add a note, and Stephen is grounded.
- It looked so easy in the brochure, but the brochure lied - Antony Ingram, Hagerty
0:07:41Code LibrariesBest practices for writing code commentsEllen SpertusStack Overflow BlogDeclare namespaces to organize typesMicrosoft LearnYour nice hosts discussed licensing in a previous episode:"What's a little grand larceny?"Game OversAlternatives to the Game Over screenGame DeveloperWe didn't mention it in the episode for some reason, but our "Metroidvania-lite" game Widget Satchel had no deaths, game overs, or failure states.
This week we invite Ryan Adams, of Corgi Art House fame, to discuss his expertise in game production. Ryan shows us how production is more than just moving tickets around, and how valuable it is to have someone on the team organizing tasks for everyone. But also, there's plenty of moving tickets around!
Game ProductionProductionCorgi Art HouseBlood On The Thames - SteamClickUpBuilding Better Games - Benjamin Carcich and Aaron SmithBecoming a Game Producer - Pauline GepilanoHow to prepare yourself for Game Production - Creative Assembly, YouTubeFive Traits In A Good Producer - Timothy Cain, YouTubeRyan AdamsGuestRyan Adams is a junior producer at Corgi Art House.External linkLinkedIn
This episode recounts each guests' recent project - Stephen is developing a new spirit for Spirit Island, Ellen is getting into music, and Mark talks at length about his car. The club helps Ellen process a recent pivot her company had to make. And Mark reveals some simple insights from his life: urgent vs. high priority, he has an irritating existence, that he's very restless, that he's skeptical of his satisfaction, somethings that I know very well, being married to him. The episode ends with a pitch build an emotional support group on nicegames.club/discord, by asking everyone to share how they structure their time.
- Stephen and Spirit Island
- Spirit Island - Board Game Geek
- Ellen gets into music
- Mark's SmartCar
- Thomas Jefferson was born in Virgina - Wikipedia
- Mark changes out his car panels - Mark LaCroix, Threads
- Please support us financially and emotionally through the following:
- patreon.com/nicegamesclub
- nicegames.club/discord
0:11:20PivotingTango Gameworks of Hi-Fi Rush was closed0:40:27Working on Multiple ProjectsThe Eisenhower Matrix task managment matrixAsanaThe days in the lives of creative work from Mason Curry
in a circle chartdeMilkedin an infographic Open Culturein an articleThe Marginalian
As MEMODEMO, Kobe Anthony creates music for video games and inspired by video games. In this episode, we learn about Kobe's creative process for composing music. He also shares a bit about how he uses his DAW (digital audio workstation) to capture sounds and convert them into melody and beats. Also featured in this episode: memes, rhythm games, and three seconds of terrible beatboxing.
Creative Process & Workflow for MusicAudio
Stephen brings a half-baked thought into the clubhouse for this Nice Thinking episode: how can we improve dialogue systems? He's got some opinions, which Mark and Ellen immediately debunk, but it leads to some engaging conversation.
Dialogue Through Goals
Last month, Mark gave a talk at the IGDATC Gamedev Meeting about what it might mean to take game development seriously as an artistic practice, theorizing that video games are still a very young and immature medium by that standard. It's "sorta-Socratic" seminar, a set of three case studies, and a string of stone cold bummers that ends on a hopeful note.
Your game has a message... did you write it?
In the episode, Mark, Ellen, and Stephen talk local events, including (don’t worry everyone’s fine) a fire in the clubhouse’s building, construction, and the games they are playing, so if you are just here for the topics, go ahead and skip to minute 23. Ellen learns about King Making, Stephen humble brags about being good at Smash Brothers, and Dale plays kingmaker in naming the second topic!
- News
- Masu Fire - Paul Walsh, Star Tribune
- Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) - Jared Brey, Governing
- What We are Playing
- Dragon's Dogma 2 - Wikipedia
- Princess Peach Showtime NPR Review - Rakiesha Chase-Jackson, NPR
0:23:00King MakingStephen has been QA testing Harvest KingdomBen HunderDiscordThe YouTube video that Stephen referencesDistraction MakersYouTubeKingmaking in Root (Leder Games) videoCole WehrleGDCSmallworldBoard Game Geek0:49:17Thinky Bits (Off-Screen Gameplay)Games discussed
Return of the Obra DinSpirit IslandBoard Game GeekDeath Drives a Busitch.io
Most of our favorite games aren't created by solo devs; they're created by groups of people. And, when you get a bunch of people together in a group, culture happens. So, what makes for a good working culture in a game development team? How do you establish such a thing and maintain it? When we say someone doesn't "fit the culture" of a team, what does that mean—and what should the team do about it? Chris Bergman, CEO of Gylee Games, joins us for an enlightening discussion about how he thinks about work culture, and he didn’t swear even one time!
Work CulturesMisc.ProductionGylee GamesRa Ra Boom! - SteamGylee and Friends PodcastAsk A Manager BlogChris BergmanGuestChris is the founder of Gylee and creator of Ra Ra Boom. Gylee is named after his kids, Guy and Lee. Chris is a longtime serial entrepreneur who is passionate about creating entertainment that is uplifting and enlightening. He's also an imposter DJ and has been rollerblading since 1994.
External linkChris on InstagramChris on Twitter (X)
In this more games-adjacent episode, Mark recounts his experiences at the South by Southwest conference this year! Many fascinating discoveries to be found within that topic, in addition to Stephen's continued obsession with Dragon's Dogma 2 and Ellen's experience with the podcast as a listener.
- Stagg EKG Pro Electric Kettle - Fellow
- Stephen's used this for a couple of weeks now (in fact as he's editing this episode). It's... okay! Not as many features as expected with the app, it just updates the firmware of the kettle. It is nice to wake up to hot water though! And it's quite fast.
0:09:52South by Southwest 2024South by SouthwestJust Play JamCinereachJust Play Jam 2023itch.ioHow Design Thinking Protects White Supremacy talkSWSXWhat Is the Design Thinking Process? The 5 Steps Complete GuideEmily StevensCareer FoundryIntel crushed its supplier diversity targets 8 years early. Here’s howBen UnglesbeeSupply Change DiveIntel® One MonoIntelIntel One Mono TypefaceGitHubNet neutrality restored as FCC votes to regulate internet providersDavid HamiltonAP NewsMoneySpyresYouTube1:08:31Player FrictionDragon's Dogma 2 Is Polarizing Its Community, And It's Not Just the Microtransa…Rebekah ValentineIGN
In this Episode Seth Fulkerson joins us in the clubhouse to talk the game engine, GameMaker. Seth is a long time user of GameMaker who's latest project is "Arzette: the Jewel of Faramore." The clubhouse discusses the history of GameMaker, the scripting language GML, and the advantages and disadvantages of the system.
And Stephen learns a bunch of the stuff he wished he knew when he actively using GameMaker.
GameMakerProgrammingToolsSeth's body of work:
CDi Zelda Titles Remastered - Retro RGBArzette: The Jewel of Faramore - WikipediaGameMaker
GameMaker Licensing CostsYoYoGames GameMaker Github - GitHubGameMaker history on Wikepdia - WikipediaGameMaker Language (GML)
GML ManualGameMaker Tools
GameMaker MarketplaceAdd Ons for Game Maker:-Scatterbox-Yellow Afterlife-Juju AdamsShaun Spalding GameMaker Tutorials - Shaun Spalding, YouTubeSeth FulkersonGuestSeth Fulkerson is a longtime GameMaker user, and enthusiast of CD-ROM Full Motion Video games. He championed the Zelda CD-i remakes. External linkThe Dopster aka Dopply LinkTree
We’re joined this week by Laura Onderwater, friend of the show! Laura is an experienced concept artist currently working with Greensky Games. In this interview, she shares a bit about her workflow and how she thinks about worldbuilding from an artistic perspective. Plus, your hosts learn when to cry into a pillow, and Stephen repeatedly asks for THE limit.
- Greensky Games
- SWARM - "The Epic Arcade Shooter Built for VR" - Greensky Games
Visual WorldbuildingArtMeow Wolf - Immersive ExperiencesWrist and forearm stretches for the workplace - Mayo ClinicThe Art of Psychonauts 2 - Ashley Esqueda, Double Fine ProductionsLaura OnderwaterGuestLaura is a passionate concept artist with years of experience in creating art for games. Laura is always excited to work on new projects, and to bring ideas and worlds to life.External linkLaura on LinkedInLaura on Artstation
Your nice hosts conclude their GDC 2024 coverage with a pair of interviews they conducted at the show. Mark catches a post-show cold, Stephen gets over his, and Ellen thought everything sounded great.
Midwest Games / Carbon EngineMidwest Games
Midwest GamesChris Klimecky - LinkedInMidwest Games - Work with usCarbon Engine
Carbon Engine - Limited RunShantae Advance - Shantae WikiArzette: The Jewel of FaramoreAlyssa WallesGuestAlyssa Walles is Midwest Games' Chief Operating Officer, as well as the Executive Director of the IGDA Foundation.External linkLinkedInMidwest Games Leadership AnnouncementAudi SorlieGuestProducer at Limited Run Games and Member of Digital Foundry.External linkLinkedIn
And now, the conclusion (sorta!), as tour nice hosts recount the back half of the week at this year's GDC. It's a long one, but there's somehow even more on our Patreon.
GDC 2024 Special (Part 2)ReSpec: Accountability SupportHow Nintendo made Super Mario Bros. Wonder so weirdAndrew WebsterThe VergeJack Foley (sound effects artist)WikipediaThe return of 1ReasonToBe and why we still need itMarie DealessandriGamesIndustry.bizPanic says two pallets of Playdates worth $400,000 have vanished in VegasChris KerrGame DeveloperA frequently-cited "good first episode" of Nice Games Club is one where we interview August Brown:Developer/Publisher RelationsWe had Monica on the show to help create a Nice Game Jam game in:Blame the Cat! (with Monica Fan)
Some of your nice hosts, plus some nice guest hosts, traveled to San Fransisco last week for the 2024 Game Developers Conference. There was so much to see and do and it ended up being too much for just one episode... actually, it was too much for just two episodes!
So, how much GDC 2024 content is there exactly? Well, plans changed and it's too complex to summarize here, so be nice and have a listen to find out!
(SPOILER: There's 2+ hours of extra GDC content on our Patreon page!)
- Musée Mécanique
GDC 2024 (Part 1)Unity 6 and beyond: A roadmap of Unity Engine and servicesWe discussed the first "Flash Games Postmortem" in:GDC 2017 Special (Part 2)
It's our first roundtable of the year! And did you know that Minneapolis is "partnered up" with Saint Paul? Stephen's not sure what either of these topics have to do with game development, but don't worry—we get there. Ellen kicks off a conversation about how the people we work with have a huge influence on what we create, and the experience of creating it. Mark tries to explain "control flow" in programming, and pretty much everyone gets it. You probably will, too.
- Cover image by RF Studio - Pexels
Partnering UpClick: The Magic of Instant Connectionby Ori Brafman, Ron BrafmanGoodreads0:41:08Control FlowControl flowWikipedia
The clubhouse is caffeinated and ready to jam, game jam that is.
The clubhouse is giving a prompt where air movement is the main mechanism of action and they create a physical game for a tabletop (in the style of 'Hungry Hungry Hippos'). The notoriously unpredictable 'Eddies' of air movement gives this game it's name. The main challenge for the team - a more sanitary air blower mechanism than drinking straws: a tiny bellows, small whoopie cushions, slide whistles, or party noisemakers?
Prompt"Create a game where the main mechanics are fans and or leaf blowers."Game typeTabletop gamePlayer count2 - 8MaterialsBlowing mechanisms - one per player (drinking straw in playtest)
A bunch of small peices of junk
A container for the small peices of junk
Playing feild (box, 8 sided)
Rule Card Deck
SetupThis is a game about some young teenagers who find some leaf blowers in their (octagonal) cul-du-sac and make a game with them.
Each player will select a side of the playing field (the box) as their home territory. The goal of the game is to have the least amount of junk (points-wise) fall off of your side of the field.
Rule Cards:
- Separate the Rule cards into the three categories: Puff Variants, Point Variants, and Zone Variants. Shuffle the cards from each category, and pull three of each category to start each of the three rounds.Cards rule examples
- Puff: Each player has 3 puffs per turn
- Point: Each black item is worth +1 point, all other items are worth -1 point
- Zone: The windy end of your blowing mechanism may not be placed within zones 1+2 of the playing field
- Shuffle the remaining rules cards from three categories together.
- From the combined deck, deal 4 cards to each player.
- The player may look at their hand of cards
Place Junk (perform at the start of each round):
- Gather some junk and place it in a container. Typically dice and pieces from other games will make up the majority of the junk, but this may also be dodads from your junk drawer like golf pencils, nails and screws, magnets etc.
- At the beginning of each round a different player will grab a handful of junk from the container and place it in the center of the 8-sided playing area.The junk placer may not arrange the junk when placing it down. Any junk that falls off of the playing field will be returned to the container of junk. RulesAfter the junk is placed the rule for each category is revealed, by flipping over the top rule card from each of the three piles: Puff, Point, and Zone. The displayed rules are now in effect.
The player who placed the junk will go first.
Each player turn has three phases:
-
The play may put a rule card from their hand into play by stacking it on top of the exsisting rule for the category which it belongs to (puff, point, or zone). That rule is now in effect and the rule that was covered up is no longer in effect.
-
The player uses their "leaf blower" to puff the objects in on the playing field the number of times indicated by the Puff rule. They must follow any Zone rules in effect.
-
The player's turn is scored according to the rule cards in effect. The player draws back up to 4 cards in their hand.
The round ends when each player has had 5 turns.
New junk is placed in the center of the playing field, new rule cards are revealed and the next round starts.
The object of the game is to have the least scoring junk blown off your edge of the playing field. Highest scoring player (usually player closest to 0 wins), as most junk is worth negative points.
We're all back in the clubhouse for the first episode of 2024! There's some news about the show up top, but in terms of your nice hosts: Ellen has important job happenings, Mark establishes important business for IGDATC and Stephen remembers he's good at game design, but not much else.
What We Did On Our Winter Break (2023)2024 GDC Public EventsGrace ZhouSouth By SouthwestCharles Mingus - Moanin'mohammertimeYouTubeProject LBoardcubatorBoard Game GeekApocalypduckGlobal Game JamIGDATC MerchigdatcHave a video game concept? Twin Cities group will help you make it a realityLouis KraussStar TribuneShift HappensMarcin WicharyAreslunaMeet the robot guitarist with 78 fingers and coolest cable hair you’ve ever seenSheena McKenzieCNN Business
319Getting Things GoingInterview2023.08.24In this episode your nice hosts welcome Rick Stemm of PikPok to the clubhouse to talk about what happens after a game gets greenlit.
Turns out the answer involves building your team and trust.
Rick touts the idea of a sh*tty first draft - faster and worse. Coaching feedback givers for what you are looking for, and the importance of building a trust in a team. Rick spouts useful idioms and your host claim points for each time Rick says ‘cohesive’ or ‘holistic.’
Who scored the most points? Turns out Stephen declared that the points don’t matter, good thing I never bothered tabulating them.
Getting Things GoingIRLRick StemmGuestRick Stemm is the Design Manager and Narrative Director at PikPok! RIck is originally from Wisconsin but now lives and works in New Zealand.Rick Stemm can be reached by email at Rick@PikPok.comExternal linkRick Stemm is on LinkedIn
296"Metroid is very serious."Roundtable2023.03.16In this episode, Mark makes up a reason to take a road trip, Ellen outwits everyone, and Stephen was also there.
Zachtronics Solitaire CollectionLACMAA Better Route PlannerSecrets & Easter Eggs0:24:43Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignThe Super Mario 64 Coin that Took 18 Years To Collect - Patricia Hernandez, KotakuPC Cheat Codes - IGN Reddit on video game Secrets - RedditSecrets That Weren't Discovered in Games For Years - Jordan Baranowski, SVGPlayer Trust0:48:39Stephen McGregorGame DesignWe touched on this idea back in our roundtable on 'The Ethics of Engagement'"Shiny rocks get me every time."
301Pothole RunNice Games Jam2023.04.21According to Minnesota Public Radio, it's hot girl sinkhole spring. In other words, we have an insane number of potholes right now in the Twin Cities, and since we can't do anything other than wait for the hardworking folks of road repair to fix them, we made a game about the whole situation. Andy and Beth Korth join for this special Nice Games Jam!
GLOM preorder through Miniature MarketGLOM preorder through GameNerdz✨hot girl sinkhole spring✨ - Minnesota Public RadioUptown washout leaves 8-foot-deep sinkhole in Minneapolis intersection - Tim Nelson and Kerem Yücel, Minnesota Public RadioThe Korths are back! They were first on episode #002Steam GreenlightEpisode #102 with Beth & AndyCode Comment: "Verdant Skies"Episode #204 with Beth & AndyFamilies in GamesEpisode #132 with Beth Narrative Design An example of the pothole + sinkhole situation we're dealing with this spring.Another view of the school bus sinkhole.PromptEllen gave us a prompt: "Create a game about patching potholes that Gabe would have fun playing"Game typeTabletop gameMaterialsMarbles
Play-Doh or alternative squishyness
A very complicated custom game board
Road tiles of various sizes and configurations
Setup* Set up the custom game board * Distribute marbles to all players * Distribute Play-Doh to all players * Distribute road / terrain tiles to all players * Determine who will be the first player per the rules below RulesIn a nutshell, the game challenges players to roll marbles down a hill. The hill is made of road tiles, but some of the tiles are pitted with potholes. Players can use Playdoh to patch potholes in the road so the marbles will make it to the finish.
The board is a grid laid over a raised pyramid where players put down terrain. Everything starts in the center (city hall); that’s where you put the marbles so they roll down the hill. Each quadrant is a side of the pyramid, there’s some method of tiling for the player to put pieces down to determine how the marbles will travel in that area.
Turn order
- Play starts with the player who most recently hit a pothole with their car or their bike. In case of a tie (as might happen if multiple players were in a car together), the younger player goes first.
- Play then proceeds clockwise.
Players can take 3 actions on their turn. You can do the same action more than once. The actions are:
- Rotate the board
- Place or swap a tile
- Patch a pothole
- Drop a marble
Tiles
- Each tile is worth 1, 2 or 3 victory points when marbles pass through. The rougher the tile, the more victory points it's worth.
- Players also get a bit of Play-Doh to fill up potholes in the terrain.
- Players have 5 tiles in their hand at any given time; as an action, they can play one, then draw back up to 5 tiles.
Rotating the board
- Rotating the board happens towards the left (counterclockwise), the opposite of play order, which goes to the right (clockwise). Each rotation turns the board 90 degrees.
Scoring & dropping marbles
- If a marble reaches the bottom of the hill in front of you, you get the victory points that it acquired from each tile it moved through on its journey from the top of the hill to the bottom.
- You ONLY get the victory points if the marble reaches the bottom of the hill. If you drop a marble as an action, and the marble gets stuck on the way, you don't get any points from the tiles it passed through.
Winning the game
- Play proceeds in 12 rounds. Each player gets one turn per round.
- Play ends when the turn counter reaches zero (game starts at the start of winter, ends at the start of the next winter)
- Whoever has acquired the most victory points by the end of the "year" is the winner of Pothole Run
Fun stuff to think about for the future
- We have to create an extractor to get the playdoh out.
- Cooperative play mode? Roles for each player? Someone who’s better at filling potholes, someone who can put more marbles down, etc. Maybe two teams?
298"One size bigger and red."Roundtable2023.04.13Dale learned a lot while editing this episode.
- She learned the board game ‘Spirit Island’ is about spirits that protect an island, and she is pretty sure that this is the same premise as hit TV show ‘LOST’.
- She learns that CSS is not a programming language or a mark-up language
- And she learns that CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets
- She learns that AAA games are easy (not sure why she struggles with them)
- That there are either wrong choices in skill trees OR it never really mattered
- And that Stephen wants to fight everyone on Discord
Good luck anyone who isn’t a McGregor!
Stephen is playing Spirit Island - Board Game GeekRa Ra Boom Trailer (from Max who schedules our interviewsTwin Cities Playtest is the 3rd Wednesday of the Month - EventbriteTwin Cities Playtest is also on YouTube - IGDA Twin Cities, YouTubeCSS9:47Mark LaCroixProgrammingIn this discussion Ellen mentioned accessibility standards for web content
WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) - WikipediaMark asked if there is an ISO Standard for this, and there is! ISO 40500:2012
There is also one for UI: ISO 30071-1
Mark mentions that you should look up the 'Blink' tag, but Dale already did it for you, here.
Unity Style Sheet (USS) - UnityThere is a USS Unity in Star TrekAnd Stephen mentions the Div-Div Crow, based on this webcomic.
Skill Trees46:38Stephen McGregorGame Design
284"Shiny rocks get me every time."Roundtable2022.10.28It's spooky season! Stephen is SO over it, but he can't escape all the scary stuff happening in this week's episode. We start with a lesson on the necromantic arts of branding and iconography, guided by Mark, a master of these dark magics. After the break, Ellen raises a past topic from the dead in order to explore the ethics of manipulating players' brainnnsssss. Also mentioned: candy corn, houseplants, and—you guessed it—Star Trek.
Star Trek: AscendancyBranding & Iconography0:10:10Mark LaCroixMarketingSmash TV - WikipediaThomas Was Alone - Bithell GamesThe Ethics of Engagement0:36:22Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignEgg, Inc. - Auxbrain, Inc.Idle Acorns - Aleros LLCBeReal social mediaA little learning is a dangerous thing
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.
This is a line from Alexander Pope's Essay on Criticism (1711). The Pierian spring is a fountain in Pieria, a district round Mount Olympus and the native country of the Muses. You can read the full text for free here on Project Gutenberg.
321Cat TimeNice Games Jam2023.09.07It's been a while but your nice hosts come up with a game in roughly an hour, this one for the cat owners out there! After a fairly long meta, we get into the mind of a cat and design a competitive game for them to play.
Toronto International Film FestivalRenew an adult passport - USA.govBloor–Yonge station - WikipediaPromptCreate a game my mother can (and wants to) play with her cats, with the supply list below. Bonus points if this can be played a single cat or multiple cats at the same time, for optimum usefulness in listener households with single catsGame typeDesign documentPlayer count2MaterialsAt least two cats
A cat toy shaped like a die with a treat inside
List of activities the die points to
SetupPick an end date for when the game stops (can be arbitrary).
RulesGive the cats the cat toy shaped like a die, they will roll the die and leave it eventually, and this determines the next activity for the human to set up. Once the die decides what the next activity is, the human sets it up based on a chart. Once the task is completed and cats are awarded points, repeat the die roll and do the next activity until the end date (since remember, you're on Cat Time so the amount of activities you do depends on your cats). The winner is the cat with the most points by the end!
Examples of tasks (there would be at least 20):
- Cat task: One cat at a time for this challenge. Put something on top of the cat’s head and start the stopwatch. Whichever cat keeps the object on their head the longest gets X points.
- Cat task: Make a loud meowing sound. Whichever cat looks at you first gets X points.
- Human task: Award the cat who has been the best sport X points.
- Cat task: Hold both cats in your hands. Whichever cat jumps off first LOSES. Winner gets X points.
- Cat task: Place a ring of non-breakable objects (probably cat toys) around the edge of a table so that the tabletop is fully circled by objects. Place both cats, the task ends when both cats are off the table. Each cat gets a number of points equal to a multiplier of the number of objects that were knocked off the table.
- Cat task: Put the same number of treats in each hand. Call both cats over for them to snack from your hands. Whichever cat finishes their treats first is the winner and gets X points.
- Human task: Pick the cat that you feel the most sorry for and award them X points.
- Human task: Pick the cat that currently looks the sleepiest and sit them out for the next challenge.
324Much Ado About Unity (with Freya Holmér)Special2023.09.22Earlier today, Unity issued an update to their controversial "runtime fee" policy introduced last week. What changed? What didn't? How could this have even happened? What does it mean going forward? Can we ever trust Unity again?
We get into all of it, from the original announcement on September 12th, to the "open letter" update and "fireside chat" on September 22nd. Your nice hosts are joined by special guest and "Unity Insider" Freya Holmér, who offers some additional context and much-needed clarity about the events of the last 10 days.
Unity Runtime Fee and Subsequent Policy CorrectionMark LaCroixStephen McGregorEllen Burns-JohnsonFreya HolmérIRLToolsThe original policy: "Unity plan pricing and packaging updates" - UnityThe current policy: "An open letter to our community" - UnityUnity's Marc Whitten - Answers Unity Price Policy - Jason Weimann, YouTube'Flappy Bird' Guy Gets $12 Million Bill From Unity - Mark Roebuck, Hard Drive
282"Today’s the day that I screw things up."Roundtable2022.10.13Your nice hosts start off strong with an excellently performed intro, and it just gets better from there!
The Game Agency - The Game AgencyPre-production0:06:24Stephen McGregorProductionIdle Games0:31:45Mark LaCroixGame DesignGamingStar Trek Lower Decks: The Badgey Directive Review: The Final Fun-tier? - Steven Shaw, Droid GamersHow to make an idle game: Everything you need to know about incremental mobile … - David Hartery, AdjustIdle Games: The Mechanics and Monetization of Self-Playing Games - Anthony Pecorella, YouTube“It Started as a Joke”: On the Design of Idle Games - Katta Spiel, Sultan A. Alharthi, Andrew Jian-Lan Cen, Jessica Hammer, Lennart E. Nacke, Z O. Toups and Tess Tanenbaum, CHI PLAY
293The Logistics of Moving OnInterview2023.02.22Your nice hosts invite Zachtronics founder Zach Barth to discuss the closing of the studio and the logistics of moving on from that. In this episode, you'll also hear about ruminations on what success means as a game dev, a theory about how great walking is and exclusive news about Zach's future plans.
The Logistics of Moving OnIRLProductionZachtronics websiteLast Call BBSWhy Zachtronics is shutting down for good this time - Alex Calvin, gameindustry.bizLegal Systems Very Different From Ours - David Friedman, Peter Leeson, David SkarbekWhy Walking Helps Us Think - Ferris Jabr, The New YorkerCoincidenceZach BarthGuestZach Barth was the founder of Zachtronics and is currently working on unannounced projects.External linkZachtronics on Twitter
This year, Ellen thought a lot about cheating in games. So your nice hosts kept doing episodes about it. Three in total over this last summer. So, to kick off this year's run of Nice Replays, we’ve stitched all three topics together into one SUPER MEGA NICE NEW YEAR’S OMNIBUS EPISODE!
Cheating (omnibus edition)Part 1:"What's a little grand larceny?"Part 2:Cheating, Part 2Part 3:"Sad or fascinating?"
The clubhouse continues the annual tradition of reviewing the past year. But first they need to talk about Doctor Who and new Minnesota state flag. Ellen makes her first programming joke, and Dale learns to add comments from the editing booth.
Finally, everyone shares which games they have been playing the bees out of in 2023.
But, wait... there's more: your nice hosts also talk about what they are anticipating for 2024.
- Doctor Who
- Donna Noble is the best companion - Wikipedia
- Cucumber, a miniseries by Russell T Davies - Wikipedia
- It's a Sin, a miniseries by Russell T Davies
- Minnesota State Flag
- The new Minnesota state flag - Briana Bierschbach, Star Tribune
0:10:30Our accomplishmentsMark's Accomplishments:
- Glom
- Dogpile!
- IGDA Twin Cities Calendar full of events
- IGDA Twin Cities's Playtest Event
- Maintenance of Noble Engine
- Major Accomplishments in Dreamsettler
- including securing a big third party developer for a minigame
Stephen's Accomplishments:
- Glom
- Future Club got funding to produce a vertical slice of a game
- Working on Future Club projects and pitching them (to a celebrity!)
- Survived a snake basement
Ellen's Accomplishments:
- Glom
- TWO custom game projects that Ellen is not allowed to talk about
- Noodle Training Arcade
- Serious Play Conference
- Got a road bike
-
Moved to Duluth Your nice hosts talked about thier work as a tabletop development team in:The Nice Board Game Industrial Complex, a Nice Games Club Skunkworks ProjectMark gave a short presentation at the IGDATC holiday party about all the work that the group did in 2023.Ellen talks about her experience at the serious play conference in:Serious Play Conference SpecialMark talked about Noble Engine in:"So, you made a game engine?"0:29:11Nicest of 2023Ellen's Nicest:
-
Baldur's Gate III
- Kirby and the Forgotten Land
- NY Times Games App Magic the Gathering
- Rival Stars Horse Racing
- Games from the Studio 'Afterburn'
Mark's Nicest:
- Super Mario Wonder
- Super Nintendo World
- Star Trek: Resurgence
- Zachtronics Solitaire Collection
- Puzzmo
Mark's Honorable Mentions:
- Spider Man 2
- Tears of the Kingdom
- Star Trek: Infinite
Stephen's Nicest:
- Spirit Island
- Forspoken
- Deceive, Inc.
Stephen's Honorable Mentions:
- Tears of the Kingdom's Ascend ability
-
Baldur's Gate III Mark mentioned what he usually calls "Super Mario Theme Park," which we talk about more in:GDC 2023 SpecialWe interviewed Zach of Zachtronic's Solitaire collection in Episode 293The Logistics of Moving OnPuzzmo is now publicly available!1:01:08Most Anticpated of 2024Ellen's picks:
-
Hellblade II: Henua's Saga
- Ultros
- Hyper Light Breaker
- Little Kitty, Big City
- Dustborn
- Concord
Mark's picks:
- Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door remake
- Princess Peach: Showtime!
- More Playdate games!
Stephen's picks:
-
Dragon's Dogma 2 1:16:132024 Gamedev ResolutionsEllen's Resolutions:
-
Make stuff
- Make stuff in Godot Engine
- Make a portfolio
- Do less work, make more stuff
- Unpack some boxes
Mark's Resolutions
- Get Dreamsettler out
- Set up future for Noble Robot office
- Set up console SDK environments again for DS and others (Metro Nexus, porting work).
Stephen's Resolutions
- Look into game engines other than Unity
Will went to school for illustration. After many plot twists—including a bike accident, leading a team of animators, and climbing mountains in Alaska—he ended up working in games. Now, he's a design director and creative consultant, working on games that aim to make the world a better place. This week, Will joins us in the clubhouse to discuss how he's made decisions about his creative career and where those decisions have taken him. New gamedevs and creative folks, you might find inspiration in Will's story. Experienced gamedevs, you might be reminded to think about where you've been and where to find meaning in the next chapter of your career.
Creative Career PathsArtGame DesignIRLMisc.Kablam! - IMDBHeadkicker II - Arcade HistoryU.B. Funkeys - WikipediaMicrosoft Solitaire turns 30 years old today and still has 35 million monthly p… - The VergeNYT Connections Game - The New York TimesTraveling While Black - Felix and PaulEverFiBuild Your Stax (game)Will BredbeckGuestWilliam Bredbeck lives in Milford, CT and is the father of two amazing little girls. He has had a show of oil paintings in Alaska, worked on a 160-foot schooner, is reading through all of the Pulitzer Prize winning novels in order, and climbed to the highest points in many states. He is passionate about understanding the creative process, mentoring designers, and making great things!
External linkhttps://www.williambredbeck.com/Will on Instagram
This week, the clubhouse becomes the birdhouse; we're talking pigeons! Dale created a prompt inspired by Ellen's activities as a child and she bombards your nice hosts with a TON of pigeon facts! We somehow designed a game out of it!
As a note, Ellen's was still recording remotely but the first 5 minutes she was recording on the wrong mic! We corrected it after those 5 minutes.
- Breeds of Pigeons across the Globe. - Layne Gardner, The American Pigeon Museum and Library
- Racing Pigeon Training 25 mile - Hoosier Outdoors, YouTube
- Racing Pigeons VS. Falcon (Pt.1) - "One Wing" - @Pigeonmaniacom, YouTube
- Amazing video of a hawk chasing a homing pigeon - Their own world, YouTube
- A Rare Appreciation of the New York Pigeon - Alexandra Wolfe, The Wall Street Journal
- Ellen's pictures of pigeons she posted in the Miro board
PromptCreate a game where you breed and raise pigeonsGame typeDesign documentSetupNone yet! It's a game design doc.
Rules* Control a group of pigeons
+ Real time strategy racing game
+ Manage each bird by going to each bird, checking statuses and causing communication so pigeons can help each other get to the goal
+ Players can give stats bonuses to each individual bird
+ You as the player don’t know where the pigeons are going, you have to figure out where the pigeons’ goal is
+ Can be multiplayer
+ Swapping between each pigeon gives you information about that pigeons’ status
+ Players have a very vague idea of where to go at the start
+ When a predator appears, the player needs to outsmart the predator to escape and keep racing
- Then the player is off course and needs to find their way back
+ Some races can be longer, where you need to find a place to rest for the night and have enough food
-
Game loop
- You get a random selection of pigeons
-
Compete in a race
- Start in a random place on the map
- Pigeons know where they need to go but the player does not
- Players need to deduce where the pigeons are going and make sure to lead all of them in the right direction
- Players control each pigeon individually, moving a pigeon will influence the other pigeons but will not move fully in that direction. Players need to guide each pigeon to their goal as a group, but control them individually.
- Control of pigeons is in third-person perspective, players need to jump between pigeons to see the whole view of the flock
- There are areas on the map that the player will know about that can have more risk involved (like areas where predators will often be)
- There can be some collectables around that the player can pick up with birds to get bonuses (more points? movespeed?)
- When you complete the race, you can remove a pigeon from the racing group and add a new pigeon from a set of 3 randomly generated pigeons
Your nice hosts start this episode with some personal updates, and (spoiler) it does not "go quick" as planned, then take on two really fascinating production topics. Ellen puts both drawings on the fridge, Mark recommends a modern Polish masterpiece, and Stephen is a changed man.
BONUS: This week's outtakes were much too long to include at the end of the show, so we put them on Patreon! It's 10+ minutes of behind-the-scenes outtakes that go a littler further than usual in revealing how your nice hosts assemble the program. Plus, bonus-bonus: an explanation of Mark's "Wandelprober." Any monthly donation amount will get you access to this and a bunch of other bonus content, as well as an ad-free episode feed. Join now!
- Noble Engine - Noble Robot, GitHub
- M+Dev: A Midwest Gamedev Conference - Wisconsin Games Alliance
- Toppers Pizza Rolls Out Vegan Menu Across All Locations - VegWorld Magazine
- Green Border is Agnieszka Holland’s Triumphant Stand Against Polish Corruption - Lena Wilson, The Film Stage
- Agnieszka Holland’s ‘Green Border’ Acquired for the U.S. and U.K. by Kino Lorbe… - Elsa Keslassy, Variety
0:42:09Debug FunctionalityThe debug menu Mark made for Widget Satchel.Explaining the "Probes" of TheatreChris PetersonOnStage Blog0:42:09PolishThe Art Of Game Polish: Developers SpeakJ. Matthew ZossGame Developer
In this episode the brothers Rob and John Donkin of BadViking join the hosts in the clubhouse for a frank discussion on goals and expectations, scoping, and setting milestone timelines, and making feedback useful.
Scoping for your ProjectProductionBad Viking talks about Strange Horticulture, their most recent gameBest Best review for Strange Horticulture - Alice Bell, Rock Paper ShotgunPC Gamer Review - Christopher Livingston, PC GamerJohn DonkinGuestJohn Donkin does Art and Design at Bad VikingExternal linkhttps://twitter.com/johnnydonkinRob DonkinGuestRob Donkin is the programmer at Bad VikingExternal linkhttps://twitter.com/robdonkin
Ellen spoke with this week's guest, Filament Games' chief partnerships officer Jennifer Javornik, at the 2023 Serious Play Conference in Toronto, Canada about game-based learning, but also about commercializing serious games, growing the game development industry in the midwest US, and a whole lot more.
Game-based LearningEventsGame DesignProductionSerious Play ConferenceWisconsin Games AllianceFilament GamesJennifer JavornikGuestChief Partnerships Officer at Filament GamesExternal linkLinkedIn
Earlier this autumn, Ellen visited Toronto to attend the Serious Play Conference. It's an event for people who design, develop, and study so-called "serious games" — that is, games used for education, training, therapy, and more. Ellen reports on her experiences in the city and at the conference, and shares some clips from conversations she had with some speakers at Serious Play. Also, Stephen and Mark talk about the weather.
(Note: There were some audio issues with the recordings taken on-site at the conference. We've done our best, but it's not great. Our apologies!)
- Page One Cafe
- Melanistic squirrels in Toronto
- Serious Play Conference - Main Site
- xAPI
- Filament Games (Madison, Wisconsin)
- The Red Bull Gaming Hub at TMU
- Geoffrey Lachapelle - LinkedIn
0:28:07Excerpt from a conversation with Dr. David ChandrossDr. David Chandross at TMUMaslow's Hierarchy of NeedsWikipediaJohn Dewey (educational psychologist)Kurt Vonnegut on the 8 “shapes” of storiesBig ThinkBloom's Cognitive TaxonomyUniversity of Central Florida0:45:07Excerpt from a conversation with Roz HussinRoz HussinLinkedInAbout MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses)edXRoutineFlow AppWalkr App
We welcome Trenton Greyoak into the clubhouse to talk about the vast topic of megagames! Trenton provides a huge amount of insight into the development and play of these games in this slightly more mega-sized than normal episode.
MegagamesGame DesignGamingPhysical GamesMegagame - WikipediaModel United Nations - United NationsWatch the Skies! - South West MegagamesOrigins of Megagames - Jim Wallman, No Game SurvivesMegagame Makers - Megagame Makers UKSU&SD PLAY… A GODDAMN MEGAGAME - Shut Up & Sit DownVery Large Huge Games - Very Large Huge GamesCan Horses Climb Stairs? Can Horses Go Up & Down Stairs? - Katie Plakson, Horse Bonding SuccessDread - Erik Schmidt, Unpossible JourneysDen of Wolves - South West MegagamesMansa Musa - WikipediaThe National Security Decision Making Game - Rex Brynen, PAXsimsMegagame Coalition - Megagame CoalitionMegagame Assembly - Megagame AssemblyAssets and Images of Deephaven and other megagamesTrenton GreyoakGuestTrenton Greyoak is a game designer and game programmer. He also develops a megagame called Deephaven.
In this week's episode, Mark teaches us to cast polymorph, a 4th level transmutation spell. Just kidding! But Mark does put his high INT score to work helping us understand polymorphism, a useful feature of object-oriented programming. Later on, Stephen talks about the pattern of "save scumming" and considers how it might influence how designers create games. Ellen noodles on things.
- Noodle demo game - Ellen Burns-Johnson, The Training Arcade
0:04:48Polymorphism31:57:0Save ScummingShepard. Wrex. Grunt.YouTube
Nice Games Club continues to celebrate the Spooky Season with the second-ever “Nice Games Panel”. Our panelists include creators known for their work on horror games: James Pratt, TorpalDork, and Max Kunze. We discuss the using humor and using nostalgia in horror games and if clowns have ever not been scary.
Horror Games 201Game DesignJames PrattGuestJames Pratt is a game developer out of Canada, and Co-founder of MANGLEDmaw games. His work includes 'Amanda the Adventurer' and other games.External linkJP Game Design@JPratt_Design on twitter@AmandaAdvturer on TwitterAmanda on ItchAmanda on SteamTorple DookGuestTorple Dook looks like a wizard and we can't prove that he isn't one. Also the maker of 'Hand of Doom', 'Chip's Tips', and 'Black Relic'External linkTorple Dook on Itch@TorpleDook on twitterHand of Doom on Itch.ioMax KunzeGuestMax Kunze is the wonderful person responsible for booking all of our interview guests. He is also a gamemaker having worked on too many titles for me to keep track of.External link@maxjk0 on twitterReed the Robotanist on Steam
In this episode, the team gets back to all the regular reasons to complain about Unity. Stephen makes a pun, and Ellen searches for elegance through the power of internet research.
- Noodle - The Training Arcade
- Mark and his bike took a train to Chicago.
0:07:41Composition over InheritanceComposition over inheritanceWikipedia0:33:00EleganceElegant ProgramPC Mag10 Things Elegant Woman Wear - How to dress classy and elegantAustralian Finishing SchoolTerms of Art #30: Elegance (and Aesthetic Concepts)Aesthetics for BirdsWhat makes a game system elegant?Leo LesetreMediumElegant Game DesigngabahulkRedditStephen loves jank, and talked about it in"All of this mess that I'm throwing at you."
It's the first-ever "Nice Games Panel," in which we invite multiple guests on the show to discuss something interesting! Our panelists today include multiple creators who are known for their work on horror games: Schera Wyss, Conner Rush, Henry Hoare, Samuel Guglielmo, and Nick F. We discuss the fundamental nature of horror as a genre (or maybe a theme or an "orientation"), and what devs should consider if they're looking to make horror games that haunt players long after the end credits roll.
- Photo credit - Andrea Piacquadio, Pexels
Horror Games 101Game DesignDreadXP SCP Foundation: Secure, Contain, Protect - collaborative fiction, WikidotSamuel GuglielmoGuestExternal linkon Twitter (or X or whatever)on BlueSky SocialNikk FGuestExternal linkNick F on itch.ioConner RushGuestExternal linkon TikTokSchera WyssGuestExternal linkon CoHostHenry HoareGuestExternal linkwebsiteon itch.ioon Twitter (or X or whatever)
Mark is back from Toronto, and guest host Holly Harrison is back in the clubhouse! Holly completes a topic, Stephen likes that part, and Ellen reads half a book.
- Talking Heads Take Over TIFF As ‘Stop Making Sense’ Reunion Has Crowds Dancing … - Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline
- 'Lost Ladies' Review: Kiran Rao’s Delightful Hindi Comedy Swings and Wins - Proma Khosla, IndieWire
- 'Robot Dreams' Review: A Beautiful Tale of Friendship and Love in the Hand-Draw… - Tomris Laffly, The Wrap
0:09:09CompletionismConfessions of a Semi-Reformed Video Game CompletionistMatthew GaultViceResearch on the Effects of MediaDouglas GentileComposition with Red Blue and Yellow (Piet Mondrian)WikipediaHieronymus Bosch painted sheet music on a man's butt and now you can hear itSarah DoughertyThe World0:52:56Educating IntuitionEducating IntuitionRobin M. HogarthThe University of Chicago PressDoorway effectWikipedia
Earlier today, Unity issued an update to their controversial "runtime fee" policy introduced last week. What changed? What didn't? How could this have even happened? What does it mean going forward? Can we ever trust Unity again?
We get into all of it, from the original announcement on September 12th, to the "open letter" update and "fireside chat" on September 22nd. Your nice hosts are joined by special guest and "Unity Insider" Freya Holmér, who offers some additional context and much-needed clarity about the events of the last 10 days.
Unity Runtime Fee and Subsequent Policy CorrectionThe original policy: "Unity plan pricing and packaging updates"UnityThe current policy: "An open letter to our community"UnityUnity's Marc Whitten - Answers Unity Price Policy Jason WeimannYouTube'Flappy Bird' Guy Gets $12 Million Bill From UnityMark RoebuckHard Drive
We continue the recent production talks this week as we welcome Julia Keren-Detar into the clubhouse! The discussion topic is "working on a bigger team" but we also somehow talk about rain water barrels at some point? It's relevant, I swear.
- Mushroom 11 - Untame, Steam
Working on a Bigger TeamProductionWork: A deep history, from the stone age to the age of robots - James Suzman, Penguin Random HouseAn example of what Ellen brings up during the episode, probably.Julia Keren-DetarGuestJulia Keren-Detar is a game designer at Spry Fox, a Netflix studio. She has worked on games like Alphabear and Cozy Grove. Before Spry Fox, she previously worked on Mushroom 11.External linkLinkedIn
It's been a while but your nice hosts come up with a game in roughly an hour, this one for the cat owners out there! After a fairly long meta, we get into the mind of a cat and design a competitive game for them to play.
- Toronto International Film Festival
- Renew an adult passport - USA.gov
- Bloor–Yonge station - Wikipedia
Prompt Create a game my mother can (and wants to) play with her cats, with the supply list below. Bonus points if this can be played a single cat or multiple cats at the same time, for optimum usefulness in listener households with single cats
Game type Design document
Player count 2
Materials
At least two cats
A cat toy shaped like a die with a treat inside
List of activities the die points to
Setup Pick an end date for when the game stops (can be arbitrary).
Rules Give the cats the cat toy shaped like a die, they will roll the die and leave it eventually, and this determines the next activity for the human to set up. Once the die decides what the next activity is, the human sets it up based on a chart. Once the task is completed and cats are awarded points, repeat the die roll and do the next activity until the end date (since remember, you're on Cat Time so the amount of activities you do depends on your cats). The winner is the cat with the most points by the end!
Examples of tasks (there would be at least 20):
- Cat task: One cat at a time for this challenge. Put something on top of the cat’s head and start the stopwatch. Whichever cat keeps the object on their head the longest gets X points.
- Cat task: Make a loud meowing sound. Whichever cat looks at you first gets X points.
- Human task: Award the cat who has been the best sport X points.
- Cat task: Hold both cats in your hands. Whichever cat jumps off first LOSES. Winner gets X points.
- Cat task: Place a ring of non-breakable objects (probably cat toys) around the edge of a table so that the tabletop is fully circled by objects. Place both cats, the task ends when both cats are off the table. Each cat gets a number of points equal to a multiplier of the number of objects that were knocked off the table.
- Cat task: Put the same number of treats in each hand. Call both cats over for them to snack from your hands. Whichever cat finishes their treats first is the winner and gets X points.
- Human task: Pick the cat that you feel the most sorry for and award them X points.
- Human task: Pick the cat that currently looks the sleepiest and sit them out for the next challenge.
This week, Stephen and Ellen catch up with Mark about his (and Dale's) trip to GenCon. There is a happy minor Glom update, and then it's down to business. What's grind? What purpose does it serve, and what are the mechanics of it? Your nice hosts attempt to come up with some definitions & guidelines—you decide whether they succeed. And feel free to share your opinions on Discord :)
Grind 06:08 Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignA Necessary Evil: Grinding in Games - Brice Morrison, Game Developer Emphasizing Uniqueness 26:32 Stephen McGregorMarketing
In this episode the ClubHouse welcomes Rick Stemm of PikPok to the clubhouse to talk about what happens after a Game gets greenlit, and how to decide what comes next.
Turns out the answer involves building your team and trust.
Rick touts the idea of a Sh*tty first draft - faster and worse. Coaching feedback givers for what you are looking for, and the importance of building a trust in a team. Rick spouts useful idioms and your host claim points for each time Rick Says ‘cohesive’ or ‘holistic.’
Who scored the most points? Turns out Stephen declared that the points don’t matter, good thing I never bothered tabulating them.
Getting Things Going
IRLRick StemmGuest
Rick Stemm is the Design Manager and Narrative Director at PikPok! RIck is originally from Wisconsin but now lives and works in New Zealand. Rick Stemm can be reached by email at Rick@PikPok.com
External link
Rick Stemm is on LinkedIn
We return to the topic of cheating for the third (and final, maybe?) time this week! In this episode, Ellen brings cheating to a close, Mark makes up a band he'd totally listen to, and Stephen comes up with an engaging dish washing game.
- Cubistry - Match 2 LLC, Google Play Store
Cheating, Part Three
0:12:26
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGamingIRLProgramming
We first visited cheating in this episode.
"What's a little grand larceny?"
Cheating Part II in this episode.
Cheating, Part 2Anti-cheat in video games: The A to Z - Reinhard Blaukovitsch, IrdetoMedal of dishonour: why do so many people cheat in online video games? - Keith Stuart, The GuardianReport: Cheating Is Becoming A Big Problem In Online Gaming - Nelson Granados, Forbes167: Randomly Generated Title - Coffee with Butterscotch, Butterscotch ShenanigansCS:GO - Overwatch guide - Ed Thorn, Rock Paper ShotgunHOW TO GET OVERWATCH CASES IN CS:GO: CLEAN UP THE GAME - Daniel Morris, eSports.netYouTube videos
17 Video Games That ROAST Cheaters - T5G, YouTubeTackling Cheating In Gaming - GDC, YouTubeHow DayZ Deals With Cheaters - GDC, YouTubeRobocalypse Now: Using Deep Learning to Combat Cheating in Counter-Strike: Glob… - GDC, YouTube
Putting the Real World in Games
0:50:22
Mark LaCroixGame DesignNarrativeVenba - Visai GamesGame Jam Games
Sonder - A Hot Clock Production, itch.ioSmile Simulator - Anyanwu, itch.io
Your nice hosts get called to the boss' office to interview Frani Esquenazi, who is Stephen's actual boss at Future Club. Frani discusses servant leadership, getting your "C" legs, and not having all the answers.
Leadership
IRLProductionServant Leadership - Mind ToolsServant Leadership is NOT What You Think - John S. Todorovic, LinkedInWomen in Games - DiscordFrani EsquenaziGuest
CEO of Future Club.
External link
LinkedInFuture Club website
In the second installment of your nice hosts' discussion about cheating in games, we talk about the nature of cheating in contemporary video games: what it looks like, what factors shape it, and how worried we gamedevs should be about it. Yeah, we had so much to say about cheating that we couldn't fit it into one episode. Can we fit it into two? Also, Mark skips the punctuation, Stephen is excited, and Ellen quits a game.
- Gex Is Coming to Modern Consoles - Alex Stedman, IGN
Cheating, Part 2
0:16:58
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignGaming
"Cheating, Part 1" was in a recent roundtable episode.
"What's a little grand larceny?"Why Dream kept his face hidden — and why he revealed it (2022) - Ana Diaz , PolygonYouTube’s big Minecraft cheating scandal, explained (2020) - Patricia Hernandez, PolygonAnti-cheat in video games: The A to Z - Reinhard Blaukovitsch, IrdetoMedal of dishonour: why do so many people cheat in online video games? - Keith Stuart, The GuardianReport: Cheating Is Becoming A Big Problem In Online Gaming - Nelson Granados, ForbesEpisode 167: Randomly Generated Title - Coffee with ButterscotchYouTube videos
17 Video Games That Roast Cheaters - Top 5 Gaming, YouTubeGDC 2021 Fair Play Summit: Tackling Cheating in Gaming - GDC, YouTubeGDC Europe 2015: How DayZ Deals with Cheaters - GDC, YouTubeGDC 2018 Robocalypse Now: Using Deep Learning to Combat Cheating in CS:GO - GDC, YouTube
In this episode your nice hosts chat with Anna C. Webster lead writer on The Foglands, and her cat Montezuma. Anna talks about how writing for games is different than writing for other medias, including making decisions on what options the player can make (you can never let your player do anything because scope), and writing for players that role-play as the character vs. wearing the character's costume as yourself. And the importance of frequent Narrative Reviews and getting together with other teams to talk about how new elements feel.
Stephen's journey in this episode takes him from declaring that writing is hard to being encouraged and pledging to write for the his next games jam project (Ellen will be coding in Godot).
Writing for Games
IRLNarrativeThe Foglands Review - Derek O'Dell, Playstation BlogThe Foglands on SteamTools for Game Writing
Confluence - a collaboration tool - AtlassianScrivener - a writing softwareInk - nararive game writing software/game engine - Inkle StudiosTwine - nararive game writing software/game engine - TwineryArticy - nararive game writing software/game engineBitsy - nararive game writing software/game engineAnna C WebsterGuest
Anna C Webster is a writer for games. She is lead writer on the foglands and
External link
Anna's website@annacwebs on the twitter
After a fairly self-indulgent meta, your nice hosts eventually get into the nitty-gritty of both Player Motivation and Copying Others. Listen after the outro to hear a plethora of fun horse names!
- Normal Gossip - Kelsey McKinney, Defector
- Tour de France: Unchained - Netflix
Player Motivations
0:26:57
Mark LaCroixGame DesignGamingGamer Motivation Profile - Quantic FoundryBoard Game Motivation Profile - Quantic Foundry
We've talked about types of players this episode as well.
"Killed the flightmaster, killed the griffin..."
We also took Quantic Foundry surveys in this episode.
"Will you be the best with me?"
Copying Others
Stephen McGregorArtGame DesignNarrative4 Chords - The Axis Of Awesome, YouTube
Quinn K joins the clubhouse to break down their IGF-nominated game "An Outcry." Your nice hosts learn about choosing your own limitations, the Haunted PS1 scene, and how much playtesting is still not enough playtesting.
Postmortem: "An Outcry"
An Outcry - Quinn K, itch.ioRPG Maker 2003Oulipo: freeing literature by tightening its rules - Andrew Gallix, The GuardianDogme 95 - Movements in FilmHuanted PS1 Demo Disc 2021 - itch.ioThe Shrike (ship) - Memory AlphaQuinn KGuest
External link
ItchTumblrPatreon
In this week's roundtable, Ellen needs help with ALL the things. Stephen and Mark offer advice on where to find people who can help, and discuss some of the hidden challenges of expanding one's team. Later, Stephen challenges everyone to think about how games can do a better job of implementing companion characters. Also, some host backstory tidbits, weird horse names, and (of course) a bit about Glom.
- Rival Stars: Horse Racing (the game that Ellen’s playing) - PikPok, Google Play Store
- “What’s your favorite commentary-friendly name?” - Reddit
- Ahead Of The Kentucky Derby, 5 Absurd Rules For Naming Racehorses (2015) - Julie Alderman, NPR
Finding Help
0:11:46
Ellen Burns-JohnsonProductionHiring Game Designers - Game Developer
Companion Characters
0:46:22
Stephen McGregorGame DesignGaming[The] 10 Best Companions In Gaming History - Jom Elauria, ScreenRant
(Some of) your nice hosts went to Origins Game Fair last week to check out the launch of their card game Glom. But before they went, they talked about the state of the next card game they're working on (and working on pitching to publishers), Dogpile!
- The Historical Legacy of Juneteenth - Smithsonian Institution
- W. E. B. Du Bois: A Resource Guide - Angela McMillian, Library of Congress
The State of "Dogpile!"
Mark LaCroixStephen McGregorEllen Burns-JohnsonIRLTabletopSell sheet for "Dogpile!"Rules document for "Dogpile!"Sell Sheets for Game Designers 101 - Luke Laurie, League of GamemakersCooper Black - Wikipedia
Listen to us come up with the game in:
Dogpile!
We developed it further in:
Dogpile! (part 2)‘Heroin for middle-class nerds’: how Warhammer conquered gaming - Alex Hern, The Guardian
Your nice hosts return to form with a roundtable recorded together for the first time in a while! In this episode, Stephen sneaks a mini-topic in, Ellen asks some controversial questions and Mark helps us realize when we're breaking the law.
As a side note, Glom is available right now! We've talked about it plenty on the show, but for more information or purchasing info you can go to nicegames.club/glom.
- Summer Games Done Quick 2023 - YouTube
Licensing
0:10:27
Mark LaCroixIRLProductionA complete guide to font licensing for designers - Garrick Webster, Creative Bloq
Cheating, Part 1
0:36:22
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGaming
After Mark's time with Covid, the first day he was free to go outside, the area was covered with the smoke of distant wildfires. Another bout of smoke has rolled in to the Twin Cities just in time for the release of this episode.
The club spends this Nice Thinking episode talking about the making of Glom, and discussing their feelings about pitching and publishing board games. They discover that Mark and Stephen dread pitching, but Ellen thinks it can be fun (it's her superpower).
This section is about Dale, who edited this episode.
I did write most of the Glom cards, but that was really playing to my superpower of brainstorming lots of ideas, very quickly. The club mentioned
-
that I have a full time job - TRUE
-
that I have to deal with the club's crap - TRUE
-
cats - TRUE - I volunteer at a cat shelter
For 'Dogpile!' the game - I thought up 100 dog names - EASY
and I have been thinking up ~20 cat names a week (my superpower right?)
Finally, they share the story of how Mark no longer edits every episode, and that's how Dale got to title this episode and add a section of episode notes about cats.
- GLOM
- Glom launched (June 14th, 2023) and is available for purchase now!
- nicegames.club/glom
- This section is about Cats.
- It’s kitten season and the cat shelters are full - please consider adopting a cat (or other animal, but you should really consider a cat or two).
- The city of Minneapolis Animal Care and Control has been waving cat adoption fees on select days.
- Minneapolis Pet Adoption
- If you choose a cat from Feline Rescue in Saint Paul, the name might have been suggested by Dale. Don't worry, you can promptly change their name to that of your favorite video game character.
- Feline Rescue
- Check out these two: Phobos and Deimos, named after the two moons of Mars (or Mario and Luigi if you prefer), they are available at the time of publication
- Deimos and Phobos, the moon brothers are available for adoption via this link
Nice Thinking about our future in Board Games
0:04:40
IRLThe game GLOM
Episode 210 is the NiceGames Jam that created
Glom
For the record, the third deck that was renamed goal, was originally called “Scoring System Deck.”
We talked about pitching the game with Peter Yang in episode 231
Pitching Tabletop GamesWe're excited about 'Dogpile!'
'Dogpile!' was a game Jam from episode 272
Dogpile!
And we did a followup in episode 275
Dogpile! (part 2)
Nice Thinking about NiceGameJam Games with Potential
0:46:06
Game Design
Mark's List of 5 Games
- From episode 272,
Dogpile!
- From episode 275,
Palace of Versailles
- From episode 192, recorded live,
Roboston! (parts 1 and 2)
- From episode 157,
Reravel: A Backwards Storytelling Game
They also mention these GameJam Games:
- From episode 134,
Rules
- From episode 143
Ants of Destiny: Morsels of the Queen
Nice Thinking about traveling to conferences
TabletopOrigins is June 21-25 2023 in Columbus OHGenCon is August 3-6 in Indianapolis, IN
Your nice hosts recorded separately again this week, as Mark has been isolating at home. Stephen rants about examines fall damage mechanics in Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and other games. Is fall damage overrated? Well, Stephen has OPINIONS. Mark talks about all of the things he's been doing to occupy his mind while he's been stuck in his apartment by himself—including some deep thinking about Tears of the Kingdom. Ellen rides her bike.
- Slayers X is OUT NOW! - Steam
- Gumshoe Gooper plushie - Makeship
- What Is Paxlovid Rebound, and How Common Is It? - Fionna M. D. Samuels, Scientific American
- Generational cusper - Wikipedia
- We've talked about the show Taskmaster many times before on the podcast...
"Godot! God-ot? Godot." * ...many times...
"The drama of the reveal."
Lessons from Tears of the Kingdom
0:26:40
Mark LaCroixGame DesignNintendo’s classic Ultra Hand toy lives on in Tears of the Kingdom - Michael McWhertor, PolygonBolson, a character in Breath of the Wild - Fandom
Fall Damage
56:40
Stephen McGregorGame DesignHow to Fall - Dougald MacDonald, Climbing.com
This week, Ellen and Stephen learn guest Zack Gilbertson's whole deal. Afterwards, Zack walks your nice hosts though an overview of what it's like for an indie developer to work with Unreal Engine, a popular-but-slightly-less-popular-than-Unity game engine.
Unreal Engine Game DesignProductionProgrammingToolsUnreal Engine - Epic GamesLighting in Unreal Engine 5 for Beginners - William Faucher, YouTubeIntroduction to Blueprints - Unreal Engine Documentation, Epic Games Alina Matson joined us in a previous episode to talk about Visual CodingEpic Games Store now lets developers publish their own games - Justin Carter, Game DeveloperFree Epic Games Content (for Unreal Engine) - Epic GamesZack GilbertsonGuest External link SquidlandPersonal website
Max Kunze, Nice Games Club Guest Booker, takes over for Mark while he's still sick this week on another Nice Games Jam! Mark actually created the prompt for this episode, and your nice hosts find a way to inject many explosions into this board game made from it that you can try out yourself using the rules below!
The playtest session we alluded to in the episode is on Patreon! If you want to hear how we playtested it over Miro, check it out there!
Prompt Create a game where risk is extremely attractive and the consequences of failure are disastrous. Game type Card game Player count 2 - 4 Materials
25 cubes
42 cards
1 Chaos Cube (six-sided die)
Setup
- Set the 25 cubes in the center of the table so everyone can reach it. This is the stockpile.
- Deal out 3 cards to each player, hidden from the other players.
- First player is the person who was most recently in a car.
Rules
- On your turn, choose a card to play and follow its instructions.
- Types of cards:
- Excursion: draw 1, 2, or 3 cubes from the Gas Stockpile bag
- You have the option of rolling the Chaos Cube
- Casting Curses: Have another player roll the risk dice
- Bad Weather: Skip the next player’s turn
- Raid: Steal a gas cube from another player’s cache
- You have the option of rolling the Chaos Cube
- Foresight: See what cards another player has
- Theft: Steal a random card from another player
- Excursion: draw 1, 2, or 3 cubes from the Gas Stockpile bag
- If the card allows you to roll the Chaos Cube, you can choose to roll it to increase your rewards. But there's a risk that you will both burn the cubes in your own collection and in the stockpile!
- At the end of your turn, draw back up to 3 cards.
- Play continues like this with each player playing one card until there are no more cubes remaining in the stockpile. The player with the most cubes in their own collection at the game's end wins!
Future changes
- We want way more excursion cards
- We want to have a way for players to steal from each other
- More cubes!
- MAYBE: Casting Curses doesn’t grant the possibility of granting +1 cube to the recipient of the curse
- Add Sabotage back in: Remove X cubes from the Stockpile bag (1, 2, or 3 is noted on the card). You can remove a larger number by rolling the Chaos Cube, but that also carries the risk of blowing up your cache!
On this episode, we talk with two of Ellen's coworkers and the Games Agency, Jamaal Sawyer-Dymski & Greg Borreson. They talk about their career paths, from their time as young nerds, to working in very different areas of computer sciences and programming, to the fact that saying "Enhance" doesn't actually help with anything CSI style, to working with your nice host, Ellen.
Ellen has some audio problems (they get better), Stephen gets called out, and Mark calls it in from home (because Dale exposed him to Covid).
Spoilers:
- Dale and Mark are recovering (slowly) from Covid.
- It turns out that the secret to getting into game development is showing up to a music festival and harassing your roommate's boyfriend. Who knew?
Wandering into Game Development IRLImpact JSApache CordovaJamaal Sawyer-DymskiGuest Jamaal was a professional musician (saxophone), before transitioning into game development, through learning programming in a Master's program for forensic computing. Jamaal resides outside of San Diego, CA. Greg BorresonGuest Greg Borreson learned programming through website development at the University of Alberta (that's in Canada). He transitioned to game development through a contact he made at a music festival.
In this episode, Stephen points out the number three! It’s everywhere! Also, what is it about animation that captures our minds and imaginations so effectively? Your hosts explore the topic and share some ideas. Ellen gets hung up on math, and Mark tries to keep everyone calm.
- Good Question: How Do Street Sweepers Work? - WCCO - CBS Minnesota, YouTube
A street sweeper in Bloomington, Minnesota. Image from https://www.bloomingtonmn.gov/
Stephen's "Rule of Threes" 0:17:30 Stephen McGregorGame Design The Psychology of Animation 0:48:16 Ellen Burns-JohnsonArtGame DesignUI / UXVisual attention and motion design - Mark Hazlewood, Inside Design from InVision5 examples of web animation done right - Joe Jordan, Inside Design from InVisionAnimation for Attention and Comprehension - Aurora Harley, Nielsen Norman GroupMotion onset really does capture attention - Kendra C. Smith & Richard A. Abrams, Attention, Perception, & PsychophysicsThe necessity of interactive animation for games - Christiaan Moleman, Game DeveloperStudy explores how visual effects in videogames help players to make sense of g… - Ingrid Fadelli, Tech XploreThe CEO of Corn (aka "Corn Kid") - Recess Therapy, YouTube
This week, your nice hosts clop along sprawling acres of horse games and horses in games. They are led to water by the foremost expert on the topic, Alice Ruppert, creative director of the recent Horse Tales - Emerald Valley Ranch and writer of the horse-gaming blog The Mane Quest.
The Taxonomy of Horse Games Game DesignGamingProductionThe Mane QuestHorse Tales - Emerald Valley RanchAlice RuppertGuest Alice is a game designer, producer, and writer based in Zurich, Switzerland. External link Personal websiteThe Mane Quest
Your nice hosts explore the finality and the lusory this week with these two topics. In the process, Stephen struggles with a simple concept, Mark gets to 82% completion and Ellen figures out a way to blow up a transition.
Endings 0:13:40 Mark LaCroixGame DesignNarrative Lusory Attitude 0:38:51 Ellen Burns-JohnsonGamingIRLLusory Attitude - WikipediaLusory Definition - Merriam-Webster We bring up our Curling episode during this topic. "No referees?!"
According to Minnesota Public Radio, it's hot girl sinkhole spring. In other words, we have an insane number of potholes right now in the Twin Cities, and since we can't do anything other than wait for the hardworking folks of road repair to fix them, we made a game about the whole situation. Andy and Beth Korth join for this special Nice Games Jam!
- GLOM preorder through Miniature Market
- GLOM preorder through GameNerdz
- ✨hot girl sinkhole spring✨ - Minnesota Public Radio
- Uptown washout leaves 8-foot-deep sinkhole in Minneapolis intersection - Tim Nelson and Kerem Yücel, Minnesota Public Radio
- The Korths are back! They were first on episode #002 Steam Greenlight
- Episode #102 with Beth & Andy Code Comment: "Verdant Skies"
- Episode #204 with Beth & Andy Families in Games
- Episode #132 with Beth Narrative Design
An example of the pothole + sinkhole situation we're dealing with this spring. 
Another view of the school bus sinkhole.
Prompt Ellen gave us a prompt: "Create a game about patching potholes that Gabe would have fun playing" Game type Tabletop game Materials
Marbles
Play-Doh or alternative squishyness
A very complicated custom game board
Road tiles of various sizes and configurations
Setup
- Set up the custom game board
- Distribute marbles to all players
- Distribute Play-Doh to all players
- Distribute road / terrain tiles to all players
- Determine who will be the first player per the rules below
Rules
In a nutshell, the game challenges players to roll marbles down a hill. The hill is made of road tiles, but some of the tiles are pitted with potholes. Players can use Playdoh to patch potholes in the road so the marbles will make it to the finish.
The board is a grid laid over a raised pyramid where players put down terrain. Everything starts in the center (city hall); that’s where you put the marbles so they roll down the hill. Each quadrant is a side of the pyramid, there’s some method of tiling for the player to put pieces down to determine how the marbles will travel in that area.
Turn order
- Play starts with the player who most recently hit a pothole with their car or their bike. In case of a tie (as might happen if multiple players were in a car together), the younger player goes first.
- Play then proceeds clockwise.
Players can take 3 actions on their turn. You can do the same action more than once. The actions are:
- Rotate the board
- Place or swap a tile
- Patch a pothole
- Drop a marble
Tiles
- Each tile is worth 1, 2 or 3 victory points when marbles pass through. The rougher the tile, the more victory points it's worth.
- Players also get a bit of Play-Doh to fill up potholes in the terrain.
- Players have 5 tiles in their hand at any given time; as an action, they can play one, then draw back up to 5 tiles.
Rotating the board
- Rotating the board happens towards the left (counterclockwise), the opposite of play order, which goes to the right (clockwise). Each rotation turns the board 90 degrees.
Scoring & dropping marbles
- If a marble reaches the bottom of the hill in front of you, you get the victory points that it acquired from each tile it moved through on its journey from the top of the hill to the bottom.
- You ONLY get the victory points if the marble reaches the bottom of the hill. If you drop a marble as an action, and the marble gets stuck on the way, you don't get any points from the tiles it passed through.
Winning the game
- Play proceeds in 12 rounds. Each player gets one turn per round.
- Play ends when the turn counter reaches zero (game starts at the start of winter, ends at the start of the next winter)
- Whoever has acquired the most victory points by the end of the "year" is the winner of Pothole Run
Fun stuff to think about for the future
- We have to create an extractor to get the playdoh out.
- Cooperative play mode? Roles for each player? Someone who’s better at filling potholes, someone who can put more marbles down, etc. Maybe two teams?
Dale learned a lot while editing this episode.
-She learned the board game ‘Spirit Island’ is about spirits that protect an island, and she is pretty sure that this is the same premise as hit TV show ‘LOST’.
-She learns that CSS is not a programming language or a mark-up language
-And she learns that CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets
-She learns that AAA games are easy (not sure why she struggles with them)
-That there are either wrong choices in skill trees OR it never really mattered
-And that Stephen wants to fight everyone on Discord
Good luck anyone who isn’t a McGregor!
- Stephen is playing Spirit Island - Board Game Geek
- Ra Ra Boom Trailer (from Max who schedules our interviews
- Twin Cities Playtest is the 3rd Wednesday of the Month - Eventbrite
- Twin Cities Playtest is also on YouTube - IGDA Twin Cities, YouTube
CSS 9:47 Mark LaCroixProgramming
In this discussion Ellen mentioned accessibility standards for web content
WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) - Wikipedia Mark asked if there is an ISO Standard for this - and that's what WCAG is, ISO 40500:2012! ISO 40500 - ISO there is also one for UI: ISO 30071-1 - ISO Mark mentions that you should look up the 'Blink' tag, but Dale already did it for you Blink - WikipediaUnity Style Sheet (USS) - UnityThere is a USS Unity in Star Trek And Stephen mentions the Div-Div Crow. Here's the comic and the webcomic that it came from: The Comic - RedditThe Webcomic: False Knees Skill Trees 46:38 Stephen McGregorGame Design
Ellen and Stephen get spooked discussing small and/or novel horror games and experiences with Online Simulator developer Rosalie Vile. Ellen works backwards from the punchline, Stephen doesn't know about 80%, and Mark is still in California (thanks, calendar math).
Tiny Horrors Game DesignNarrativeOnline Simulator - Rosalie Vile, itch.ioSunday - EZBake Games, itch.ioSkinamarinkA Normal Lost Phone - Dear VillagersThis House Has People in It - Adult Swim, YouTubeHaunted PS1 Demo Disc 2021 - The Haunted PS1, itch.ioRosalie VileGuest External link Rosalie Vile's Itch page
We hear from "California Business Mark" who spent the week on-location at GDC 2023. Mark summarizes some of the best talks and events he attended at the conference, featuring Kirby, the Playdate console, secrets in Tunic, Max, and more!
- Support Final Strike - Lane Davis, Gamefound
- Current COVID guidelines from the CDC - Centers for Disease Control
- Super Nintendo World - Universal Studios
(News) GDC 2023 Timecode 8:54.00 GDC 2023
Here are the time codes for individual topics:
- 10:23 Publishing agreements talk
- 19:32 Porting talk
- 20:58 Playdate developer lunch
- 28:24 Dinner with Max!
- 29:27 Games Industry Gathering (GiG)
- 30:50 The Many Dimensions of Kirby
- 47:40 Immortality talk
- 48:25 IGDA general meeting
- 51:50 Secrets in Tunic
- 58:45 Experimental Gameplay Games Workshop
Your nice hosts welcome Andrew Kenady, also know as Nintendrew on YouTube, to the show this week! He brings a postmortem about his recently released action platformer C.A.R.L.
Postmortem: "C.A.R.L." Game DesignMarketingProductionC.A.R.L. - Andrew Kenady and Morningstar Game StudioC.A.R.L. on Steam - Andrew Kenady and Morningstar Game Studio, SteamNintendrew - YouTubeMorningstar Game StudioMatt Bitner - Barry Carenza, Premium Edition GamesThe Controversy of Super Paper Mario - Nintendrew, YouTubeNovy UnlimitedEverything is a Remix[SPOILERS] Undertale reference in new indie game, Pony Island - PxlSqrl, RedditAndrew KenadyGuest Andrew Kenady is also known as Nintendrew on YouTube, where he talks about his current and retro game collections. He is also a creator of a platformer C.A.R.L. External link C.A.R.L.Nintendrew YouTube Page
In this episode, Mark makes up a reason to take a road trip, Ellen outwits everyone, and Stephen was also there.
Secrets & Easter Eggs 0:24:43 Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignThe Super Mario 64 Coin that Took 18 Years To Collect - Patricia Hernandez, KotakuPC Cheat Codes - IGNReddit on video game Secrets - RedditSecrets That Weren't Discovered in Games For Years - Jordan Baranowski, SVG Player Trust 0:48:39 Stephen McGregorGame Design We touched on this idea back in our roundtable on 'The Ethics of Engagement' "Shiny rocks get me every time."
Ellen's nephews have charged her with the task of making a board game about pizza. Making a clone of Hasbro's Candy Land is more difficult than it sounds, especially since these young stakeholders have requested some "creative deviations" from the design of the original board game. Stephen and Mark step in to help out. Can your nice hosts realize the wild, cheesy dream that is Pizza Land?
- Candy Land, a classic board game for kids - Hasbro
- That meme from The Office - Giphy
- Gharial, a weird-looking endangered crocodilian - Animalogic, YouTube
Nice Thinking Notes Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame Design Children's drawings
The art is here on Google Drive for you all to enjoy.
- Whale, may or may not be pizza-related
- T-rex sort of on fire, facing us
- Brontosaurus amoeba
- Cat and soulless dog
- [Pizza] donut
- Pizza Knight with an axe, maybe
- Ice cream leaking out of the cone
- Pizza t-rex
- Pizza crocodile
- Pizza shark
- Pizza rock, since upgraded to pizza geode
- Pizza pyramid
- Man made of pizzas x 2
Ellen's drawings
- Ellen's drawings
- Sea of Sauce
- Garlic Bread Grove
- Pizza Dough Desert
- Calzone Quarry (not pictured)
- and here's a link to the spreadsheet mentioned in the episode
Game design conclusions
- Players start out with a random collection of ingredients
- They collect ingredients as they go through the game
- Everyone’s delivering a pizza and they start with a crust
- The Pizza Knight has specific interests & tastes in each game, so different ingredients are more important in each playthrough
- If a monster catches you it eats a certain number of ingredients (0, 1, 2, or 3)
- A grading scale for the team; the pizza knight filling out stars on the app
Movement with d6s. When players move, they can roll 2 dice and choose the result, moving forwards or backwards.
Unspoken, but maybe good ideas?
- Monsters all move on the same die roll, and they only move forward.
- Players have to be on the same tile to give an object to another person.
This week, your nice hosts talk about last week and next week. Mark wants you to frame things, Stephen wants a definition, and Ellen wants you to start a fight with her on Discord.
Ellen's team made a gross game for Global Game Jam 2023!
- Star Trek: Picard, Final Season Premiere (full free episode) - Paramount+, YouTube
Visual Composition 0:17:12 Mark LaCroixArtGame DesignUI / UXComposition for Noobs - Flow Studio, YouTubeComposition in Level Design - Mateusz Piaskiewicz, Game DeveloperDesign Principles: Compositional, Symmetrical And Asymmetrical Balance - Steven Bradley, Smashing Magazine Minigames 0:39:45 Ellen Burns-JohnsonGamingMario Party Games That Are Just Part-Time Jobs - Abigail Kwak, The Gamer
Your nice hosts invite Zachtronics founder Zach Barth to discuss the closing of the studio and the logistics of moving on from that. In this episode, you'll also hear about ruminations on what success means as a game dev, a theory about how great walking is and exclusive news about Zach's future plans.
The Logistics of Moving On IRLProductionZachtronics websiteLast Call BBSWhy Zachtronics is shutting down for good this time - Alex Calvin, gameindustry.bizLegal Systems Very Different From Ours - David Friedman, Peter Leeson, David SkarbekWhy Walking Helps Us Think - Ferris Jabr, The New YorkerCoincidenceZach BarthGuest Zach Barth was the founder of Zachtronics and is currently working on unannounced projects. External link Zachtronics on Twitter
The year 2022 in review! Yes, it's now halfway through February, but being a few weeks late is part of the annual "Nicest Of" tradition. Your hosts (plus guest Holly Harrison) revisit their notable games and goals from 2022, and make some plans for 2023.
- Holly is here in the clubhouse for this recording!
- Things that happened in 2022:
- We sold GLOM! It's coming out in 2023.
- Mark announced a game (Dreamsettler) and released Noble Engine for the Playdate
- Stephen became a co-owner of Future Club
- Ellen got a new job as a game designer with The Game Agency
- Holly moved into a new place—one without unwanted insects and thieving neighbors
Nicest of 2022 0:04:56 Mark LaCroixStephen McGregorEllen Burns-JohnsonHolly HarrisonGaming
Ellen's Nicest:
- Metroid: Dread
- Flappy Dragon
- Banner Saga 1
- Endling: Extinction is Forever
Mark's Nicest:
- Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope
- Stray
- Last Call BBS
Stephen's Nicest:
- Kirby and the Forgotten Land
- Splatoon 3
- Rumbleverse
- Spirit Island
Holly's Nicest:
- Ooblets
- Splatoon 3
- Bear and Breakfast
- Cult of the Lamb
- Slime Rancher II
Most Anticipated of 2023 0:49:28 Mark LaCroixStephen McGregorEllen Burns-JohnsonHolly HarrisonGaming
Ellen's picks:
- Mars First Logistics
- Banner Saga II and III
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps
- Slime Rancher II
- Cyberpunk 2077
Mark's picks:
- Horizon: Call of the Mountain on Playstation VR 2
- Assassin's Creed: Mirage
- Season: A Letter to the Future
- Dreamsettler
Stephen's picks:
- Dragon's Dogma II
- Street Fighter 6
Holly's picks:
- Mineko's Night Market
- Thirsty Suitors
- Hades II
- Sea of Stars
Picked by everyone:
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Your hosts recall what they did over their winter break this year (aka hiatus). Ellen played video games and games with her dogs, Stephen watched and reviewed some movies (please tell him what to watch next!), and Mark mostly watched Doctor Who.
Big news for the show: We now have ad-free episodes on Patreon!
What We Did On Our Winter Break (2022) Mark LaCroixStephen McGregorEllen Burns-JohnsonIRLMeta
Ellen played video games
Banner SagaDeath Drives a BusAgent AStanley Parable Ultra Deluxe EditionYou Suck at Parking
Stephen watched movies
(Scoring is out of four stars.)
- Dual (⭐⭐⭐)
- Sharp Stick (⭐⭐⭐)
- All My Friends Hate Me (⭐⭐⭐)
- 7 Days (⭐⭐)
- The Drop (⭐⭐)
- Darby and the Dead (⭐⭐⭐)
- Sex Appeal (⭐⭐⭐)
- We Broke Up (⭐⭐⭐⭐)
- Mark, Mary and Some Other People (⭐⭐)
- Single all the Way (⭐⭐⭐)
- Sex Guaranteed (⭐) - “Did not like it”
Mark re-watched Doctor Who
The Writer's Tale: The Final Chapter - Russell T Davies & Benjamin Cook
278 "Insert interesting car here."Roundtable 2022.09.14
Your nice hosts' pronunciation is on point this week as they say a really hard word a large number of times! In this episode, Mark and Ellen BOTH introduce even more complicated words to the other hosts, and Stephen admits to losing an argument (which he'd done on the show before but still don't tell his brother).
Noble Robot Office Verisimilitude 0:05:23 Ellen Burns-JohnsonArtGame DesignVerisimilitude Definition - Dictionary.comVeracity Definition - Dictionary.comThe Quest For Verisimilitude: Realism, Illusion, and Consistency In Video Games - Erik Kain, ForbesHow to build verisimilitude in your games? - Thunderdices, Reddit One comment of note in the thread:“Your point about making things simple is extremely important. Lots of things in real life are simple and it’s the combination of items interacting that it becomes complicated. When a DM makes the simple complicated there’s a danger of the world becoming too complex and breaking verisimilitude from the other side.” Thrive - Adam's Apple GamesBrobdingnagian Definition - Dictionary.comThomas Was Alone - Bithell Games, Steam Indie Game Credits Mark LaCroixProductionMobyGames - MobyGamesFilm Credits: Everything You Need To Know - Nashville Film Institute271 Neurodiversity in Gamedev (with Adam Clewes-Boyne)Nice Thinking 2022.07.28
This week, we invite our first guest for Nice Thinking! Adam Clewes-Boyne is putting together an initiative for neurodiversity advocacy and education in the games industry, specifically focused on ADHD. It started as a meetup at a conference, and Adam wants to see where it can go next.
Neurodiversity in Gamedev EventsIRL Adam joined us, after a fashion, in a previous episode: Game Dev London does Nice Games JamCoffee with Butterscotch podcast - Butterscotch ShenanigansHow the Gender Gap Leaves Girls and Women Undertreated for ADHD - CHADDStrategic Planning for Nonprofits - National Council of NonprofitsAdam Clewes-BoyneGuest Adam is a co-founder of the Game Dev London community and games studio BetaJester, as well as a mentor with Limit Break and Into Games. External link TwitterGame Dev LondonBetaJester244 "Maximum Whooo!"Roundtable 2021.11.25
As the podcast approaches its fifth anniversary, your hosts get a little (more) frivolous. Mark shares some industry news about hardware releases. Ellen prompts everyone to share their experiences of learning development tools and examine their process of learning through the lens of Maximum Whooo. Stephen explores the difference between cooperative and collaborative gameplay, and invents something called a Feedborm. Dang!
Steamworks Virtual Conference: Steam Deck - SteamSteam Deck launch delayed by two months - Jay Peters, The VergeIndie handheld Playdate delayed to 2022 - Michael McWhertor, PolygonHow Long to Beat: Metroid Dread - HowLongToBeat Learning to Use Tools 14:05 Ellen Burns-JohnsonMisc.ToolsArticulate Storyline 360, an e-learning development toolGodot, an open-source 2D & 3D game engineGodot: Getting Started >> Step by step - Juan Linietsky, Ariel Manzur and the Godot community, GodotTuckman's stages of group development - WikipediaCoDecks: Playful PlanningSonder (a story) - Ludum Dare 48Proactive and Retroactive Interference (re: learning interference) - Dr. Saul McLeod, Simply Psychology Co-Op Games 53:10.0 Stephen McGregorGame DesignOvercooked Co-Op Review: Five-star co-op gaming - Jason Love, Co-OptimusThere’s a Difference Between Cooperation and Collaboration - Ron Ashkenas, Harvard Business Review273 The State of VR in 2022Interview 2022.08.11
Your nice hosts talk to Andrew Eiche, COO at Owlchemy Labs (Job Simulator, Vacation Simulator, Cosmonious High) about the state of VR in 2022, and where VR and VR development tools may be going in the coming years.
Andrew talks about how industrial design should influence VR design, why you shouldn't take inspiration from movies, and how ergonomics are important. Also, Ellen takes a hard stand on the right way to use a dial.
VR in 2022 and its Future VR / AR / XROwlchemy LabsThe Design of Everyday Things - Don Norman, bookHeadsets
Pico VR HeadsetPlaystation VR2VR Engines
VRTK (Virtual Reality Tool Kit)TButt - Turbo ButtonCosmonious High
Cosmonius High on Tik Tok - Tik TokCosmonius High on TwitterCosmonius High on SteamAndrew EicheGuest Andrew Eiche is Chief Operating Owl and Cable Slinger at Owlchemy Labs. Andrew's background is game development and computer programing External link Andrew Eiche is on Twitter @buddingmonkeyOwlchemy Labs on Twitter @olwchemylabsOwlchemy Labs website
281 StorySlide (with Osama Dorias)Nice Games Jam 2022.10.06
Game designer Osama Dorias returns to the clubhouse to help design a game that can be played remotely, and provides some (much needed?) structure to the Nice Games Jam process. Stephen is obsessed with Bananas, Ellen contemplates her mystery banana gift, and Mark realizes some of these concepts might be too complicated for small children.
Osama previously joined us for episode 211: Building Blocks of Design This isn't the first time we'd had a guest join us for a Nice Games Jam: Blame the Cat! (with Monica Fan)Osama on TwitterOsama's podcast is "The Habibis"Playtest Materials
The slides we created for this episode's playtest.The Noun Project Prompt "Design a game that can be played remotely with (Osama's) children (and ideally is still fun for adults)" Game type Tabletop game Player count 3-6 MaterialsElectronic system for sharing slides (such as Google Slides)
A voice connection with remote players
A set of slides or icons/drawings/clipart to create the set of slides
A system for privately messaging players
Setup- Create a set of slides (12) with icons, drawings, photos, or clip-art, if not using a pre-made slide deck. Each slide should contain 3 items. Pick a Game Master (usually one of the adults playing the game).
- The Game Master comes up with one group objective with two parts:
- A protagonist/hero.
- A conflict for the protagonist.
- The Game Master comes up with one secret objective for each player:
- Each secret objective should start with the phrase “The hero should...”
- Ideally these will be randomly assigned.
- Player order goes to the left and does not change
- The game ends when you run out of slides
- Each slide should be a simple phrase or sentence
Gameplay
- Play starts with the Game Master describing the first slide, starting with the phrase “Once upon a time..”
- Play continues to the player on the Game Master’s left and the slide progresses.
- This player chooses one of the three pictures on the slide to incorporate into the story with a phrase or sentence.
- Play continues to the left with a new slide. And continues around the circle, with each player getting a new slide (the Game Master may now sit out of the storytelling), until there are no more slides left.
- The Game Master may provide an epilogue (and explain what an epilogue is to the children playing the game) as desired.
- Note: Defining 'Epilogue' will not be out of character for this game, as in this episode's run-through Mark would have had to explain to kids: headbanging, Ska, life in 1998, mosh-pits, micro-cassettes, and a reference to 'Spaceballs.'
- At the end of the story, players try to guess each others individual objectives.
252 Visual CodingInterview 2022.03.17
This week we're joined by Alina Matson, developer of Fitment—a microworkout app designed with cozy gamers in mind. Alina talks about how she has used the popular Unity plugin Playmaker to kick-start her transition from a career in mechanical engineering to gamedev. Positive vibes abound. Plus, surprise singing!
Visual Coding ProgrammingToolsPlaymaker - Hutong Games, Unity Asset StoreBolt - Unity, Unity Asset StoreBlueprint Visual Scripting - Unreal EngineProcessingScratch - MIT10 Most Nostalgic Flash Games From The Early 2000s - Samuel Williams, CBRStephen J. Guy, Director, Applied Motion Lab - University of MinnesotaZebraZapps We mentioned a previous interview episode with Freya Holmer, Self-education, et al.Alina MatsonGuest Bio
External link Alina on TwitterFitment websiteFitment Discord serverFitment on Twitter
247 Designing like a Dungeon MasterInterview 2021.12.10
Your nice hosts (Ellen, mainly) conduct a double-interview, with a consummate professional and a committed amateur, on the subject of game design though the lens of tabletop game mastering. Subjects include the dynamic between system design and session design, the balance between planning and improvisation, and how players can be encouraged to participate in the process.
Designing like a Dungeon Master Game DesignNarrativeTabletopAlternity - Sasquatch Game StudioMDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research - Robin Hunicke, Marc LeBlanc, Robert Zubek, Northwestern UniversityDread, a game of horror and suspense - The Impossible DreamThousand Year Old Vampire - Tim HutchingsRobin's Laws of Good Game Mastering - Robin D. LawsUnpossible Game LabsCon of the North Katrina imagined a future with "Westworld as a video game," which coincidentally was a topic in one of our first episodes: "It's against the law to stop."Katrina OstranderGuestAn editor for over a dozen media tie-in novellas spanning multiple genres, and the Creative Director of Story and Setting for Fantasy Flight Games, where she oversees the internal and licensed development of the studio's proprietary IPs.
Besides her work as an editor of tie-in fiction and developer of IPs, Katrina has written for or developed over a dozen roleplaying game products, including adventures, supplements, and core rulebooks.
External link WebsiteTwitterThe Great Clans of Rokugan: Ice and SnowDescent: Legends of the Dark Jon KiehneGuest A "committed amateur" of tabletop role playing games, Jon is a longtime Dungeon Master who created a wholly unique campaign setting for his regular group (including your nice host Ellen) which he has been running for over six years.
268 "No referees?!"Roundtable 2022.07.07
How much of the culture around a game is rooted in its design? That's one of the questions that comes up as Mark takes us on a tour of curling—an Olympic sport that's described as "chess on ice." We examine its origins, the Spirit of Curling, and some specific rules that may have a big impact on how players behave towards one another. Later, Stephen considers some questions about off-ramps, the parts of a game that guide players as they end a play session. Should we as designers encourage players to take breaks?
Gato Roboto by doinksoft (from Devolver Digital) - Steam Curling 0:10:15 Mark LaCroixGame DesignAbout Curling - World Curling FederationWhy is this Olympic Sport called Chess on Ice? - by user "Pete", Chess.comCurling might be an antidote to our troubled times - Kristen Gelineau, The Detroit NewsGlossary of curling - WikipediaDeflategate - Wikipedia Off-Ramps 0:50:00 Stephen McGregorGame DesignGamingHow Gaming Breaks Can Make You a Better Player... and Why They're Important - Michael Harman, Make Use OfSarah Yu and Beth, developers of Bugaboo Pocket, join us once again in the clubhouse after our chance meeting at GDC! Listen in as we gush about bugs a lot, but also discuss how to present personality traits of your pets in pet management games. There's also a bunch of cool videos of bugs in this episode's show notes!
- Sarah and Beth were also interviewed by us during GDC in 2022. GDC 2022 Special (Part 2)
Characterization in Pet Management Games ArtGame DesignGamingChao World - Chao IslandDo Dogs Smile? What’s Really Behind That Adorable Smile? - Joelle Audette, Canine CampusBugaboo Pocket Beta - Bugaboo Pocket
Bugs Mentioned
What is an isopod? - NOAA Ocean Exploration Video of Praying Mantis Video of Jerusalem Crickets (Potato Bugs) Video of Syrphid Fly (Hoverfly)
Games Mentioned
Neko Atsume - Hit-Point Co., LtdWobbledogs - Animal UprisingMerge Dragons - Gram GamesBugaboo Pocket - Bugaboo PocketSarah YuGuest Programmer making games. Currently working on Bugaboo Pocket: a digital pet game where you raise bugs. External link Link to Bugaboo PocketBethGuest Artist/animator currently working on Bugaboo Pocket. External link Link to Bugaboo Pocket
The clubhouse comes together this week to realize the danger and fear surrounding Save Data. Mark talks about the advantages of Json and xml, then immediately tells why he choose neither of them for his project. Stephen summarizes why meetings are great and why everyone is sometimes a tech artist (Make it more... Dynamic?), and the team discusses how to best communicate between people who have different skills sets.
- Stephen's Brother Streaming his work - @DarkaysTG, YouTube
- Mark's Music Choice: The Beths "Expert in a Dying Field" - The Beths, YouTube
- Nice Games Club on Mastadon
- Get your partner their own NGC shirt here
Save Data
0:08:46
Mark LaCroixProgramming
Interdisciplinary Communication
48:44
Stephen McGregorProduction
It's the show's sixth anniversary! To celebrate, Stephen, Mark, and Ellen play two "talky talky" games on the air: Where Should We Begin: A Game of Stories by Esther Perel, and Hypertheticals by Chuck Klosterman. These games offer your hosts some interesting discussion prompts, with interesting results.
- Episode 280, a recent one in which we talked about journaling.
"Two bits of goop." * "Baldric" in literature and culture - Wikipedia
Where Should We Begin? A Game of Stories
0:08:49
Ellen Burns-JohnsonPhysical GamesWhere Should We Begin? A Game of Stories - Esther PerelThe Mousetrap - Agatha Christie, WikipediaThree ways to improvise an arm sling - John Godino, Alpine Savvy
Hypertheticals
0:49:47
Ellen Burns-JohnsonPhysical GamesHypertheticals - Chuck Klosterman, Penguin Random House
This week, fellow nice gamedev Millie Walker enters the clubhouse to discuss her approach to combining genres. It's an episode full of synthesis, but not photosynthesis because Stephen doesn't want to talk about his bonsai tree.
Fusing Genres
Game DesignMarketingMyth Caller: The Nightmare Shaman - KaratkuroXander the Monster Morpher: Universe Breaker - Karatkuro, Steam
We previously tackled "genre" in:
"I do business." Millie WalkerGuest
External link
TwitterYouTubeDiscord
Lots of technical talk in this episode as your nice hosts wade into these two large topics!
- Flappy Dragon - Google Play Store
Cameras
0:09:27
Stephen McGregorGame DesignProgrammingLinear Interpolation - WikipediaSuper Mario World Camera Logic Review - Shaun Inman, YouTubeCamera Movements for 2D Platformers: How Do I Know Which One to Choose - Sam Hu, Sam J H HuPro Camera 2D - Luís Pedro Fonseca, Unity Asset Store
Bug Tracking and Triage
0:31:52
Ellen Burns-JohnsonProductionProgrammingParkinson's Law - WikipediaResponsible Bug Reporting and Triage - SmartbearAuction-based serious game for bug tracking - """Çağdaş Üsfekes,Eray Tüzün,Murat Yılmaz,Yagup Macit,Paul Clarke""", The Institution of Engineering and TechnologyBug Triaging Principles - BugsnagGame Development Essentials: Bugtracking (or how we ended up writing our own bu… - Andre Weissflog, The Brain DumpProduction Testing and Bug Tracking - Jamie Fristrom, Game DeveloperWhat makes a good bug report? - Nick Barrett, GamesIndustry.bizAzure DevOps - MIcrosoft
Ellen mentioned Agile Development in this episode.
Agile Development
We also talked about Bugs in one of our first episodes.
"Bananas, from here to eternity."
It’s everyone’s favorite rhythm fighting game that doesn’t exist yet, ‘Rhythm Rumble’, back for more discussion in this week's NiceThinking Episode. Ellen learns a new word, Mark rants about Unity’s PlayerPrefs, and Stephen admits that he still hasn’t learned to take good notes. They all agree that you have to spend more time researching than you want to, and that Dale is awesome.
- PlayerPrefs in Unity
- Unity Manual on Player Prefs
- Bodge (definition) - Dictionary.com
- Ellen has been playing games!
- Agent Intercept
- Banner Saga
- Flappy Dragon on mobile
- Flappy Bird
- Jetpack Joyride
- Mark has been playing a game
- Mario and Rabbids
Rhythm Rumble
Stephen McGregorGame Design
Stephen leaving an old employeer for a new job also leaves him room for improvement on a rhythm fighting game. The main problems with the old prototype: not rhythmic enough and too simple. The beats the player had to match were up to the sixteenth note (quarter beat) which left players not understanding which beat they were playing to, and an impression of the game feeling sluggish
Some thoughts from the discussion -Use beat patterns rather than make people keep the beat -Being able to store (and playback) beats to conjure special moves -Give the instruments personality to the fighting moves they can make -Make the game into a metaphor, give it personality - these beats might control instruments, which control rock-em-sock-em robots, rather than making the avatars hit each other with a very expensive bass clarinet.
They mention Sukuri's youtube video about the influence '90's fighting games had on the design of SmashBrothers
Super Smash Bros. [Game Concepts] - MasahiroSakurai on Creating Games, YouTube
It's spooky season! Stephen is SO over it, but he can't escape all the scary stuff happening in this week's episode. We start with a lesson on the necromantic arts of branding and iconography, guided by Mark, a master of these dark magics. After the break, Ellen raises a past topic from the dead in order to explore the ethics of manipulating players' brainnnsssss. Also mentioned: candy corn, houseplants, and—you guessed it—Star Trek.
- Star Trek: Ascendancy
Branding & Iconography
0:10:10
Mark LaCroixMarketingSmash TV - WikipediaThomas Was Alone - Bithell Games
The Ethics of Engagement
0:36:22
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignEgg, Inc. - Auxbrain, Inc.Idle Acorns - Aleros LLCBeReal social mediaA little learning is a dangerous thing
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.
This is a line from Alexander Pope's Essay on Criticism (1711). The Pierian spring is a fountain in Pieria, a district round Mount Olympus and the native country of the Muses. You can read the full text for free here on Project Gutenberg.
This week, we talk with Super Rare Games' "Head of Words," Ryan Brown, about his company's approach to physical game distribution for indie games, and what it takes to get your game not just on a Nintendo, but on a Nintendo cartridge.
Physical Releases for Indies
MarketingProductionSuper Rare GamesSuper Rare Games - TwitterSuper Rare Games - Developers & Publisherspublishmygame@superraregames.com The Criterion CollectionInternational Age Rating Coalition (IARC) - WikipediaStrong Museum of PlayThe Centre for Computing HistoryRyan BrownGuest
"Head of Words" at Super Rare Games, Ryan has always worked in video games, whether writing for The Mirror and various outlets as a games journalist, running all things PR at Numskull, talking about hot gaming topics on BBC Radio, or serving on the BAFTA Games 2020 nominating panel.
External link
Your nice hosts start off strong with an excellently performed intro, and it just gets better from there!
- The Game Agency - The Game Agency
Pre-production
0:06:24
Stephen McGregorProduction
Idle Games
0:31:45
Mark LaCroixGame DesignGamingStar Trek Lower Decks: The Badgey Directive Review: The Final Fun-tier? - Steven Shaw, Droid GamersHow to make an idle game: Everything you need to know about incremental mobile … - David Hartery, AdjustIdle Games: The Mechanics and Monetization of Self-Playing Games - Anthony Pecorella, YouTube“It Started as a Joke”: On the Design of Idle Games - Katta Spiel, Sultan A. Alharthi, Andrew Jian-Lan Cen, Jessica Hammer, Lennart E. Nacke, Z O. Toups and Tess Tanenbaum, CHI PLAY
Game designer Osama Dorias returns to the clubhouse to help design a game that can be played remotely, and provides some (much needed?) structure to the Nice Games Jam process. Stephen is obsessed with Bananas, Ellen contemplates her mystery banana gift, and Mark realizes some of these concepts might be too complicated for small children.
- Osama previously joined us for episode 211:
Building Blocks of Design * This isn't the first time we'd had a guest join us for a Nice Games Jam:
Blame the Cat! (with Monica Fan) * Osama on Twitter * Osama's podcast is "The Habibis" * Playtest Materials * The slides we created for this episode's playtest. * The Noun Project
Prompt "Design a game that can be played remotely with (Osama's) children (and ideally is still fun for adults)"
Game type Tabletop game
Player count 3-6
Materials
Electronic system for sharing slides (such as Google Slides)
A voice connection with remote players
A set of slides or icons/drawings/clipart to create the set of slides
A system for privately messaging players
Setup * Create a set of slides (12) with icons, drawings, photos, or clip-art, if not using a pre-made slide deck. Each slide should contain 3 items. Pick a Game Master (usually one of the adults playing the game). * The Game Master comes up with one group objective with two parts: + A protagonist/hero. + A conflict for the protagonist. * The Game Master comes up with one secret objective for each player: + Each secret objective should start with the phrase “The hero should...” + Ideally these will be randomly assigned.
Rules * Player order goes to the left and does not change * The game ends when you run out of slides * Each slide should be a simple phrase or sentence
Gameplay* Play starts with the Game Master describing the first slide, starting with the phrase “Once upon a time..” * Play continues to the player on the Game Master’s left and the slide progresses. * This player chooses one of the three pictures on the slide to incorporate into the story with a phrase or sentence. * Play continues to the left with a new slide. And continues around the circle, with each player getting a new slide (the Game Master may now sit out of the storytelling), until there are no more slides left. * The Game Master may provide an epilogue (and explain what an epilogue is to the children playing the game) as desired. + Note: Defining 'Epilogue' will not be out of character for this game, as in this episode's run-through Mark would have had to explain to kids: headbanging, Ska, life in 1998, mosh-pits, micro-cassettes, and a reference to 'Spaceballs.' * At the end of the story, players try to guess each others individual objectives.
In this slightly-longer-than-normal episode, we start with a pandemic check-in. (Bivalent boosters are available! Go get 'em!) Ellen leads us on a journaling journey, sharing the embarrassing evidence of past attempts. Stephen challenges us to think through examples of adaptation, or maybe translation, or transcreation...well, we mostly figure it out by the end. Mark is extra-sharp with the one-liners.
- When, why, and how to get a new Covid-19 booster shot - Keren Landman, Umair Irfan, Vox
- Hylics - Wikipedia
- Gato Roboto - Developer's website
Keeping a Game Design Journal
0:16:16
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame Design"Mark's Home Office" 11/11/2021 - Nice Games Club, PatreonBeanstacker: Reading tracker app - Google Play StoreContraindication (definition) - WikipediaThe Complete Guide to Video Game Genres: From Scrollers, Shooters, to Sports - GameDesigning.orgList of video game genres - WikipediaOctalysis - Yu-kai Chou, Octalysis GroupChronicle of the Movies: A Year-by-Year History from the Jazz Singer to Today - Leonard Multon, Biblio.comGames I've played (Ellen's journal v1, with new entries!) - Google sheet - Ellen Burns-JohnsonGameplay journal (Ellen's journal v2 input form) - Google form - Ellen Burns-JohnsonGameplay journal (Ellen's journal v2, responses) - Google sheet - Ellen Burns-Johnson
Bringing Other Media into Games
0:54:36
Stephen McGregorArtGame DesignFan Shows Us What A Frasier Game Would Look Like… Hectic - Sean Murray, TheGamer.comSingle-Camera vs. Multi-Camera TV Sitcom Scripts: What's the Difference? - Ken Miyamoto, Screen CraftThe Project Gutenberg eBook of "Goody Two-Shoes" - Anonymous, Project Gutenberg
We welcome our first pseudonymous guest to the clubhouse to discuss what it's like making a game to carry the banner (and serve the community) of a previous title.
Designing a Spiritual Successor
Game DesignGamingProductionSanctuary Shattered Sun: Real Time StrategySupreme Commander - WikipediaInterview With Special Bread! - Sanctuary, YouTubePac-Man Championship Edition is an electrifying reinvention of a classic and fi… - Richard Stanton, GamesRadarChris Taylor lets us know what he thinks about Sanctuary - Sanctuary, YouTubeDmitry Samartsev, aka Special BreadGuest
Your nice hosts' pronunciation is on point this week as they say a really hard word a large number of times! In this episode, Mark and Ellen BOTH introduce even more complicated words to the other hosts, and Stephen admits to losing an argument (which he'd done on the show before but still don't tell his brother).
- Noble Robot Office
Verisimilitude
0:05:23
Ellen Burns-JohnsonArtGame DesignVerisimilitude Definition - Dictionary.comVeracity Definition - Dictionary.comThe Quest For Verisimilitude: Realism, Illusion, and Consistency In Video Games - Erik Kain, ForbesHow to build verisimilitude in your games? - Thunderdices, Reddit
One comment of note in the thread:
“Your point about making things simple is extremely important. Lots of things in real life are simple and it’s the combination of items interacting that it becomes complicated. When a DM makes the simple complicated there’s a danger of the world becoming too complex and breaking verisimilitude from the other side.”
Thrive - Adam's Apple GamesBrobdingnagian Definition - Dictionary.comThomas Was Alone - Bithell Games, Steam
Indie Game Credits
Mark LaCroixProductionMobyGames - MobyGamesFilm Credits: Everything You Need To Know - Nashville Film Institute
This week, a behind-the-scenes look into the game that uses a skateboard deck as a controller! Scrapebopard combines elements of rhythm, racing, and fighting games to create a unique boss attack experience. What's it like playtesting unique hardware? How much did they learn about electronics and wiring? How difficult was it to demo the game at alt.ctrl.GDC? What's next for the game? We explore these questions and more in this interview.
Postmortem: "Scrapeboard"
EventsGame DesignHardwareElectric Scrapeboard - Shake That ButtonMakey MakeyAbout formalism - Dario D'Ambra, Game DeveloperGame Dev Tools for Raspberry PiBabycastlesWondervillePlaytest Thursdays - NYU Game CenterCome Out & Play Festival"A Work of Art Is Never Finished, Merely Abandoned" - Quote InvestigatorFrank DeMarcoGuestBlake AndrewsGuest
In this episode the your nice hosts discuss broken games, solved games, and purposely broken games. Ellen realizes that even if it is broken, doesn't mean you need to fix it. They discuss who's job it is to make a game fun, and how you can always make a game not fun.
This episode features the origin story of Stephen Business, and if you are still reading, spoiler alert: Mark's topic is a stealth sequel to his topic about Curling.
- Stephen reports that the paperwork has been submitted and he is officially a co-owner of Future Club!
- Ellen now co-owns a still difficult to obtain Steam Deck.
- Noble Robot now offers coworking at thier Minneapolis office.
- Stephen and Ellen went to see a show at the Minnesota Fringe Festival - and Ellen LOVED it!
- Fringe Festival History - Wikipedia
- "Developers" - Michael Rogers, Minnesota Fringe Festival
Broken games
0:24:00
Mark LaCroixGame DesignNo More Jokeys Channel on YouTube - No More Jockeys, YouTubeMonopoly Hotels - Daisy Barringer, Trillist"Is Connect Four a Solved Game? and what does that even mean" - Gamesver
Mark mentioned a previous episode topic about Curling
"No referees?!"
Support Systems
53:57
Stephen McGregorIRLTypes of Support Systems
-Emotional Support -Financial Support -Someplace to live
Investment and Risk
"We quit our jobs, remortgaged our houses" - Alex Gilyadov, Games Radar
It's our second climb into the scruff as your nice hosts continue development on "Dogpile!" We've updated the rules and did a lot of work toward defining the properties of a full prototype deck, consisting of 100, or 150... or maybe 250 unique cards? However many it ends up being, we're looking forward to part 3!
Prompt Keep working on "Dogpile!"
Game type Card game
Player count 2-4
Setup
- Shuffle a standard 52-card deck.
- Deal 5 cards to each player.
- Set the remaining cards aside; this is the draft deck
-
For the first round, assign the "player one" indicator to the person who most recently played with a dog. Terms
-
Turn: One player's action.
- Round: Once around the table (each player takes an action).
- Draft Deck: The pile of dog cards you draw from each round.
- Dogpile: This is where the dogs that you're able to recruit into your pack will end up.
- Pack Leader: The card drawn from the Draft Deck once per Round.
- Player One: The first player to lay their cards face-down next to the Pack Leader card in each round. The First Player status is indicated with a First Player token that rotates clockwise at the start of each round.
- Strays: The discard pile.
Rules Objective: Get as many dogs into the Dogpile as possible!
How to play
- Draw a card from the draft deck and place it face-up in the center of the table. This is the Pack Leader card.
-
Without talking about what’s in their hands or what cards they’re playing, all players select and number of cards from their hand to lay face-down around the Pack Leader. Each player lays their cards face-down in clockwise order, starting with the First Player.
- Players can lay down any number of cards up to the full complement of their hand.
- If a player decides to not lay down any cards (skipping their turn, essentially), then skip to Step 3 below. Remaining players’ turns are forfeit.
- After all players have put their selected cards face-down, all players reveal their cards at the same time.
-
Once all cards are revealed, determine whether the group of dogs (the Pack) will join the Dogpile or become Strays. For the pack to join the Dogpile, every revealed card on the table (players’ face-up cards and the Pack Leader card) must be physically "connect" to form a single unbroken shape, consisting entirely of legal connections. As of the recording of episode 275, cards can be connected by number or suit.
-
Cards connected horizontally must be 1 number different (up or down) from the connected card. (Numerical values are 1-13 where Ace = 1 and King = 13).
- Cards connected vertically must be of the same suit.
- Cards cannot connect diagonally, and if two cards are physically touching, they must legally connect.
- The two Jokers are "wild" in that they can adopt any suit or number, but like a Scrabble tile, all cards connected to a Joker must connect based on a single, newly adopted value.
- Clear the table by placing the group of dogs in the Dogpile, in the Strays. Optionally, the pack of Strays may be tossed randomly about the room. Then, begin the next round.
- At the start of each subsequent round, players refresh their hands up to 5 with newly-drawn cards, and the Player One token is passed clockwise. Continue steps 1-6 above until the timer rings. How many dogs did you get in your Dogpile?
Your nice hosts accidentally stumble into the thesis of the show as this episode explores these two topics! Also found in the show: Stephen's composed song, Mark tries to avoid Entity Component Models and Ellen thinks about snakes for 20 minutes (but holds it together somehow).
- Beefsteak Tomato - Wikipedia
- Woman in Motion - Paramount
- Woman in Motion on Peacock - Peacock
- Woman in Motion on Tubi - Tubi
- Noble Robot - Noble Robot
GameMaker for Unity Devs
0:06:01
Stephen McGregorProgrammingToolsStephen was wrong, here's a marketplace for GameMaker plugins - YoYo GamesWhat is the difference between statically typed and dynamically typed languages? - Stack OverflowRust - Rust TeamMain Theme for Rooty Tooty Fresh n Shooty (Stephen's Work Project) - Stephen McGregor
Inspiration from Behavioral Economics
0:40:58
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignGaming5 Examples of Behavioral Economics in Your Everyday Life - Rebecca Koch, The Chicago School of Professional PsychologyChoice architecture - WikipediaWhat determines human decisions? - Daniel Kahneman, UBSRichard Thaler - WikipediaNudge (book) - WikipediaPredictably Irrational - Dan ArielyFreakonomics - Freakonomics Radio NetworkProspect theory - Behavioral Economics
In this Episode we talk to Andrew Eiche COO at Owlchemy Labs, game studio of Job Simulator, Vacation Simulator, and Cosmonious High about the state of VR in 2022 and Andrew's predictions about where VR and VR development tools may be going in the coming years.
Andrew talks about how industrial design should influence VR design, why you shouldn't take inspiration from movies, and how ergonomics are important. Ellen takes a hard stand on the right way to use a dial.
VR in 2022 and its Future
VR / AR / XROwlchemy LabsThe Design of Everyday Things - Don Norman, bookHeadsets
Pico VR HeadsetPlaystation VR2VR Engines
VRTK (Virtual Reality Tool Kit)Turbo ButtonCosmonious High
Cosmonius High on Tik Tok - Tik TokCosmonius High on TwitterCosmonius High on SteamAndrew EicheGuest
Andrew Eiche is Chief Operating Owl and Cable Slinger at Owlchemy Labs. Andrew's background is game development and computer programing
External link
Andrew Eiche is on Twitter @buddingmonkeyOwlchemy Labs on Twitter @olwchemylabsOwlchemy Labs website
It’s Ellen’s 100th episode as a Nice Games Club host! And there’s no better way to celebrate a big day than with a Nice Games Jam. Dale gave us a prompt and you’ll never guess the theme. Can your Nice Hosts come up with a playable prototype in “ruffly” an hour? Enjoy live edits, goofs, special cubes, and piles of dogs taken to the logical extreme!
- Ellen's first episode as a permanent host.
"Click here for fleet operations." * "Ameritrash" - Board Game Geek * Texas Hold'em Poker - Bicycle * Can Dogs See Color? - American Kennel Club
Prompt Create a game that could be subtitled "The 100 Dog Days of Calendar Math."
Game type Card game
Player count 2+
Materials
Two standard 52-card decks
Setup First, some additional prompt information.
The objective is to get your dog pack to exactly 100 members (no more, no less) in 100 units of time. You decide how many dogs you start with, how you add or lose members, and what a "time unit" is. Because this is the special for Ellen, bonus points if the game has a dog or multiple dogs in it.
Now, on to the setup:
- Shuffle both decks of playing cards together
- Deal X cards to each player
- Set the remaining cards aside; this is the draft deck
-
For the first round, assign the "Pack Leader" indicator to the person who most recently played with a dog Terms
-
Turn: One player's action
- Round: Once around the table (each player takes an action)
- Draft Deck: The pile of dog cards you draw from each round
- Dogpile: This is where the dogs that you're able to recruit into your pack will end up
- Pack Leader: An outdated term we're using to describe the First Player in each round
Rules Objective: Get 100 dogs in 100 units of time!
How to play
- Guys, this is Ellen, and I'm still writing the rules out. I'll have to listen to the episode again to get them all recorded correctly!
This week, we invite our first guest for Nice Thinking! Adam Clewes-Boyne is putting together an initiative for neurodiversity advocacy and education in the games industry, specifically focused on ADHD. It started as a meetup at a conference, and Adam wants to see where it can go next.
Neurodiversity in Gamedev
EventsIRL
Adam joined us, after a fashion, in a previous episode:
Game Dev London does Nice Games JamCoffee with Butterscotch podcast - Butterscotch ShenanigansHow the Gender Gap Leaves Girls and Women Undertreated for ADHD - CHADDStrategic Planning for Nonprofits - National Council of NonprofitsAdam Clewes-BoyneGuest
Adam is a co-founder of the Game Dev London community and games studio BetaJester, as well as a mentor with Limit Break and Into Games.
External link
TwitterGame Dev LondonBetaJester
In this larger than normal episode, your nice hosts bring a lot to the top of the show with a bunch of exciting news. And there's still two topics to discuss after that! Mark brings his documentation A game, Stephen describes his time at SGDQ and Ellen has complaints to bring to the table.
- Summer Games Done Quick 2022 - YouTube
- Stephen and Charles walking across SGDQ on camera - YouTube
- Dall-E 2 - OpenAI
- Here's a collection of images that Ellen has generated using Dall-E 2!
- DALL·E 2 Preview - Risks and Limitations - OpenAI
Maintaining an Open-Source Project
0:21:25
Mark LaCroixProgrammingGit Submodules - gitLDoc - Steve Donovan, GitHubMarkdown Guide - Mark Cone, The Markdown GuideTypora - Typora
Should we design for Killers?
0:49:50
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignGaming
Bartle’s Player Types for Gamification comes up in this previous episode.
"Mindworm husbandry."Bartle’s Player Types for Gamification - Janaki Mythily Kumar, Mario Herger and Rikke Friis Dam, Interaction Design FoundationBartle's Taxonomy of Player Types (And Why It Doesn't Apply to Everything) - Kyatric, tuts+MUD - Wikipedia
Nina Marotta (and Kelso the cat) from High Moon Studios enters the clubhouse to talk about level and interaction design. She showers your nice hosts with bits of wisdom, such as:
"Games are ugly for 90% of their development."
"You have to live your life in order to be a good team member and a good designer."
Level and Interaction Design
Game DesignNina mentions the Geam Design program at Kent State
We previously talked to Professor Chris Totten in episode 264
Teaching Gamedev to Young People, Again!Nina MarottaGuest
Nina Marotta is a level and interaction designer at High Moon Studios in Cincinatti Oh
External link
MrsCheif7 on twitter
How much of the culture around a game is rooted in its design? That's one of the questions that comes up as Mark takes us on a tour of curling—an Olympic sport that's described as "chess on ice." We examine its origins, the Spirit of Curling, and some specific rules that may have a big impact on how players behave towards one another. Later, Stephen considers some questions about off-ramps, the parts of a game that guide players as they end a play session. Should we as designers encourage players to take breaks?
- Gato Roboto by doinksoft (from Devolver Digital) - Steam
Curling
0:10:15
Mark LaCroixGame DesignAbout Curling - World Curling FederationWhy is this Olympic Sport called Chess on Ice? - by user "Pete", Chess.comCurling might be an antidote to our troubled times - Kristen Gelineau, The Detroit NewsGlossary of curling - WikipediaDeflategate - Wikipedia
Off-Ramps
0:50:00
Stephen McGregorGame DesignGamingHow Gaming Breaks Can Make You a Better Player... and Why They're Important - Michael Harman, Make Use Of
It's part three of our unintentional "Gamedev in..." series! Your nice hosts speak with Daniela Gamarra about making games in Peru. Daniela shares her perspective on entering the industry, making progressive games in a conservative culture, and being asked "how much do you need to make this game?"
- Previous "Gamedev in..." episodes:
- We spoke with Ryan Sumo for:
Gamedev in the Philippines * We spoke with "Game Devs Kenya" for:
Gamedev in Kenya
Gamedev in Peru
IRLProductionHow Creative Leaders Play the Long Game for Innovation - Ideo UIGDA PeruIGDA Peru - EducationLima Game JamLEAP Game StudiosBamtang GamesDirección Audiovisual, la Fonografía y los Nuevos MediosDaniela GamarraGuest
Peruvian game developer and founder of Indaga Studios.
External link
on TikTokon LinkedInon InstagramIndaga StudiosIndaga Studios on Itch.io
Your nice hosts bring deep topics to the clubhouse this week! Listen in as Stephen forgets the name of the Uncharted lead character (but remembers the voice actor), Ellen brings up Mass Effect many, many times and Mark describes more interesting tidbits about Widget Satchel's development.
- Serious Play Conference
- LumbearJack - YouTube
- Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer - Steam
- Max's award! - Twitter
- Reed the Robotanist - Steam
- Here's a CableACE award.
Parasocial Relationships
0:09:25
Ellen Burns-JohnsonIRLNarrativeParasocial Interaction - Wikipedia“The Player’s Parasocial Interaction with Digital Entities” - Katrine Kavli, IT University in Copenhagen“Is It Weird for Adults to Have Imaginary Friends?” - Stephen Dubner and Angela Duckworth, No Stupid Questions“Tragic but true: how podcasters replaced our real friends” - Rachel Aroesti, The Guardian
Narrative Pacing
0:45:21
Stephen McGregorGame DesignNarrative"Kurt Vonnegut on the 8 'shapes' of stories" - Stephen Johnson, Big Think
It's a packed episode this week, with birthdays, illnesses, and some Nice Thinking. Stephen, Mark, and Ellen discuss how the group might put on a tournament for local gamers, featuring locally-made indie games. How can one create a competition that involves many different games of widely different genres? Hopefully your nice hosts are up to the challenge. Either way, you're in for a treat! Plus, we get to finally hear Stephen's TRUE feelings about Star Trek.
- Prehistoric Planet on Apple TV - BBC
- The Man Who Fell To Earth - Showtime
- Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Paramount
- COVID 19 Quarantine and Isolation Calculator - Centers for Disease Control
-
Alternate titles for this episode:
- "It finally got me"
- "Lil' Baby Stephen"
- Episode artwork from RODNAE Productions on Pexels.
Nice Thinking
0:13:12
Mark LaCroixEventsElemetals: Death Metal Death Match - WALLRIDE, SteamAstral Gunners - Sati Bros, SteamHyperDot - Charles McGregor, SteamSummer Games Done QuickCombo Breaker TournamentEVO Tournament"Challenges and Strategies for Hosting Massive Independent eSports Events" - James Lampkin, GDC
It's a sequel to last week's episode! This week, your nice hosts speak with Kent State University animation and game design professor Chris Totten about formal game design education. We get into the details of theory and practice, and discuss how teaching gamedev is both similar and different from other professional and artistic fields.
Teaching Gamedev to Young People, Again!
Game DesignIRLAn Architectural Approach to Level Design - Christopher W. TottenKudzu - Pie for Breakfast Studios, itch.ioLa Mancha - Pie for Breakfast Studios, Board Game GeekGDEX and Origins 2022, June 8-12Chris TottenGuest
Professor at Kent State University, author of multiple books on level design, and creative director for "Little Nemo and the Nightmare Fiends."
External link
TwitterLinkedInLittle Nemo and the Nightmare Fiends
In this episode Truman Simpson joins us to talk about teaching game development to young people, through Gameheads, an organization for which Truman is a long standing volunteer. The clubhouse discusses the importance of seeing what is possible and what is achievable, and Stephen is jealous of today's youths.
Teaching Gamedev to Young People
Gameheads
Truman Simpson volunteers with Gameheads. Gameheads is an organization that teaches youth and prepares them for careers in game development. Gameheads is lead by Damon Packwood and operates out of Oakland and the Bay Area, CA, with possible expansions around the US.
Gameheads WebsiteGameheads TwitterDamon Packwood's TwitterTruman Simpson's twitterTeaching and Games cross-pollination
Ellen mentions that Teaching and Games is a cross-pollination that is a whole other episode, here are some Episodes on that topic from the archives
We talked about educational institutions for game dev back in episode 16
Games Education
Ellen joined as a guest host way back in Episode 75
Learning Through Games
We also talked about teaching/learning durring the Redundancy topic in Episode 170
"Stephen, his arms wide!" Project Success
Stephen is working with Project Success to design a learning curriculum for middle school aged youths.
Project Success Website
Stephen mentioned design pillars, as one of the learning topics in project sucess, see also episode 187
"A way to farm notions."Soylent Green
Soylent Green is set in the year 2022 (that's this year!) and something we got distracted by on a tangent. Yes, soylent is a real product now.
In 1973, 'Soylent Green' envisioned the world in 2022. - George Bass, The Washington PostSoylent (the real product
And, if the people from Soylent want to sponsor us, please reach out at contact@nicegames.club
Truman SimpsonGuest
Truman Simpson is a person who lives in beautiful Oakland, CA
In this episode, Stephen, Mark, and Ellen talk about gameplay loops. Then, they talk about art direction. Then they talk about loops. And then art direction. And then, more loops. Just kidding! It’s a regular roundtable discussion about diagramming gameplay, establishing art direction, and when to take out the garbage.
- Habitica: Gamify Your Life
- Educating Intuition - Robin M. Hogarth, University of Chicago Press
Diagramming Gameplay Loops
0:15:20
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignActionable Gamification: Beyond Points, Badges, and Leaderboards - Yu-kai Chou, Octalysis GroupHow To Perfect Your Game’s Core Loop - Nathan Lovato, Game AnalyticsLoops and Arcs - Daniel Cook, Lost GardenHow Games Use Feedback Loops - Game Maker's Toolkit, YouTubeDaniel Cook: Game Design Theory I Wish I had Known When I Started - IGDA Seattle, YouTubeExpanding UX: Gameplay Loops - Vitaly Starush, MediumThe Gameplay Loop: a Player Activity Model for Game Design and Analysis - Emmanuel Guardiola, ResearchGateKurt Vonnegut Diagrams the Shape of All Stories in a Master’s Thesis Rejected b… - Josh Jones, Open Culture
Art Direction
0:42:00
Mark LaCroixArtDreamsettler Reveal Trailer - No More Robots, YouTube
Back in the day, Nice Games Club talked about color theory.
“When two colors of paint really love each other…”
We talked about sources of inspiration and it reminded us of episode 141.
Nostalgia and the Lo-fi Aesthetic
At GDC, your nice hosts met and spoke with this week's returning guests. We were so impressed with their project "[i] doesn't exist," we wanted to have them on a full episode to talk about the unique machine learning system they built for it. Be nice and have a listen!
- LUAL Games on Twitter
- "[i] doesn't exist" demo - itch.io
- [I] doesn't exist - a modern text adventure - Kickstarter
- If you're in Sweden, Lu and Al and their game will be at Arctic Game Week next week, May 25-28, 2022.
- We first met Lu and Al and spoke with them for a recent episode:
GDC 2022 Special (Part 2) * Some meta news: Mark wrote a song for this year's Charity EP Jam, which is actually a double-length album! All proceeds go to Able Gamers.
Machine Learning
NarrativeProgrammingSimulated AI creatures demonstrate how mind and body evolve and succeed together - Devin Coldewey, TechCrunchWhat is GitHub Copilot? An AI Pair Programmer for Everyone - Daniel Diaz, SitepointGithub Copilot Wants to Play Chess Instead of Code - Ido Nov, DagsHub BlogChat MapperBotpressDocumentation as a gateway to open source - James Turnbull, IncrementMiddle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor Makes AI Meaningful and Menacing - Andy Brice, GamingBoltAnna-Lena PontetGuestLuzia HüttenmoserGuest
It's a Nice Postmortem! Ellen brings her instructional design colleague Mark Hamilton to discuss the development process behind the LxJamathon, a combination of both a hackathon and a game jam meant to allow instructional designers to practice their skills! Find out what went well and what didn't in this fascinating look into the event.
Postmortem: "LxJamathon"
ProductionInstructional Design Reddit - RedditInstructional Design Discord - DiscordLxJamathon Website - Ellen Burns-Johnson and Mark Hamilton, LxJamathonLxJamathon itch.io - Ellen Burns-Johnson and Mark Hamilton, itch.ioMidwest Mysteries - The Oscaloose - SoundCloudLxJamathon Entries - itch.ioA Simple Guide to Four Popular Online Learning Formats - Nameera Sallum, CommLab IndiaMark HamiltonGuest
Mark Hamilton is a instructional media developer and studio manager for the University of Iowa.
External link
Mark Hamilton on LinkedInEllen Burns-JohnsonYour Nice HostGuestBy day, Ellen Burns-Johnson is a learning experience designer (LXD) and consultant. With more than a decade of experience in the education and training industries, she has crafted the instructional strategy and design for dozens of major initiatives across diverse topics, from classroom safety to IT sales. Emphasizing collaboration and playfulness in her approach to creating learning experiences, Ellen’s work has earned multiple awards for interactivity and gameful design.
By night (and on the weekends) Ellen stays as plugged into the Twin Cities Gamedev scene as she’s able to, contributing to game jam teams and local projects. She was a level designer and “explosion czar” on Widget Satchel and a designer/producer for a few different Ludum Dare and Global Game Jam teams.
Ellen lives in Saint Paul with her husband Eric and their two dogs, Dante and Pixel. Ellen is terrible at racing games, she always picks the sniper build, and she loves a good puzzle/platformer.
External link
Ellen on LinkedInEllen on Twitter
Game designer Monica Fan joins us this week for a Nice Games Jam that is extra-mischievous and extra-cute. There's drama amongst the roommates, and we're pretty sure the cat's to blame. But can we prove it? Can your Nice Hosts (and Nice Guest) make a playable prototype by the end of the episode? How many times will Stephen say "meow" before the outro rolls? So many questions!
- Monica Fan @DesignerMonica - Twitter
- Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! - NPR
- Here's the best way to shuffle a pack of cards – with a little help from some m… - Graham Kendall, phys.org
Prompt From Dale this time: "Design a game where you discover clues and have to solve a mundane mystery. Bonus points if there is a cat in it. EXTRA bonus point if it's the cat who did it!"
Game type Card game
Player count 4
Materials
Standard deck of playing cards
Coins or tokens to indicate the accumulation of blame
OPTIONAL: A real cat to sit in the middle of the game table
Setup
- Sort the deck by suit.
- Pull out the Aces and Jokers and set them aside. You'll use the Aces in a minute, but not the Jokers.
- Remove six random cards from three of the suits (Clubs, Spades, and Diamonds) and set those aside for the game.
- Shuffle the remaining cards into a deck and pull a random card from the deck. Don't look at it! This is the card that determines Who Really Did The Thing. Set it aside and don't peek until the end of the game.
- Set the rest of the deck aside for a moment.
- Deal the Aces randomly to determine which players get each suit. Whoever gets the Ace of Hearts is the Cat.
- Once roles are determined, you can ignore the Ace cards, but it's useful for players to hold onto them as a reminder of what suit they have.
- Deal each Human player two cards face-down. Deal the Cat player four cards face-down. Players can look at their cards but should not show their hands to the other players.
- Place the deck of remaining cards face-down in the center of the table. This is the draw pile.
- Place a pile of Blame tokens somewhere on the table so people can grab them (or throw them) as needed.
Rules GOAL: Pin the blame on someone else! Once a player has accumulated 3 Blame tokens, they are GUILTY and the game ends.
Go around the table clockwise, taking turns. Each player can take one action on their turn; it's a fast-moving game of blame!
Player Actions
Cat-only actions:
- Take a card from a human; the Cat chooses which card to take (without looking at the human's hand)
- Give a card to a human
- Make an accusation by playing three cards of the same suit (the Cat must play three cards to make an accusation)
- Cat must meow when making a play…or maybe through the whole game?
- The Cat cannot draw cards from the deck
Human-only actions:
- Draw from the deck
- Trade with each other; the player who initiated the trade is the one who selects which card to take from the other player’s hand (without looking at their hand)
- Play a pair (it's easier for humans to make accusations)
Making an accusation:
- A Human plays a pair of cards from the same suit, or the Cat plays three cards from the same suit. This is the Accusation.
- The player whose Ace matches the suit from the Accusation receives a Blame token.
- The first person to accumulate three Blame tokens is considered GUILTY, and this ends the game.
Winning the game:
- Technically, you win if you don't end up as the guilty party, but there's more to it!
- Reveal the hidden card that you set aside during setup. The whole group wins if the right person got the blame. Yay!
- The Cat can feel extra good if they were the real culprit, but one of the Humans was found GUILTY.
- The Humans can feel extra good if one of them was the real culprit, but the Cat was found GUILTY. Congrats; you can all continue to live harmoniously as roommates.
Strategies
- Hold onto the cards that are evidence against you.
- Play cards that are evidence against others.
- The Cat, who has the most cards, is likely to know who the guilty party is.
It's a Nice Postmortem! Hunter Bond and Mike Ducarme talk the making of Infernax—an old school adventure platformer with puzzle elements, unholy curses, and lots of old-school awesomeness. From its earliest conception to playtesting, promoting, and publishing, what did they do and what did they learn?
Postmortem: "Infernax"
ProductionInfernax - TwitterJust Shapes and BeatsBerzerk StudioAs promised, Hunter's PO Box: PO Box 10275, Albuquerque, NM 87184
Hunter BondGuestMike DucarmeGuest
Settle in, because we could only trim the 5+ hours of interviews we recorded last month at GDC down to 2 hours. Of course, if you want to hear all of it, there's always the Patreon... 😉
- The game Mark has been working on, "Dreamsettler," was officially announced on April 5th!
GDC 2022 Special (Part 2)
Mark LaCroixStephen McGregorDale LaCroixEllen Burns-JohnsonEventsCat Cafe Manager - Roost GamesStrange Horticulture, a game about selling plants, is one of the best games thi… - Nicole Carpenter, PolygonSmall Life - yueqiWUPuzzles for Clef - Weasel TokenDune: Spice Wars launches in early access in April - Oli Welsh, PolygonInfinity Game TableEolia Is A Fully Hand-Tracked Follow Up To Rhythm Of The Universe: Ionia - Jamie Feltham, UploadVRMidnight Protocol is a cyberpunk hacking RPG that cuts out all the filler - Adi Robertson, The VergeNeurodiver, sequel to 2064: Read Only Memories, is headed to PS5 and Switch - Chris Moyse, DestructoidCusco Paradox - Indaga StudiosAi Apaec - Satoshi WakuBugaboo PocketStar Salvager - A-Game Studios[I] doesn't exist - a modern text adventure - LUAL GamesPatchworld from PatchXR brings you a novel way to create music with your Meta Q… - Micah Blumberg, MediumYou Suck at Parking™ - Happy VolcanoAgent Intercept - PikPokMini Motorways and the delicate art of marrying complexity and minimalism - Game DeveloperBroken Pieces - Elseware Experience, Benoit Dereau, Mael VignauxMail Time - Kela van der Deijl
What does your work week look like? Are you locked into a 9-to-5 the way that Dolly Parton described it, or are you free to set your own schedule? What about your team as a whole?
In this week's episode, August Brown is back on the show to help us explore the topic of work week structure. The company where August currently works, Armor Games, has made headlines by shifting permanently to a four-day work week. We ask him how it's going, what other work-week configurations might have benefits for gamedev teams, and what he thinks about the word "truncate."
- The definition of truncate is “to shorten by cutting off a part; cut short” - Dictionary.com
- “9 to 5” - Dolly Parton, YouTube
Work Weeks
ProductionArmor Games adopts four-day work week permanently - Brendan Sinclair, GamesIndustry.bizAugust’s previous employer, KongregateAugust is now doing platform relations at Armor Games
August was on a previous interview episode
Developer/Publisher RelationsJohn Cooney (Armor Games CEO) Twitter thread on the four-day workweek results - John Cooney, TwitterGDC 2022 Independent Games Summit: Four-Day Workweek: We Did It! What now? - Game Developer Conference“Eidos-Montreal and Eidos-Sherbrook shifting to the 4-day work week” - Edios Montreal“The Research Is Clear: Long Hours Backfire for People and for Companies” - Sarah Green Carmichael, Harvard Business Review“Indie Studio Forms First Video Game Union In The Country” - EThan Gach, Kotaku“How the 40-hour work week became the norm” - Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi, NPRAugust BrownGuestAugust is a Senior Producer at Armor Games Studios. Formerly a Senior Producer for Kongregate Publishing.
External link
Dog lovers are in for a treat this week as we discuss ideas for games to play with your dog! Mark and Ellen enthusiastically bring many ideas to the clubhouse, while Stephen has a unique perspective on the topic.
Also: Ellen beats Metroid Dread! (There are spoilers for the game in the episode.)
- Turns out Stephen was wrong, there are credits in the most recent build of Fingeance!
- Peter Yang was on previously to discuss his work on pitching tabletop games.
Pitching Tabletop Games * Indie Boards and Cards
Games With Your Dogs
0:10:25
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignPhysical GamesTreibball (push ball) - giant football for dogs! - Naturally Happy Dogs, YouTubeGetting started and teaching 'outside' - FluentPet, YouTube
Here's a picture of Ellen's dogs!
Your nice hosts, plus Dale, traveled to California for free bagels (and other reasons) in this first part of our yearly GDC special.
GDC 2022 Special (Part 1)
Mark LaCroixStephen McGregorDale LaCroixEllen Burns-JohnsonEventsGames Industry GatheringYerba Buena GardensIGF Accepts Over 400 Entries for GDC 2022 - Independent Games Festival'Unpacking' and 'Inscryption' Lead in IGF 2022 Nominations - Independent Games FestivalInscryption wins the IGF Grand Prize and GDC Game Of The Year Award 2022 - Jai Singh Bains, Rock Paper Shotgun
This week your nice hosts are joined again by Alina Matson in a fun roundtable episode! Join us as we continue through Ellen's Metroid Dread journey, Stephen's newest discovery, and Mark's potential bonus side hustle.
- Alina was previously on the show to talk about visual coding!
Visual Coding
Building Assets and Plugins
0:05:33
Mark LaCroixProgrammingTools
Charles was last on the show on this episode about Level Editors.
Level EditorsCharles destroys his brother on the airRewired Unity Plugin - Guavaman, Unity Asset StorePlaymaker Add-ons - Hutong GamesManaged Plug-ins - Unity
Ink Engine
0:37:26
Stephen McGregorNarrativeProgrammingToolsInk Engine - Inkle StudiosInk Unity Integration - Inkle Studios
This week we're joined by Alina Matson, developer of Fitment—a microworkout app designed with cozy gamers in mind. Alina talks about how she has used the popular Unity plugin Playmaker to kick-start her transition from a career in mechanical engineering to gamedev. Positive vibes abound. Plus, surprise singing!
Visual Coding
ProgrammingToolsPlaymaker - Hutong Games, Unity Asset StoreBolt - Unity, Unity Asset StoreBlueprint Visual Scripting - Unreal EngineProcessingScratch - MIT10 Most Nostalgic Flash Games From The Early 2000s - Samuel Williams, CBRStephen J. Guy, Director, Applied Motion Lab - University of MinnesotaZebraZapps
We mentioned a previous interview episode with Freya Holmer,
Self-education, et al.Alina MatsonGuest
Bio
External link
Alina on TwitterFitment websiteFitment Discord serverFitment on Twitter
It's a day of celebration in the clubhouse as Ellen finally starts Metroid Dread. Meanwhile, Mark delivers, and Stephen looks it up (but isn't happy about it).
- André 3000 on the 10th anniversary of his ‘Class of 3000’ soundtrack - David Dennis Jr., Andscape
- Hint, hint... - Mike Rose, Twitter
Milestone Builds
0:13:18
Mark LaCroixProductionMilestone - Wikipedia
Wikis and Guides
0:46:47
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGamingHow to pause Elden Ring - Jeffrey Parkin, Polygon
For our 250th episode, your nice hosts play a few rounds of a pair of games made by the folks from Game Dev London as part of their very own Nice Games Jam! Ellen makes fun sounds, Mark counts all his Jefferies Tubes, and Stephen is reliable as the morning sun.
- We talked about big episode numbers in:
"A Spark Plug." 200th Episode Special * Stephen's grumpy tweet. * Game Dev London
Safecracker!!
0:18:36
Game DesignTabletopNice Games Club's 1hr Game Jam Challenge - Part 1 - Game Dev London, YouTube
Creating "Safecracker!!" in part 1 of Game Dev London's 2-part episode
The Lockpicking Lawyer - YouTube
Adventurer, Please
0:41:19
Game DesignTabletopNice Games Club's 1hr Game Jam Challenge - Part 2 - Game Dev London, YouTube
Creating "Adventurer, Please" in part 2 of Game Dev London's 2-part episode
Mark's Beverly Crusher t-shirt Jefferies Tube - Memory AlphaUnplugged Independents: Weave: Storytelling Redefined - Seamus Conneely, Cannibal Halfling Gaming
This week, your Nice Hosts talk about "games you get for free" on various gaming platforms. Also, the trio explores the relationship between "fun" and "joy"—and where does "engaging" fit in? Ellen won't tell us the grade, and Stephen is told he has to yell at Mark.
- Amber Waves of Games
- "America the Beautiful" sung by Ray Charles - YouTube
- You made it! Thanks for another unforgettable year of Global Game Jam!
Games You Get for Free
15:00
Stephen McGregorGamingXbox Game Pass Ultimate tip: How to get 3 years of access to hundreds of games … - PC WorldKo-FiThe Jolly Jawbreaker
Joy vs. Fun
44:00
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignThe Giver: Language and Communication - Study guide, Shmoop
Hiatus flew by this year for your nice hosts, but they're back in the newly-renovated clubhouse with their annual recounting of what they got up to while away. Ellen keeps a promise, Stephen returns a gift, and Mark sees thru' these architects eyes.
- Our renovated clubhouse table.
- These foam acoustic panels came vacuum-sealed, so they needed to be soaked in water to inflate them.
- Of course, once-inflated, the water-logged panels needed to be dried out, which meant an hour in the dryer.
- It was pretty hard to drill these holes to mount our mic stands, and about as hard to measure them out because our clubhouse table has no straight edges or corners.
- Measure twice, then 100 more times.
- Mark mounted at set of ports for mic and headphone connections under the clubhouse table.
- Mark's "B+" cable management.
- The finished clubhouse. It's much cozier (and quieter) in here now.
What We Did On Our Winter Break (2022)
Mark LaCroixStephen McGregorEllen Burns-JohnsonIRLMetaThe path to unionizing has been rough for Raven Software, and it’s about to get… - Ash Parrish, The VergeGame Dev LondonSeven Billion HumansUntitled Goose Game is getting a second goose and local co-op - Nicole Carpenter, Polygon
The replay aired last week, but in case you missed it:
Nice Thinking: "Sledgehammer Bride"
Mark talked about building localization systems in:
"I definitely thought of that ahead of time."David Bowie Brilliant Adventure (1992 – 2001)Esperanza Spalding Is The 21st Century's Jazz Genius - Lara Pellegrinelli, NPR
240
Sledgehammer BrideNice Thinking
2021.10.28
It's Stephen's turn at Nice Thinking, our new episode format where we brainstorm around a single concept someone brings into the clubhouse. Get ready for your first contact with the Sledgehammer Bride!
Glom will be part of Wordplay 2021, November 13-14 - Hand Eye Society
Sledgehammer Bride
Stephen McGregorGame DesignNarrativeA Brief History of Beat ’em Up Video Games - Hero ConceptProspective Teachers Misperceive Black Children as Angry - Bryan Goodman, American Psychological AssociationThe Brute Caricature - History on the NetExamining Game Pace: How Single-Player Levels Tick - Mark DaviesShank 2 - Klei Entertainment, SteamHow the Original Hyrule Warriors Broke The Mold for Musou Games Forever - Dale Bashir, IGN
211
Building Blocks of DesignInterview
2021.04.08
It's back to basics this week as we welcome Osama Dorias, lead game designer on the upcoming Gotham Knights at WB Games Montréal, to talk about his multi-year journey of making games with his kids, and what it taught him about his craft. It might be our cutest episode yet!
Osama, along with Fawzi Mesmar, and Rami Ismail, recently launched their own very nice gamedev podcast, The Habibis!
Building Blocks of Design
ArtGame DesignIRLTabletopToolsThe Game Crafter
A selection of cards from "Ali and Mimi's Card Game"
Osama's son trying to look professional while presenting "City Game I Love This."
Osama's daughter beaming with pride at her creation, "05Q7654321 0."
Osama's kids' first video game.
Osama DoriasGuestOsama works at WB Games Montréal, where he is the lead game designer on Gotham Knights. He is a co-founder of the Montreal Independent Game Awards, a professor at Dawson College, and a co-host of The Habibis podcast.
He loves hugs and poutine.
External link
Osama on TwitterGotham KnightsMontreal Independent Game AwardsThe Habibis
235
The New ClubhouseNice Thinking
2021.09.16
After many months of recording over Discord (or together in Mark's and Dale's apartment), Nice Games Club is finding a new place to meet. Well, "finding" isn't really the right word. Mark and Dale are making it happen. The new clubhouse is being customized as a workspace and community hub, and this week on the show, Your Nice Hosts talk about how to start things up in the new spot.
The New Clubhouse
Mark LaCroixIRLMetaErgonomic stools by Herman MillerThe cover image for this episode's page is from The Treehouse, an educational game published in 1991. Ellen played this game a lot when she was a kid. Learn more here: https://www.myabandonware.com/game/the-treehouse-1ag
224
"To whom it may concern."Roundtable
2021.07.09
Holly Harrison, aka "Best Friend of the Show," is back in the clubhouse! And we recorded this episode in person again! Can you tell? It probably comes through in the goofs...
There's plenty of silliness in this week's episode, even though your Nice Hosts explore some serious topics. Holly asks us what we can do to become more ethical consumers (and developers) of games. Ellen examines the dynamics of grind. Stephen finally admits to something BIG, and Mark takes a break.
Join Lobby - Video Game Culture Feed - Holly Harrison, Instagram
Holly joined us for episode 40...
Community Managment
...and for episode 88...
The Gaming Press
...and for episode 89...
"A mean secret that stays in this room."
...and for episode 201...
"Not like Beauty and the Beast."
...and for episode 202!
Business SpeakEllen's new laptop: Alienware M15R4Gris (a game, not a musical) - SteamNoble Engine - Mark LaCroix
Here's episode 217, in which we discussed open source.
Open Source SoftwarePhoto by Helmi Lutvyandi from Pexels
Ethical Consumption
0:13:06
Holly HarrisonGamingMisc.Conflict minerals: Which gaming companies may have funded human rights abuses i… - Rebekah Valentine, GamesIndustry.bizIs There Really Such a Thing as “Ethical Consumerism”? - Maya Singer, VogueSummary of sexual and non-sexual allegations (megathread) - Reddit
Grind
0:47:59
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignGamingr/truegaming: For those who like talking about games as much as playing them. - RedditEllen’s take on grind: “Going through the same content multiple times as a means to progress towards an in-game goal that doesn’t pertain to the player’s skill.”
210
GlomNice Games Jam
2021.03.31
This week your nice hosts have a rowdy game jam. Dale gave us a prompt: Create a matching game with a puzzle element. The puzzle must be "what matches first" and bonus points if there's cats.
The goal of every Nice Games Jam is for the team to come up with a playable game by the end of the episode. Did Stephen, Mark, and Ellen make it happen, or did they end up with a pile of nonsense? Well, maybe a bit of both.
The "dot game" that Ellen referenced is called Dots & Boxes - Wikipedia
A three-sided die similar to the one that Eric, Ellen's partner, owns.
Here's a place you can buy your own three-sided die - Nvenom8 Designs on ShapeWays Marketplace
Game type Tabletop game
Player count Any
Materials
Paper, pencil or pen
Setup Each player should have:
- Paper (or someplace to compose sentences)
- Something to write with (typing on a screen is fine)
- Some way of indicating points passed to other players (chips, coins, etc.) -- in the rules below, these will be referred to as "chips"
The game requires three decks. As of this airing, each deck has three cards:
- Prompts deck
- "Nice to meet you."
- "Where is the bathroom?"
- "Can I pet your cat?"
- Constraints deck
- No letter Es (this is incredibly difficult)
- Exactly 4 words
- Only single-syllable words
- Scoring deck
- Most words
- Most letters
- Longest word in the sentence
Rules The goal of the game is to acquire the most points out of all the players.
Players acquire points by writing sentences that adhere to the Prompt, Constraint, and Scoring card drawn for each round.
Setup
- Shuffle all three decks.
- Distribute chips evenly amongst all players.
Starting a Round
- Draw a single card from each deck. Place all three face-down on the table.
- Set the timer for the desired duration: 1 minute, 2 minutes (default) or 3 minutes.
- Flip all three cards face-up and start the timer.
- All players then attempt to compose a sentence that meets the criteria of all three cards (Prompt, Constraint, and Scoring) within the time limit. Share Your Sentences
Each player speaks their sentence aloud. (If you're playing online, you can also enter your sentence into the text chat.) The sequence in which players share their sentences doesn't matter—just be nice about it.
Round Scoring
- Players can’t use any of the words in the phrase on the Prompt card. There’s a penalty (-1 point) for each word used. Exception: You can use the same spelling of a word if it’s another type of word (noun vs. verb)
- Alternate rule for extra challenge and silliness: Remove the exception to the above rule.
- The player whose sentence meets the conditions on that round's Scoring card wins 3 points.
- Players pass one of their chips to the person who had, in the player's opinion, the coolest sentence. This is a subjective judgment and has nothing to do with the rules.
- Each chip received counts as 1 point for the receiving player.
Disputes
During Round Scoring, any player can raise an argument about how the rules apply to another player's sentence. If you bring an argument, you have to propose a resolution, and people will vote on the proposal. (For example, you can propose a change to someone's point total that round, or suggest a change to a person's sentence to bring it within the rules.) If the vote passes, the solution goes through.
Continue Play and End the Game
For each subsequent round of play, draw a new set of cards. Play and score according to the above rules.
The game ends when all Prompt cards have been used. Shuffle Constraints and Scoring cards back into their respective decks as needed.
The player with the most points wins!
220
“My face is over here.” Special In-Person SpecialSpecial
2021.06.10
Your vaccinated hosts return to the clubhouse to record their first in-person episode in over a year. This one's for us, but you might like it, too.
There was a lot of hugs before the recording.
Charity EP Jam (the new album drops June 11th!) - Chel WongIndie bundle for Palestinian Aid - Alanna Linayre, itch.io
Mark's "Widget Satchel II" was featured in Panic's E3-style announcement video.
Special In-Person Special
Mark LaCroixStephen McGregorEllen Burns-JohnsonIRLMetaMisc.South Korea’s COVID Success Stems From an Earlier Infectious Disease Failure - Jiyeon Kim and Neil Richards, Slate
219
Therapeutic GamesInterview
2021.06.03
🎉 🎂 🎉 It's Ellen's birthday! 🎉 🎂 🎉
Wish her a happy one via the show's feedback form (seriously, that's what she asked for): nicegames.club/feedback.
Can games be used for therapeutic purposes? Absolutely! In this episode we talk with Adam Davis, therapeutic Game Master, and a co-founder and executive director of Game to Grow, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The organization is focused on "the use of games of all kinds for therapeutic, educational, and community growth."
Adam shares his experiences from over a decade in therapeutic play—how Game to Grow began, how he thinks about games as part of therapeutic experiences, and how he once managed SEVEN tabletop RPG campaigns simultaneously. We hope you enjoy our inspiring conversation with this really cool guy!
Helmet nachos! Source: Target Field Eats on Twitter https://twitter.com/tfeats/status/1039672499892576256
Therapeutic Games
Game DesignTabletopGame to Grow blogCritical Core on KickstarterDrama Therapy - North American Drama Therapy AssociationWheelhouse WorkshopIndividualized Education Plan (IEP) - Understood.comCollaboration vs. cooperation: What's the difference? - The Ripple Team, Ripple IntranetGame to Grow Keynote at the 2018 Washington Therapy Conference - Adam DavisNo Thank You, Evil: The Award-Winning Game of Make-believe for Creative Kids an…Adam DavisGuestAdam D. Davis, MA Ed, earned his Master’s degree in Education with a focus in drama therapy from Antioch University Seattle, and is a recognized member of the North American Drama Therapy Association.
Adam is a contributing author to three publications: Integrating Geek Culture into Therapeutic Practice; Game Play, 3rd Edition; and The Walking Dead Psychology.
In addition to his work with Game to Grow, Adam developed the CoRe Gaming program at the Atlantic Street Center utilizing video games to teach Dialectical Behavioral Therapy skills, served as an educator at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo, and taught fourth-grade literacy for Seattle Public Schools.
External link
Game to Grow websiteGame to Grow on Twitter
216
"They wouldn't fully respawn." Fingeance PostmortemSpecial
2021.05.06
Oh dang, Fingeance is out! In this episode, Stephen talks about finally releasing his long-in-development game that's been a big part of Nice Games Club history, too!
Hear about the game's unique development history, why now was the right time to put it out into the world, and learn a bit about how you might want to to approach your own long-gestating projects.
Fingeance on itch.io (download for free)!Escape Industries on Twitter
Fingeance Portmortem
Stephen McGregorGame DesignProduction
Back in 2018, we peeked inside Fingeance for a video episode of the show:
Code Comment: "Fingeance"
In 2019, we did a postmortem-ish episode for Widget Satchel:
"Space ferrets lift off!" Widget Satchel Special
It's that season—there's snow on the ground, and it's time for the annual "year in review" episode. Your nice hosts are getting ready to take a break from recording for a few weeks while serving up some of our favorite episodes from the past year. But before we start hibernating, there's a lot to discuss! What did we accomplish this year, and how do we feel about it? What are our goals for next year? Are we taking on any fun projects during our hiatus? And what are we looking forward to playing next year (besides all the Kirby games, of course)?
- Nice Games Club is five years old! That's a solid handful of years. Happy birthday show, and thanks to you all for listening!
- The feeling is real, even if this video isn't.
Local Releases (2021)
0:13:45
Mark LaCroixStephen McGregorEllen Burns-JohnsonIRLFingeance by Escape Industries - itch.ioTotally Reliable Delivery Service (console release this year) - YouTubeAnodyne 2: Return to Dust (on Nintendo Switch this year) - Nintendo.comClosed Hands by Passenger Games Ltd.
Nicest (2021)
0:43:17
Mark LaCroixStephen McGregorEllen Burns-JohnsonGamingHades by Supergiant GamesFirewatch by Campo SantoWhere Should We Begin? A Game of Stories from Esther PerelMetroid: Fusion (Ellen played it on emulator) - Nintendo.comPokémon Quest - Pokemon.comBowser’s Fury - Nintendo.comRatchet & Clank: Rift Apart - Playstation.comMetroid: Dread - Nintendo.comHumankindDeathloopRogue CompanyHaven - YouTubeValheimIt Takes Two - Steam
Most Anticipated (for 2022)
1:10:25
Mark LaCroixStephen McGregorEllen Burns-JohnsonGamingEndling: Extinction is Forever (from Handy Games)Weird West (by Wolfeye Studios, published by Devolver) - Game InformerTiny Tina's Wonderlands - Game InformerSCHiM - EwoudSolo-developed ‘Mars First Logistics’ is a physics-based sandbox on Mars - Alan Wen, NME.comCyberpunk cat adventure Stray will let you do highly accurate cat stuff - Michael McWhertor, PolygonLittle Kitty, Big City - Double Dagger StudioThe Playdate handheld system!!!Kirby™ and the Forgotten Land - Nintendo.comMultiversus (from Warner Bros)Dragon's Dogma 2 will run on the same engine as Resident Evil Village, leaker s… - Connor Sheridan, GamesRadar
Gamedev Resolutions / What We're Working On (for 2022)
1:26:51
Mark LaCroixStephen McGregorEllen Burns-JohnsonIRL
Your nice hosts (Ellen, mainly) conduct a double-interview, with a consummate professional and a committed amateur, on the subject of game design though the lens of tabletop game mastering. Subjects include the dynamic between system design and session design, the balance between planning and improvisation, and how players can be encouraged to participate in the process.
Designing like a Dungeon Master
Game DesignNarrativeTabletopAlternity - Sasquatch Game StudioMDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research - Robin Hunicke, Marc LeBlanc, Robert Zubek, Northwestern UniversityDread, a game of horror and suspense - The Impossible DreamThousand Year Old Vampire - Tim HutchingsRobin's Laws of Good Game Mastering - Robin D. LawsUnpossible Game LabsCon of the North
Katrina imagined a future with "Westworld as a video game," which coincidentally was a topic in one of our first episodes:
"It's against the law to stop."Katrina OstranderGuestAn editor for over a dozen media tie-in novellas spanning multiple genres, and the Creative Director of Story and Setting for Fantasy Flight Games, where she oversees the internal and licensed development of the studio's proprietary IPs.
Besides her work as an editor of tie-in fiction and developer of IPs, Katrina has written for or developed over a dozen roleplaying game products, including adventures, supplements, and core rulebooks.
External link
WebsiteTwitterThe Great Clans of Rokugan: Ice and SnowDescent: Legends of the Dark Jon KiehneGuest
A "committed amateur" of tabletop role playing games, Jon is a longtime Dungeon Master who created a wholly unique campaign setting for his regular group (including your nice host Ellen) which he has been running for over six years.
Three nice hosts, plus two topics, plus three meta topics equals a good time! Listen to Stephen's secret to popcorn success, Mark bringing up the Observer effect multiple times and Ellen's branding plans for her latest game.
- Forever - Endless Runner Engine - Dreamteck
- Flavacol - Popcorn Supply
- The definition of Chrimbo - Lexicon
Player Count
0:08:33
Mark LaCroixGame DesignHardwareDevelopers explain why 4 is the magic multiplayer number - Cass Marshall, PolygonMultitap - WikipediaMAG Review - DAN RYCKERT, Game InformerParenting young kids is exhausting. Should we rethink the nuclear family? - Sophie Brickman
Hidden Information
0:36:33
Stephen McGregorGame DesignGaming
As the podcast approaches its fifth anniversary, your hosts get a little (more) frivolous. Mark shares some industry news about hardware releases. Ellen prompts everyone to share their experiences of learning development tools and examine their process of learning through the lens of Maximum Whooo. Stephen explores the difference between cooperative and collaborative gameplay, and invents something called a Feedborm. Dang!
- Steamworks Virtual Conference: Steam Deck - Steam
- Steam Deck launch delayed by two months - Jay Peters, The Verge
- Indie handheld Playdate delayed to 2022 - Michael McWhertor, Polygon
- How Long to Beat: Metroid Dread - HowLongToBeat
Learning to Use Tools
14:05
Ellen Burns-JohnsonMisc.ToolsArticulate Storyline 360, an e-learning development toolGodot, an open-source 2D & 3D game engineGodot: Getting Started >> Step by step - Juan Linietsky, Ariel Manzur and the Godot community, GodotTuckman's stages of group development - WikipediaCoDecks: Playful PlanningSonder (a story) - Ludum Dare 48Proactive and Retroactive Interference (re: learning interference) - Dr. Saul McLeod, Simply Psychology
Co-Op Games
53:10.0
Stephen McGregorGame DesignOvercooked Co-Op Review: Five-star co-op gaming - Jason Love, Co-OptimusThere’s a Difference Between Cooperation and Collaboration - Ron Ashkenas, Harvard Business Review
This week, your nice hosts discuss Star Trek, Star Trek, and Ghostbusters. Plus, Mark talks something out of existence, and Ellen is not even gonna not disagree with Stephen.
NOTE: Early in the episode we promise a picture of Dale's Halloween costume for the show notes, but we did not have one as this episode went to press. Check this episode's page on our website, and/or our Twitter in the next few days...
- Mutant Giant Spider Dog - SA Wardega, YouTube
- The Inside Story of Mass Effect 3's Endings, Finally Told - People Make Games, YouTube
- The suspense!
Power-ups
0:23:09
Mark LaCroixGame Design
Franchises
0:52:10
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGamingMarketingList of best-selling video game franchises - WikipediaHow many Super Mario games are there? - jan Misali, YouTube
This week the clubhouse is joined by our second favorite pair of game development brothers - Sami Sati and Erick Sati, developers of Astral Gunners. The Sati brothers talk about staying motivated, when to release early access, and saving some of your heart and soul for future projects.
Early Access
MarketingProductionCave Games - Cave Interactive Co., Ltd, WikipediaAstral GunnersThe Sati Bros. Present: Tips for Early Access
- Make sure you can finish your game if nobody buys it:
- Delaying release maybe is OK for your reputation.
- Cancelling a release will reflects badly on your reputation and will make it tougher to release your next game.
- Being open and honest with players (customers).
- Make sure your core game is finished, so the only things you need to add in are extras and content: levels, features, characters, etc.
- Centralize your player feedback forums. Think about where you would like to talk about a similar game.
Sami Sati and Erick SatiGuest
The Sati Bros. are game developers out of Minneapolis, and fans of shoot 'em up games.
External link
astralgunners.com
Mark goes over the theory and practice of debugging (in Unity, at least). Ellen gets the gist of it. Stephen considers when a game can benefit from having a silent protagonist, or at least a main character that doesn't say anything. Stay tuned after the outro music for bonus sound effects!
- Wordplay 2021: Celebrating Writing in Contemporary Games - Hand Eye Society
Debugging
0:02:06
Mark LaCroixProgrammingWorking in the Inspector: Toggling Debug Mode - Unity
Silent Protagonists
0:43:58
Stephen McGregorGame DesignNarrativeConcept: Silent Protagonist - Giant BombSilent protagonist - WikipediaHeroic Mime - TV Tropes
It's Stephen's turn at Nice Thinking, our new episode format where we brainstorm around a single concept someone brings into the clubhouse. Get ready for your first contact with the Sledgehammer Bride!
- Glom will be part of Wordplay 2021, November 13-14 - Hand Eye Society
Sledgehammer Bride
Stephen McGregorGame DesignNarrativeA Brief History of Beat ’em Up Video Games - Hero ConceptProspective Teachers Misperceive Black Children as Angry - Bryan Goodman, American Psychological AssociationThe Brute Caricature - History on the NetExamining Game Pace: How Single-Player Levels Tick - Mark DaviesShank 2 - Klei Entertainment, SteamHow the Original Hyrule Warriors Broke The Mold for Musou Games Forever - Dale Bashir, IGN
This week's episode has things getting a little crepuscular in the clubhouse! Mark possibly flubs the intro (jury is still out on this!), Stephen has prepared two rants and Ellen requests all of our best silly noises.
Editors note: I (Stephen) did in fact edit this episode, but it's really early in the morning so I didn't find fun sounds to put in there. There is a fun sound in the episode though!
- What Is a Crepuscular Animal? - Jaymi Heimbuch, Treehugger
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is a bummer - Patrick Gill, Polygon
Relaxing Games
0:05:30
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignGaming‘Optica’ is the Mind-Bending Spiritual Successor to ‘Strata’ that’s Launching N… - Jared Nelson, Touch ArcadeMonument Valley 2Really Bad ChessWhat is Chess 960 or Fischer Random Chess? - Chess.comDoctor Who 2048
Commitment
0:35:00
Stephen McGregorGame DesignUnderstanding What "Commitment" Means in Fighting Games - LordKnight, YouTubeSo Mew2King just got 3-stocked... - Hungrybox, YouTube“I’m not fast enough to play fighting games” - Patrick Miller, Medium
Your nice hosts recorded this episode on an especially-timely Tuesday evening. It turns out that recording on an "off" day does goofy things to a podcaster's brain. Can you improve upon the game of "rock, paper, scissors"? How common are red stop signs across the globe? What noises does a wind serpent make? Do video games really give us choices? How many Kirby plushies does Stephen have? We're asking the tough questions here on Nice Games Club.
- Wordplay: Celebrating Writing in Contemporary Games
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo.com
- Metroid: Dread - Nintendo.com
- Denver Botanical Gardens
- Rocky Mountain National Park
- Lucile's Creole Cafe (has a GREAT breakfast!)
Deluxe Editions
10:04
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGamingMarketingPhysical GamesRock, Paper, Scissors: Deluxe Edition (on Kickstarter)Day of Dragons (in early access)
Illusions of Choice
37:28
Mark LaCroixGame DesignJellyvision LabsJellyvision (history) - WikipediaStop signs - WikipediaOperation LifesaverThe Illusion of Choice in Telltale Games' The Walking Dead - Adrian Froschauer, Ontological Geek
In this episode Ellen points out the wisdom of Stephen and Mark makes up excuses to talk about his new favourite T.V. programme (and it's not even a Star Trek show!).
Prototypes
5:15
Stephen McGregorGame Design
Here's a previous episode where we've talked about prototyping!
"A way to farm notions."
Game Shows
0:33:38
Mark LaCroixGame Design
Ellen talked about Jeopardy in a previous episode!
Gameful UX
This week, it's the inaugural episode recorded from the brand new clubhouse inside the office of Noble Robot, the gamedev co-working space that Mark just opened up in northeast Minneapolis!
Ellen lays out everyone's frustrations, Stephen sets the agenda, and Mark has words for Whirlpool.
- This way to the new clubhouse!
- Here's the office fridge, moments before it got really frustrating.
- The new clubhouse, in "conference room" mode.
- Your nice hosts each work with remote teams from all over the world, so Mark put together a "world clock" display as the visual centerpiece of the office.
- Stephen works in this office, so it needs two things: tea, and Kirby memorabilia.
Frustration
0:10:34
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignGaming
Meetings
0:50:28
Stephen McGregorIRLProduction
On this week's episode, your nice hosts explore two completely separate but fully compelling topics! Ellen learns a new engine, Mark discusses why shooting could be a more interesting mechanic than it is, and Stephen completely misses a pun.
- Astral Gunners
- Pillars of Creation
-
Games shown at 2D Con 2021:
- Snow Day: The Cold War
- Emery
- Johnny Chainsaw
- Armed and Gelatinous
- Captain's Log: Crisis Detected
- Merchant of Windvale
- Far Away
- Magical Unicorn Quest
- Chronicles of the Wolf and Wallachia: Reign of Dracula
- Eterbal Exodus
- Widget Satchel
- They Stirred
- Astral Gunners
- Fitment
- Fingeance
- Ollie-Oop
- HyperDot
- CULTivate
- Pillars of Creation
Learning a Game Engine
0:13:05
Ellen Burns-JohnsonProgrammingToolsThe Only Certainty Is That He Won’t Show Up - Dave Itzkoff, The New York TimesStep by Step Godot Documentation - Index - Godot EngineStep by Step Godot Documentation - Instancing - Godot EngineStop Waiting for Godot Jam - Terry Cavanagh, itch.io#stopwaitingforgodot - TwitterTypes of Interference in Psychology - Kendra Cherry, verywellmind
Guns
0:43:14
Mark LaCroixGame DesignCritical Reaction to Mass Effect Citadel - Metacritic20 years on, Bushido Blade remains a fighting game masterpiece - Simon Parkin, EurogamerAny good 1 hit kill games out there? - Reddit
After many months of recording over Discord (or together in Mark's and Dale's apartment), Nice Games Club is finding a new place to meet. Well, "finding" isn't really the right word. Mark and Dale are making it happen. The new clubhouse is being customized as a workspace and community hub, and this week on the show, Your Nice Hosts talk about how to start things up in the new spot.
The New Clubhouse
Mark LaCroixIRLMetaErgonomic stools by Herman MillerThe cover image for this episode's page is from The Treehouse, an educational game published in 1991. Ellen played this game a lot when she was a kid. Learn more here: https://www.myabandonware.com/game/the-treehouse-1ag
Recently, Mark appeared on an episode of the Star Trek interview podcast (and fellow Minnesota production) Enterprising Individuals to talk about Star Trek video games. It was a lively discussion and we're pleased to re-broadcast it here.
Thanks to host Aaron Coker and producer Diane Blum for arranging the interview and allowing your nice hosts to re-post it as an episode of Nice Games Club.
- Enterprising Individuals
- Happy Star Trek Day everyone! Wednesday of this week marked the 55th anniversary of the first airing of Star Trek on television, and Paramount's marketing department celebrated the event with a multi-hour livestream of upcoming announcements and touching tributes.
Star Trek games (from Enterprising Individuals)
Mark LaCroixGamingIRLFor show notes, check out the episode's page on the Enterprising Individuals website.
It's your nice hosts second live episode for 2D Con, Minnesota's biggest video game event.
Stephen asks the audience to boo at him, Ellen knows the lingo, and Mark isn't making sense.
Prompt "Chess 2" "Four-dimensional" "Welcome to Night Vale"
Game type Tabletop game
Player count 2
Materials
4x4 board.
3 Pawn pieces per player.
1 "Mayor" (King) pieces per player.
An unspecified number of Glow Cloud (Queen), Librarian (Bishop), and Reverse Pawn pieces.
Setup * Place or draw a 4x4 chess-style board. * Arrange three Pawn pieces and one Mayor piece along the home row of each player, arranged left-to-right (from each player's point of view) in this pattern: Pawn-Pawn-Mayor-Pawn
Rules The goal is to capture the opposing player's Mayor. Mayors move like Kings in Chess. Play proceeds exactly like Chess, with the following exceptions/additions:
- A player may, instead of making a move, "undo" their most recent move, as long as the space where their most recently moved piece previously was remains open. If the player's most recently moved piece was just captured on their opponent's turn, that piece still returns to it's previous position.
- When a Pawn reaches the opponent player's home row, that piece is promoted to one of three positions, randomly using a 6-sided die:
- Reverse Pawn (1-3): Same as a Pawn, but moving in the other direction. When a Reverse Pawn returns to the player's home row, they are not promoted but become a standard Pawn again.
- Librarian (4-5): Equivalent to a Bishop in Chess.
- Glow Cloud (6): Equivalent to a Queen in Chess.
It's a packed clubhouse for this special episode! Your regular hosts are joined by two guests: Peter Yang and Dale LaCroix. Peter is a game designer, creative director, and tabletop games agent based out of Minnesota. Dale, as you know, is just plain evil. The adventure of the day—pitching games to tabletop publishers. And Peter is our guide!
Pitching Tabletop Games
MarketingPhysical GamesTabletopListen to the episode where GLOM first took shape (episode 210).
GlomProtospiel MN (2020)Twin Cities Playtest with IGDA-TCGenConOrigins Game FairTabletop Simulator - notes on importing cards - Dale LaCroixThe Game Crafter - Print cards on demand with this websitePeter YangGuestPeter's a charismatic public speaker with a passion for games and game development. He's worked in QA, development, and production roles within the games industry. From board games to video games, he enjoys helping people bring their fun ideas to stand out from the crowd.
External link
Peter on Twitter @ZettoVyker
This week, your nice hosts welcome creative director and all-around "VR Specialist" Dana Ware to talk about location-based entertainment, the incredible potential of VR during a pandemic, and where VR will be in 5 years.
Designing for VR
Game DesignIRLVR / AR / XRDark Slope StudiosThe Void - WikipediaMalls have a future: location-based entertainment - Kim Schaefer, VentureBeatCurtis Hickman - Speaker Biography - Future of StorytellingFacebook HorizonDana WareGuest
Creative Director/Designer, with thorough knowledge of virtual and augmented reality, and experience in location-based entertainment, film, commercials, video game production, and interactive media.
External link
https://www.danafaithware.com/
It's that time again! Time for another episode, that is. Mark tries to convince his fellow hosts that games should include more bonus content—developer commentary, concept art, and so forth. Stephen talks about giving talks, even though he doesn't like to give talks. And Ellen finished a game!
- What should Ellen play next? A poll for you! - Twitter
- My Boy! Emulator (Android app) - Google Play Store
- Is this the episode in which Martha and Stephen tried to teach Mark about Pokémon?
"How would I know that?" * Too Many Choices: A Problem That Can Paralyze - Alina Tugend, The New York Times * Header image: The fictional black hole, "Gargantua," from the film Interstellar (2014). Credit: Double Negative @ https://www.dneg.com/ * The "postroll funny" is a line from the poem "What Did?" by Shel Silverstein as published in the collection A Light in the Attic.
Bonus Content
0:12:16
Mark LaCroixGamingProductionGames mentioned in this segment included:
- Paper Mario: The Origami King
- Closed Hands
- 30 Flights of Loving
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Batman: Arkham series
A previous NGC episode discussed the topic of "unlockables."
"Please cheat, I don't care."‘Ask Iwata’ Book Review: A Much Needed Chronicle Of A Gaming Legend - Ollie Barder, ForbesWrinkles in Spacetime: The Warped Astrophysics of Interstellar - Adam Rogers, WiredFirst Images of a Black Hole from the Event Horizon Telescope - Susanna Kohler, AAS NOVAGame Changers (2019 exhibit) - Science Museum of Minnesota CORRECTION: The black hole in question is Messier 87, not "TON 68" as Ellen mentioned on the podcast. The designation of the black hole that Ellen thought she was referring to is TON 618. The black hole that's part of the TON 618 quasar is one of the most massive black holes ever discovered.
Giving Talks
0:45:29
Stephen McGregorEventsMarketingView recently-broadcasted talks from IGDA-TC - TwitchResonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences (a book) - Nancy Duarte
This week, we try something new in the clubhouse with the very first Nice Thinking! In Nice Thinking, your nice hosts have a concept or idea that hasn't been fully fleshed out and we workshop it on air. This episode has Ellen bringing in the goal of encouraging parkgoers to throw away more garbage to take care of her neighborhood park. There's a lot of trash talk in this episode, listen to find out what your nice hosts come up with!
Giblet the Trash Can
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignIRLGoogly-Eyed Trash Eaters May Clean a Harbor Near You - Jackie Snow, National Geographic
Your nice hosts do their best to "attend" GDC 2021, and end up having a really good time. Mark imagines his business card, Ellen asks questions, and Stephen proves he's human.
- Game Developers Conference webpage
GDC 2021 Sessions
Mark LaCroixStephen McGregorEllen Burns-JohnsonEventsIndie SoapBox - GDCGlitch City LADemystifying Indie Publishing Offers - August Brown, GDC
August joined us in a previous episode:
Developer/Publisher RelationsAvoid an Identity Crisis as a Technical Designer - GDC
A slide from "Avoid an Identity Crisis as a Technical Designer"
Experimental Gameplay Workshop - GDCSchimHyperRogueKromaKristallijnL'Oeuf-SphinxAI DungeonDespeloteSpreadsheet Smarter Not Harder
In this episode, Mark gets defensive about his fair city, Ellen declares her love of Big Buttons, and Stephen almost forgets Fingeance, the game he worked on for seven years.
Gamepads
0:14:00
Stephen McGregorHardwareThe Evolution of the Xbox Controller - Alessandro Fillari, GameSpotThe Evolution of the PlayStation Controller - Adam Bankhurst, IGNList of Nintendo controllers - Wikipedia
Nature in Games
0:54:54
Ellen Burns-JohnsonArtMinneapolis Named Best City Park System in U.S. on Trust for Public Land’s Annu… - Minneapolis Park & Recreation BoardMinneapolis slides to third in urban park rankings; St. Paul rises to second (2… - Susan Du, Star TribuneSpend Time Outside in Twin Cities Parks and Lakes - Cinnamon Janzer, Explore MinnesotaEndling: Extinction is Forever - Handy GamesFirewatch - Campo Santo
Your nice hosts come together for their first Nice Games Jam in person in a very long time! Did seeing each other together result in even wilder game jam shenanigans than you'd expect? Listen to the episode to find out!
- PlayThinker Deck - The Game Crafter
Prompt We used Ellen's PlayThinker Deck to make this game! Goal card was "Efficiency", interaction cards were "Combination", "Approach", and "Exploration".
Game type Card game
Player count 2-4
Materials
Basic 52 card deck (no jokers)
4 Meeples
12 Powerup tokens (3 different colors)
Setup Shuffle deck and place cards in a 4 by 4 grid.
Give each player one meeple to represent them.
Rules * Player can move onto any card on their side of the grid as their first turn. * On their turn each player moves one card and reveals it, potentially giving you an ability * Revealing a face card gives you an item, which gives you one of the following abilities: + One gives the ability to move one more space. + One gives the ability to peek at one more card. + One gives the ability to move diagonally. * Getting three items allows you to take one turn to bank three items, losing those three abilities but giving you one point. * Revealing an Ace removes all items that player’s have not banked. Bank your items to prevent losing a point! * Revealing the four corners refresh all unrevealed cards except cards that a player is on. * When the deck runs out, the game ends when all the board is revealed (no more refreshes, fill out the rest of the board with a shuffled discarded deck). * Whoever has the most points after that last round wins the game!
Holly Harrison, aka "Best Friend of the Show," is back in the clubhouse! And we recorded this episode in person again! Can you tell? It probably comes through in the goofs...
There's plenty of silliness in this week's episode, even though your Nice Hosts explore some serious topics. Holly asks us what we can do to become more ethical consumers (and developers) of games. Ellen examines the dynamics of grind. Stephen finally admits to something BIG, and Mark takes a break.
- Join Lobby - Video Game Culture Feed - Holly Harrison, Instagram
- Holly joined us for episode 40...
Community Managment * ...and for episode 88...
The Gaming Press * ...and for episode 89...
"A mean secret that stays in this room." * ...and for episode 201...
"Not like Beauty and the Beast." * ...and for episode 202!
Business Speak * Ellen's new laptop: Alienware M15R4 * Gris (a game, not a musical) - Steam * Noble Engine - Mark LaCroix * Here's episode 217, in which we discussed open source.
Open Source Software * Photo by Helmi Lutvyandi from Pexels
Ethical Consumption
0:13:06
Holly HarrisonGamingMisc.Conflict minerals: Which gaming companies may have funded human rights abuses i… - Rebekah Valentine, GamesIndustry.bizIs There Really Such a Thing as “Ethical Consumerism”? - Maya Singer, VogueSummary of sexual and non-sexual allegations (megathread) - Reddit
Grind
0:47:59
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignGamingr/truegaming: For those who like talking about games as much as playing them. - RedditEllen’s take on grind: “Going through the same content multiple times as a means to progress towards an in-game goal that doesn’t pertain to the player’s skill.”
Back in March, Mark created a game engine in an unfamiliar programming language for an unreleased console... and in June he explained himself in a presentation at IGDATC's Gamedev Meeting.
- The full video presentation of Mark's talk
"So, you made a game engine?"
Mark LaCroixHardwareProgrammingNoble Engine, a li'l game engine for Playdate - Noble Robot, GitHubNoble Engine Project Template - Noble Robot, GitHubPlaydate consolePlaydate developer portal
Starting an indie studio is hard, starting a worker-owned cooperative is harder. This week your nice hosts interview longtime friend of the show Reese Valentine and their fellow co-founder Mackenzie Denker, both of Amelore. It's co-ops 101, which happens to be exactly the info Stephen needs right now!
- Amelore Coop website
- Amelore on Twitter
- Reese previously visited the clubhouse for one of our earliest episodes, in early 2017:
Games Education
Co-op Studios
IRLProductionThe 7 Cooperative Principles - The National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA InternationalMission Statements - Adam Schwartz, The Cooperative WayCo-ops in Spain’s Basque Region Soften Capitalism’s Rough Edges - Peter S. Goodman, The New York TimesEmbracing the Co-Op Studio Model in Indie Games - Scott Benson, Ted Anderson, Steve Filby, Ian Thomas, Bethany Hockenberry, GDCReese ValentineGuestCo-founder of Amelore co-op, a worker-owned game studio. Former President of the Game Design Club at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
External link
https://twitter.com/AReeseOfCakeMackenzie DenkerGuest
Co-founder of Amelore co-op, a worker-owned game studio.
External link
https://twitter.com/denker_m
This week, Mark talks about Star Trek, Stephen wants to talk more about Star Trek, and Ellen hypes the website.
- We made the papers!
- Dreams: Awake - Charity EP Jam, Bandcamp
- Itch.io Palestinian Aid bundle raises over $900,000 - Danielle Partis, GamesIndustry.biz
- Serious Play Conference
Storytelling
0:10:00
Mark LaCroixGame DesignNarrativeThe Game Debate: Video Games as Innovative Storytelling - Melissa Somerdin, The Oswald ReviewThe Importance Of Video Game Narrative - Adeyemi Thompson, Sliced Bread AnimationThe Unique Storytelling Power of Video Games - Anthony Jondreau, Medium3 approaches to storytelling in games - Simon K Jones, Medium
Exploits
0:36:36
Stephen McGregorGamingIRLWavedashing in Super Smash Bros Melee - pahlz, Instructables8 of the Most Notorious Video Game Exploits of All Time - Brandin Tyrrel, IGNWhat's the biggest game exploit you'll admit to using? - PC Gamer
Your vaccinated hosts return to the clubhouse to record their first in-person episode in over a year. This one's for us, but you might like it, too.
- There was a lot of hugs before the recording.
- Charity EP Jam (the new album drops June 11th!) - Chel Wong
- Indie bundle for Palestinian Aid - Alanna Linayre, itch.io
- Mark's "Widget Satchel II" was featured in Panic's E3-style announcement video.
Special In-Person Special
Mark LaCroixStephen McGregorEllen Burns-JohnsonIRLMetaMisc.South Korea’s COVID Success Stems From an Earlier Infectious Disease Failure - Jiyeon Kim and Neil Richards, Slate
Can games be used for therapeutic purposes? Absolutely! In this episode we talk with Adam Davis, therapeutic Game Master, and a co-founder and executive director of Game to Grow, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The organization is focused on "the use of games of all kinds for therapeutic, educational, and community growth."
Adam shares his experiences from over a decade in therapeutic play—how Game to Grow began, how he thinks about games as part of therapeutic experiences, and how he once managed SEVEN tabletop RPG campaigns simultaneously. We hope you enjoy our inspiring conversation with this really cool guy!
- Helmet nachos! Source: Target Field Eats on Twitter https://twitter.com/tfeats/status/1039672499892576256
Therapeutic Games
Game DesignTabletopGame to Grow blogCritical Core on KickstarterDrama Therapy - North American Drama Therapy AssociationWheelhouse WorkshopIndividualized Education Plan (IEP) - Understood.comCollaboration vs. cooperation: What's the difference? - The Ripple Team, Ripple IntranetGame to Grow Keynote at the 2018 Washington Therapy Conference - Adam DavisNo Thank You, Evil: The Award-Winning Game of Make-believe for Creative Kids an…Adam DavisGuestAdam D. Davis, MA Ed, earned his Master’s degree in Education with a focus in drama therapy from Antioch University Seattle, and is a recognized member of the North American Drama Therapy Association.
Adam is a contributing author to three publications: Integrating Geek Culture into Therapeutic Practice; Game Play, 3rd Edition; and The Walking Dead Psychology.
In addition to his work with Game to Grow, Adam developed the CoRe Gaming program at the Atlantic Street Center utilizing video games to teach Dialectical Behavioral Therapy skills, served as an educator at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo, and taught fourth-grade literacy for Seattle Public Schools.
External link
Game to Grow websiteGame to Grow on Twitter
This week in the clubhouse, your nice hosts discuss the not so-intuitive nature of novelty, and the novel method of using intuition in games. Featured in the episode: Ellen reveals secrets of her home, Stephen relates a topic to fighting games for the 218th time, and Mark brings up the best parts of the Mass Effect trilogy.
- Matias Ergo Pro Keyboard
- Ellen mentioned screen burnout, a topic we've covered in this episode.
"Empty the bucket." * Tweet on writing 'structure'
Novelty
12:27
Stephen McGregorGame Design
Intuition
45:19
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignEducating Intuition - The University of Chicago PressJason Silva on Intuition - Brain Games, National GeographicIntuition, Expectations and Culture: Learning from Psychology to Build Better G… - Ara Shirinian, Game DeveloperNumerical Intuition - Brain Games, National GeographicThe unique power of games in building intuition - Bryan Braun
There's a second Mark in the clubhouse! This week we're joined by Mark Mandel, who is involved in many things worth mentioning! Mark is a Developer Advocate at Google Cloud for Games, leading the Developer Relations team; he founded Agones, a game server hosting platform; he has a dog. What else? Listen to find out.
During this episode, Mark talks about open source software in the gamedev scene—why it's important, what developers can gain from supporting open source, tips for participating in open source projects, and more.
Open Source Software
ProgrammingToolsOpen Source DefinitionDemo video of Veloren, an Open Source MMORPG - Open Source Games, YouTubeZero D, an open source game"Standards" (#927) - xkcdEmbark StudiosAdobe BracketsAwesome Open SourceTo Do GroupFree Open Source Compliance Course for Developers - The Linux FoundationCode CovenantRust Programming LanguageBevy, a "refreshingly simple data-driven game engine built in Rust"Mark MandelGuest
Mark specializes in the backend systems of games. His current role (May 2021) is at Google, where he advocates for developers who use the Google Cloud platform. One of his main projects is Agones, a platform that allows developers to host, run and scale dedicated game servers on Kubernetes. He also has an adorable dog named Sukie and a super-cool Twitter handle.
External link
Mark on Twitter @NeuroticSukie the Dog on Twitter @SukieTweetsGoogle Cloud for GamingAgonesAgones on Twitter @AgonesDevMark's YouTube channelMark on Twitch
This week, we talk about the core interactions that games are made of with Allan Rust, creative director of The Game Agency. We've been wanting to have Allan on the program for a long time, and it was worth the wait!
- Ellen and Mark's Ludum Dare 48 game, Sonder (a story) can now be played in a web browser from its Itch.io page!
- Stephen (and company)'s game Fingeance is still hot off the presses. Go download it and reclaim the sea!
Gameful UX
Game DesignUI / UXThe Training Arcade"Jeopardy!" TV Challenge DemoAn 'Overjoyed' LeVar Burton Welcomes Chance To Guest-Host 'Jeopardy!' - Bill Chappell, NPRWhat is a Lottie?Howler.jsWhat is middleware?Adobe XDAllan RustGuest
Allan is the creative director of the The Game Agency, which creates custom game-based solutions and learning experiences.
With a background in multiple creative arts, Allan is also a long-time member of the Minneapolis-based band and vocal quartet The Blenders.
External link
The Game AgencyAllen on LinkedinThe Blenders
Oh dang, Fingeance is out! In this episode, Stephen talks about finally releasing his long-in-development game that's been a big part of Nice Games Club history, too!
Hear about the game's unique development history, why now was the right time to put it out into the world, and learn a bit about how you might want to to approach your own long-gestating projects.
- Fingeance on itch.io (download for free)!
- Escape Industries on Twitter
Fingeance Portmortem
Stephen McGregorGame DesignProduction
Back in 2018, we peeked inside Fingeance for a video episode of the show:
Code Comment: "Fingeance"
In 2019, we did a postmortem-ish episode for Widget Satchel:
"Space ferrets lift off!" Widget Satchel Special
Sound the alarm, it's the second half of Evil Games Club's latest nefarious reign over the clubhouse! This time, Adia, Dylan and Dale take their misdeeds to new heights with an "Evil Games Jam." Can they invent a playable game and test it in a single episode? What maddening mechanics will be unleashed from these malevolent minds? Take shelter under your headphones and listen if you dare!
- The Interactive Fiction Competition
- Spring Thing Festival of Interactive Fiction
- Ludum Dare 48
- NaNoReNO Jam
- OST Jam
Prompt Create a game you might find in a casino, where the house always wins.
Game type Card game
Player count 3
Materials
Standard deck of 52 playing cards
Setup In this game, the Patrons and the Dealer oppose each other. In the spirit of the prompt, the idea is that the Dealer needs to win against the Patrons, but keep them interested enough to keep playing.
- The Dealer wants to win against the Patrons.
- The Patrons will work with each other to make more matches than the Dealer—while having fun!
Setting up the game:
- Decide who will be The Dealer.
- The Dealer shuffles the deck and deals each player 5 cards, face down.
- The Dealer deals themselves 5 cards, face down.
- Play starts with the person to the Dealer's left and proceeds clockwise.
Rules GOAL
Patrons want to create more sets of matching 4 cards than the Dealer before the deck runs out. A set = 4 cards of the same number.
Heads up! Here are some important notes:
- The Dealer's rules are slightly different than the Players' rules. The differences are noted below in line with the regular rules.
- The discard pool is not the same thing as the discard pile. A discard pool is created during each round and then merged into the discard pile at the start of the Dealer's turn each round.
PLAYER TURNS
On each player's turn, they will take the following steps in order:
- Draw cards
- Switch cards
- Discard (Dealer only) Before you draw cards, move the cards in the discard pool from that round into the discard pile.
1: DRAW CARDS
On their turn, each player takes one of the following actions:
- Draw up to 2 cards from the deck and place it face up in front of them
- Draw up to 2 cards from the discard pool and place it face up in front of them
- (Dealer only) If the player is the Dealer, they can pick up to 2 cards from any of the Patrons' hands and put them face up on the table OR put them directly into their hand
2: SWITCH CARDS
The player may then swap cards from their hand for cards they just drew, maintaining a hand of 5 cards. Patrons can only switch "like for like"—cards of the same color or number. Examples:
- Swap the Queen of Spades for the Five of Clubs
- Swap the Four of Diamonds for the Four of Spades
The Dealer doesn't have to follow the "like for like" rule. They can switch whatever cards they want. Unfair? Yep! That's the point.
3: DISCARD
The player should now have 5 cards in their hand and 2 cards leftover—either ones that were switched out, or ones that were drawn and not switched. The player must do one of the following before the end of their turn:
- Discard the leftover 2 cards into the discard pool.
- (Dealer only) Hand the leftover 2 cards to the Patron from which you drew your cards in step 1 of this turn.
MAKING A SET
A set is created when a single player holds 4 cards of the same number in their hand. When a player creates a set, they place all four cards on the table, then draws back up to a 5 card hand.
PLAYING TO WIN
Players take turns, clockwise, until the deck is expended. If the Dealer has made the most 4-card sets by the end of the game, the Dealer wins. If the Patrons have more 4-card sets than the Dealer, the Patrons win!
SHARING INFORMATION
Patrons can share information about their hands with each other by placing their hands face-up on the table. If you do this, know that the Dealer will get to see what's in your hand, too!
That's all the rules that we're allowed to talk about. If you try out the game, let us know what you think!
Uh oh! The evils are back again for the first of a two-episode residency in the clubhouse, where Dale takes a hair census, Adia is "air-quoting heavily," and Dylan is a child of the Internet... literally.
Playing Outside Your Genre / Difficulty
0:05:21
Adia AldersonDylan SkerbitzAccessibilityGame DesignExpert Tips Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night Doesn't Tell You - Justin Clark, SVGHow the Video Game Industry Quietly Powered Through a Pandemic - Trilby Beresford, The Hollywood Reporter
Cheating
0:34:48
Dale LaCroixGame DesignGamingHere’s how ‘Hades’ makes going back to hell feel fresh - Gene Park, The Washington Post9 out of 10 people played Mass Effect as Paragon - Brett Makedonski, Destructoid
Your Nice Hosts talked about Strategy Guides way back in episode 8:
"Will you be the best with me?"
This week, your nice hosts get smart. Stephen approaches a major milestone, Ellen's planning her first PC build, and Mark does a book report. Plus, there's a new feedback form for you to sample and enjoy!
Aged. Learned. It's Nice Games Club.
- Fingeance trailer - Escape Industries, YouTube
- Fingeance main site - Escape Industries
- Buy Fingeance on Itch.io!
- Razer Kishi controller
- Amazon Luna controller
Ellen's PC Build - The Journey Begins
0:20:04
Ellen Burns-JohnsonHardwareUS favorite video game devices 2020 - J. Clement, StatistaGaming - Statistics and Facts - StatistaVideo Game Industry Statistics In 2020PC Part Picker
ELEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS
Press Reset by Jason Schreier
0:41:00
Mark LaCroixMisc.Press Reset: Ruin and Recovery in the Video Game Industry - Jason Schreier, Amazon
It's back to basics this week as we welcome Osama Dorias, lead game designer on the upcoming Gotham Knights at WB Games Montréal, to talk about his multi-year journey of making games with his kids, and what it taught him about his craft. It might be our cutest episode yet!
- Osama, along with Fawzi Mesmar, and Rami Ismail, recently launched their own very nice gamedev podcast, The Habibis!
Building Blocks of Design
ArtGame DesignIRLTabletopToolsThe Game Crafter
A selection of cards from "Ali and Mimi's Card Game"
Osama's son trying to look professional while presenting "City Game I Love This."
Osama's daughter beaming with pride at her creation, "05Q7654321 0."
Osama's kids' first video game.
Osama DoriasGuestOsama works at WB Games Montréal, where he is the lead game designer on Gotham Knights. He is a co-founder of the Montreal Independent Game Awards, a professor at Dawson College, and a co-host of The Habibis podcast.
He loves hugs and poutine.
External link
Osama on TwitterGotham KnightsMontreal Independent Game AwardsThe Habibis
This week your nice hosts have a rowdy game jam. Dale gave us a prompt: Create a matching game with a puzzle element. The puzzle must be "what matches first" and bonus points if there's cats.
The goal of every Nice Games Jam is for the team to come up with a playable game by the end of the episode. Did Stephen, Mark, and Ellen make it happen, or did they end up with a pile of nonsense? Well, maybe a bit of both.
- The "dot game" that Ellen referenced is called Dots & Boxes - Wikipedia
- A three-sided die similar to the one that Eric, Ellen's partner, owns.
- Here's a place you can buy your own three-sided die - Nvenom8 Designs on ShapeWays Marketplace
Game type Tabletop game
Player count Any
Materials
Paper, pencil or pen
Setup Each player should have:
- Paper (or someplace to compose sentences)
- Something to write with (typing on a screen is fine)
- Some way of indicating points passed to other players (chips, coins, etc.) -- in the rules below, these will be referred to as "chips"
The game requires three decks. As of this airing, each deck has three cards:
- Prompts deck
- "Nice to meet you."
- "Where is the bathroom?"
- "Can I pet your cat?"
- Constraints deck
- No letter Es (this is incredibly difficult)
- Exactly 4 words
- Only single-syllable words
- Scoring deck
- Most words
- Most letters
- Longest word in the sentence
Rules The goal of the game is to acquire the most points out of all the players.
Players acquire points by writing sentences that adhere to the Prompt, Constraint, and Scoring card drawn for each round.
Setup
- Shuffle all three decks.
- Distribute chips evenly amongst all players.
Starting a Round
- Draw a single card from each deck. Place all three face-down on the table.
- Set the timer for the desired duration: 1 minute, 2 minutes (default) or 3 minutes.
- Flip all three cards face-up and start the timer.
- All players then attempt to compose a sentence that meets the criteria of all three cards (Prompt, Constraint, and Scoring) within the time limit. Share Your Sentences
Each player speaks their sentence aloud. (If you're playing online, you can also enter your sentence into the text chat.) The sequence in which players share their sentences doesn't matter—just be nice about it.
Round Scoring
- Players can’t use any of the words in the phrase on the Prompt card. There’s a penalty (-1 point) for each word used. Exception: You can use the same spelling of a word if it’s another type of word (noun vs. verb)
- Alternate rule for extra challenge and silliness: Remove the exception to the above rule.
- The player whose sentence meets the conditions on that round's Scoring card wins 3 points.
- Players pass one of their chips to the person who had, in the player's opinion, the coolest sentence. This is a subjective judgment and has nothing to do with the rules.
- Each chip received counts as 1 point for the receiving player.
Disputes
During Round Scoring, any player can raise an argument about how the rules apply to another player's sentence. If you bring an argument, you have to propose a resolution, and people will vote on the proposal. (For example, you can propose a change to someone's point total that round, or suggest a change to a person's sentence to bring it within the rules.) If the vote passes, the solution goes through.
Continue Play and End the Game
For each subsequent round of play, draw a new set of cards. Play and score according to the above rules.
The game ends when all Prompt cards have been used. Shuffle Constraints and Scoring cards back into their respective decks as needed.
The player with the most points wins!
This week, your nice hosts look within themselves. Mark is afraid of falling off the tree, Stephen does the teeter-tottering he has to do, and Ellen doesn't struggle with this.
- Markey, Colleagues Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill to Make Daylight Saving Time Per…
- Tiny Room Stories: Town Mystery
- Animal Restaurant
- Learn Lua in 15 Minutes - Tyler Neylon
- Hungarian Notation
Your Internal Battery
0:24:56
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGamingIRLGamer Motivation Profile
Your nice hosts talked about thier Gamer Motiviation Profiles in:
"Will you be the best with me?"
Evil Games Club also tackled thier Gamer Motivations Profiles in thier first outing:
Evil Games Club! 5 Signs That You May Be an Ambivert - Rena Goldman, HealthlineNemesis Jam - CannibalInteractive, itch.io
Finding Your Artistic Voice
0:48:12
Stephen McGregorGame DesignIRL
A regular nice roundtable! In the first part this week's episode, Mark leads an examination of how fonts can support gameplay, worldbuilding, and immersion. In the second half, Stephen makes us think—really think—about the benefits of "janky" gameplay. Mark shares some font history facts, Stephen starts his manifesto, and Ellen takes on the case.
- Mark's new keyboard
- Chel Wong's charity album
- Press Reset (new gamedev book) - Jason Schreier
- Where to Start with Vlad Taltos (the book series that Ellen mentioned) - Stephen Brust, Tor Books
Fonts
0:09:37
Mark LaCroixMisc.History and Evolution of Typography - Konstantin Kirilov; Nikolay Petroussenko, Font FabricThe history of fonts - PrepressurePopular Standards - International Organization for StandardizationMini MetroDestinyNight in the WoodsVA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action
Jank
0:39:52
Stephen McGregorGame DesignBalan Wonderworld is a strange game of furry musicality - Michael McWhertor, PolygonBalan Wonderland gameplay video - Kinda Funny Gamescast, YouTubeBullet Witch on SteamGoat SimulatorHuman Fall Flat on SteamL.O.V.E.R.S in a Dangerous SpacetimeINSIDEOvercooked
After a slightly longer than usual hiatus, your nice hosts (along with your nice guest host Dale LaCroix) return to the virtual clubhouse for the first new episode of 2021 to talk about what we did on our winter break!
PLUS: Mark is a tax robot, Stephen hopes he’s not fired, and Ellen loves being right.
- Closed Hands, the interactive fiction game (directed by Dan Hett) that Mark worked on over the last few months, was released this week!
- Clsoed Hands at Twin Cities Playtest (January 2021)
- Show Your Work! - Austin Kleon
- Working Out Loud - Seth Godin
What We Did On Our Winter Break (2021)
Mark LaCroixStephen McGregorDale LaCroixEllen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignIRLMeta
If you missed it, last week we re-ran our Roboston episodes:
Roboston! (parts 1 and 2)Roboston: Game RulesRoboston: Development Session NotesYour nice hosts' hiatus "Working Agreement"
We brought Roboston to Twin Cities Playtest in January...
...and again in February.
- This Nice Replay is a two-parter!
- Part one:
Roboston! (Live at 2D Con 2020) * Part two:
Roboston! (part 2)
#192
Roboston! (Live at 2D Con 2020)Nice Games JamLiveVideo
2020.09.17
Your nice hosts recorded a live Nice Games Jam episode at 2D Con 2020! You can listen to the edited audio of the recording here!
You can find the video of the live recording right here!
Prompt Create a game where you are working together to construct a robot, but each player has a secret task they are trying to get the robot to complete along the way.
Game type Tabletop game
Player count 3-8
Materials
1 Deck of Robot Parts
1 Deck of Player Roles
1 Deck of Objectives
1 Die
Setup Deal out an even number of Robot Parts to each player, and one Player Role. Then draw the first card in the Objectives deck for the team's objective.
Rules * Each player has a Player Role, this is their victory condition. + Example roles: - Warmonger: have more offensive value than any other value AND complete the objective - Scientist: have more intelligence value than any other value AND complete the objective - Saboteur: cause robot to fail the objective * On each turn, each player places a Robot Part of any type face down. + There are limits to how many of each type of Robot Part will fit on a robot (in the episode we went with one body part, one processor and four limbs) * Each part is simultaneously revealed once everyone has chosen their card. If each part can be placed with no conflict, start the next turn. + If their are some parts in conflict, roll a die to determine who's Robot Part is used. * Continue until there are no more available parts to place on the robot. Whoever has completed their victory condition wins!
185
"Empty the bucket."Roundtable
2020.07.28
Your nice hosts are tired, then get energized. Stephen is thinking about it, Mark brought a few unlikely examples, and Ellen is also thinking about it.
Here's a fun new thing: We've recently started a Discord channel for listeners to discuss the show with each other. It's part of the Twin Cities Gamedev Discord server, but you don't need to be a Twin Cities gamedev to partisipate! Get directly to the Nice Games Club discussion channel via https://nicegames.club/discord
Burnout
0:06:43
Stephen McGregorIRLBurn-out, an "occupational phenomenon" - World Health OrganizationTeacher Burnout: What It Is, Why It Happens, and How You Can Prevent End-Of-Yea… - WaterfordToxic management cost an award-winning game studio its best developers - Megan Farokhmanesh, The Verge
Asynchronous and Asymmetric Gameplay
0:46:39
Mark LaCroixGame DesignAsynchronous Multiplay: Futures for Casual Multiplayer Experience - Ian Bogost, Georgia Institute of TechnologyRelaxed Hardcore: Why Asynchronous is the Next Big Thing in Core Gaming - Ian Hardingham, GDCWhy an Asymmetric Board Game Pissed Off Me and My Friends - Kyle Rogacion, Goomba StompAre Asymmetrical Multiplayer Games Becoming a Major Trend? - Micah Shapiro, GameRant
170
"Stephen, his arms wide!" Roundtable
2020.04.14
Ellen Burns-Johnson joins us once again in the virtual club house to discuss Redundancy and Arcades! Ellen teaches us about how we learn, Mark balances the game, Martha only plays the best character, and Stephen has a revelation.
Photo Credit: Michelle Bruch, from this Southwest Journal Article about the Donutron
Redundancy
0:13:01
Mark LaCroixGame DesignUI / UXThe Forgetting Curve hypothesis by Hermann Ebbinghous - WikipediaThe Distributed Practice learning strategy - Wikipedia
Arcades
0:50:39
Stephen McGregorGamingIRLWhy You Can't Call It a "Barcade" - Brenna Houck, EaterDino Dash - Abdel Shahied, YouTubeThe 'Donutron' Arcade at Glam Doll Donuts in Minneapolis
176
Gamedev in the PhilippinesInterview
2020.05.26
Your nice hosts interview Ryan Sumo, Art Director and CEO of Squeaky Wheel Studio, an independent developer and publisher based in the Philippines. Topics include community building, conferences, becoming a publisher through serendipity, and the benefits of being transparent with your development practices. Plus jokes!
Gamedev in the Philippines
Misc.The Top 50 mobile games of 2006 - Stuart Dredge, Pocket GamerSpacechem - SteamGDAP (Game Developers Association of the Philippines)IGDA Philippines ManilaESGS conference on InstagramBit Summit conference (Japan)Level Up conference (Kuala Lumpur)Rock of Ages 2: Bigger & Boulder - SteamRyan's posts on Gamasutra - Ryan Sumo, Game DeveloperRyan SumoGuestRyan Sumo co-founded the studio Squeaky Wheel. Visit their site at http://www.squeakywheel.ph/ and follow them on social media (links below). Follow Ryan on Twitter @ryansumo and check out Squeaky Wheel's upcoming game Academia: School Simulator. Squeaky Wheel is also getting into publishing with the title Ruinarch, an "evil overlord" game by developer Maccima.
External link
Squeaky Wheel on TwitterSqueaky Wheel on FacebookSqueaky Wheel on LinkedInSqueaky Wheel on YouTube
180
Dark StarNice Games Jam
2020.06.30
No, your nice hosts aren't pitching an adaptation of the 1974 film of the same name, but returning guest host Sarah Seember Huisken counts it as an inspiration for the solo-play tabletop RPG we workshopped in this episode. Immerse yourself a galaxy of corporate factions, fluid allegiances, and space pirates!
Scum and VillainyThe 5 best solo board games - Rafael Cordero, PC Gamer
Prompt Workshop existing solo-play TTRPG concept.
Game type Tabletop game
Player count 1 -?
Materials
Player dossier (player character/ship sheet, notes)
Dice (how many? which type? we didn't figure that out!)
Module booklet (includes blank pages for journaling/recordkeeping)
Setup Sarah's draft ship systems sheet:
Rules Each adventure module is an "assignment," which consists of a multi-page booklet.
- Page 1 - Summary: Provides the “goal” for the player as defined by “quest-giver.”
- Page 2 - Assignment parameters:
- Player reward (and possible advance payment)
- Assignment type (Cargo, Escort, Espionage, Assassination, etc.)
- Constraints (time budget, stealth requirement, equipment restrictions, etc)
- Supplies (mission-specific resources such as maps, documentation, etc)
- Risks and Opportunities: These are facts about the assignment's setting and characters that will impact the player differently depending on their alignment, ship condition, and other stats.
- Pages 3+ - Story Acts
- Generally, each act should fit on one booklet page, providing all the narrative and mechanical information required to play though it. Acts may have alternate versions, each with its own page.
- Act I: A introduction/setup to the story, giving the player hints they can use to make preparations for the assignment. The player can spend actions in this act to tune their ship / Equip thier character / recruit NPC pals/crew, etc. Story events may include NPC conversations, skill checks, or other light gameplay. This act may be wholly different depending on which "class" the player is aligned with.
- Act II: A conflict or mechanical gameplay sequence, usually related to ship functions. Examples include ship battles, navigational challenges, serious malfunctions, etc.
- The outcome of the sequence changes the narrative ending of this act, expanding or limiting the player's options. The outcome of this act will also frequently alter ship stats, player inventory, etc.
- Act IIIa, Act IIIb (c, d?): The player character must make a choice in the narrative, which determines which scene will end the story. The outcome of Act II may inform or limit this choice. Each scene plays differently, one might be a daring escape, while the other might be a diplomatic resolution.
- Final Page - "To Be Continued In...": A list of other modules/assignments for the player to choose from in order to continue their character's story. Options may be limited depending on the version of Act III selected, the player's stats, Act II outcomes, class alignment, or other factors.
Example Assignment: “The Asset” Summary: Email from corporation: “Take this large crate from planet Kittytail to planet Puppydog in time for the big corporate gala. Don't be late, and don't look in the crate!" * Parameters + Reward: Standard rate, no advance! + Assignment type: Cargo + Constraints*
Time limit: Must reach destination without taking too many actions.
NDA: can't run with other players or NPCs, can't stop for supplies.
+ *Supplies*
“Papers” needed to pass planetary customs.
Fuel stipend (whatever you don’t use, you can keep)
+ *Risks:* Planet Puppydog is not friendly to scruffy types. Certain player stats might cause issues/delays at customs.
+ *Opportunities:* Access to future assignments on planet Puppydog (only available to “good dogs”).
- Act I: "Pick up the cargo"
- Learn a bit, experience some glitches, spend/waste some time
- Some random events, die roll checks
- Act II: "Oh no, it's pirates!"
- Battle type: targeted attack, pirates intend to board your ship, not destroy it
- Pirates attack random(?) stat, over a certain number of turns (5?). Player can react with actions, depending on stats and prep actions. Actions spend the player's time budget.
- Can attack, evade, etc.
- Can call for help, but if your comm stat is low, your general distress call might violate your NDA.
- On battle failure (some stat threshold): Pirates board your ship
- Player can choose to hide, reveal, or protect cargo, costing actions.
- If pirates discover the cargo, they open the box!
- If they are fended off, player can get curious, and open the box!
- The cargo: “It’s clearly important…” but you don’t have any idea. It’s some kind of mysterious artifact maybe?
- Act III-A: "Deliver the cargo"
- Did you arrive on time? No? Corp docks your pay
- Gotta get though customs. Conversation/diplomacy mechanic. Audited for inspection? If you don’t have a lot of time, you can make risky moves to speed things along.
- Once you get though, you deliver the cargo to secret folks in bio-suits. Oooo, mystery vibes that will pay off in a future module, no doubt!
- Story ends at the gala! Enjoy a cocktail at the expense of the corp!
- Act III-B: "Steal the cargo!"
- Escape the system with the mysterious cargo! Stealth check!
- Get caught? It's time for a second battle!
- Make it out of the system? Story ends with a tease: what is this thing and what do I do with it?
- Get caught by the corp? Go to corporate jail. Do not pass GO.
- Possible "To Be Continued" modules:
- Check out the Puppydog job board!
- Investigate the artifact by following your mysterious client to a hidden lab on planet Puppydog.
- Escape with the artifact and take it to this crackpot scientist you met once.
- Corporate jail break!
186
Mental HealthInterview
2020.08.06
Your nice hosts are joined by nice guest Alanna Linayre, founder of the indie studio Team Toadhouse. Alanna (rhymes with "banana") guides the gaming world towards healthier work practices and personal habits. We asked her a lot of questions about best practices in mental health, and about Team Toadhouse's upcoming game Call Me Cera.
Also, Mark has a mission for artists, Ellen names a canary, and Stephen learns about "hustle culture."
Mental Health
IRLProductionAlanna’s guidelines on depicting mental illness in games:
- Ask yourself why you’re putting mental health issues in your game.
- Make sure to have correct definitions, and not promote stigmas.
- Try not to use triggering content for the audience you’re serving.
- Avoid harmful tropes.
Mental Illness: The Bio-Psycho-Social Spheres of Influence - Allan Schwartz, MentalHelp.NetI’m a “Spoonie.” Here’s What I Wish More People Knew About Chronic Illness - Kirsten Schultz, HealthlineStoicism - WikiwandRadio calisthenics - WikiwandDaylio mood tracker and micro-diaryYou can get an hourglass similar to Alanna'sAlanna LinayreGuestAlanna (she/her) is very passionate about self care, healthy mental habits, and video games. She's a public speaker on healthy mental habits and discusses her experiences with PTSD, anxiety, and bipolar disorder in an effort to end the stigma surrounding mental illness. Alanna focuses on sustainable practices to avoid crunch and encourages a healthy attitude about mistakes being a necessary and unavoidable part of improving.
External link
https://twitter.com/Tybawaihttps://twitter.com/TeamToadhousehttps://twitter.com/CallMeCeraAlanna's "Cozy Streams" on TwitchTeam Toadhouse Discord serverAll the places Team Toadhouse hangs out online!
179
Anarchitects!Nice Games Jam
2020.06.16
Two architects of wildly different philosophies share an office space and compete to influence the design of their client's latest project. It's an excellent sitcom premise, but it's also the subject of our latest Nice Games Jam!
Photo Credit: Ian Samkov on PexelsNews
Itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality ends with a stunning $8.1m raise… - Wesley Yin-Poole, EurogamerFor a major Star Trek fan like Mark, this episode is a rather special, if unusual, milestone. When Star Trek: The Next Generation's episode count surpassed the original Star Trek in its 80th episode, it paid homage by including a subtle reference to the 79th (and final) episode of that series. As Star Trek: The Next Generation itself ran for 178 episodes, it felt fitting to make reference to that bit of TV trivia in this episode, our 179th.
MURAL - Online CollaborationList of architectural styles - WikipediaBlack Lives Matter
Black Game Developers directoryThe #drawingwhileblack directory - Abelle HayfordJustice for Breonna Taylor - gofundme
Prompt "Make a 2D fighter with no combat."
Game type Design document
Player count 2
Rules
182
"I will not threaten you with a noogie."Roundtable
2020.07.10
Guest host Charles McGregor starts the episode by getting REVENGE. The group talks a bit about the state of the growing "serious games" industry and what it's like to work alongside family members. Also, Stephen does a good transition, and... no one mentions Star Trek?!
In his intro speech, Charles references episode #37:
"Ugly and hard to use."The last days of Mixer - Mikhail Klimentov, The Washington PostTwitch Reckons with Sexual Assault as it Begins Permanently Suspending Streamers - Jacob Kastrenakes, The VergeTwitch bans popular streamer Dr Disrespect - Michael McWhertor, PolygonTwitch temporarily bans President Trump - Jacob Kastrenakes, The Verge
Serious Play Conference 2020
0:16:00
Ellen Burns-JohnsonEventsSerious Play Conference Home PageSerious Play Conference ScheduleNew Metaari Forecast for Worldwide 2020-2025 Game-Based Learning Market Shows N… - Serious Play WireStop & Think: Teaching Players About Media Manipulation in Headliner - GDC, YouTubeMDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research (PDF) - Robin Hunicke, Marc LeBlanc, Robert Zubek, Northwestern UniversityMDA Framework - Wikipedia5 Reasons Why Game-Based Learning Should Matter to Organizations - Karl Kapp, Allen InteractionsGamification vs Games-Based Learning: What’s the Difference? - Halden Ingwersen, Capterra Blog
Working with Family
0:42:09
Stephen McGregorIRL
Mark mentioned the Nice Games Jam episode that started Reravel (#157):
Reravel: A Backwards Storytelling GameEllen and Eric took blacksmithing at the Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center
155
Agile DevelopmentInterview
2019.11.05
This week's episode was edited by our social media manager (and Mark's wife) Dale LaCroix. Big thanks to her for stepping in while Mark was busy being crushed under the weight of prepping Widget Satchel for release later this month!
With Mark still away, Ellen returns to in the clubhouse for another episode! This week, she invited her husband, strategy consultant / Agile coach / Scrum Master Eric Johnson, to discuss Agile Development and iterative workflows.
Agile Development
ProductionWhy people still believe in the Waterfall model - Tarmo ToikkanenAn Agile Approach to Launching the Nordstrom Sunglass Application - Nicoli Sinclair, Temple UniversityEric JohnsonGuestEric Johnson is an Agile coach and Advanced Certified Scrum Master (A-CSM). He also makes delicious homemade sauerkraut. You can find him on LinkedIn here.
175
"Kapow?"Roundtable
2020.05.19
Your nice hosts talk big picture and get deep into the weeds this week. Mark runs Flash at 60fps on the Switch, Ellen makes a Star Trek reference, and Stephen wants more games that aren't fun.
Hey you! If you're porting a project, whether it's just to a new Unity build target, or to a whole new codebase, we want to hear about it! contact@noblerobot.com or @NiceGamesClub.
GDC’s summer event will be digital only - Megan Farokhmanesh, The VergeNeat things that Star Trek Online did with Star Trek lore - Eliot Lefebvre, Massively Overpowered
Fun in Games
0:11:09
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignAssassin’s Creed Valhalla Is Bringing Back The Instakill Hidden Blade, In A Sig… - Stephen Totilo, KotakuAssassin’s Creed Odyssey Developers Say Breaking Series Traditions Made For A B… - Stephen Totilo, Kotaku15 things you can do to make Breath of the Wild feel new again - Patricia Hernandez, PolygonRaph Koster's Theory of Fun, ten years on - Leigh Alexander, Game DeveloperSolaris (1972) - trailer
Porting Your Game
0:44:11
Mark LaCroixHardwareProgrammingYour Indie Game on Console: A Practical Guide to Porting - Thomas O'Connor, GDCOUYA works with Xbox 360 and PS3 controllers - Rik Henderson, Pocket-lintMicrosoft Windows Astoria bridge for Android is dead - Jan Vermeulen, MyBroadbandHaxe (programming langauge) - WikipediaPost-Mortem on Transitioning from Flash to Haxe - Doug Pearson, GameDaily ConnectC-- (programming language) - WikipediaIntroduction to OpenFL - HaxeFlixel documentationEpic Games' Unreal Engine Heads To Flash - Kris Graft, Game DeveloperAdobe Flash Player Export in Unity 4.0 - Ralph Hauwert, UnitySunsetting Flash - David Helgason, UnityDevelopment of Duke Nukem Forever - Wikipedia
This wasn't a normal year, so in addition to your nice hosts' annual tradition of celebrating the year's "Nicest," and looking forward to the games and the gamedev in the coming year, we do another pandemic check-in, and reflect on the how the show has been one of the stabilizing forces in our lives. PLUS: We reveal this year's hiatus project!
Local Releases (2020)
0:20:56
NewsHyperDotElemetalsWidget Satchel (in Japan)Color Jumper (on Switch)Death Drives a BusAstral Gunners (in Early Access)Flailure
Nicest (2020)
0:32:46
Mark LaCroixStephen McGregorEllen Burns-JohnsonNicestEllen:
Ellen played 2019's Baba Is You on Switch this year.
Ellen played 2019's Borderlands 3 at the beginning on the pandemic.
Ellen is staring down the HUGE pile of games from 2020's Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality.
Mark:
One of Mark's Nicest was "new consoles," which we talked about in:
"Not like Beauty and the Beast."Paper Mario: The Origami King is a laugh-out-loud funny RPG on the Switch - Andrew Webster, PolygonStephen:
Civilization VI didn't come out in 2020, but with all the new content, it sometimes feels like it!
Nioh 2
Most Anticipated (for 2021)
0:48:39
Mark LaCroixStephen McGregorEllen Burns-JohnsonNicestEllen:
EndlingThe MediumBoyfriend Dungeon Mark:
Ratchet & Clank: Rift ApartAway: The Survival SeriesStephen:
Baldur’s Gate 3Deathloop
Gamedev Resolutions (for 2021)
1:01:29
Mark LaCroixStephen McGregorEllen Burns-JohnsonNicest
What We're Working On (in 2021)
1:12:17
Mark LaCroixStephen McGregorEllen Burns-JohnsonNicest
Everybody's favorite nice host emeritus, Martha Megarry, returns once again to the program to talk with Stephen about 4X games, Ellen delivers a book report, and Mark is disadvantaged as a player.
4X Games
0:05:08
Martha MegarryStephen McGregorGame DesignGamingWhat Makes a 4X Game - "Micah ""Marlowe"" Dutro", ExplorminateWelcome to CivAnon - 2K, YouTubeThe Best Scenarios in Civilization 6 - Sam Woodrick, GameRant'Civilization' and Strategy Games' Progress Delusion - Gabriel Soares, ViceColonialism is Fun? Sid Meier’s Civilization and the Gamification of Imperialism - Nick Pullen, Imperial & Global Forum
Actionable Gamification by Yu-kai Chou
0:40:44
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignToolsYu-kai Chou: Gamification & Behavioral Design
Our evil counterparts went deep on Gamer Motivation Profiles in thier first takeover of the show:
Evil Games Club! Bartle’s Player Types for Gamification - "Janaki Mythily Kumar, Mario Herger, and Rikke Friis Dam ", Interaction Design FoundationThe 4 Keys to Fun - Nicole Lazzaro, XEODesignDid eBay Just Prove That Paid Search Ads Don’t Work? - Ray Fisman, Harvard Business Review
We have some familiar guests this week! The Korth family (Andy, Beth, and Gabe) join us in the clubhouse to talk about the ways they play games together. Are there games that adults and four-year-olds alike can play together and enjoy? Sure! We talk about flexibility, rules, consent, "PBP," and what gamedevs should think about if they want to "toot around in the kid zone." Also, have you heard of a game called Minecraft?
Families in Games
Gaming
The first time the Korths were on the show was Episode #2!
Steam Greenlight
The second time the Korths were on the show was about a hundred episodes ago.
Code Comment: "Verdant Skies"
And the most recent appearance from the Korths was Episode #132.
Narrative Design HermitCraft (Minecraft streamer)RobloxSpelunxInto the BreachRobotronEarly Childhood Family Education (ECFE) for MinnesotaBeth KorthGuestBeth Korth is a narrative designer, and the Vice Chair at the Independent Game Developer Association, Twin Cities.
External link
@BethKorthVerdant SkiesAndy KorthGuestFounder and developer for Howling Moon Software.
External link
Howling Moon SoftwareVerdant Skies
Ellen recently gave an engaging and informative presentation at igdatc's monthly Gamedev Meeting! Plus: audience participation, bad passwords, and (if you stick around) a second dog!
Also, please enjoy Mark transposing the letters "G" and "D" in "IGDA" each time he says it. He will never learn.
- International Game Developers Association, Twin Cities
- Watch other past igdatc meetings on YouTube
Tips for Designing Games for Learning
Ellen Burns-JohnsonEventsGame DesignUI / UX
igdatc's Gamedev Meeting for November 2020, cued up to the start of Ellen's presentation.
Holly extends her stay for another week to help your nice hosts interview Tiffany Otto, freshly sprung from government-mandated quarantine to bring her "slimy" wisdom and experience into the clubhouse.
Tiffany, the Director of Partnerships for IndieCade, is over-indexed in business, but she wants to raise the index for everyone. If preparing pitch decks, scheduling business meetings, and networking with your peers seems daunting, you won't want to miss this one. Just be sure to stick around for Ellen to swoop in at the end to button it all up.
Business Speak
EventsIRLMarketingWhat It’s Like to Be Quarantined on an Island Over Coronavirus Fears - Isabella Kwai, The New York TimesIndieCade's "Playing TogethAR Showcase"
Mark talked about his expereince going to IndieCade in the very first episode of the show:
"We in this."Seven Touches – A Basic Marketing Principle in Action - LisaMarie Dias, CompuKolHere's how to reduce friction in sales - George Brontén, MembrainUnderstanding Indie Publishers - Callum Underwood, YouTubeHow to Pitch to Raw FuryChunking (psychology) - WikipediaHomeTeam GameDevFrom Sage on the Stage to Guide on the Side - Alison King, College TeachingTiffany OttoGuest
IndieCade Director of Partnership. Coffee Addict. Video Game Specialist. Formerly AAA.
External link
TwitterLinkedInIndieCade
Holly Harrison is back in the clubhouse as Guest Host for a wide-ranging discussion on new consoles, fail states, and worldbuilding. Stephen gives a weird example, Mark makes a funny noise, and Holly invites us to Join Lobby. Plus, we only mention Star Trek once!
- Join Lobby - Video Game Culture Feed - Holly Harrison, Twitter
- Bugsnax is Dale's current game of choice
- Ubisoft’s toxic culture problems allegedly span more than a decade of abuse - Megan Farokhmanesh, The Verge
- "My dad gives his initial impressions on the PlayStation 5" - Josh Du, Twitter
- Why Cheaper Next-Gen Gaming is Key to Growing the Games Industry - Alysia Judge, IGN
- Mark found a way to hide his PS5 on a bookshelf.
- Stephen and Charles mentioned they have a "secret Target" for console releases
GDC 2017 Special (Part 2) * Target reopens E. Lake Street store heavily damaged in riots - Dee DePass, Star Tribune
Fail States
32:28
Stephen McGregorGame DesignShadow Complex (2009) - Wikipedia
Worldbuilding
57:08
Mark LaCroixGame DesignNarrative"Queer identity in Watch Dogs: Legion should be more than flavor text" - Carolyn Petit, Polygon
Your nice host emeritus Martha Megarry returns to the (virtual) clubhouse, along with Dale LaCroix (of Evil Games Club) to celebrate 200 episodes!
Each of your nice hosts have picked an episode from the past 4 years and pulled clips to listen to and discuss, expanding on the original topics. We also talk about the past, present, and future of the show, and and and... well, it's a double-length episode, so listen and find out!
- Did we mention we now have a Patreon?
100th Episode Special (revisit)
0:11:42
Mark LaCroixIRLMetaYou heard right, we've got merch! Get your Nice Games Club t-shirt today!
Favicon (pronounciation) - Wiktionary
Learning Through Games (revisit)
0:52:05
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignMetaUI / UXPointer (computer programming) - WikipediaAdventures With Anxiety! - Nicky Case
Messages and Meanings (revisit)
1:13:45
Stephen McGregorGame DesignMetaPortal 2 Finds A Unique Way to Offend - Michael McWhertor, KotakuNo chess at the Olympics anytime soon - André Schulz, ChessBase
Game Libraries (revisit)
1:46:04
Martha MegarryGamingMetaOur favorite games from the Itch.io racial justice bundle - EngadgetLizzy Crossing - Eva Lee
This week: Stephen starts out British, Mark gets all the references, and Ellen makes octopus noises. We talk high-level about what it takes to make (and market) games for young children, and Mark shares some insights about comedy in games—can it be more than silly memes? Maybe!
-
COMING SOON!
-
PATREON?!!
-
EPISODE 200??!!!
WOOOHOOOO!!!!!!
Games for Young Children
0:10:42
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignMarketingDesigning for Youth - Making Games for Players Under 14 - Extra Credits, YouTubeDesigning Apps and Games for Kids (The Right Way) - Paul Armstrong, Carly Gloge, Jim Nichols, Alex Bowman, GDCCar Wash Game for Kids (gameplay video) - YouTubeZen Koi - Game for iOS and Android - LandShark GamesScratch from MIT"Scratch helps young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively — essential skills for life in the 21st century."
Ellen mentioned children's franchises Blues Clues, "Baby Shark" from Pinkfong, and P.J. Masks.
Comedy in Games
0:44:16
Mark LaCroixGame DesignNarrativeWe mentioned the following games and game series during this part of the roundtable:
- Ratchet and Clank
- Job Simulator
- Octodad: Dadliest Catch
- Inflatality
- Divekick
- The Stanley Parable
The clubhouse is packed in this episode, as your nice hosts discuss the Kenyan game dev scene with developers Alila Omondi Wekoto, Denis Odero and Shyam Shah! We talk about the importance of community, the value of higher education and also argue about Xbox vs Playstation (vs Switch, slightly)!
- Alila brings up the episode where we interviewed Chel Wong, award winning composer who recently worked on KINE.
Game Audio Tools and Workflows * KINE is out on Steam now!
Gamedev in Kenya
Misc.Game Devs Kenya
WebsiteDevsKenya on TwitterGameDevs on Instagram - InstagramCovid Killer - GameGame Devs Kenya is running another boot camp on November 7th!Nairobi Game Development CenterKenya has a co-working space for game developers called Nairobi Game Development Center. Here are some pictures!
Mentioned in the episode:
Usiku Games is a mobile games studio located in Kenya. Nairobi Garage - annother coworking spaceFour-part, moderated debate about Xbox vs Playstation! - Game Devs Kenya, SoundCloudAfrica Comicade recently held a 3-day Game Jam.Mark Cerny goes over the possibilities of the new hardware within the Playstati… - PlayStation, YouTubeAlila Omondi WekotoGuest
Alila Omondi Wekoto is a game developer who runs a boot camp called Game Devs Kenya.
External link
https://gamedevskenya.co.keDenis OderoGuest
Denis Odero is a game developer who runs a boot camp called Game Devs Kenya.
External link
https://gamedevskenya.co.keShyam ShahGuest
Shyam Shah is a game developer who runs a boot camp called Game Devs Kenya.
External link
https://gamedevskenya.co.ke
Your nice hosts return to Roboston in a first for the program, revisiting and expanding upon on a previous Nice Games Jam game! Ellen conjures some frightening scenarios, Stephen and Mark work the numbers, and everybody loves conditional formatting.
- See the original rules in the show notes for
Roboston! (Live at 2D Con 2020) * Check out our cool spreadsheet of game cards and notes! * Astral Gunners is available in Early Access, go get it! * random.org * Weird Alchemy - Board Game Geek * Bagger 288 - Wikipedia
Prompt Create a game where you are working together to construct a robot, but each player has a secret task they are trying to get the robot to complete along the way.
Game type Tabletop game
Player count 3 - 8
Materials
Deck of Robot Parts
Deck of Player Roles
Deck of Objectives
6-sided die
Rules Patch Notes!New Roles:
- Turtle: have more DEF than any other value AND complete the objective.
- Generalist: All stats within 5 points of each other AND complete the objective.
- Specialist: One stat is 7 points greater than the next highest stat AND complete the objective.
New Objectives:
- GIANT MUTANT TREE ATTACK - It's 'leafing' downtown a total mess!
Stats required to beat: Off: 21, Def: 16, Int: 8 * ALIEN INVASION - They're slimy and they have the wrong number of eyes.
Stats required: Off: 13, Def: 21, Int: 16 * BAGGER 288 - This mining robot has gained sentience and is scooping up the suburbs!
Stats needed: Off:13, Def: 13, Int: 23 * WEAPONIZED WIND TURBINE - Green, scary energy!
Stats needed: Off 15, Def 15, Int 15
In this episode we tried for a longer game by increasing the number of robot parts to 2 Body Parts, 2 Head Parts and 8 Limb Parts.
To create the part stats, we gave them a random number between -3 and 5 of Offense, Defense and Intelligence. Feel free to make your own!
This episode bops! Our guest on the show this week is Chel Wong, an award-winning game composer who has worked on several published and early-access titles, like Watch This Space and Kine. Her work on Kine earned the game the award for Best Audio at Reboot Develop Red 2019. From composing to mastering, we ask Chel to describe her preferred tools and workflows for creating music for games. Also, there is a tense debate—Galaxy or Sunshine?
- Meta
Reboot Developed Red Conference
Game Audio Network Guild (GANG) Awards * Mark mentioned that once upon a time in a previous episode, he also talked about using Reaper.
"She also cheats a lot."
Game Audio Tools and Workflows
AudioGames
Kine - SteamLab Rats (a satirical puzzler by Gwen Bond, formerly Gwen Frey) - SteamAudio Software Tools
ReaperReasonFL Studio (stand for Fruit Loops)Helm AudioTAL NoisemakerMusescore - Software for Written MusicInstrument Synthizers
Komplete - Native InstrumentsKontact - Native InstrumentsAudio Hardware
Focusrite -Scarlett SeriesMicrophones
Shure SM57Shure SM58Shure SM7bAudio-Technica AT2035Other Mentions
Game Sound ConChel and her friend Tiffany Otto are going for 120 stars on Super Mario 64! - ChelWongAudio, TwitchChel WongGuestChel Wong (or Mitchel) is a freelance composer specializing in video games. She's also co-organizer of Game Audio Boston and Head Curator of Audio for BostonFIG. Chel has conducted orchestras and is also a musician, collecting all sorts of instruments to record for her work. You'll regularly find her in the recording studios at Berklee College of Music.
External link
Chel's websiteChel on BandcampChel on TwitterChel on TwitchChel on SpotifyChel on Soundcloud
In a heavy start to a very fun episode, your nice hosts check in on each other as the COVID-19 pandemic stretches into the fall. Ellen unknowingly makes a timely West Wing reference, and Stephen only allows Mark to tell three Star Trek stories.
- You can watch Mark's mini-talk at PAX Online 2020, called "People, too" It was part of a panel on animals in games called "Lovely or Lethal: Will these animals cuddle me or kill me?"
- If you are looking to stay informed on the latest about the pandemic, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and other news websites are providing extensive daily COVID-19 coverage for free to non-subscribers.
Games in Other Media
0:15:25
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignGamingNarrativeWhy I’m not buying the Harry Potter game - Stacey Henley, PolygonAny news on the IRL, playable version of Nine Kings? - Reddit‘The West Wing’ Cast To Perform 2002 Episode On HBO Max To Benefit Michelle Oba… - Greg Evans, DeadlineWhy 'Edge of Tomorrow' Got Retitled 'Live Die Repeat' - Jack Giroux, /FilmList of games in Star Trek - Wikipedia'Black Mirror: Bandersnatch' Review: Interactive Movie Falls Short - Daniel D'Addario, VarietyKimmy Schmidt vs. the Reverend Is What Interactive TV Was Made For - Jen Chaney, Vulture
Mark talked about the two Star Trek "interactive movies" that were produced in the 90s in a previous episode:
"A mean secret that stays in this room."The "horror movie where the seats had creepy touch" that Stephen was talking about might have been the infamous 1950s camp classic The Tingler.
Minnesota FringeThe 49 Original Whose Line Is It Anyway? Games, Ranked - Luke Winkie, Vulture
It makes more sense in context...
Online Play
0:52:57
Stephen McGregorGame DesignProgrammingToolsExplaining how fighting games use delay-based and rollback netcode - Ricky Pusch, Ars TechnicaMost people who play video games online experience 'severe' harassment, new stu… - Dave Smith, Business InsiderBackend Tools
Unity MultiplaySteam Multiplayer OverviewPhotonPlayFab
Welcome Heather Gartner, Art Director for Team Toadhouse studio, art streamer and huge D&D fan. Heather (she/they) has been an illustrator for 10+ years. We were so happy to have them in the virtual clubhouse and talk about impostor syndrome—what it is, where it comes from, and how to live with it...or maybe even overcome it. If you've had a tough week, or if you ever feel like your artistry is fighting you, give this one a listen. And check out Heather's art at the links below. :)
- Meta
Perkins or Denny's for late-night breakfast fare?
Impostor Syndrome
ArtMentioned during the interview:
Team Toadhouse: Call Me CeraThe Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci and is displayed at The Louvre i…Lightbox Conference & ExpoFurther materials on teamwork and impostor syndrome:
What is impostor syndrome and how can you combat it? - Elizabeth Cox , TED-EdEp. 3: "The problem with all-stars" - WorkLife Podcast with Adam Grant, TEDHow to Overcome ‘Impostor Syndrome’ - Jessica Bennett, The New York TimesHeather GartnerGuestHeather is Art Director for Team Toadhouse studio, an art streamer and huge D&D fan. Heather (she/they) has been an illustrator for 10+ years. They do game art, illustrations, character art, various commissions, fan art, and more.
External link
Heather's website, Thunderbird Paints...on Twitter @TbirdPaints...on Twitch: ThunderbirdPaints...on Instagram: thunderbirdpaints
Narrative designer Xalavier Nelson Jr. enters the clubhouse to discuss the need for game designers to curate influences outside of games, the Half-Life 2s that weren't, the XCOM that wasn't quite, and some things that were! Also, advice for criminals.
- Game Devs of Color Expo
Media Influences
Game DesignIRLNarrativeFrog Fractions Has Done It Again--Here's How To Access A New Sequel - James O'Connor, GameSpotDestiny 2: Forsaken Brings Back Paul McCartney's Very Bad Song From the Origina… - Caty McCarthy, USgamerPaul McCartney Announces ‘Hope for the Future’ Vinyl Release With ‘Thrash’ Remi… - Daniel Kreps, Rolling StoneDevelopment of Half-Life 2 - Combine OverWikiThe death and rebirth of Duke Nukem Forever: a history - Ben Kuchera, Ars TechnicaThat XCOM FPS Isn't Dead. And It Isn't an FPS Anymore - Evan Narcisse, KotakuReuse Everything - Xalavier Nelson Jr., GDoC ExpoXalavier Nelson Jr.GuestNarrative designer with credits on Hypnospace Outlaw, Can Androids Pray, SkateBIRD, and more. Currently making An Airport for Aliens Currently Run By Dogs, aka "Dog Airport Game", and writing comics.
External link
TwitterPatreon
Your nice hosts recorded a live Nice Games Jam episode at 2D Con 2020! You can listen to the edited audio of the recording here!
- You can find the video of the live recording right here!
Prompt Create a game where you are working together to construct a robot, but each player has a secret task they are trying to get the robot to complete along the way.
Game type Tabletop game
Player count 3-8
Materials
1 Deck of Robot Parts
1 Deck of Player Roles
1 Deck of Objectives
1 Die
Setup Deal out an even number of Robot Parts to each player, and one Player Role. Then draw the first card in the Objectives deck for the team's objective.
Rules * Each player has a Player Role, this is their victory condition. + Example roles: - Warmonger: have more offensive value than any other value AND complete the objective - Scientist: have more intelligence value than any other value AND complete the objective - Saboteur: cause robot to fail the objective * On each turn, each player places a Robot Part of any type face down. + There are limits to how many of each type of Robot Part will fit on a robot (in the episode we went with one body part, one processor and four limbs) * Each part is simultaneously revealed once everyone has chosen their card. If each part can be placed with no conflict, start the next turn. + If their are some parts in conflict, roll a die to determine who's Robot Part is used. * Continue until there are no more available parts to place on the robot. Whoever has completed their victory condition wins!
This week, Mark becomes a game publisher and a PAX speaker, Ellen builds a desk and reads a book, and Stephen learns his lesson (almost).
- Color Jumper is available on Switch NOW!
- Our live episode for 2D Con is up on YouTube! The audio will be in the regular feed next week.
- Mark will be part of the PAX Online panel "Lovely or Lethal: Will these animals cuddle me or kill me?" on Thursday, September 17th at 6:30pm CT. PAX Online is free for all on Twitch.
- Actionable Gamification: Beyond Points, Badges, and Leaderboards - Yu-kai Chou
Online Events
0:10:15
Mark LaCroixEventsIRLThe 2021 Game Developers Conference will try to go physical again - but now in … - Sean Hollister, The VergeThe ESA sets dates for E3 2021 - Rebekah Valentine, GamesIndustry.bizSummer Games Done Quick 2020 Raises $2.3 Million - Adam Bankhurst, IGN
We referred to our recent episode featuring Jamaican developer Glen Henry:
Indiedev During the Pandemic
We also mentioned Filipino developer Ryan Sumo, who we spoke with in:
Gamedev in the PhilippinesAs sexual abuse allegations flood in, the world of video games faces a reckoning - Mark Serrels , CNET
Documentation
0:36:05
Stephen McGregorGame DesignProductionToolsPutting comments in code: the good, the bad, and the ugly - Bill Sourour, freeCodeCampWhat Is Performance Support And Why Should You Use Performance Support Tools? - Asha Pandey, eLearning IndustryThe perfect client brief: Does it exist? - Oliver McAteer, Campaign US
Your nice hosts are joined by another nice guest! Jonathan Jennings is a games and XR engineer out of California. In this episode, the Clubhouse hears from Jonathan on the state of VR—programming and design challenges, industry updates, and what we might expect from VR experiences in the near future. Also, we discuss how VR fighting games make us tired, our favorite Ninja Turtles, and who really invented the internet.
Programming VR Games
ProgrammingVR / AR / XRHere's a full list of topics and relevant links from this week's episode. Additional articles and such are below. Enjoy!
- Magic Leap
- Galactic Bar Fight (in development, by our nice guest)
- Locomotion options in VR (for players, for devs)
- Weapons systems and physics in GORN (probably NSFW because it’s a “ludicrously violent VR gladiator simulator”)
- Oculus Connect 4 - Accessibility in Games conference session
- VR development on macOS
- ADB for macOS
- Matt Gravelle episode (137)
- GearVR/Daydream end of life
- Pokemon Go
- VR Chat
- Facebook Horizon
- GORN - No Weapons Run (again, probably NSFW)
- Tumble VR on PlayStation VR
- Drunken Bar Fight (Steam, PlayStation, Oculus)
- PS5 DualSense controller haptics
- The Thrill of the Fight (boxing simulation game)
Lessons Learned from Five Years of VR Locomotion Experiments - Paul White, Game DeveloperGoogle is discontinuing the Daydream View VR headset, and the Pixel 4 won’t sup… - Adi Robertson, The VergeSamsung is killing its VR applications now that Gear VR is dead - Mariella Moon, Engadget
Mark mentioned an earlier episode with Unity development expert Matt Gravelle.
Running An Indie StudioJonathan JenningsGuestJonathan Jennings is a software engineer located in southern California, USA. He has over 7 years of experience in professional software development, 4.5 years in games and 3 years in VR / AR / MR space. "Jonny J" has been a part of the development and release of over a dozen published titles. As of September 2020, he’s working on his debut as a solo gamedev with Galactic Bar Fight, a VR shoot-em-up game “coming soon to a cantina near you.” You can find him all over the Web on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Behance, and Quora.
Evil Games Club is back! Dale, Adia and Dylan have returned from outer space to be mean and make trouble in their 5th somewhat-less-than-hostile takeover of the program.
Working From Home
0:04:47
Dale LaCroixIRL
Your Nice Hosts also talked about working from home in
"The new normal."
Small Projects
0:45:46
Adia AldersonGame DesignNarrativePlay Adia's small stories!Adia spoke at a recent igdatc meetup about her Electron+Ink work - IGDA TC, YouTubeNarrascope
Escapist Games
0:45:46
Dylan SkerbitzGamingBLASEBALL
Dale and Mark have been playing 8-bit versions of "Jeopardy!"
Grounded Early Access Review - Jon Ryan, IGN
In this episode, Mark and Stephen are joined by guest host Adia Alderson for a thoughtful conversation with Glen Henry, an indie developer out of Jamaica. Glen runs Spritewrench Studios and has released multiple creative titles like M@ge (pronounced "Mage") and Grimm and Tonic. The club talks about Glen’s current projects, as well as creative processes, maintaining community during COVID-19, and re-imagining the visual novel.
Also, Adia defines a game genre with food-like products, Mark brings up cozy bunkers, and everyone’s a crusty old developer.
- Meta
GIG - Games Industry Gathering
University of West Indies GGJ site
Indiedev During the Pandemic
Game DesignIRLCheck out Glen's games on Itch.io and Steam!
We talked about most of these titles during the episode:
*Grimm and Tonic
Questlike
Hail
SHLD FLNG
M@ge
Shiny Gauntlet
Questlike Pocket* (coming soon)
Find Glen's art on his ArtStation page (NSFW) and watch him speed paint on his YouTube channel.
Additional links and resources
Ren.js - "a new videogame engine for making Visual Novels that run directly in the web browser. Based on Ren'Py and powered by PhaserJS, it's easy to use and easy to extend."
Winter Wolves Games - Developer of visual novels, dating sims, and RPGs.
Narrascope Conference - Conference, Discord chat, game jam, and more.
Zach Gage's wise tweet about making small games - TwitterGrimm & Tonic Webcomic - SpritewrenchThe Kindaichi Case Files (Manga) - WikipediaKinetic Novel - TV TropesIsekai - WikipediaGlen HenryGuestGlen Henry runs Spritewrench, a one-man powerhouse micro-studio out of Kingston, Jamaica. He specializes in small titles with unique ideas and strong narrative elements. Find him at https://spritewrench.com/ and on Twitter @SpriteWrench. You can get his games on Itch.io and Steam.
This week, Mark hires quack calendar scientists, Ellen proposes a glossary, and everyone contradicts Stephen... including Stephen.
- The next "Twin Cities Playtest" is August 19th on Twitch!
- Parsec
- Actionable Gamification: Beyond Points, Badges, and Leaderboards - Yu-kai Chou
Prototyping
0:13:50
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignTools
Mark cited a "Nice Games Jam" episode as a good example of a paper prototype for a digitial game:
Blob BallD.I.C.E. Summit 2002 - Mark Cerny, YouTubeBLARP! on Steam - Isaac CohenAdobe XD
Design Pillars
0:49:22
Mark LaCroixGame DesignProduction
Your nice hosts are joined by nice guest Alanna Linayre, founder of the indie studio Team Toadhouse. Alanna (rhymes with "banana") guides the gaming world towards healthier work practices and personal habits. We asked her a lot of questions about best practices in mental health, and about Team Toadhouse's upcoming game Call Me Cera.
Also, Mark has a mission for artists, Ellen names a canary, and Stephen learns about "hustle culture."
Mental Health
IRLProductionAlanna’s guidelines on depicting mental illness in games:
- Ask yourself why you’re putting mental health issues in your game.
- Make sure to have correct definitions, and not promote stigmas.
- Try not to use triggering content for the audience you’re serving.
- Avoid harmful tropes.
Mental Illness: The Bio-Psycho-Social Spheres of Influence - Allan Schwartz, MentalHelp.NetI’m a “Spoonie.” Here’s What I Wish More People Knew About Chronic Illness - Kirsten Schultz, HealthlineStoicism - WikiwandRadio calisthenics - WikiwandDaylio mood tracker and micro-diaryYou can get an hourglass similar to Alanna'sAlanna LinayreGuestAlanna (she/her) is very passionate about self care, healthy mental habits, and video games. She's a public speaker on healthy mental habits and discusses her experiences with PTSD, anxiety, and bipolar disorder in an effort to end the stigma surrounding mental illness. Alanna focuses on sustainable practices to avoid crunch and encourages a healthy attitude about mistakes being a necessary and unavoidable part of improving.
External link
https://twitter.com/Tybawaihttps://twitter.com/TeamToadhousehttps://twitter.com/CallMeCeraAlanna's "Cozy Streams" on TwitchTeam Toadhouse Discord serverAll the places Team Toadhouse hangs out online!
Your nice hosts are tired, then get energized. Stephen is thinking about it, Mark brought a few unlikely examples, and Ellen is also thinking about it.
Here's a fun new thing: We've recently started a Discord channel for listeners to discuss the show with each other. It's part of the Twin Cities Gamedev Discord server, but you don't need to be a Twin Cities gamedev to partisipate! Get directly to the Nice Games Club discussion channel via https://nicegames.club/discord
Burnout
0:06:43
Stephen McGregorIRLBurn-out, an "occupational phenomenon" - World Health OrganizationTeacher Burnout: What It Is, Why It Happens, and How You Can Prevent End-Of-Yea… - WaterfordToxic management cost an award-winning game studio its best developers - Megan Farokhmanesh, The Verge
Asynchronous and Asymmetric Gameplay
0:46:39
Mark LaCroixGame DesignAsynchronous Multiplay: Futures for Casual Multiplayer Experience - Ian Bogost, Georgia Institute of TechnologyRelaxed Hardcore: Why Asynchronous is the Next Big Thing in Core Gaming - Ian Hardingham, GDCWhy an Asymmetric Board Game Pissed Off Me and My Friends - Kyle Rogacion, Goomba StompAre Asymmetrical Multiplayer Games Becoming a Major Trend? - Micah Shapiro, GameRant
What does it mean to manage a community of players? How do you do it well? Is it just about social media, or is community engagement part of game creation? In this episode, community manager and MageQuit player Christine "Birb" Marten gives your nice hosts a primer on using data, dealing with trolls, and getting input from gamers. Also, Mark sends out an invite, Stephen doesn't like horror games, and Ellen gets the giggles.
Community Development
Game DesignMarketingProductionGames Industry GatheringArcGISPaxSouth: MageQuit (Review) - Christine Marten, Gaming Access WeeklyGrandia HD CollectionChristine mentioned these tools:
SproutAgora PulseBufferHootsuiteMailchimp...and these community managers:
Victoria Tran with KitFox Games
Harris Foster with Finji
Christine MartenGuestChristine "Birb" Marten is a community & social media manager. She's done community management for BowlCut Studios, GungHo Online Entertainment America, and Lucid Sight. Prior to that, she was a writer for Gaming Access Weekly. Christine has a Masters in Writing, and she streams horror games and MageQuit matches on Twitch. We think she's pretty cool.
Take a look at her stuff!
External link
Follow Christine on Twitter!Watch Christine play horror games (and MageQuit) on Twitch!Check out her website!
It's another week of brotherly love/war as Stephen's bro Charles McGregor re-enters the clubhouse to talk about his experience designing and building the level editor for his game HyperDot. Charles also joins your nice hosts in a discussion about their favorite level editors, and Ellen reveals the origin of her game design journey!
- In the middle of the show, Ellen mentioned a kind tweet from Pheonix Simms, who recently reviewed Widget Satchel.
Level Editors
Game DesignProgrammingToolsUI / UXHypersonic.Xtreme Custom editor (Track 4) - Rwaaaaar, YouTubeStarcraft 2 Map Editor - Getting Started - scfoxcode, YouTubeModNation Racers - WikipediaMega Man Powered Up (1D): Creating a Stage [Construction] - Bean1227, YouTubeCharles McGregorGuestCharles McGregor is Stephen McGregor's brother. He is co-founder of Tribe Games. He released his first commercial game, HyperDot, in 2020. He is also working on Fingeance with Stephen.
Sometimes he does other stuff.
External link
https://twitter.com/DarkaysTGhttps://twitter.com/TribeGamesHyperDot website
Guest host Charles McGregor starts the episode by getting REVENGE. The group talks a bit about the state of the growing "serious games" industry and what it's like to work alongside family members. Also, Stephen does a good transition, and... no one mentions Star Trek?!
- In his intro speech, Charles references episode #37:
"Ugly and hard to use." * The last days of Mixer - Mikhail Klimentov, The Washington Post * Twitch Reckons with Sexual Assault as it Begins Permanently Suspending Streamers - Jacob Kastrenakes, The Verge * Twitch bans popular streamer Dr Disrespect - Michael McWhertor, Polygon * Twitch temporarily bans President Trump - Jacob Kastrenakes, The Verge
Serious Play Conference 2020
0:16:00
Ellen Burns-JohnsonEventsSerious Play Conference Home PageSerious Play Conference ScheduleNew Metaari Forecast for Worldwide 2020-2025 Game-Based Learning Market Shows N… - Serious Play WireStop & Think: Teaching Players About Media Manipulation in Headliner - GDC, YouTubeMDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research (PDF) - Robin Hunicke, Marc LeBlanc, Robert Zubek, Northwestern UniversityMDA Framework - Wikipedia5 Reasons Why Game-Based Learning Should Matter to Organizations - Karl Kapp, Allen InteractionsGamification vs Games-Based Learning: What’s the Difference? - Halden Ingwersen, Capterra Blog
Working with Family
0:42:09
Stephen McGregorIRL
Mark mentioned the Nice Games Jam episode that started Reravel (#157):
Reravel: A Backwards Storytelling GameEllen and Eric took blacksmithing at the Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center
No, your nice hosts aren't pitching an adaptation of the 1974 film of the same name, but returning guest host Sarah Seember Huisken counts it as an inspiration for the solo-play tabletop RPG we workshopped in this episode. Immerse yourself a galaxy of corporate factions, fluid allegiances, and space pirates!
- Scum and Villainy
- The 5 best solo board games - Rafael Cordero, PC Gamer
Prompt Workshop existing solo-play TTRPG concept.
Game type Tabletop game
Player count 1 -?
Materials
Player dossier (player character/ship sheet, notes)
Dice (how many? which type? we didn't figure that out!)
Module booklet (includes blank pages for journaling/recordkeeping)
Setup Sarah's draft ship systems sheet:
Rules Each adventure module is an "assignment," which consists of a multi-page booklet.
- Page 1 - Summary: Provides the “goal” for the player as defined by “quest-giver.”
- Page 2 - Assignment parameters:
- Player reward (and possible advance payment)
- Assignment type (Cargo, Escort, Espionage, Assassination, etc.)
- Constraints (time budget, stealth requirement, equipment restrictions, etc)
- Supplies (mission-specific resources such as maps, documentation, etc)
- Risks and Opportunities: These are facts about the assignment's setting and characters that will impact the player differently depending on their alignment, ship condition, and other stats.
- Pages 3+ - Story Acts
- Generally, each act should fit on one booklet page, providing all the narrative and mechanical information required to play though it. Acts may have alternate versions, each with its own page.
- Act I: A introduction/setup to the story, giving the player hints they can use to make preparations for the assignment. The player can spend actions in this act to tune their ship / Equip thier character / recruit NPC pals/crew, etc. Story events may include NPC conversations, skill checks, or other light gameplay. This act may be wholly different depending on which "class" the player is aligned with.
- Act II: A conflict or mechanical gameplay sequence, usually related to ship functions. Examples include ship battles, navigational challenges, serious malfunctions, etc.
- The outcome of the sequence changes the narrative ending of this act, expanding or limiting the player's options. The outcome of this act will also frequently alter ship stats, player inventory, etc.
- Act IIIa, Act IIIb (c, d?): The player character must make a choice in the narrative, which determines which scene will end the story. The outcome of Act II may inform or limit this choice. Each scene plays differently, one might be a daring escape, while the other might be a diplomatic resolution.
- Final Page - "To Be Continued In...": A list of other modules/assignments for the player to choose from in order to continue their character's story. Options may be limited depending on the version of Act III selected, the player's stats, Act II outcomes, class alignment, or other factors.
Example Assignment: “The Asset” Summary: Email from corporation: “Take this large crate from planet Kittytail to planet Puppydog in time for the big corporate gala. Don't be late, and don't look in the crate!" * Parameters + Reward: Standard rate, no advance! + Assignment type: Cargo + Constraints*
Time limit: Must reach destination without taking too many actions.
NDA: can't run with other players or NPCs, can't stop for supplies.
+ *Supplies*
“Papers” needed to pass planetary customs.
Fuel stipend (whatever you don’t use, you can keep)
+ *Risks:* Planet Puppydog is not friendly to scruffy types. Certain player stats might cause issues/delays at customs.
+ *Opportunities:* Access to future assignments on planet Puppydog (only available to “good dogs”).
- Act I: "Pick up the cargo"
- Learn a bit, experience some glitches, spend/waste some time
- Some random events, die roll checks
- Act II: "Oh no, it's pirates!"
- Battle type: targeted attack, pirates intend to board your ship, not destroy it
- Pirates attack random(?) stat, over a certain number of turns (5?). Player can react with actions, depending on stats and prep actions. Actions spend the player's time budget.
- Can attack, evade, etc.
- Can call for help, but if your comm stat is low, your general distress call might violate your NDA.
- On battle failure (some stat threshold): Pirates board your ship
- Player can choose to hide, reveal, or protect cargo, costing actions.
- If pirates discover the cargo, they open the box!
- If they are fended off, player can get curious, and open the box!
- The cargo: “It’s clearly important…” but you don’t have any idea. It’s some kind of mysterious artifact maybe?
- Act III-A: "Deliver the cargo"
- Did you arrive on time? No? Corp docks your pay
- Gotta get though customs. Conversation/diplomacy mechanic. Audited for inspection? If you don’t have a lot of time, you can make risky moves to speed things along.
- Once you get though, you deliver the cargo to secret folks in bio-suits. Oooo, mystery vibes that will pay off in a future module, no doubt!
- Story ends at the gala! Enjoy a cocktail at the expense of the corp!
- Act III-B: "Steal the cargo!"
- Escape the system with the mysterious cargo! Stealth check!
- Get caught? It's time for a second battle!
- Make it out of the system? Story ends with a tease: what is this thing and what do I do with it?
- Get caught by the corp? Go to corporate jail. Do not pass GO.
- Possible "To Be Continued" modules:
- Check out the Puppydog job board!
- Investigate the artifact by following your mysterious client to a hidden lab on planet Puppydog.
- Escape with the artifact and take it to this crackpot scientist you met once.
- Corporate jail break!
Storyboard artist Sarah Huisken joins the club this week to talk about NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) and the factors that make games as deliciously "replayable" as Mass Effect 2. Also, Stephen sort of gets the final word, Mark does a transition (!), and Ellen is slow to get the joke.
- Sarah Huisken's website - Sarah Huisken
- Sarah's Twitter handle is @BoringHeathen - Sarah Huisken
- Everything Sony Announced in Today's PS5 Event - Chris Kohler , Kotaku
- Ways you can help support efforts for racial justice in the U.S.
- Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality raised $8.1 million!
NDAs
0:19:20
Mark LaCroixMarketingA Conspiracy of Silence: How NDAs Are Harming The Games Industry - Rick Lane, Kotaku
Replayability
0:47:15
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignWhat Makes a Game Replayable? - Design Doc, YouTube
Two architects of wildly different philosophies share an office space and compete to influence the design of their client's latest project. It's an excellent sitcom premise, but it's also the subject of our latest Nice Games Jam!
- Photo Credit: Ian Samkov on Pexels
- News
- Itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality ends with a stunning $8.1m raise… - Wesley Yin-Poole, Eurogamer
- For a major Star Trek fan like Mark, this episode is a rather special, if unusual, milestone. When Star Trek: The Next Generation's episode count surpassed the original Star Trek in its 80th episode, it paid homage by including a subtle reference to the 79th (and final) episode of that series. As Star Trek: The Next Generation itself ran for 178 episodes, it felt fitting to make reference to that bit of TV trivia in this episode, our 179th.
- MURAL - Online Collaboration
- List of architectural styles - Wikipedia
- Black Lives Matter
- Black Game Developers directory
- The #drawingwhileblack directory - Abelle Hayford
- Justice for Breonna Taylor - gofundme
Prompt "Make a 2D fighter with no combat."
Game type Design document
Player count 2
Rules
In this extra big, beefy, and somewhat late episode, your nice hosts talk about recent events and share some personal thoughts on anti-black racism, police violence, and white privilege. Also, Mark is a smart animator, Stephen makes us feel the space and the place, and Ellen doesn’t want to live on the planet Zebes.
- Special: George Floyd, police violence, protests
- Official George Floyd Memorial Fund
- We Love Lake Street
- Black Visions Collective
- Black Table Arts
- Reclaim the Block
- Since we recorded this episode, Itch launched a massive bundle of over 1500 titles (including Widget Satchel and other Minneapolis-made games), whose proceeds will be donated to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and Community Bail Fund.
- Meta
- Widget Satchel is out in Japan! Well, technically it's Widget Satchel ~Ferret's Treasure~.
- Keep an eye on igdatc for upcoming virtual playtesting sessions using Parsec.
Animation
0:27:00
Mark LaCroixArtProgrammingRealtime Procedurally Animated Spiders - YouTubeResearch: How Virtual Reality Can Help Train Surgeons - Gideon Blumstein, Harvard Business ReviewThe Animator's Survival Kit (Expanded Edition) - Richard E. Williams
Establishing a Sense of Place
1:02:00
Stephen McGregorGame DesignNarrativeDoes Russia have McDonald’s? Yes, McD's has been there for 30 years.
What Spider-Man PS4 gets right (and wrong) about New York City - Simone de Rochefort, Polygon
This week on the program, Ellen sings along, Mark sings praise, and Stephen sings the gospel of Stephenism.
- DONATE!
- Official George Floyd Memorial Fund
- We Love Lake Street
- Black Visions Collective
- Black Table Arts
- Reclaim the Block
- Meta notes:
- PlayDate
- Why the quirky Playdate portable could succeed where Ouya failed - Kyle Orland, Ars Technica
- "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" To Be More Optimistic And Episodic, Says Co-Cre… - TrekMovie
Leadership
0:24:37
Ellen Burns-JohnsonIRLProductionGaming can make a better world - Jane McGonigal, TEDTetris: The Games People Play by Box Brown review - James Smart, The GuardianSakurai Battled Through Health Issues With An IV Drip During Smash Ultimate Dev… - Ryan Craddock, Nintendo LifeFormer Nintendo chief Reggie Fils-Aimé joins new podcast to raise funds for hom… - Gene Park, The Washington PostGodot Engine was awarded an Epic MegaGrant - Juan Linietsky, GodotTrain Jam perfectly captures the magic of both traveling and game dev - Katherine Cross, Game Developer
Pricing
0:59:56
Stephen McGregorGamingMarketingMassively Overthinking: Are modern games too cheap? - Bree Royce, Massively OverpoweredHere's the reason most new console video games cost $60 - Michelle Yan and Ben Gilbert, Business InsiderDevelopers Cash In By Selling Their Switch Games For Pennies - Stephen J. Bronner, Kotaku
Your nice hosts interview Ryan Sumo, Art Director and CEO of Squeaky Wheel Studio, an independent developer and publisher based in the Philippines. Topics include community building, conferences, becoming a publisher through serendipity, and the benefits of being transparent with your development practices. Plus jokes!
Gamedev in the Philippines
Misc.The Top 50 mobile games of 2006 - Stuart Dredge, Pocket GamerSpacechem - SteamGDAP (Game Developers Association of the Philippines)IGDA Philippines ManilaESGS conference on InstagramBit Summit conference (Japan)Level Up conference (Kuala Lumpur)Rock of Ages 2: Bigger & Boulder - SteamRyan's posts on Gamasutra - Ryan Sumo, Game DeveloperRyan SumoGuestRyan Sumo co-founded the studio Squeaky Wheel. Visit their site at http://www.squeakywheel.ph/ and follow them on social media (links below). Follow Ryan on Twitter @ryansumo and check out Squeaky Wheel's upcoming game Academia: School Simulator. Squeaky Wheel is also getting into publishing with the title Ruinarch, an "evil overlord" game by developer Maccima.
External link
Squeaky Wheel on TwitterSqueaky Wheel on FacebookSqueaky Wheel on LinkedInSqueaky Wheel on YouTube
Your nice hosts talk big picture and get deep into the weeds this week. Mark runs Flash at 60fps on the Switch, Ellen makes a Star Trek reference, and Stephen wants more games that aren't fun.
Hey you! If you're porting a project, whether it's just to a new Unity build target, or to a whole new codebase, we want to hear about it! contact@noblerobot.com or @NiceGamesClub.
- GDC’s summer event will be digital only - Megan Farokhmanesh, The Verge
- Neat things that Star Trek Online did with Star Trek lore - Eliot Lefebvre, Massively Overpowered
Fun in Games
0:11:09
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignAssassin’s Creed Valhalla Is Bringing Back The Instakill Hidden Blade, In A Sig… - Stephen Totilo, KotakuAssassin’s Creed Odyssey Developers Say Breaking Series Traditions Made For A B… - Stephen Totilo, Kotaku15 things you can do to make Breath of the Wild feel new again - Patricia Hernandez, PolygonRaph Koster's Theory of Fun, ten years on - Leigh Alexander, Game DeveloperSolaris (1972) - trailer
Porting Your Game
0:44:11
Mark LaCroixHardwareProgrammingYour Indie Game on Console: A Practical Guide to Porting - Thomas O'Connor, GDCOUYA works with Xbox 360 and PS3 controllers - Rik Henderson, Pocket-lintMicrosoft Windows Astoria bridge for Android is dead - Jan Vermeulen, MyBroadbandHaxe (programming langauge) - WikipediaPost-Mortem on Transitioning from Flash to Haxe - Doug Pearson, GameDaily ConnectC-- (programming language) - WikipediaIntroduction to OpenFL - HaxeFlixel documentationEpic Games' Unreal Engine Heads To Flash - Kris Graft, Game DeveloperAdobe Flash Player Export in Unity 4.0 - Ralph Hauwert, UnitySunsetting Flash - David Helgason, UnityDevelopment of Duke Nukem Forever - Wikipedia
Mark gets back to Metro Nexus, Stephen explores the strange land where in-game and real-world economics overlap, and Ellen makes sure we have good posture.
- Metro Nexus is running on the Switch!
- Global Games Pitch
- IGDATC Widget Satchel Postmortem - igdatc
Economies
0:11:20
Stephen McGregorGame DesignCurrencies in Star Trek Online - GamepediaHow Warframe built an ethical free-to-play economy - Ben Kuchera, PolygonI Am Not At All Relaxed by Animal Crossing - Cecilia D’Anastasio, Wired
Ergonomics
0:55:15
Ellen Burns-JohnsonIRLThe Gamer’s Guide to Ergonomics: Your Posture, Chair, Desk, Fingers and everyth… - Matthew Hwu, 1HPYour posture is killing you: What gamers should know about ergonomics - Roman Jakob, VentureBeatHerman Miller Embody chair
Mark's very neat workspace.
"Kind of messy. Don't show my mom." ~ Stephen
Ellen's workspace. Rustic. Dog.
Mark interviews Sébastien Deguy and Jérémie Noguer, the Vice President and Principal Product Manager of 3D & Immersive at Adobe, about developing Substance, the leading suite of tools for 3D texturing and material creation.
In a wide-ranging discussion, your nice guests reveal what it's like joining a big ol’ company like Adobe, how to design a tool for multiple audiences, the difference between "black magic" and "white magic," and how COVID-19 is impacting their teams.
They also share a peek into the future of licensing and subscriptions for Substance and Adobe's other 3D tools, and the reason they haven't been able to release a Blender plugin yet.
Building Substance
ArtProductionToolsSubstance & 3D News Livestream (GDC 2020 Keynote) - GDC, YouTubeAdobe Announces Substance Designer and Painter Updates - Animation World NetworkSébastien DeguyGuestFounder of Allegorithmic, makers of Substance. VP 3D & Immersive at Adobe.
External link
Substance 3Dhttps://twitter.com/sebdeguyJérémie NoguerGuestPrincipal Product Manager of 3D and Immersive at Adobe.
External link
Substance 3Dhttps://twitter.com/gahadmor
This week, it's Ellen's first rodeo as your permanent nice host, Stephen looks forward to watching someone else play The Last of Us Part II, and Mark is a bad VR person.
Bulletin topic (Recent releases)
Timecode 0:14:55
Remakes:
- FFVII Remake
- Persona 5 Royal
- Saints Row: IV - Re-Elected
- Doom 64
Delays
- Last of Us Part II
- Iron Man VR
- Marvel’s Avengers
Half-Life: AlyxSwitch Lite (Coral)Bulletin topic (News)
Timecode 0:31:59
Events
Confirming your nice hosts' suspicions, just after this episode was published, GDC announced that GDC Summer will be an online-only event.
San Diego Comic-Con 2020 is officially canceled due to coronavirus - Tracy Brown, Los Angeles TimesMedia drama!
Press Sneak Out - Jason Schreier, KotakuJason Schreier (and co-hosts) took his podcast to the Maximum Fun network.
Two More Editors Depat G/O Media in Ongoing Exodus - Brandon Katz, ObserverVox Media Furloughs 9% of Staff for Three Months, Cuts Salaries and Benefits - Todd Spangler, VarietyValorant
Why Valorant’s anti-cheat system has to launch when your computer starts - Austen Goslin, PolygonRiot places $100,000 bounty on Valorant anti-cheat system bugs - Jordan Gerblick, GamesRadarValorant makes you watch before you play—that’ll change online games forever - Sam Machkovech, Ars TechnicaHardware Shortages
Resellers Using Checkout Bots Are Driving the Nintendo Switch Shortage - Joseph Cox, MotherboardNintendo Switch Is Sold Out Everywhere, So This Guy Built One Himself - Matthew Gault, VicePS5
Sony Plans Limited PlayStation 5 Output in First Year - Takashi Mochizuki and Yuki Furukawa, BloombergPS5 controller, the DualSense, officially revealed - Connor Sheridan, GamesRadar
Martha has a big announcement, Mark tells the story of Babylon 5, and Stephen owes everyone a hug. Also, Ellen is back in the (distributed) clubhouse with her own big news!
- Stephen didn’t know what the word "Emeritus" means, so he put it in the notes: "Holding, after retirement, an honorary title corresponding to that held last during active service."
- In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, NPCs can be seen breaking character after you walk away from them (via Twitter).
Ending Projects
0:13:13
Martha MegarryIRLProductionDefinition of Done - Agile AllianceA Work of Art Is Never Finished, Merely Abandoned - Quote InvestigatorAdam Savage On Why Mythbusters Ended - B. Co Creative Agency, YouTubeHow Babylon 5 went from space opera to space junk - Ben Gazur, The GuardianTHE INSTITUTE: a 2013 documentary filmThe Perplexing Final Chapter Of San Francisco’s Jejune Institute - Rick Paulas, The Awl"How I Met Your Mother" Kids Kept Show's Ending Secret for 9 Years - Brian Anthony Hernandez, MashableThe reason Rebecca Sugar made Steven Universe Future, and why it’s the actual e… - Tasha Robinson, PolygonRock Band Network Shutting Down After Four Years and Over 2,000 Songs - Eddie Makuch, GameSpotProject management triangle (aka: "The Iron Triangle") - Wikipedia
Starting Projects
1:11:55
Ellen Burns-JohnsonIRLProductionMark's "Noble Menu" system for Unity is available on Itch.io.
Ellen Burns-Johnson joins us once again in the virtual club house to discuss Redundancy and Arcades! Ellen teaches us about how we learn, Mark balances the game, Martha only plays the best character, and Stephen has a revelation.
- Photo Credit: Michelle Bruch, from this Southwest Journal Article about the Donutron
Redundancy
0:13:01
Mark LaCroixGame DesignUI / UXThe Forgetting Curve hypothesis by Hermann Ebbinghous - WikipediaThe Distributed Practice learning strategy - Wikipedia
Arcades
0:50:39
Stephen McGregorGamingIRLWhy You Can't Call It a "Barcade" - Brenna Houck, EaterDino Dash - Abdel Shahied, YouTubeThe 'Donutron' Arcade at Glam Doll Donuts in Minneapolis
This week, your nice hosts put together a design document for a co-op game of corporate espionage. Martha wants to crawl through vents, Mark wants low stakes moral choices, and Stephen wants everyone to yell at everyone.
- On Wednesday this week, Mark presented a in-depth postmortem on the production of Widget Satchel for the April IGDATC monthly community meeting, held remotely on Twitch. You can "attend" the meeting ex post facto on the IGDATC Twitch channel!
Prompt "How about an asymmetrical couch co-op game? Maybe it's meant to be played with a younger sibling, or maybe it's a teaching tool."
Game type Design document
Player count 2
Rules Premise* Two players, who are a team of freelance infiltrators. + One player is out in the field doing their thing (1st-person perspective). + One player is a hacker at home base, providing assistance to the field player (in VR). * Spy theme, corporate espionage. * Field player observes the scene, gathering information for the hacker so they can do the hacking. * Field player does some deduction, but they are playing an action game, while the hacker player is playing a puzzle game.. * Hacker is doing their hax from a kind of holographic computer interface (Minority Report-esque perhaps). They do not see what the field player sees directly, but have many resources at their disposal (camera feeds, scanning tech, etc) * Hacker manages resources and allocates mechanical abilities to the field player based on mission requirements and moment-to-moment events. * Game is a series of missions, Hitman-style, selected in any order. Each mission contributes to a larger narrative of rival companies/factions.
Pre-MissionPlayers see information about future missions, the team chooses the next mission, but the hacker player literally picks it, opening up potential conflict between players.
Throughout the campaign, various moral choices can crop up. The team can choose their missions based on which client they support, or they can chose to become double agents, thwarting their client's goals.
Example MissionInfiltrate a restaurant that actually is a complicated science lab to steal a secret recipe.
- First task: sneak past into the entrance of the lab:
- Hacker player needs to manipulate orders and customers so that few people see the field player.
- Field player observing the state of play in the restaurant and doing the actions.
- Second task: get past a bunch of lasers.
- Hacker player can take out some lasers and protect the field player using shields.
- Field player gets past the lasers through first-person platforming actions.
- Third task: get the recipe.
- Field player is sneaking past guards or other security obstacles.
- Hacker player is opening vault with the recipe and doing stealth gadget things.
- Getting to the recipe, do you steal the recipe or copy the recipe down?
- Do you want to simply defeat opponents, or destroy them?
- As with mission selection, one player (the field player in this case) literally makes the call, but the game encourages the team to choose their course of action together.
- Last task, get out of restaurant
- Option for field player: could sneak through vents, or take the same way out, or run past guards in a mad dash to escape.
- In the case of a "stealth fail state," hacker player must hacking frantically to resolve the situation quickly (i.e.: convincing the guards it was a false alarm, disabling the lights to give the field player time to hide, etc), while field player is explicitly avoiding conflict.
Your Nice Hosts are still recording remotely while we physically distance ourselves! We talk about our new normal and give each other advice on Working From Home and Games to Play while we stay inside. Stay safe out there, Nice Listeners! We are all in this together.
- How did Animal Crossing’s Isabelle and the Doomguy become best friends? - Julia Lee, Polygon
Working From Home
0:09:00
Stephen McGregorIRLBecause Internet, a book by Gretchen McCulloch
Collaborate with Live Share (Visual Studio Code)
Games to Play While Social Distancing
0:34:14
Martha MegarryGamingIRLCharles made a HyperDot painting in Animal Crossing - @DarkaysTG, TwitterYour Complete Guide To The SimCity Disaster - Jason Schreier, Kotaku
We talked about Martha's love of 'safe zones' in this previous episode (#104):
"Safety gone!"
Yes, yes, we know GDC was cancelled, but your nice hosts still had plenty of stuff to talk about, including how GDC itself adapted itself into a non-event, how some business still got done, and next-gen hardware news from Microsoft and Sony that was too big to be rescheduled.
- As part of an industry-wide effort to give people something to do while they're stuck inside, Mark gathered a few Twin Cities indiedevs to sell a bundle of their recent titles at a deep discount. It's the Twin Cities Indies Say Stay Inside Bundle! It includes 5 full games (Adjacency, Joggernauts, Newt One, Verdant Skies, and Widget Satchel), and it's available on Itch for the next two weeks at 84% off the normal price. Stay home and enjoy!
- Mark joked that the Summer Olympics would be the next thing to be postponed, and sure enough, a day after we recorded this episode, they were.
The GDC That Wasn't
0:12:40
EventsIRLGDC on TwitchGDC's channel on Youtube - GDC, YouTubeGDC Summer is (currently) planned for August 4th-6thIGF Awards 2020: Finalists and winnersGDCA 2020: Finalists and winners
Next-Gen Console Reveals
0:39:52
EventsHardwareXbox Series X: A Closer Look at the Technology Powering the Next Generation - Will Tuttle, Xbox WireThe Road to PS5: A talk by PS5 lead system architect Mark Cerny - PlayStation, YouTube
This week on Nice Games Club, we talk about Naming Things and Rhythm Games! Stephen lays down a beat, Martha brings up fuzzy math, and Mark uses every excuse to talk about Star Trek.
- We mentioned the previous Train Jam episode (#17):
GDC 2017 Special (Part 1)
Naming Things
0:17:47
Mark LaCroixGame DesignMarketingProductionGoogle Trends
Rhythm Games
0:52:45
Martha MegarryGame DesignHarminix's next music-making game puts your DJ skills to the test - Christine Fisher, Engadget
Episode where Mark talks about his Rock Band experience (#153):
"She also cheats a lot."Ape Out - Arcade Mode Gameplay - IGN, YouTube
Your nice hosts finally get around to some classic topics in this week's episode. Mark explains why Widget Satchel takes longer to download than he'd have liked, Stephen is worried that you might learn the wrong lessons, and Martha disagrees.
- It took some sleuthing, but Mark found proof that Crunch, the mascot for the Minnesota Timberwolves, was named for the Nestle candy bar.
Day-One Patches
0:02:48
Mark LaCroixProductionProgrammingWhy 'Day-One Patches' Are So Common - Rami Ismail, KotakuThe Switch patch for Widget Satchel that Mark mentioned working on just passed though Nintendo's lotcheck system and was released today. Pick up a copy it if you haven't already!
Crunch
0:42:22
Stephen McGregorIRLProductionProgramming'Anthem' is proof that crunch can't save AAA games - Jessica Conditt, EngadgetVideo Game Delays Cause More Crunch - Jason Schreier, KotakuBook Review: If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland - Joel Friedlander, The Book DesignerCrunch Time: How Indies Are Falling Victim To Launch Day Pressures - Kate Fanthorpe, The Indie Game WebsiteStudio MDHR delays Cuphead DLC to 2020, in bid to avoid development crunch - Aaron Mamiit, Digital TrendsMark referenced how Mr. Scott maintains his reputation as a miracle worker.
Ellen Burns-Johnson joins us in the club house to discuss the latest in game dev news! We talk about the latest releases, GDC getting "postponed", Kickstarter unionizing and more. Be nice and have a listen!
Bulletin topic (Recent releases)
Timecode 0:05:34
HyperDot is a local game by Stephen's brother Charles! Buy it!
Bulletin topic (News)
Timecode 0:20:22
Important GDC 2020 Update - GDCTrain Jam is still on!Wings Fund is providing GDC relief funding.Plan B Project has an event page on Facebook.AltGDC will have conference talks and panels that will be recorded.#notGDC is an annual, free, online event that runs concurrently every year.COVID-19 information from the World Health Organization.Google's ambitious push into gaming is floundering, and it's due largely to too… - Ben Gilbert, Business InsiderKickstarter employees vote to unionize, relieving tension among game developers - Charlie Hall, Polygon
This week, Stephen is crowned the new King of Transitions, Martha gets around to playing two games she'd been meaning to for awhile, and Mark briefly impersonates a saxophone.
Unlocks
0:06:19
Stephen McGregorGame DesignStephen's Unlock Taxonomy:
- Achievement-based: Do a thing, get unlock related to thing.
- Experience-based: Play the game, get a thing based on how much you've played.
- Loot-based: Play the game, get random thing.
- Currency-based: Earn in-game currency, pick an unlock to purchase.
- New Game Plus: Complete the game, get new content on second playthrough.
Case Study (Mutazione & Later Alligator)
0:39:26
Martha MegarryGame DesignGamingMutazioneLater Alligator
We played though one of Martha's favorites in a previous video episode:
Nice Plays: Pajama Sam 2 (1998)Dr. Katz - Wikipedia
We're back! This week, your nice hosts talk about what they did over their winter break, from taking up residence in a new clubhouse, to developing a new logo and website, and more! But in the end, everything is still nice.
Highlights of this extra-long special episode:
- Martha proposes a Nice Games Club IDE color theme...
- ...Dale joins the show to point out that making a logo for a podcast is harder than making a logo for a game...
- ...and after all the redesign work, Stephen makes a late pitch to rename the show "Hot Takes Games Club."
Plus, the entire clubhouse goes back and forth making promises (setting expectations) on the new website. It's an iterative process, people!
What We Did On Our Winter Break (2020)
IRLMetaNice Games Club Logo Development
Here's a Nice Game Club "Bug" concept that was rejected
Logo Option #1: Stars
Logo Option #2: Git Tree
Logo Option #3: Coding Brackets
Stephen and the Fingeance team talk about their love of "choice #3" in one of our "Code Comment" episodes:
Code Comment: "Fingeance"
Iteration on Logo #3 (brackets)
Logo in multiple color contexts, including the "Valentine" theme
Variations on the "logo on a cartridge" concept
We made our new site using Drupal, a VERY open source web development tool.December 2019
IGDATC's monthly meetings
Dale talked about developing Reravel, which was first developed during a Nice Games Jam episode:
Reravel: A Backwards Storytelling GameJanuary 2020
ProtospielHyperdot, a game by Stephen's brother Charles McGregor was released this month on January 31st. It is available on Xbox, Steam, itch.io and Windows PC. You can buy it now.
Global Game Jam 2020
The Global Game Jam 2019 keynote (aka: the best keynote ever) starts at 04:00
The Global Game Jam 2020 keynote
We mentioned Rachel, the head of GLITCH's Discord, who we have had on a previous episode:
Games Education
Mark worked with Scott Lembke for GGJ 2020. We interviewed Scott on a previous GGJ episode:
"Steal this episode."
Mark's logo for his team's GGJ 2020, with character art by teammate Kissi
Kissi worked on a few games during the jam!
Screenshot from "Super City Mayor," Mark's GGJ game
You can play Dale and Beth's GGJ game, "Corporate Espionage" right in your brow…February 2020
Mark and Dale saw David Byrne's American Utopia!
American Utopia on Broadway
American Utopia: Full Cast Album - SpotifyNew York Transit Museum
Dale in a very old subway car at the transit museum
Dale in a moderately old subway car at the transit museum
NYU Games Center has playtest events every Thursday
149
Buttons and Triggers and Sticks, Oh My!Nice Games Jam
2019.09.25
This week's episode is sponsored by Codecks, the project management tool for game developers, by game developers! Sign up for free at http://codecks.io/nicegamesclub to let them know we sent you!
It's another Nice Games Jam! This time, our boyfriend Dylan sent in a particularly interesting challenge, asking your nice hosts to design a game where the player's load-out impacts the game's controls.
After an aborted attempt to make it into a game consisting of physical props, we came up with a very strange concept for a video game where you equip and battle a bunch of different controllers as if they were Pokémon or something!
Prompt Design a game where the player's load-out impacts the game's controls.
Game type Paper prototype
Player count 2-4
Materials
A controller of your choosing
Pieces to "slot" to your controller's buttons
Setup "Buttons and Triggers and Sticks, Oh My!" (Prototype)
In this game, you control a "battlebot" vehicle that you configure using equipment and weapons that are auctioned off between players before the match. The twist is that your bot is a vehicle shaped like the actual controller you play the game with, and its capabilities are determined by the physical configuration of the input elements. Want a different bot, you gotta plug in a different controller!
Controllers
Each controller, from a knock-off Xbox 360 controller to a Nintendo Switch Joy-Con, has a list of "inventory slots" which line up with the physical controller's buttons and input elements. Items placed in these slots are "attached" to the in-game representation of the controller.
Each controller also has general properties such as hull strength and overall weight, and controllers with special properties like rumble, motion controls, or expansion ports would have additional in-game potential. Additionally, wired controllers would have different properties than wireless controllers, etc.
Equipment
Each piece of equipment has the following characteristics:
- Type
- Movement
- Engines
- Ranged weapons
- Melee weapons
- Traps/environment
- Shields
- Bonus/special items
- Stats: depends on type. Engines would have speed/power stats and weapons would have damage stats, for example.
- Input compatibility: Which set of buttons, sticks, and/or triggers can this equipment be attached to? For example, the Z button on a Saturn controller is a face button, but it's a trigger on a Nintendo 64 controller. A machine gun might be placed on a trigger, or it could be placed on an analog stick and work as a turret! Maybe certain items can only be placed on controllers that have a "Select" button, etc.
Rules Auction
Players configure their loudouts from stratch before every match, at the same time, using an auction system. Pieces of equipment comes up for auction one-by-one.
First, players are given vague information about the next item up for bid, and may pre-bid for it, gambling that it will be something useful to them.
If no player pre-bids for the item, it is fully revealed and players bid normally for it. Certain items will be incompatible for certain controllers, but a player may wish to bid on it anyway to deny it to another player (maybe they can then "melt down" the unwanted piece of equipment for some other resource).
This process continues either until all players are out of resources, or all the items (some subset of the total items in the game) have been put up for auction.
Resources could be limited, meaning that high-bidding contests would result in weaker players and more tactical, less chaotic matches (since all equipment would be expensive). Alternately, resources could be plentiful, providing players with lots of options, and any left over resources could be used to power and/or upgrade equipment, providing some motivation not to overspend for equipment.
Gameplay
Battles would be essentially multiplayer deathmatchs, where each player operates the equipment they've equipped to thier vehicle by using the input element they've assigned it to.
Battles would be heavily focused on targeting other players various equipment, in order to disable or destroy them.
Play could work using a 3rd person "Mario Kart/Twisted Metal battle mode" style of skill-based play, or perhaps it could use a Fallout VATS style targeting system where players would need to assign targets in real-time but would only need to hit the other player (letting an RNG system determine how successful the hit was)
The game might include other genre staples like item pickups (energy, ammo, etc).
Campaign/Progression?
Outside of regular matches, perhaps players could run campaigns where the results of each match would provide winnings that they can later use to upgrade their vehicle or purchase new equipment.
118
"It's Black History Month, y'all!"Roundtable
2019.02.26
In this episode, your nice hosts make sure you know that Treasure Stack, the game Stephen "is paid to work on," is coming out Friday, March 1st!
Mark then gives a primer on some audio basics that will help you understand how sound works, and works in your game. Even if you're bored by that, be sure to stick around for a discussion Stephen leads about representation in games.
"Treasure Stack Reveals Launch Date With a Trailer Powered By Artisanal, Locall… - Hardcore Gamers
Audio Basics
0:05:32
Mark LaCroixAudio"MP3 'died' and nobody noticed: Key patents expire on golden oldie tech" - Andrew Orlowski, The RegisterDigital Audio Basics: Sample Rate and Bit DepthTurns out, there is a ".2" in certain surround sound setups.Get free sounds on freesound.org!The reduction in audio dynamics in pop music is a result of the so-called Loudn…
Representation in Games
0:41:57
Stephen McGregorIRLProductionKey & Peele - Black Republicans"Here's a good argument for a black Batman" - Dan Neilan, AV Club"Hopi-less: How Kachina Became Donut County" - John Walker, Rock Paper Shotgun"What It's Like To Write About Race And Video Games" - Gita Jackson, Kotaku
143
Ants of Destiny: Morsels of the QueenNice Games Jam
2019.08.13
This week in the clubhouse, Stephen is still away in New York.
Ellen is back to help out with a Nice Games Jam! Our prompt: create a JRPG-inspired game in under an hour. But like any good JRPG, it took twice as long to complete as expected...
Ellen's handwritten notes are worth a look! (PDF)
And here's the Wikipedia page for Weevil, which Ellen wanted you to see.
Prompt What would the Nice Games Club take on a JRPG be? Do that
Game type Paper prototype
Player count 2
Setup A two-person pen-and-paper RPG. One player portrays the party of ants, and the other player controls all enemies and narrates the story as the GM.
The Story
Your queen is dying, and for unknown reasons (foreshadowing!) your colony is running out of resources. You, a young worker ant, and your party of misfits must set out from your home to collect the extra food and supplies needed to save your colony, battling foes and overcoming challenges along the way!
Rules The Party
Worker Ant (Player protagonist)
Bite (attack): 2
Carry (inventory): 5
Exo (armor): +0
Ability: "Defend" - Once per encounter, secretly choose (and write down) a party member. The next attack against that character will automatically fail. This remains in effect until an enemy attacks the selected player, or the player uses their ability.
Soldier Ant
Bite (attack): 3
Carry (inventory): 4
Exo (armor): +2
Ability: "Command" - Once per encounter, use this ability to grant an automatic success on a party member's next attack.
Flying Ant
Bite (attack): 1
Carry (inventory): 3
Exo (armor): -1
Ability: "Fly" - Once per encounter, choose an attack target, then exit play for this round. This character cannot be attacked by a non-flying enemy until they return at the start of the next round, when the attack is executed (as long as the target is currently in play).
Weevil (in disguise)
Bite (attack): 1
Carry (inventory): 4
Exo (armor): +4
Ability: "Push" - Once per encounter, you can select an enemy to remove from play until the end of the round. This enemy cannot attack or be attacked.
All party members have 10 hit points (HP).
Party stats
Move: 4
Overworld
The GM prepares a map on a 20x20 grid, with multiple paths, each ending with a resource. This map is kept hidden the player. The player has their own map, which starts out blank. The GM draws new information on this map as the player uncovers it.
Each path on the map has the following information/stats:
- Sense threshold (the number the player must roll above to detect its existence)
- The shape and length of the path on the map.
- The "peril value" representing the number added to random encounter checks (1-3).
- The type of resource at the end of the path (food, item, etc. During our playthough, we only used food).
- The amount/value of the resource at the end of the path (food: 1-3)
Paths don't all have to start from the origin point of the party. Some can begin in the middle of another paths, but the party can only discover a path if they are within sensing range of the beginning (how near is that? Um, we didn't figure that out).
Overworld turn sequence
- Sense check: Player rolls 1d10. This value is compared against the "sense threshold" of each path which is within sensing range of the party. All paths whose sense threshold is equal to or below the value of the roll is "discovered" by the player. For each path whose sensing threshold is below the value of the roll, the player rolls another 1d10. The higher the roll result, the more information is revealed about it (1-3 no info, 4-7 some info, 9-10 all info). The exact information revealed is up to the GMs discretion. Paths which are revealed as a result of the initial roll being equal to the sensing threshold are discovered but no extra roll is made and no information is revealed.
- Move: Player chooses a path and advances along it equal to the number of spaces of the party's "move" stat.
- Random encounter check: The GM rolls 1d10. The "peril value" of the current path is added to the roll. The value is checked against an encounter table. This table (which, oops, we didn't create) would have more dangerous encounters the larger the number is, while the low range of numbers (say 1-4) would have no encounter at all. Sense points
During the episode, we discussed letting the player "bank" sense points. For example, a player rolls a 9 on a sense check, but only chooses to use 6 and save the other 3. The GM then treats it as if the player rolled of 6, and the player now has 3 points to add as a modifier to future rolls.
Enemy Encounters
At the start of each round of battle, the player and the GM roll 1d10 for initiative. The higher roll goes first.
Each character has one action per round. Initiative passes between the player and the GM and the round is over when all characters and enemies have taken an action.
Actions
Attack: This is an opposed roll. The attacking character rolls 1d10. The defending character rolls 1d10, plus its Exo modifier. In the case of a successful attack, the defending character loses HP equal to attacker's attack stat. If the roll (including modifiers) is a tie, both players roll again with no modifiers to determine the result.
Ability: The character may use their ability instead of attacking.
After the player's party defeats certain opponents, its body can be converted into resources, which use up the "carry" stats of various party members, distributed as the player sees fit.
Obtaining resources
Once the party reaches the end of a path, the GM rolls 1d10 (in secret) to determine the state of the resources in this area. We develop a table for this during the episode, but it might go something like:
1 - 2: All resources are immediately available to collect.
3 - 5: Resources are trapped, players must attack or dismantle a barrier of some kind. The Exo value of the barrier is equal to this roll and the barrier's HP value is equal to a second 1d10 roll by the GM.
6 - 9: Resources are hidden, with this value being the threshold value the player must roll above in order to discover them one by one.
10: Resources are completely inaccessible.
If resources are trapped or hidden, the player can roll 1d10 to find them or attack the barrier to release them. After each attempt, an encounter check is made, so players will have to make calculated risks.
Once the player collects all resources, or declines further attempts to collect them, the party returns to the home colony, unloads thier resources, heals all their HP, and starts again on a new path.
Once the player brings 30 pieces of food (or some other metric of resources) back to the colony, the colony is saved! ...OR SO IT SEEMS!!
The Big Twist!
This is a JRPG-inspired game, so now it's time to turn the tables, expand the world to a preposterous scale, and raise the stakes as high (or higher) than makes any sense.
What the story twist is will be determined using a die roll from the GM.
1 - 3: An Evil Weevil Infiltration
It turns out the weevil in your party isn't the only "ant imposter" in your colony! Via a tearful confession, your weevil friend reveals that they have had a change of heart and must tell you the truth... your queen, and much of the high guard who protects the colony, have been replaced by EVIL WEEVILS in disguise! No wonder resources have been limited: The weevils have been stealing them! It's now up to you and your party to stop the them and win back your homeland!
4 - 6: Nearby Colony Has Incredibly Advanced Technology
A huge rumble shakes the ground. Suddenly, a fleet of dragonflies descends at the edge of the colony, dispensing super-soldier ants from a neighboring colony, who have somehow obtained unimaginably powerful technology. No wonder resources have been limited: the neighboring colony has developed... industry, evaporating water reserves and contaminating local food supplies! It's now up to you and your party to shut down their terrible war machine and bring peace back to the colony!
7 - 9: The Truman Show Ending
Wait, what's that? A violent shake disrupts the ground below, the walls around, and the ceilings above you! It's as if the entire colony has been knocked around and then dropped from a great height. Well, that's exactly what happened! It turns out, you've all been living in a large, artificial ant farm! No wonder resources have been limited: the human who is supposed to feed and take take of you has neglected their duties. It's now up to you and your party to rescue the members of your colony from this disaster, and find a way to break free of the plastic shell that represents your entire reality!
10: Roll again!
120
Developer/Publisher RelationsInterview
2019.03.12
This week, August Brown (senior producer for Kongregate Publishing) enters the clubhouse to reveal the secrets of successful developer/publisher relationships!
Your nice hosts learn what publishers expect from a pitch, how forming a relationship with a publisher isn't always strictly business, and that publishers also think you're not charging enough money for your game.
Developer/Publisher Relations
ProductionKongregate PublishingSelf-publish on KartridgeMartha mentioned the Sokpop Collective.August brought up The Flash Games Postmortem that his colleague John Cooney pre…August BrownGuestAugust is a Senior Producer at Armor Games Studios. Formerly a Senior Producer for Kongregate Publishing.
External link
115
"Steal this episode."Roundtable
2019.02.06
Your Nice Hosts are back from PodCon 2 and fresh off the Global Game Jam where Martha wrote a game for the first time! We talk all about that experience as well as celebrate Public Domain Day for the first time in 20 years. Mark guides us through the history of copyright, Stephen jams in 3D and Martha is a totally normal McElroy Fan (tmtmtmtm)
Photo by GLITCH
Living Computer MuseumGlobal Game Jam games from Minnesota
Writing for Games
0:15:15
Martha MegarryNarrativeOne Polar Night
Intellectual Property and the Public Domain
0:37:57
Mark LaCroixNewsProductionPublic Domain Day 2019 (Duke University Website)“Happy Birthday” is public domain, former owner Warner/Chapell to pay $14 - Joe Mullin, Ars TechnicaCopyright vs Trademark vs Patent - United States Patent and Trademark OfficeAll by Myself - Irving Berlin, Aileen StanleySherlock Holmes in the 22nd CenturySherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century theme songThe Patent on Loading Screen Minigames is About To Expire - Luke Plunkett, KotakuOracle vs Google trial Java runtime
141
Nostalgia and the Lo-fi AestheticInterview
2019.07.30
Wishlist/purchase Anodyne 2: Return to Dust on:
Steam | Itch.io | Kartridge | GoG
This week, your nice hosts are joined by Marina Kittaka, artist and co-developer on the upcoming Anodyne 2: Return to Dust.
Marina made the 30-foot journey from her desk to the clubhouse in order to discuss Anodyne's theme of nostalgia, the "personal" authenticity of the game's lo-fi PS1-era aesthetics, jumping in to her first 3D project, leveraging your limitations, and more!
Nostalgia and the Lo-fi Aesthetic
ArtWishlist/purchase Anodyne 2: Return to Dust on:
Steam | Itch.io | Kartridge | GoG
Sean Han Tani (@sean_HTCH) is Marina's development partner. His solo game All Our Asias was a inspiration for their current collaboration.
Analgesic Productions' previous titles:
- Anodyne
- Even the Ocean
Marina KittakaGuestMarina Kittaka is co-developer of Anodyne and upcomign Anodyne 2: Return to Dust. As well as games such as Even the Ocean, how do you Do It, and Secrets Agent. She works in illustration and comics.
External link
marinakittaka.comMarina on twitter @even_kei
100
"100 times nice." 100th Episode SpecialSpecial
2018.08.22
In this episode, your nice hosts celebrate 100 episodes of Nice Games! We reminisce a bit on how the podcast has been going and go behind the scenes on what it takes to release one of the episodes.
Thanks for listening to us 100 times!
100th Episode Special
0:00:27
Meta
Our evil counterparts, Evil Games Club, have released two episodes so far...
Evil Games Club!
and this one
Evil Games Club 2!
Martha in the recording studio aka "Clubhouse"
Stephen
The Microphones we use to record.The audio interface (hardware) we use to record
94
"Somebody's first episode."Roundtable
2018.07.10
You can wishlist Widget Satchel and Claw Breaker on Steam right now! You can also add Widget Satchel and Claw Breaker to your itch.io collection!
This week, Martha admits to piracy, Stephen tells Nintendo to just stop making GameCube controllers already, and Mark tells his favorite video game story which is about buttons because Mark is boring.
Amazing Mario 3 Speedrun Is Full Of Setbacks And Sportsmanship - Heather Alexandra, Kotaku
Language of Games
0:11:31
Martha MegarryGame DesignWhen snarky players still want to give info against the GM’s wishes, you get th… - @SeiWot, TwitterStop, Drop, and Heal: The history of regenerating health” - Jeff Dunn, GamesRadarAn article from the developers of Mirror’s Edge Catalyst on the new Runner’s Vi… - EAThe Sony PlayStation’s buttons get explained by their designer - John Brownlee, Geek.comThe Japanese Side of the PlayStation Button Confusion - Richard Eisenbeis, KotakuThe passion of the checkpoint: Why gaming's most frustrating failure is so hard… - Ben Kuchera, Polygon
We played the convention-defying game OneShot on our very first Nice Plays episode.
Nice Plays: OneShot (2016)Rami Ismail documented his mother’s playing through new games on Twitter. - @tha_rami, Twitter
Sequels
1:07:25
Mark LaCroixMisc.The MIT Dropouts Who Created Ms. Pac-Man: A 35th-Anniversary Oral History - Benj Edwards , Fast CompanyTV Tropes has a list of spiritual successors in video games. - TV Tropes
It's time once again to bring you the Nicest Games of 2019! Or rather, the nicest games that we played in 2019. We also talk about our game dev resolutions and the games we are excited for in 2020.
We also have some programming news! We are going on hiatus until February 2020 to work on a revamp of our website and logo. We will be bringing you some of the nicest episodes from the past year or so to tide you over until then. Happy new decade, everyone!
Local Releases (2019)
0:02:26
NewsWidget SatchelTreasure StackFuseTactics VNewt One on SwitchAnodyne 2Extreme Mining
Nicest (2019)
0:08:05
Mark LaCroixMartha MegarryStephen McGregorNicestMartha’s Nicest:
Destiny 2Read Only Memories
We talked about Martha’s honorable mention in episode 152.
"Casper the Not-So-Friendly Goose."Mark’s Nicest:
ControlLink’s AwakeningLots of cool pictures of Control and other games in Dead End ThrillsControl taught me to love the ugliest architecture - PolygonStephen’s Nicest:
Stephen technically doesn’t have any this year!
Most Anticipated (for 2020)
0:25:39
Mark LaCroixMartha MegarryStephen McGregorNicestMartha’s:
OobletsAnimal CrossingSkateBIRDOllie Oop (a MN Local!)Mark’s:
Playstation 5Project Scarlett (Xbox)12 MinutesSpiritfarerStephen’s:
Nioh 2The Last of Us Part 2SpiritfarerFingeance
Gamedev Resolutions (for 2020)
0:36:07
Mark LaCroixMartha MegarryStephen McGregorNicest
Evil Games Club is back! Dale, Adia, and Dylan are here to correct the score and give their take on past Nice Games Club topics, including "Writing For Games," "Reravel," and "Video Game Nostalgia." They’re at it again—being evil, that is!
- Felix Drags Dale Through The Marvel Universe (a podcast)
- Dylan thwarted Dale's attempts at taking publicity photos.
Writing for Games
0:10:00
Adia AldersonGame DesignNarrativeThe Interactive Fiction CompetitionNaNoRenO on ItchThe Outer Worlds has some unusual (and awesome) character-building options - Patricia Hernandez, PolygonThe Outer Worlds Will Rattle Your Idea Of A Perfect Planet - Gita Jackson, KotakuBreaking Bongo - RadiolabMGSV - Quiet/Ocelot model swap - Rain scene - Tactical Modding Operations, YouTubeHeaven's Vault
Reravel
0:35:40
Dale LaCroixIRLTabletop
Early iterations of this game started on a recent Nice Games Jam!
Reravel: A Backwards Storytelling GameThe YawhgMicroscopeTracery, a generative tool by Galaxy Kate.
Video Game Nostalgia
1:01:15
Dylan SkerbitzGamingSimCity - WikipediaCap'n Crunch's Crunching Adventure - Giant BombSpot: The Video Game (featuring the 7Up mascot of the time, Spot) - WikipediaGlider (originally for classic Apple computers) - WikipediaSkiFree - Giant BombRuneScape - Giant BombCommander Keen - Giant BombAldo's Adventures gameplay (PC Game, 1987) - Squakenet, YouTubeJill of the Jungle - WikipediaJazz Jackrabbit - WikipediaThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Giant BombHalo: Reach Launches On PC, Becomes Third Most Played Game On Steam - EThan Gach, KotakuGolden Sun - Giant BombRed Vs. Blue - Rooster Teeth
This week on the show, your nice hosts take two very different in-depth approaches to a topic that pops up a lot on the show: the ever-challenging calendar math!
- We spoke with Jajeev on a recent episode about UI design.
User Interfaces * We recently spoke with Martha's dad about board game design and his work writing cross-compilers for 8-bit computers.
Board Game Design
Calendar Math (Production Schedules)
0:07:41
Mark LaCroixProduction
Our guest Eric Johnson went in-depth on Agile development in a recent episode.
Agile DevelopmentMark alluded to a pattern that is found in almost everything in nature, but is most frequently studied in language. It's called Zipf's Law, and here's a video from Vsauce on YouTube about it.
Calendar Math (Real Time in Games)
0:43:23
Martha MegarryGame DesignIRLDate and Time Odds, Ends and Oddities - Maggie Pint, JavaScriptMNSamoa and Tokelau skip a day for dateline change - BBC
Widget Satchel is out! Go buy it on Steam, Itch or Switch! Your Nice Hosts celebrate by talking all about Widget Satchel-related topics, like Metroidvania level design, world building in platformers, and (of course) ferrets!
- Widget Satchel is out! Buy it on PC and Switch here:
- Widget Satchel on Steam
- Widget Satchel on Itch
- Widget Satchel on the Nintendo E-shop
- Widget Satchel has ferrets, unlike another recent Switch game
- Other meta notes:
- Protospiel/Minispiel, table top prototyping events
Metroidvania Level Design
0:10:29
Stephen McGregorGame DesignGame Maker’s Tool Kit Boss Keys
Ferrets
0:24:26
Martha MegarryMisc.Black-footed Ferret - WikipediaBlack-footed Ferret - IUCN Red ListWidget Satchel listed on Genuine Mustelids
World Building in Platformers
0:40:38
Mark LaCroixNarrativeBraid on SteamHollow KnightThomas Was Alone on Steam
This week, our boyfriend Dylan gave your nice hosts a prompt to create "a narrative game where the story is told backwards." This one is a slow burn, but it really cooks by the end!
With Stephen still away, Dale LaCroix (she of Evil Games Club and your nice social media manager) re-enters in the clubhouse to help create this week's game.
But Dale didn't just join your nice hosts for this week's jam. She also took the resulting game and made improvements once the recording stopped! Not only that, but she's going to keep working on it. It will be at Glitch's December Play/Test event if you want to play the latest version!
Our original rules are presented below, and Dale's "first revised edition" is presented below that...
Prompt Make "a narrative game where the story is told backwards."
Game type Tabletop game
Player count 2-4
Materials
END CARDS: 7 possible endings to your story
SETTING CARDS: Places the story could take place
PLOT CARDS: Events that might take place in your story
MAIN DECK: This is made up of several different types of cards:
Character Cards - Describes the occupation or description of people who will be in your story
Noun Cards - Describes items that will be in your story
Editor Notes - Special instructions from your editor, this might include directions such as this next scene takes place in a different setting, or that someone in your story is not who you think they are.
Setup Deal the following: One ‘Setting’ card. Deal face up and place it on top of the Setting deck. * Three 'Main Deck' Cards. Deal face up. These will be the Goal Cards; if there are any Editor Note cards, place these at the bottom of the main deck and re-deal so that there are three total Main Deck cards representing the Goal Cards. * One ‘The End’ card. Deal face up and place this on top of the Setting deck. * Four ‘Plot’ Cards.* Deal face down. One will be revealed each round during rounds 2-5.
Rules ORIGINAL RulesSTEP ONE: Start with the END Scenario
We randomly selected by rolling a six-sided die, for the six END SCENARIOS:
- Death
- Getting off a plane
- A big hug / reunion
- The end of a wedding
- Getting on a plane
- Falling off a cliff Also pick a character card from the deck - draw and discard until you get one - or roll a 20 sided die and table in step 2
STEP TWO: Each Player picks a “card” and adds a detail about the card information that they picked.
The FIRST ROUND will be picked from a separate pile of END SCENARIO DETAILS:
- Wine stain
- Explosion
- Sight bruise to the upper arm
- Knife
- Spilled Milk
- Bloody nose
- Broken Sunglasses
- Frostbite
- Somebody is wearing sweatpants
- An orange To mimic a card draw this use the following table:
(Roll a 6-sided die, then a 20-sided die)
- A participant
- Shopkeeper
- Cleric
- Magician
- Bride
- Captain
- Peasant/Passenger/Guest
- Bartender
- Detective
- Chef
- Child
- (for 11-20, duplicate 1-10)
- A setting
- Forest
- Mall/ Market
- Tavern
- School
- Meadow
- Ship
- Bridge
- Office
- Home
- Castle
- (for 11-20, duplicate 1-10)
- An action or event
- Robbery
- Fight
- Crash
- Bees!
- Heart Attack
- Lunchtime
- Childish Insult
- Ankle Sprain
- Caught in Traffic
- Overslept or Fall Asleep
- (for 11-20, duplicate 1-10)
- An item
- Pen
- Cable
- Knife
- Oven
- Communication Device (Letter, Phone)
- Mushroom
- Boot
- Cat
- Book
- Sock
- Flute
- Arrow
- (for 13 - 20, more cats, I guess?)
- ROLL AGAIN
- A participant (use list from 1) STEP THREE: Together the group makes up a story about how each item goes together in this scene to lead up to the established story
STEP FOUR: Repeat for each previous “scene”. Each Scene will take place at some earlier point in time, it may be minutes, hours, days or months earlier. You decide what fits your story best.
STEP FIVE: The fifth round is your inciting incident, the event that kicked off your story.
SCORING: We haven’t figured this out, we discussed awarding points based on if random events happened during the story, such as:
Scoring Events:
- Bloody Nose
- Weather Event
- Somebody Tripped
- Somebody got dumped
- Somebody cries
- The Devil shows up
- Someone left to go to the bathroom
- There was kissing Or awarding points with a judge or game master….
UPDATED Rules by Dale"Re-ravel: A backwards storytelling game" (working title)
Introduction Have you ever heard the phrase, a camel is a horse designed by a committee? It’s a proverb about the faults of having too many designers in a room, causing a final poor design. The goal to this game is to write a story with your friends, but to protect against the story trailing off, like so many comedy sketches, your editor came up with the perfect ending, start with the ending! And it turns out there are only so many endings in human playbook.
Each Game is made out of 5 Rounds or Acts, each moving backward in time.
Three cards from the main deck are selected as goal cards. These can be used in your story at any time. Using each card is worth 1 million points for the team. If an editor note card selected as a goal card, this should be discarded to the bottom of the main deck.
The last round, representing the first part of your story, will be the inciting incident.
Goal Create a coherent story while using each of the three elements from the goal cards with your writing committee
Round 1: The End Round Each Player draws a card. For this round only, if you get a Editor’s note, redraw
One at a time. each player reveals their card, and creates one detail or fact about the item or character that they drew, and places the card near the ‘End Card.’ This fact should not relate to anything already placed on the board. The order of players does not matter
Examples:
- Character Card - the Cleric - the cleric has a fancy hat
- Item Card - Wine Stain - the wine stain is on somebody’s white shirt
- Item Card - An Orange - The orange is part of basket of fake fruit
Together the players craft a scene in which all the elements are used, and results in the ending within the setting. At any time the players may pull in the elements on the goal cards
Rounds 2-4: The Middle Rounds
- Each Player draws a card.
- Each player reveals their card
- Adds a detail about their card (as in round one) unless it is a ‘Editor’s Note’ Card
- Places the card near the next face down Plot Card
- If a Editor’s Note Card is drawn, follow the directions on the card.
- When all the elements of the story, the Plot Card is then revealed. The players then craft the scene. They must use all the elements that were revealed this round. They may use any elements that were revealed in the previous round (i.e. later in the story). They may use any of the elements from the goal cards at any time. The scene should connect and make story-scene with the other scenes that have been crafted.
Round 5: The Final Round, i.e. the beginning of the Story
- Each Player draws a card.
- Each player reveals their card
- Adds a detail about their card (as in round one) unless it is a ‘Editor’s Note’ Card
- Places the card near the next face down Plot Card
- If a Editor’s Note Card is drawn, follow the directions on the card - Unless it is a Epilogue card or other card that places this out of order - please redraw
- When all the elements of the story, the Plot Card is then revealed. The players craft the first scene. They must use all the elements that were revealed this round. They may use any elements that were revealed in the previous round (ie later in the story). They may use any elements of the goal cards at any time. The scene should connect and make story-scene with the other scenes that have been crafted AND this should somehow start the story (the inciting incident) - How does this plot point kick off the rest of the story.
END of GAME:Optional: Retell the story in the forwards direction
Award your Committee the following points:
- 1 million points for each goal element used in the story
- 100 points if your story made any sense.
- 500 bonus points if you had a really difficult element you had to fit into your story.
Nice Games Club Social Media Manager (and Evil Games Co-host) Dale LaCroix joins us to discuss Localization and Navigation, both in games and IRL. Is Google Translate enough for your game? Will your awesome pun work in Spanish? What do Ikea and airports have to do with level design? Stick around past the outro for more Dale Travel Tips!
Localization
0:18:42
Mark LaCroixAccessibilityProductionProgrammingGamedev Polyglot Google Spreadsheet
Navigation
1:00:52
Dale LaCroixIRLUI / UXWant To Learn About Game Design? Go To Ikea - Jamin Warren, ReadwriteIKEA, and the Logic of Video Game Design - Daniel Golding, Kotaku
Dale’s Additional Travel Tips
1:23:55
Dale LaCroixIRLMetaGoogle MapsDrury Hotels
With Mark still away, Ellen returns to in the clubhouse for another episode! This week, she invited her husband, strategy consultant / Agile coach / Scrum Master Eric Johnson, to discuss Agile Development and iterative workflows.
Agile Development
ProductionWhy people still believe in the Waterfall model - Tarmo ToikkanenAn Agile Approach to Launching the Nordstrom Sunglass Application - Nicoli Sinclair, Temple UniversityEric JohnsonGuestEric Johnson is an Agile coach and Advanced Certified Scrum Master (A-CSM). He also makes delicious homemade sauerkraut. You can find him on LinkedIn here.
Mark is away this week, so Ellen Burns-Johnson joins us once again as a guest host! We get philosophical and reflective in this episode, talking about finding "fidelity" and taking in constructive criticism. What can you make abstract in your game and what needs to be realistic? How do you take negative feedback with grace? Is it the players who are wrong, or are you just not asking the right questions?
- Ellen Burns-Johnson on Twitter
- Widget Satchel announced!
Finding Fidelity
0:03:45
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignIRLValve Knuckles controllersFoundry10 Portal 2 curriculum
Taking Feedback
0:26:06
Stephen McGregorIRLThe Invisible Gorilla ExperimentHiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenocerus (NSFW) - Flight of the Conchords, YouTube
It's story time this week in the clubhouse. Featuring updates on projects from Martha, endless family game fights with Stephen, and Mark's shady past as a rhythm game DJ (he needed the money, but there was no money).
- "Unpacking" is planned for a late 2020 release.
Multi-Generational Gaming
0:04:49
Martha MegarryGamingIRLYoshi’s Crafted World dev comments on the game’s difficulty - @NE_Brian, Nintendo EverythingSingle-player Canfield Solitaire has "a very low probability of winning" - Wikipedia
Noble Failures
0:32:44
Mark LaCroixHardwareI, Robot (arcade game) - WikipediaPreservationists Are Racing to Save Ouya's Games Before They Disappear - Nicole Carpenter, ViceHere's a video of the RBN Megamix project for Rock Band Network that Mark worked on and "DJ'ed." If you have Rock Band 4, you can still download it here for Xbox One, although it's no longer free (sadly, Mark doesn't get royalties for it).
"HONK!" It's time for another Nice Games Bulletin! We talk about recent releases, game industry news...and also Star Trek news because we can't help it.
Bulletin topic (Recent releases)
Timecode 0:05:51
Untitled Goose Game Review - The Joys Of Goosing Around - Kimberly Wallace, Game InformerThe Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening is the perfect Zelda for younger fans - Russ Frushtick, PolygonShould Your Boyfriend Play Legend of Zelda: Link’s Untitled Goose Game? - Girlfriend Reviews, YouTubeHow Gears of War changed to become Xbox Game Pass’ biggest launch - Owen S. Good, PolygonWhat the Golf?Return of the Obra Dinn docks on consoles this month - Owen S. Good, PolygonJohn Wick HexRing Fit AdventureLuigi's Mansion 3Bulletin topic (News) Star Trek News
Timecode 0:29:24
Star Trek News
Star Trek: Picard NYCC Trailer - CBS All Access, YouTubeStar Trek: Discovery - Season 3 NYCC Teaser Trailer - CBS All Access, YouTubeStar Trek: Short Treks Q&A Trailer - CBS All Access (Video) - CBS All Access, YouTubeBulletin topic (News) Video Game News
Timecode 0:34:59
Video Game News
Union News
Monument Valley developer Ustwo threatened with legal action over union busting - Chris Kerr, Game DeveloperKickstarter Union (Twitter)Troy Baker Says He Didn’t Voice Rhys In Borderlands 3 Because "They Wouldn’t Go… - Cecilia D’Anastasio, KotakuOther News
Difficulty is about trust and communication, not "hard" vs. "easy" - Jennifer Scheurle, PolygonRocket League is Replacing Loot Boxes With "Blueprints" - Luke Plunkett, Kotaku
Your nice hosts catch up on all the game releases that gamedev Twitter was going on about during the last few weeks. We then talk about how it all comes together, and revisit an old topic, now that nearly three years have passed and so much has changed.
- The latest game trailer to submit to the #StephenTest is "Reginald Does His Thang" by Gibrian Foltz. Available now on Steam and Itch!
- Stephen is working on a new game, the just announced Rhythm Rumble!
- Apple Arcade: Game Developers Still Don’t Have Answers They Need - Nate Swanner, Dice
- Developers Cash In By Selling Their Switch Games For Pennies - Stephen J. Bronner, Kotaku
Holistic Game Design
0:20:11
Mark LaCroixGame DesignProduction
Work/Life Balance
0:49:10
Stephen McGregorIRL
It's our 150th episode! To celebrate we finally have Martha's dad David R. Megarry on the show to talk about designing board games and specifically designing the fantasy adventure board game Dungeon! We get to hear the inspiration behind some of the now iconic game mechanics, unexpected lessons he learned along the way and why community is so important to a game designer. We even hear some stories Martha didn't know before!
Board Game Design
Game DesignTabletopSecrets of Blackmoor documentaryDungeon!It's sold many places including Powell’s bookstore in Portland, OR.
On the Board Game Geek page for Dungeon! you can see pictures of many different editions of the game- including different iterations of the board, cards and player pieces.
A historically accurate version of the game made a cameo on an episode of Stranger Things! [ADD PHOTO HERE]
PentantastarDavid R. MegarryGuestDave created the game Dungeon! and was part of the creation of Dungeons and Dragons.
External link
FacebookDungeon Youtube channel
It's another Nice Games Jam! This time, our boyfriend Dylan sent in a particularly interesting challenge, asking your nice hosts to design a game where the player's load-out impacts the game's controls.
After an aborted attempt to make it into a game consisting of physical props, we came up with a very strange concept for a video game where you equip and battle a bunch of different controllers as if they were Pokémon or something!
Prompt Design a game where the player's load-out impacts the game's controls.
Game type Paper prototype
Player count 2-4
Materials
A controller of your choosing
Pieces to "slot" to your controller's buttons
Setup "Buttons and Triggers and Sticks, Oh My!" (Prototype)
In this game, you control a "battlebot" vehicle that you configure using equipment and weapons that are auctioned off between players before the match. The twist is that your bot is a vehicle shaped like the actual controller you play the game with, and its capabilities are determined by the physical configuration of the input elements. Want a different bot, you gotta plug in a different controller!
Controllers
Each controller, from a knock-off Xbox 360 controller to a Nintendo Switch Joy-Con, has a list of "inventory slots" which line up with the physical controller's buttons and input elements. Items placed in these slots are "attached" to the in-game representation of the controller.
Each controller also has general properties such as hull strength and overall weight, and controllers with special properties like rumble, motion controls, or expansion ports would have additional in-game potential. Additionally, wired controllers would have different properties than wireless controllers, etc.
Equipment
Each piece of equipment has the following characteristics:
- Type
- Movement
- Engines
- Ranged weapons
- Melee weapons
- Traps/environment
- Shields
- Bonus/special items
- Stats: depends on type. Engines would have speed/power stats and weapons would have damage stats, for example.
- Input compatibility: Which set of buttons, sticks, and/or triggers can this equipment be attached to? For example, the Z button on a Saturn controller is a face button, but it's a trigger on a Nintendo 64 controller. A machine gun might be placed on a trigger, or it could be placed on an analog stick and work as a turret! Maybe certain items can only be placed on controllers that have a "Select" button, etc.
Rules Auction
Players configure their loudouts from stratch before every match, at the same time, using an auction system. Pieces of equipment comes up for auction one-by-one.
First, players are given vague information about the next item up for bid, and may pre-bid for it, gambling that it will be something useful to them.
If no player pre-bids for the item, it is fully revealed and players bid normally for it. Certain items will be incompatible for certain controllers, but a player may wish to bid on it anyway to deny it to another player (maybe they can then "melt down" the unwanted piece of equipment for some other resource).
This process continues either until all players are out of resources, or all the items (some subset of the total items in the game) have been put up for auction.
Resources could be limited, meaning that high-bidding contests would result in weaker players and more tactical, less chaotic matches (since all equipment would be expensive). Alternately, resources could be plentiful, providing players with lots of options, and any left over resources could be used to power and/or upgrade equipment, providing some motivation not to overspend for equipment.
Gameplay
Battles would be essentially multiplayer deathmatchs, where each player operates the equipment they've equipped to thier vehicle by using the input element they've assigned it to.
Battles would be heavily focused on targeting other players various equipment, in order to disable or destroy them.
Play could work using a 3rd person "Mario Kart/Twisted Metal battle mode" style of skill-based play, or perhaps it could use a Fallout VATS style targeting system where players would need to assign targets in real-time but would only need to hit the other player (letting an RNG system determine how successful the hit was)
The game might include other genre staples like item pickups (energy, ammo, etc).
Campaign/Progression?
Outside of regular matches, perhaps players could run campaigns where the results of each match would provide winnings that they can later use to upgrade their vehicle or purchase new equipment.
This week Martha just got back from the XOXO Festival and Conference in Portland! She gives a run down of all the cool video game related content and what it was like to be there. Then Stephen talks all about Randomization and how you can use it to enhance or detract from your game. Stephen manipulates the RNG, Mark doesn’t understand loot color coding, and Martha just wants to sort things.
XOXO Festival
0:19:53
Martha MegarryEventsXOXO websitePIG (Portland Indie Game Squad)Rose City GamesSmallbü animationLater AlligatorBrian David Gilbert of Polygon’s “Unraveled” video series about ridiculous vide…Here are the instructions and character sheets for calculating your pet’s HPEmma Kinema of Game Workers Unite
Hundred Rabbits
Randomization
0:52:05
Stephen McGregorGame Design
Procedural generation episode
"Mutual butt-kicking."
Loot episode
"There's loot in your DNA!"“If Your Office was an RPG” - Rooster Teeth
It's still Wednesday in the clubhouse, which means an extra-long meta section where your nice hosts discuss showing off games at the recent 2DCon convention, Martha maturing both as a person and a culture, and what it feels like to have your words translated into Japanese.
Oh, and we talk about designing rumble for your game, and close out the show with a great discussion about making games designed for unique spaces, including perhaps a preview of a future Nice Games Jam.
- Widget Satchel in being translated into Japanese! Neat!
- Adobe's page about Source Han Serif, one of their open-source CJK fonts.
- Source Han Sans on GitHub!
- Martha and Mark both missed TypeCon!
Rumble
0:21:27
Mark LaCroixHardwareSony's first rumble controller was the PlayStation Dual Analog Controller (in J… - WikipediaNintendo's HD Rumble will be the best unused Switch feature of 2017 - Sean Buckley, EngadgetRead about the lawsuit which was the likely cause of the lack of rumble in the … - Wikipedia
Making Games for Spaces
0:47:04
Martha MegarryEventsPhysical GamesRead about the Riddle Mia This installation.
Our previous episode on Game Instalations.
"Ugly and hard to use."
Our previous episode on Physical Games.
"We should go outside!"
Our previous episode on Escape Rooms (with Art Allen)
Puzzle/Escape Rooms"Seattle Immersive’s ‘Romeo & Juliet’ has audiences on their feet" - Misha Berson, The Seattle Times
It's Nice Games Bulletin time! We bring you all the news from the video game world leaving no stone unturned. We’ve got news in all varieties- Nice News, Medium News, Bad News and Dad News! So much news! Join your Nice Hosts as we sort it all out.
Photo credit: Foam Sword Games- Knights and Bikes promo screenshot
Bulletin topic (Recent releases)Games:
- Knights and Bikes
- Man of Median
- Control
- Remnant: From the Ashes
- Astral Chain
- Telling Lies
- Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey
- Monster Hunter World Iceborne
- NBA 2K20
- Gears of War 5
- Anodyne 2
- Local game! Listen to our interview with Marina Kittika here to learn all about how she created the game’s lo-fi aesthetic
Bulletin topic (News)
Timecode 0:16:10
PAX stuff is happening/has happened!
Friend of the show Beth Korth was on a panel at PAX DEV about diversity consulting but since there doesn’t seem to be a way to watch it yet check out our interview with her about Narrative Design!
Bulletin topic (News) Not Nice News :(
Timecode 0:17:29
Not Nice News :(
Game Informer layoffsPeople you should totally hire because they are amazing:
Matt Bertz Elise Favis Javy GwaltnyKyle Hilliard Imran KhanJeff MarchiafavaSuriel VazquezContent Warning: sexual assault and abuse- if you don’t want to hear discussion about these topics please skip from [19:59] to [23:50]
New allegations of sexual assault surface against established game devs - Kris Graft, Game DeveloperContent Warning: transphobia, homophobia, sexism - if you don’t want to hear discussion about these topics skip from [23:50] to [28:41]
Ion Fury Developer Backtracks, Says It Won’t Remove Gay Joke Because Of ‘Censor… - Nathan Grayson, KotakuBulletin topic (News) Medium News :/
Medium News :/
“Two People Who Didn’t Work At Telltale Games Say They’re Bringing Back Telltal… - Jason Schreier, KotakuBulletin topic (News) Nice News Now :)
Timecode 0:30:01
Nice News Now :)
“A Remaster Of Disney’s Classic Lion King and Aladdin Games Is Coming In Fall” - Mike Fahey, Kotaku“Dungeons & Deceptions: The First D&D Players Push Back On The Legend Of Gary G… - Cecilia D’Anastasio, Kotaku“Hey, remember When Star Trek Did Galaxy’s Edge, 20 Years Before Star Wars?” - James Whitbrook, IO9GDC Summit talk submissions are open August 29-September 30, 2019. Submit your …“Play retro 8-bit sports in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020” - Samit Sarkar, Polygon
This week your nice hosts are joined in the clubhouse by visual artist and games UI designer Jajeev Nithiananda. He talks the good and bad of game UI, working with demanding clients and argumentative co-workers, and explains how function and form must work together to create a good experience for the player.
User Interfaces
ArtUI / UXPGA TOUR Golf Shootout on Google Play and iOS App Store.
UI Breakdown: Metroid Prime - SYH, MediumThe Long, Desperate Search To Understand Poise In 'Dark Souls 3 - Patrick Klepek, ViceLessons Learned Creating UI for The Division - Christian Savoie, GDCJajeev NithianandaGuestJajeev is a UI Designer for PIXELakes, previously a UI Designer for Concrete Software.
External link
ArtStationInstagram
This week your Nice Hosts break open Power Fantasies and Indie Game Trailers and analyze what makes them work! Can boredom be a game mechanic? Is the age old storytelling rule "show don't tell" actually bad advice for indie game trailers? Can a power fantasy game really ever have too many explosions??
Picture credit Gearbox Software
- If you have a trailer for your game and want to get some feedback on it send us a link on Twitter to see if it gets the "Stephen Would Actually Watch This" Seal of Approval!
- Game Devs of Color Expo Talks
- Friends of the show gave talks! Aubrey Scott talks at 49:57 and Evva Kraikul is on a panel at 4:07:54.
- Swimsanity (If your team includes two brothers it has to be sea themed)
- Worker Bee is publishing Widget Satchel in Japan!
- The Ooblets team is amazing and you should plan on buying the game on the Epic …
- (Ooblets was going to be published by Double Fine until Double Fine was bought …
Power Fantasies
0:18:08
Stephen McGregorGame DesignGamingMonster Den was a game store/event space in Minneapolis where Martha first played Halo- there is a different game store there now called Dreamers Vault Games
Game Trailers
0:43:27
Mark LaCroixMarketingWidget Satchel Trailer
Ellen is back to help out with a Nice Games Jam! Our prompt: create a JRPG-inspired game in under an hour. But like any good JRPG, it took twice as long to complete as expected...
Ellen's handwritten notes are worth a look! (PDF)
And here's the Wikipedia page for Weevil, which Ellen wanted you to see.
Prompt What would the Nice Games Club take on a JRPG be? Do that
Game type Paper prototype
Player count 2
Setup A two-person pen-and-paper RPG. One player portrays the party of ants, and the other player controls all enemies and narrates the story as the GM.
The Story
Your queen is dying, and for unknown reasons (foreshadowing!) your colony is running out of resources. You, a young worker ant, and your party of misfits must set out from your home to collect the extra food and supplies needed to save your colony, battling foes and overcoming challenges along the way!
Rules The Party
Worker Ant (Player protagonist)
Bite (attack): 2
Carry (inventory): 5
Exo (armor): +0
Ability: "Defend" - Once per encounter, secretly choose (and write down) a party member. The next attack against that character will automatically fail. This remains in effect until an enemy attacks the selected player, or the player uses their ability.
Soldier Ant
Bite (attack): 3
Carry (inventory): 4
Exo (armor): +2
Ability: "Command" - Once per encounter, use this ability to grant an automatic success on a party member's next attack.
Flying Ant
Bite (attack): 1
Carry (inventory): 3
Exo (armor): -1
Ability: "Fly" - Once per encounter, choose an attack target, then exit play for this round. This character cannot be attacked by a non-flying enemy until they return at the start of the next round, when the attack is executed (as long as the target is currently in play).
Weevil (in disguise)
Bite (attack): 1
Carry (inventory): 4
Exo (armor): +4
Ability: "Push" - Once per encounter, you can select an enemy to remove from play until the end of the round. This enemy cannot attack or be attacked.
All party members have 10 hit points (HP).
Party stats
Move: 4
Overworld
The GM prepares a map on a 20x20 grid, with multiple paths, each ending with a resource. This map is kept hidden the player. The player has their own map, which starts out blank. The GM draws new information on this map as the player uncovers it.
Each path on the map has the following information/stats:
- Sense threshold (the number the player must roll above to detect its existence)
- The shape and length of the path on the map.
- The "peril value" representing the number added to random encounter checks (1-3).
- The type of resource at the end of the path (food, item, etc. During our playthough, we only used food).
- The amount/value of the resource at the end of the path (food: 1-3)
Paths don't all have to start from the origin point of the party. Some can begin in the middle of another paths, but the party can only discover a path if they are within sensing range of the beginning (how near is that? Um, we didn't figure that out).
Overworld turn sequence
- Sense check: Player rolls 1d10. This value is compared against the "sense threshold" of each path which is within sensing range of the party. All paths whose sense threshold is equal to or below the value of the roll is "discovered" by the player. For each path whose sensing threshold is below the value of the roll, the player rolls another 1d10. The higher the roll result, the more information is revealed about it (1-3 no info, 4-7 some info, 9-10 all info). The exact information revealed is up to the GMs discretion. Paths which are revealed as a result of the initial roll being equal to the sensing threshold are discovered but no extra roll is made and no information is revealed.
- Move: Player chooses a path and advances along it equal to the number of spaces of the party's "move" stat.
- Random encounter check: The GM rolls 1d10. The "peril value" of the current path is added to the roll. The value is checked against an encounter table. This table (which, oops, we didn't create) would have more dangerous encounters the larger the number is, while the low range of numbers (say 1-4) would have no encounter at all. Sense points
During the episode, we discussed letting the player "bank" sense points. For example, a player rolls a 9 on a sense check, but only chooses to use 6 and save the other 3. The GM then treats it as if the player rolled of 6, and the player now has 3 points to add as a modifier to future rolls.
Enemy Encounters
At the start of each round of battle, the player and the GM roll 1d10 for initiative. The higher roll goes first.
Each character has one action per round. Initiative passes between the player and the GM and the round is over when all characters and enemies have taken an action.
Actions
Attack: This is an opposed roll. The attacking character rolls 1d10. The defending character rolls 1d10, plus its Exo modifier. In the case of a successful attack, the defending character loses HP equal to attacker's attack stat. If the roll (including modifiers) is a tie, both players roll again with no modifiers to determine the result.
Ability: The character may use their ability instead of attacking.
After the player's party defeats certain opponents, its body can be converted into resources, which use up the "carry" stats of various party members, distributed as the player sees fit.
Obtaining resources
Once the party reaches the end of a path, the GM rolls 1d10 (in secret) to determine the state of the resources in this area. We develop a table for this during the episode, but it might go something like:
1 - 2: All resources are immediately available to collect.
3 - 5: Resources are trapped, players must attack or dismantle a barrier of some kind. The Exo value of the barrier is equal to this roll and the barrier's HP value is equal to a second 1d10 roll by the GM.
6 - 9: Resources are hidden, with this value being the threshold value the player must roll above in order to discover them one by one.
10: Resources are completely inaccessible.
If resources are trapped or hidden, the player can roll 1d10 to find them or attack the barrier to release them. After each attempt, an encounter check is made, so players will have to make calculated risks.
Once the player collects all resources, or declines further attempts to collect them, the party returns to the home colony, unloads thier resources, heals all their HP, and starts again on a new path.
Once the player brings 30 pieces of food (or some other metric of resources) back to the colony, the colony is saved! ...OR SO IT SEEMS!!
The Big Twist!
This is a JRPG-inspired game, so now it's time to turn the tables, expand the world to a preposterous scale, and raise the stakes as high (or higher) than makes any sense.
What the story twist is will be determined using a die roll from the GM.
1 - 3: An Evil Weevil Infiltration
It turns out the weevil in your party isn't the only "ant imposter" in your colony! Via a tearful confession, your weevil friend reveals that they have had a change of heart and must tell you the truth... your queen, and much of the high guard who protects the colony, have been replaced by EVIL WEEVILS in disguise! No wonder resources have been limited: The weevils have been stealing them! It's now up to you and your party to stop the them and win back your homeland!
4 - 6: Nearby Colony Has Incredibly Advanced Technology
A huge rumble shakes the ground. Suddenly, a fleet of dragonflies descends at the edge of the colony, dispensing super-soldier ants from a neighboring colony, who have somehow obtained unimaginably powerful technology. No wonder resources have been limited: the neighboring colony has developed... industry, evaporating water reserves and contaminating local food supplies! It's now up to you and your party to shut down their terrible war machine and bring peace back to the colony!
7 - 9: The Truman Show Ending
Wait, what's that? A violent shake disrupts the ground below, the walls around, and the ceilings above you! It's as if the entire colony has been knocked around and then dropped from a great height. Well, that's exactly what happened! It turns out, you've all been living in a large, artificial ant farm! No wonder resources have been limited: the human who is supposed to feed and take take of you has neglected their duties. It's now up to you and your party to rescue the members of your colony from this disaster, and find a way to break free of the plastic shell that represents your entire reality!
10: Roll again!
While Stephen is away at the Game Devs of Color Expo in New York, Ellen Burns-Johnson joins in the club house to discuss organizing your game library and what to do when you actually know nothing about marketing. Martha throws it in the 'eh' pile, Mark delegates, and Ellen has it all under control.
- Game Devs of Color Expo 2019
- Depression and the Solace of 'Grinding' in Online Games - Julie Muncy, Wired
Game Libraries
0:02:49
Martha MegarryGamingHow to deal with your Steam backlog - Michael McWhertor, PolygonAdobe Flash Debug Downloads - The "Flash Player Projector" can open SWF files from your desktop or from a URL. It is a portable application that doesn't need to be installed.
2064: Read Only Memories - Turing Collector's Plush (SOLD OUT, to Martha's lame…When your nice hosts went to Seattle for PodCon this year, they visited the Liv…Mark has been watching a lot of "old tech" content on YouTube lately
Technology Connections - YouTubeThe 8-Bit Guy - YouTube
Marketing 001
0:28:08
Ellen Burns-JohnsonMarketingHow, why, when and how much to pay for indie game marketing? - Tavrox, MediumBest PR, Marketing & Community Talks / GDC 2019 - Thomas Reisenegger, Medium
This week, your nice hosts are joined by Marina Kittaka, artist and co-developer on the upcoming Anodyne 2: Return to Dust.
Marina made the 30-foot journey from her desk to the clubhouse in order to discuss Anodyne's theme of nostalgia, the "personal" authenticity of the game's lo-fi PS1-era aesthetics, jumping in to her first 3D project, leveraging your limitations, and more!
Nostalgia and the Lo-fi Aesthetic
ArtWishlist/purchase Anodyne 2: Return to Dust on:
Steam | Itch.io | Kartridge | GoG
Sean Han Tani (@sean_HTCH) is Marina's development partner. His solo game All Our Asias was a inspiration for their current collaboration.
Analgesic Productions' previous titles:
- Anodyne
- Even the Ocean
Marina KittakaGuestMarina Kittaka is co-developer of Anodyne and upcomign Anodyne 2: Return to Dust. As well as games such as Even the Ocean, how do you Do It, and Secrets Agent. She works in illustration and comics.
External link
marinakittaka.comMarina on twitter @even_kei
This week your Nice Hosts appear out of nowhere to discuss Stealth Games and Motion Controls! Mark shoots lasers, Stephen time travels and Martha joins a geriatric gang.
Dishonored 2 cover art copyright Bethesda.
Stealth Games
0:01:30
Martha MegarryGame DesignBanana Bread (Griffin & Justin of Polygon play SpyParty) - Polygon, YouTubeGiant Bomb Plays Hitman Let's Plays - Fly On The Wall, YouTubeWhy Fashion in (Most) Games Sucks, and Why You Should Care - Victoria Tran, GDC
Our Interview with Freya Holmér of Neat Corporation maker of Budget Cuts
Self-education, et al.Spider-Man is (Definitely Not) Murdering People - Brian David Gilbert, Polygon, YouTubeLevel Design Workshop: A Narrative Approach to Level Design (Or, why Die Hard g… - Jolie Menzel, GDC
Motion Controls
0:28:52
Mark LaCroixHardwareProgrammingSega ActivatorSega's Forgotton Motion Game - Rerez, YouTubeMicrosoft "Microsoft announces an Azure-powered Kinect camera for enterprise" - Brian Heater, TechCrunchRhythm Game Accessories on Wikipedia (including the Rock Band pro controller) - Wikipedia
This week, your nice hosts talk about a pair of game genres that none of them are that wild about, and Mortho returns to brighten the proceedings!
- Our previous episode on "unloved" topics: “Try it once!”
"Try it once." * You Never Realized Fonts Could Be This Exciting - Mike Fahey, Kotaku * Donut County is the Anti-Katamari - Marcus Estrada, Hardcore Gamer * Slay the Spire is my favorite game to lose - Jeff Ramos, Polygon
Designing Horror Games
0:16:46
Stephen McGregorGame DesignDownload Stephen's horror game Infectious!How the Resident Evil 2 remake's Mr. X actually works - Wesley Yin-Poole, EurogamerThe Difference Between Horror Movies And Horror Games - Heather Alexandra, Kotaku
Designing Sports Games
0:44:37
Martha MegarryMark couldn't find anything about the Minnesota professional basketball teams discussed in the episode, but he did find "Who wins a fight to the death, Lynx vs Wolf?" on Quora.
Why Is Tennis Scored So Weirdly? - Merrill Fabry, TimeMichael Chabon Will Showrun Star Trek: Picard - James Whitbrook, IO9Anti-loot box bill poses a real threat to sports video games - Owen S. Good, Polygon
All the news that fit to pod! Mark makes a Mario, Martha adds things to her wishlist and Stephen gets mad at his TV.
Bulletin topic (Recent releases)
Timecode 0:00:42
Super Mario Maker 2: Building On Success - Kyle Hilliard, Game InformerBloodstained: Ritual of the Night: The Kotaku Review - Joshua Rivera, KotakuThe making of Samurai Showdown (2019) - Alex Kane, PolygonCrash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled: No Rust On This Ride - Andrew Reiner, Game InformerCadence of Hyrule is the best Zelda spinoff ever made - Russ Frushtick, PolygonHarry Potter: "Wizards Unite" Improves On What Makes Pokemon Go Great" - Gita Jackson, KotakuBulletin topic (News)
Timecode 0:18:01
Summer Games Done Quick raised over 3 million dollars for Doctors Without Borde…Devs hit by Steam promo confusion as games are pulled from Wishlists - Chris Kerr, Game DeveloperDr. Disrespect Doesn’t Seem To Be Taking His Twitch Ban Very Seriously - Nathan Grayson, KotakuTwitched app removed from Roku - RedditThe Human Cost of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 - Jason Schreier, KotakuValve Index Review - The Enthusiast’s Choice - Ben Lang, Road to VRSomeone Turned Mario Into A Battle Royale, And It’s The Best Thing - Heather Alexandra, KotakuHere’s how to save up to $360 on Xbox Game Pass over 3 years (The article says … - David Carnoy, CNETWe might get a Myst movie, TV series, and even a reality show - Susana Polo, PolygonThe Mouse Guard Movie Is Officially Dead, But This Demo Reel Shows What Could’v… - James Whitbrook, GizmodoMicrosoft, Nintendo, and Sony say [the president]’s tariffs on China will hurt … - Charlie Hall, PolygonEpic says it’ll eventually stop pushing for exclusives - Tyler Wilde, PC Gamer
This week, we welcome friend of the show Matt Gravelle into the clubhouse to talk about the ups and downs of, and lessons learned from, the decade-plus history of his indie game company, Graveck Interactive.
Topics include the early days of Unity, holding the top-selling spot in the iOS App Store for months(!), weird guidelines from film studios on licensed web games, creating VR experiences for medical applications, and more!
Running An Indie Studio
IRLGet Optica on Android, iOS, or Steam!
Optica
Get Strata on Android, iOS or Steam!
Strata
Matt GravelleGuestMatt Gravelle is co-owner and director of production of Gravek Interactive.
Stephen has been working on patches for Treasure Stack and Mark has been busy getting age ratings around the world for Widget Satchel so this episode is jam packed with knowledge! Mark tricks his parents, Martha hides from E.T. and Stephen balances the game.
- Game Devs of Color
- Black Mirror’s ‘Striking Vipers’ uses fighting games to flirt with the theme of… - Gretchen Felker-Martin, Polygon
- The Black Mirror Fighting Game Episode was Out of Control - Gita Jackson, Kotaku
Patches and Add-on Content
0:15:29
Stephen McGregorProgrammingTreasure Stack on Steam (check out the patch notes to see an example of the patches Stephen has been working on)
Asset Bundles Unity Docs - Unity
International Age Ratings Systems
0:15:29
Mark LaCroixMarketingPEGI Ratings (Europe + Israel)ESRB Ratings (USA + Canada)IARC Ratings The IARC Rating system translates to many different international rating systems (like PEGI and ESRB) through surveys in digital storefront submission processes. Notable rating boards that do not participate in IARC are JERO (Japan) and GRB (Korea)
Stephen's back from E3, and brought back tales of standing in line, going out at night, and staying in on Thursday. But before hearing about all the unreleased games Stephen played while in Los Angeles, your nice hosts discuss all the news and announcements from the show.
Google Stadia at E3 2019
0:05:28
HardwareNews
Microsoft E3 2019
0:16:57
NewsE3 2019: ID@Xbox Shines the Spotlight on Amazing Independent Games - Lisa Trott, Xbox WireThe SDK 'Power Mac G5' for the Xbox 360 - Soutenir le blog, journaldulapinUltra-high-speed SSD is 'the key' to next-gen PS5 - Anthony Garreffa, TweakTown
Bethesda at E3 2019
0:22:49
News"How to make a perfect E3 press conference (or drinking game)" - Polygon, YouTube"Deathloop: Everything we know so far" - Heather Wald, GamesRadar
Square Enix at E3 2019
0:34:50
News"Marvel's Avengers: Is it Connected to Spider-Man PS4?" - Rob Leane, Den of Geek
Nintendo at E3 2019
0:38:27
News"The Story of Zelda: Link's Awakening" - Gaming Historian , YouTube"Everything We Noticed From The Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Sequel Teaser" - Joseph Stanichar, Game Informer
Others at E3 2019
0:54:37
News
Stephen’s Travelogue!
0:56:03
Stephen McGregorEventsThat shop in Little Tokyo Stephen visited was Retro Game Camp LA.
When the power went out at E3, Nintendo was prepared - Michael McWhertor, Polygon
This week is another Nice Games Jam! We got a prompt from Martha's Boyfriend Dylan to "make a puzzle game that includes a written document that updates as you play." You can play the game we came up with in the episode using the rules in the show notes below!
Prompt Make a puzzle game that requires a text/readme file or some other sort of text thing that you have to use as a guide to figure out the game. Then as the level progresses, the guide changes, to be harder to understand, or to tell a story, or to taunt.
Game type Tabletop game
Player count 2
Materials
Some set of blocks (we used 10 cubes), different colors
Pencil/Pen
Paper
Setup The Codemaker comes up with sequence of blocks
Rules * The Codemaker creates a list of four rules to help the Codebreaker player guess the sequence + Rules cannot specifically place a cube in a place in the sequence + Rules can only involve one relationship between two sets of cubes * Read first rule, and the Codebreaker creates a pattern based on rule * If the sequence is not correct, read the next rule and have the Codebreaker make a new pattern based on the revealed set of rules * Repeat until the player has created the correct pattern * If the Codebreaker needs more than the four rules, the code maker then makes a new rule immediately, and the Codebreaker makes a new sequence with these rules. * The Codemaker can call for a mulligan up to 3 times total in the game so the player can make a new pattern with the same sets of rules * Scored based how many rules are needed before the code breaker solves the sequence * Some example rules: + 1. No same colors touching + 2. If a sequence of colors appears in the line, it must appear again in reverse + 3. Green cubes appear before yellow cubes + 4. Pink cubes appear in-between red cubes + 5. Any brown cube must touch a dark green cube + 6. A brown cube may not touch a red cube or a yellow cube + 7. Light versions of colors come before dark versions of colors
This week in the clubhouse, Stephen wants do more with less, Mark wants to do more with more, and Martha wants to do less to more.
- "Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language" - Gretchen McCulloch, book
- "Your conference is too damn big" - John Pavlus, Fast Company
- "The Game Design Studio on a Boat" - Clinton Nguyen, Vice
- Evil Games Club co-host Dale is now tweeting for us! Follow us for behind-the-microphone goodness: @nicegamesclub.
- We're always trying to get feedback, but it's hard! So Dale is encouraging gamedevs to start using #FeedbackFriday on Twitter as a way for to get opinions from their peers on things they're working on. Try it out this Friday!
Extra Modes
0:07:06
Mark LaCroixProduction"Assassin's Creed Isn't Necessarily Done With Multiplayer" - Jordan Ramée, GameSpot"Why City Trial is the most memorable part of Kirby Air Ride" - Chris Hovermale, Destructoid"Fortnite Battle Royale Took Two Months to Develop and Launch" - Derek Nichols, GameRant"Riot got rid of League of Legends’ URF mode because it made people stop playin… - Ali Jones, PCGamesN"Threading the Needle: The Making of Quake Team Fortress" - David Craddock, Shacknews"The making of Gwent" - Phil Savage, PC Gamer"Where Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker came from" - Michael McWhertor, Polygon
Unit Testing
0:41:31
Martha MegarryProgramming"Unit testing with Jasmine: The very basics" - Aurel Kurtula, dev.toTesting Unity Projects - ilkinulas, GitHubNUnit framework"Unit Testing Tutorial: What is, Types, Tools, EXAMPLE" - Guru99, Guru99.com"What is Unit Testing, Why We Use It, and Sample Test Cases" - Lets Build That App, YouTubeTesting Computer Software, 2nd edition - Cem Kaner, book"The 100% code coverage problem" - Jeroen Mols
This week we have Beth Korth of Howling Moon Software back to talk about Narrative Design and her process for designing and writing Verdant Skies! We talk all about the creative process from creating ideas in her head to writing in a markup language Andy created so she could control the game as she wrote dialogue and cut scenes.
Narrative Design
NarrativeBeth's Notebook
Naming the game
Designing Heart Events:
More on "Verdant Skies"
Verdant Skies WebsiteVerdance Skies on SteamVerdance Skies on Itch.ioVerdance Skies on Humble StoreVerdance Skies on Kartrage
https://www.kartridge.com/games/HowlingMoonSW/verdant-skies
Steam Greenlight
Verdant Skies Code Comment
Code Comment: "Verdant Skies"
Martha plays Verdant Skies
Nice Plays: "Verdant Skies" (2018)Beth KorthGuestBeth Korth is a narrative designer, and the Vice Chair at the Independent Game Developer Association, Twin Cities.
External link
@BethKorthVerdant Skies
This week in the clubhouse, Stephen breaks the ice, Martha dreams of writing passwords, and Mark makes a Jurassic Park reference (@ us if you recognize it!).
- Our pal Abdiwak Yohannes is making Boji:
- Boji theme song on Soundcloud! - Abdiwak Yohannes
- Boji in action! - @heyglitch, Twitter
- Boji Animated! - @heyglitch, Twitter
- Regular news
- "Super Mario Maker 2 news dump" - Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica
- Mark "invented" the Semi-Automatic Mario level genre for the original Super Mario Maker! It did not catch on...
- We played the Japanese version of Super Mario Bros. 2 for one of our Nice Plays video episodes. Martha hated it.
Nice Plays: Super Mario Bros. 2 [Japan] (1986)
Game Length
0:13:08
Stephen McGregorGame Design"Assassin’s Creed Odyssey really picks up after the first 15 hours" - Ben Kuchera, Polygon"Length Matters" - Ben Lindbergh, The Ringer
Saving and Loading Systems
0:44:41
Martha MegarryProgramming"Saved, But Not Forgotten: The evolution of saving in video games" - Mark Christian, Tedium"In Dishonored, You're Either a Cheater or a Serial Killer" - Chris Kohler and Chris Baker, WiredLOVE, a “challenging but fair platformer.” - Nintendo.com"How to Hack Your Game Saves: A Basic Guide to Hex Editing" - Alex Wong, Null Byte
We talked with Andy Korth about how he developed forward compatibility for the save system in Verdant Skies (among other topics) on an episode of Code Comment.
Code Comment: "Verdant Skies"
We talked with Andy Korth about how he developed forward compatibility for the save system in Verdant Skies (among other topics) on an episode of Code Comment.
Code Comment: "Verdant Skies"
This week on Nice Games Club we rack up a ridiculous number of points while discussing scoring systems, lives and continues! We debate whether these systems are relics from the arcade past or are still relevant game mechanics. Martha makes up numbers, Mark quantifies the Star Trek Universe and Stephen gets the high score.
- Mega Minne Multi Indie Mini Arcade
- The Greatest Discovery podcast - Podcast
Scoring Systems
0:15:10
Mark LaCroixGame DesignClicker Heroes - Wikipedia
Lives and Continues
0:38:52
Stephen McGregorGame Design
It's another dispatch of the Nice Games Bulletin! Your nice hosts talk E3, Star Trek, and weaponized nostalgia, then eventually get around to discussing the latest news and releases in video games, including important developments in workers rights, console certification mishaps, and the live-action debut of more than one ugly rodent.
- The Deep Space Nine Anniversary Documentary Is Hitting Theaters for One Day Onl… - James Whitbrook, IO9
Bulletin topic (Recent releases)
Timecode 0:06:24
Ronda Rousey Being In Mortal Kombat 11 Is Bullshit - Heather Alexandra, KotakuLabo VR: how Mario and Zelda look and play in virtual reality - Thomas Morgan, EurogamerBubsy: Paws On Fire! Comes To Switch In May Whether You Want It To Or Not - Ryan Craddock, NintendoLifeF. Gary Gray Is Working on a Saints Row Movie Adaptation - Julie Muncy, WiredBulletin topic (News)
Timecode 0:28:15
Just saw Avengers: Endgame and want to talk about America's Ass? Subscribe to "Felix Drags Dale Through the Marvel Universe" (available wherever you get your podcasts)!
Felix and Dale Podcast
Over 150 Riot Employees Walk Out To Protest Forced Arbitration And Sexist Cultu… - Cecilia D'Anastasio and Nathan Grayson, KotakuAs Riot Games employees walk out, discontent swirls among video game industry w… - Matthew Smith and Nicole Karlis, SalonEpic buys Rocket League developer Psyonix, strongly hints it will stop selling … - Nick Statt, The VergeNintendo Removes Game From Switch Shop After Developer Reveals Secret Code Edit… - Nathan Grayson, KotakuPlay the web version of "A Dark Room" for free here.VR News!
Valve Index reveal: The best of VR’s first generation—but is it worth $999? - Sam Machkovech, Ars TechnicaOculus Quest review: 2019’s best new gaming system is wireless, affordable VR - Sam Machkovech, Ars TechnicaHands-on with the new $399 Oculus Rift S: More pixels, zero webcams, better fit - Sam Machkovech, Ars TechnicaMore News!
Pitchford promises no “free-to-play junk” for Borderlands 3 - Kyle Orland, Ars TechnicaSpeedrunner Smashes A Computer-Assisted Super Mario Bros. Record By A Single Fr… - Natalie Degraffinried, KotakuXbox Has New Guidelines on How to Talk Trash Without Getting Banned - Nicole Carpenter, MotherboardGod of War Director Weighs In On Sonic the Hedgehog Design Changes - Tyler Fischer, Comicbook.com
This week on the program is another Nice Games Jam, where we are given a prompt from Martha’s boyfriend (and Evil Games Club co-host) Dylan, which we have to use to create a playable game prototype by the end of the episode.
The prompt was to create a paper prototype of a game that combines "hilarious movement" like in games like Gang Beasts or Octodad with a card game.
You can play the prototype of our creation "Blob Ball" at home using the rules below. Maybe we'll actually make the video game version sometime!
Prompt create a paper prototype of a game that combines "hilarious movement" like in games like Gang Beasts or Octodad with a card game.
Game type Paper prototype
Player count 3
Materials
3 decks of cards
1 joker to be the blob ball
Setup 2 decks of cards for the two players ( 1 Deck each)
- Separate out the face cards
- Place on the starting line for each player
- Put all other cards aside
1 deck of card for the for AI physics
- Sort into suits
- Pull out Ace-4 and the face cards from the Hearts suit to make the blob movement Heart deck and set all other hearts aside
- Give one suite deck other than hearts to each player and keep one for physics. These suit decks will be used to play war to determine who has control of the ball.
1 Joker to be the blob ball placed in the center of the field
Rules * Goal + Move blob past opponent’s starting line * Characters + Jack, moves 3 spaces without the ball, 1 space with the ball + Queen, moves 2 spaces with or without ball (ball can only move as fast as the slowest character on it) + King, moves 1 space with or without the ball * Each player has three actions to do things on their turn + Move a character (only can move an individual character once per turn) + Lift blob (auto chance to lift blob if the player ends turn with three cards on it) + Move blob (only once per turn- ball can only move as fast as the slowest character on it) * When picking up blob: + Need at least 3 cards on blob to pick it up. + Play “war” with AI physics player using the physics suit decks- higher card (plus any player bonus points) wins - Numbers worth their number (Ace is worth 1) - Jack = 11, Queen = 12, King = 13 + Bonus for each card on blob: King +2, Queen +1, Jack +0 + If opponent is also on the blob, they get to play in the war hand as well to defend with their bonuses and prevent blob movement * If blob falls out by Physics winning in “war”: + Throw ace of hearts to determine direction. The end point of the heart is the direction it moves + Draw from the Heart deck of Jack (worth 1), Queen (worth 1), King (worth 1), Ace (worth 1), 2, 3, and 4 to determine amount of movement.
This week, Martha fills the clubhouse with tales of her trip to the League of Legends Spring Split event in St. Louis, Mark gets to talk about another of his wonky "nonsense topics," and Stephen can't quite explain what he doesn't like about a thing.
- “Long Lost ‘Zork’ Source Code Uploaded to GitHub, But Few People Understand It” - Nicole Carpenter, Motherboard
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide To the Galaxy - 30th Anniversary Edition for free
Video Game Events
0:09:21
Martha MegarryEvents“Out of traffic, into a ditch” - Rachel Kraus, MashableCity Museum - Wikipedia“The Overprotected Kid” - Hanna Rosen, The Atlantic
Martha took pictures at the 2019 League Championship Series event she attended in St. Louis
“My Hunt For The Mysterious Man Or Machine Controlling The Blizzard Arena's Lig… - Maddy Myers, Kotaku
Color Theory
0:32:58
Mark LaCroixArt“A Bullet Hell Set In Hell That's Heaven To Play” - EThan Gach, Kotaku“Color Harmony: Why Hulk Wears Purple Pants” - Rikard, Zeven Design“Stop This Absurd War on the Color Pink” - Michael Moyer, Scientific AmericanAdobe Color is a free tool to help you create color palettes for your projects.
Widget Satchel UI (many colors, lower contrast)
Metro Nexus UI (fewer colors, higher contrast)
Check out our recent episode where we discuss accessibility, including designing for color blindness.
"I definitely thought of that ahead of time."
This week on Nice Games Club we talk all about Resource Management in Games and Boss Battles! Join us as we discuss mana, cooldowns, super meters and how to make boss battles unique but not frustrating. Martha takes the train, Stephen takes a test and Mark wonders what the appeal is.
Resource Management in Games
0:07:58
Stephen McGregorProgramming
Boss Battles
0:35:12
Martha MegarryGame DesignShadow of the Colossus speed run - Games Done Quick, YouTubeThe Phatom Train (Final Fantasy VI boss) - Fandom
Join us in the Nice Games Clubhouse/Newsroom to hear the latest and greatest news from the video game world. Mortho makes a return (and another and another), Stephen doesn't want to say "git gud," (but...), Mark wants to press all the buttons, and (STOP THE PRESSES!) Martha likes board games now.
Bulletin topic (Recent releases)
Timecode 0:01:15
“Needle Felting Gives Us All the Feels” - Ashley Little, Bluprint“Islanders is a bite-sized palate cleanser of a civilization builder” - - Cass Marshall, Polygon“‘Super Mario Odyssey’ and ‘Zelda: Breath of the Wild’ are both getting VR supp… - Jacob Siegal, BGRLabo VR kit launches April 12th, Mario/Zelda support coming April 25th.
“The Division 2 has a lot to say, but it’s very hard to hear over all the gunfi… - Charlie Hall and Cass Marshall, PolygonLessons learned creating UI for the Division - Christian Savoie, GDCIn related news, this week a lot of new free content from GDC 2019 became available on the GDC vault: https://www.gdcvault.com/free/.
Bulletin topic (News)
Timecode 0:10:02
“She Invented a Board Game With Scientific Integrity. It’s Taking Off.” - Siobhan Roberts, The New York Times“Wingspan review: A gorgeous birding board game takes flight” - Aaron Zimmerman, Ars Technica* Speaking of board games, Minnesota developer Leder Games just made 1.7 million dollars(!!!) on Kickstarter for “Root: The Underworld Expansion.”
“EA Lays Off 350 People In Marketing, Publishing, And More” - Jason Schreier, Kotaku“How BioWare's Anthem Went Wrong” - Jason Schreier, Kotaku“BioWare Boss Addresses Studio Issues, Vows To 'Continue Working To Solve Them'… - Jason Schreier, Kotaku“All the latest details on the new Borderlands game” - Harry Shepherd, PCGamesN“Borderlands 3 On PC Is Exclusive To Epic Games Store Until Early 2020” - Tamoor Hussain, GameSpot“Review-bombed Borderlands 2 is the first to have user scores thrown out by Ste… - Owen S. Good, Polygon“Lawsuit alleges Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford improperly siphoned $12M for perso… - Charlie Hall, Polygon“Google Stadia has a lot of ‘last mile’ challenges” - Jeff Grubb, VentureBeat“The Nintendo Switch in Japan offers a peek at the cloud gaming future” - Sam Byford, Polygon“'Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice' and the debate over difficulty vs. accessibility” - Adam Rosenberg, Mashable“An Easy Mode Has Never Ruined A Game” - Joshua Rivera, Kotaku
Mark and Dale are at GDC so Ellen Burns-Johnson joins us to talk all about Team Building and Game Identities! Join us for this chill evening recording session and discuss the more existential side of game development. If you change a game completely is it still the same game you started with? Stephen builds a house, Ellen is a game feedback therapist and Martha gets lost in the waveform.
- Mark and Dale are at GDC! The episode of their adventures actually came out last week (calendar math) so you can listen to it RIGHT NOW if you haven’t already
GDC 2019 Special
Team Building
0:01:57
Stephen McGregorIRLProductionDicer and Clasp: Dungeon Skedaddle - Stephen's Global Game Jam Team, GGJClaw Breaker - Steam
Our episode on topic on Game Writing
"Steal this episode."Cat Crib - Ellen's Global Game Jam Team, GGJ
Game Identities
0:22:37
Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignProducer Bootcamp: How Saying 'No' Can Help You Make a Better Game - Ruth Tomandl, Oculus Research, GDCRuth Stone, Poet who caught poems on the wind - Wikipedia
Mark (and special guest Dale!) got back from GDC on a red-eye flight, took a quick nap, then immediately joined Martha and Stephen in the clubhouse to recap the year's largest gathering of game creators.
- Nindies (Nintendo Indies) Showcase Spring 2019 - Nintendo, YouTube
- "Developer Is Making an Official Zelda Game" - Tom Marks, IGN
- Music from Eric Fullerton - Eric Fullerton MUSIC, YouTube
GDC 2019 Sessions
0:08:06
Mark LaCroixEventsGDC on YouTube - YouTube#notGDC - notgdc.fungamedev.world* Indiepocalypse 14 v 18
"Valve redesigns Steam game library, adding Steam Events" - Michael McWhertor, Polygon
Dale Makes GDC Magic
0:25:17
Dale LaCroixEventsAmir’s game about anxiety: @unboxedexperience - @unboxedexperience, TwitterKate Compton’s “Illegal zines.” - @GalaxyKate, TwitterThe Full GWU @ GDC 2019 Schedule!Copenhagen Game Collective's "The Undie Game"Schell Games Unveils Virtual Reality Sword Fighting Game ‘Until You Fall’
The MIX 2019
0:49:05
Mark LaCroixEventsUntitled Goose GameFalcon AgeAway: The Survival SeriesBeast PetsThe Sojourn
Mark Does GDC Business
0:53:56
Mark LaCroixEventsGame Connection America
"Developer/Publisher Relations (with Kongregate’s August Brown)" Nice Games Club episode is a good episode to learn about meeting with a publisher
Developer/Publisher Relations2019 Digital Media and Video Game Conference
Game Workers Unite!
1:11:16
Mark LaCroixEvents"Tim Schafer Talks Unionization, Streaming, And The Future Of Double Fine" - Maddy Myers, Kotaku SplitscreenGame Workers Unite
In this episode your Nice Hosts talk all about two important aspects of game design that can help more people play your games- Localization Systems and Accessibility! Stephen drives in the snow, Martha gets her nails done and Mark tries to get the baby to go to sleep.
NOTE: The CVAA law that Martha talks a lot about in this episode applies -only- to chat systems in games not to game play. She didn't realize this at the time of recording- but all the things we talk about are still things to strive for in every part of your game!
Photo credit: Microsoft
Localization Systems
0:07:03
Mark LaCroixProductionProgrammingUI / UX“What languages to localize your game into?” - Jacob Stempniewicz, Game Developer
Accessibility
0:46:30
Martha MegarryAccessibilityGame Design“About CVAA: US legislation affecting communications functionality in games, ne… - IGDA Game Access SIG“CVAA for Fostering Innovation and Change” - Sarah Horton, The Paciello Group“2018's Accessibility Advances” - Ian Hamilton, Game DeveloperAble GamersGame Accessibility"What It's Like To Play Games When You're Colorblind” - Cameron Gidari, KotakuXbox Adaptive Controller“Designing for Disabilities” Video Series - Mark Brown, Game Maker’s ToolkitWikipediaKaren Stevens, EA Sports Accessibility Lead
This week, August Brown (senior producer for Kongregate Publishing) enters the clubhouse to reveal the secrets of successful developer/publisher relationships!
Your nice hosts learn what publishers expect from a pitch, how forming a relationship with a publisher isn't always strictly business, and that publishers also think you're not charging enough money for your game.
Developer/Publisher Relations
ProductionKongregate PublishingSelf-publish on KartridgeMartha mentioned the Sokpop Collective.August brought up The Flash Games Postmortem that his colleague John Cooney pre…August BrownGuestAugust is a Senior Producer at Armor Games Studios. Formerly a Senior Producer for Kongregate Publishing.
External link
Your nice hosts are big fans of video games, video game makers, and podcasts. So in this episode we talk all about both sides of the creator-fan relationship and how to create perfect balance in both communicating with fans and telling them to go away so you can work on balancing your game design- our second topic. Stephen shows us how balancing multiplayer and single player games are the same thing, Martha isn't as unique as she thinks she is and Mark gets 7th tier internet famous. Sorry, he won't take direct fan mail- please send all your letters to Stephen.
Photo credit: Nintendo of America
- Treasure Stack (the game that Stephen gets paid to work on) is out now! It is a…
- Video Games and Music Convention (Formally Gamers Rhapsody)
- Our episode on game soundtracks
"All that and a bag of chips." * "Google is holding a mysterious gaming press event at GDC next month" - Tom Warren, The Verge * Drake and Josh “Its spherical!” Video * Mark is Internet Famous now
Fanbases
0:16:50
Martha MegarryGamingIRLMy Brother, My Brother and Me (MBMBaM- pronounced “muhbimbam”) (The McElroy’s f…Listen to this podcast when...
Game Design Balance
0:41:00
Stephen McGregorGame DesignButterscotch Shenanigans podcast"Alien isolation's Artificial Intelligence Was Good... Too Good" - GB Burford, KotakuPerfect Imbalance Extra Credits video
In this episode, your nice hosts make sure you know that Treasure Stack, the game Stephen "is paid to work on," is coming out Friday, March 1st!
Mark then gives a primer on some audio basics that will help you understand how sound works, and works in your game. Even if you're bored by that, be sure to stick around for a discussion Stephen leads about representation in games.
- "Treasure Stack Reveals Launch Date With a Trailer Powered By Artisanal, Locall… - Hardcore Gamers
Audio Basics
0:05:32
Mark LaCroixAudio"MP3 'died' and nobody noticed: Key patents expire on golden oldie tech" - Andrew Orlowski, The RegisterDigital Audio Basics: Sample Rate and Bit DepthTurns out, there is a ".2" in certain surround sound setups.Get free sounds on freesound.org!The reduction in audio dynamics in pop music is a result of the so-called Loudn…
Representation in Games
0:41:57
Stephen McGregorIRLProductionKey & Peele - Black Republicans"Here's a good argument for a black Batman" - Dan Neilan, AV Club"Hopi-less: How Kachina Became Donut County" - John Walker, Rock Paper Shotgun"What It's Like To Write About Race And Video Games" - Gita Jackson, Kotaku
Extra Extra! Hear all about it! All the news that's fit to podcast! Join us in the Nice Games Clubhouse/Newsroom to hear all about the latest and greatest news from the video game world- at least latest and greatest from our vantage point in the past. Mark takes Valve to task, Martha makes a case for golf being interesting and Stephen is only here for the mechanics not the entertainment.
It's an episode full of releases, re-releases, spiritual successors, and "Epic" fails!
Bulletin topic (Recent releases)Games
- Kingdom Hearts 3 (finally)
- Apex Legends
- God Eater 3
- Wargroove
- Resident Evil 2
- Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy (a rerelease)
- New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe on Switch
- Bury Me My Love
- Walking Dead Final Season Episode 3
- Pic-a-Pix Pieces
- Crackdown 3
- Anthem
- Far Cry New Dawn
- Metro Exodus
Bulletin topic (News)Valve Says It's 'Unfair' That Metro Exodus Is Exclusive To Epic Store - Nathan Grason, KotakuAxiom Verge's free Epic Game Store version has a funny Steam bug - Allegra Frank, PolygonAnthem: 19 changes from the demo to the live game - Ryan Gilliam, PolygonActivision Blizzard Lays Off Hundreds Of Employees - Jason Schreier, KotakuThe Fallout Of Activision Blizzard's Massive Layoffs - Jason Schreier, KotakuNintendo Exec Says 'A Very High Number' Of Its Designers Are Women - Jason Schreier, KotakuAmazon's questionable MMO has you colonize the 'new world' - Colin Campbell, PolygonSuper Smash Bros. Melee Events in Four States Ban Wobbling After Tennessee Ruli… - Ian Walker, KotakuCaptain Marvel website
This week on the program we attempt another Nice Games Jam, where we are given a prompt from Martha's boyfriend (and Evil Games Club co-host) Dylan, which we have to use to create a playable game by the end of the episode.
The prompt was "Cold," owing to the extreme winter temperatures we were facing in Minnesota at the time of this recording.
We're hoping to do even more of these going forward, so let us know what you think of this episode format on the feedback from!
Prompt Cold
Game type Tabletop game
Player count 2-4
Materials
4-sided Die
4 Player Markers
Notepad to track player stats
Board
Setup Board Martha took a photo of what we were using to play the game during the recording of the episode:
And here's a rough mockup Mark made while editing this episode:
Rules Goal The goal of the game is to leave your house and run a quick errand during the worst blizzard of your lifetime.
Play * The board is split into 4 stages. On your turn, you roll a 4-sided die to determine your movement. When you reach the first square of the next stage (even if you are in the middle of your movement), you draw from a deck of "events/challenges" giving you an situation to deal with. After resolving the challenge, complete your movement (modified according to the result of the challenge, if any). * The game begins by having every player draw an event for the first stage (see below for event desciptions). * Play order is determined in descending order by who spent the most time outside during the Halloween Blizzard of 1991. If you are unable to determine play order using this method, figure something else out, I guess. * After every player draws an event for the first stage, all players will get dressed for their adventure by distributing winter gear stats...
Stats * Players get 9 points to distribute on winter gear. Points you don’t "spend" here are saved and can be used later at certain opportunities. Each player puts 0-4 points in each of three categories: + Shoes (to aid in snow-based challenges): - 0 points is gym socks and flip-flops. - 4 points is pac boots plus snowshoes. + Coat (to aid in wind-based challenges): - 0 points means just a T-shirt. - 4 points is a sweater under a hoodie under a heavy parka under a pea coat. + Gloves and Stuff (to aid in interaction-based challenges): - 0 points is bare hands/head - 4 points is wool-lined mittens with a pocket for your hand-warmers, an inch-thick balaclava, and an 8-foot tartan scarf. * Players also begin the game with 0 Cold Enough For Ya? points, and 3 Minnesota Nice points. Events in the game can add or subtract these points: + If you accumulate 3 Cold Enough For Ya? points, you lose the game by giving up and going home to bury yourself under 100 fleece blankets (role-play optional). + If you drop to 0 Minnesota Nice points, you may complete your errand, but you lose your Minnesota spirit (and also the game).
Challenges/Events * For the purposes of this prototype, rather than draw from a deck, roll a 4-sided die and use the challenges listed below. * 1st stage: "Getting out of the house" + 1 - Furnace out: +1Cold Enough For Ya? + 2 - You're snowed in: If you do not obtain a 3 or better in Shoes, you must end your turn when you reach your front door, no matter what your die roll is. + 3 - You slept in: Lose a turn. + 4: Whoops! Two errands: You must take "the long way" in the 3rd stage. * 2nd stage: "Getting to your car" + 1 - Car covered in snow: If you have 3 or greater in Gloves and Stuff, ignore this, otherwise, chose from these options: - Get rid of snow: +1Cold Enough For Ya? - Don’t get rid of snow, -1 to all die rolls in the 3rd stage. + 2 - Neighbor needs help shoveling: If you have any stat points saved over, you can spend one point to help your neighbor. If you do not have any points or don't want to spend one, -1Minnesota Nice. If you do spend a point, roll a 4-sided die: - 1 - "Thanks! I owe you one" You get nothing. - 2 - "Rough out there. I've got an extra coat if you want it" +2 to Coat. - 3 - +2 to Shoes. - 4 - +2 to Gloves and Stuff. + 3 - Slip on your sidewalk: Lose a turn as you lay embarrassed on the cold ground. + 4 - Freezing wind: If you have a 3 or greater in Coat, ignore this, otherwise, chose from these options: - Power though it: +1Cold Enough For Ya? - Move carefully: During this stage, you may only move one space per turn (if you have any movement left on this turn, you can move forward one space). * 3rd stage: "Making it to the store" + 1 - Car won’t start: Lose a turn while your neighbor helps you. + 2 - The roads are not plowed: If you have a 4 or greater in Shoes (for the purposes of this prototype, Shoes stands in for a Snow Tire stat), ignore this, otherwise, -1 to all die rolls in this stage. + 3 - A stranger spun out into a ditch: If you have any stat points saved over, you can spend one point to help the stranger. If you do not have any points or don't want to spend one, -1Minnesota Nice. If you do spend a point, roll a 4-sided die: - 1 or 2 - "Thanks! I don't have AAA." You get nothing. - 3 or 4 - "Let me pay you back somehow." +2 to Any Stat. + 4 - Car's heater is broken: +1Cold Enough For Ya? * 4th stage: "Picking up a half-gallon of milk" + 1 - Forgot your grocery list: Lose a turn as you sit and think. + 2 - The parking lot is snowed-in: If you have a combined 7 or greater in Shoes + Gloves and Stuff, ignore this, otherwise, -1 to all die rolls in this stage. + 3 - Help an old person with groceries: If you have any stat points saved over, you can spend one point to help the person. If you do not have any points or don't want to spend one, -1Minnesota Nice. If you do spend a point, roll a 4-sided die: - 1 or 2 - "You know, they used to have people for this." You get nothing. - 3 or 4 - "I'm on my way to the Goodwill, do you want anything?" +2 to Any Stat. + 4 - There's a line out the door!: Choose from these options: - -1Minnesota Nice as you shove your way past everyone. - +1Cold Enough For Ya? as you wait patiently.
Your Nice Hosts are back from PodCon 2 and fresh off the Global Game Jam where Martha wrote a game for the first time! We talk all about that experience as well as celebrate Public Domain Day for the first time in 20 years. Mark guides us through the history of copyright, Stephen jams in 3D and Martha is a totally normal McElroy Fan (tmtmtmtm)
Photo by GLITCH
- Living Computer Museum
- Global Game Jam games from Minnesota
Writing for Games
0:15:15
Martha MegarryNarrativeOne Polar Night
Intellectual Property and the Public Domain
0:37:57
Mark LaCroixNewsProductionPublic Domain Day 2019 (Duke University Website)“Happy Birthday” is public domain, former owner Warner/Chapell to pay $14 - Joe Mullin, Ars TechnicaCopyright vs Trademark vs Patent - United States Patent and Trademark OfficeAll by Myself - Irving Berlin, Aileen StanleySherlock Holmes in the 22nd CenturySherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century theme songThe Patent on Loading Screen Minigames is About To Expire - Luke Plunkett, KotakuOracle vs Google trial Java runtime
Ellen Burns-Johnson joins us once again in the club house to discuss our work on Widget Satchel (a platformer staring an adorable ferret!) We talk all about what went well, what was challenging and what is still left to do.
- Widget Satchel: Our goal is to release in April 2019.
- Wishlist Widget Satchel now on Steam!
- Code Comment episode about Widget Satchel
Code Comment: "Widget Satchel" * Ludum Dare special video episode featuring the first prototype version
Nice Plays: Ludum Dare 40 games (2017)
What We Did On Our Winter Break (2019)
IRLMeta
Attention Sega nerds! This Nice Bonus episode is for you!
During our episode on 90's consoles Mark found out there were so many obscure Sega accessories that they couldn't fit in the episode and deserved their very own spotlight. Please enjoy this Nice Bonus short episode all about them!
Sega Consoles
Mark LaCroixHardware
We're back with new episodes for the new year! Friend of the show Ellen Burns-Johnson joins us in the clubhouse for the annual Nice Games Club Nicest of 2018 where we talk about some games we liked that came out in 2018 - or at least that we played in 2018. Stephen is on brand with his signature fighting moves, Ellen has Unity in her sights for 2019, Martha has to think of new titles for herself, Mortho barges in to steal the show and Mark -twist- doesn't talk about a Star Trek game.
- Ellen is here!
- Podcon 2
- We will be there in Seattle this weekend!
- You can attend the con remotely and watch live streams of the talks/live shows.
- Global Game Jam Eventbrite
- January 25-27, 2019
- There is a free Diversity ticket option.
- No experience required to jam.
- Remember a healthy game dev is a better game dev so go home and sleep, eat, drink lots of water and don’t crunch- make a smaller game!
Local Releases (2018)
NewsVideo Games
Claw Breaker (Team Klaw)Verdant Skies (Howling Moon Studio)Newt One (DevNAri)Joggernauts (SpaceMace)Optica (GLITCH)RJdoesVR (local OculusGo developer)Hardlight Blade (released in 2018)Asimov (early access in 2018)
FireZone (coming soon)
Board and Card Games
Root (Leder Games)Vast: The Mysterious Manor (Leder Games)Squirmish (Steven Stwalley)Too Many Bones: Undertow (Chip Theory Games)
Martha's Nicest (2018)
Martha MegarryNicestCeleste (Matt Makes Games)Nintendo Labo (Nintendo)
Ellen's Nicest (2018)
Ellen Burns-JohnsonNicestFate: Core System (Evil Hat Studio)Pyre (Super Giant Games)
Mark's Nicest (2018)
Mark LaCroixNicestSpiderman (Marvel/Sony)Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope)
Stephen's Nicest (2018)
Stephen McGregorNicestSoulcalibur VI (Project Soul)Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Nintendo)Girlfriend Review of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Martha's Most Anticipated (for 2019)
Martha MegarryNicestOoblets (Glumberland)In the Valley of Gods (Campo Santo)
Mark's Most Anticipated (for 2019)
Mark LaCroixNicestDreams (Media Molecule)Luigi’s Mansion 3 (Nintendo)Yoshi’s Crafted World (Nintendo)Widget Satchel (Noble Robot)
Stephen's Most Anticipated (for 2019)
Stephen McGregorNicestNioh 2 (Team Ninja)Smash Bros. DLC (Nintendo)
Ellen's Most Anticipated (for 2019)
Ellen Burns-JohnsonNicestBaba is You (Hempuli)Alien Isolation 2 (Cold Iron Studios)
51
"Right the dang now."Roundtable
2017.10.07
Stephen will be speaking at the November IGDA Twin Cities meeting! Details will be posted at igdatc.org soon.
In this episode, Stephen fights his demons, Martha likes sports now, and Mark learns a lot about both.
Scope Creep
0:02:41
Stephen McGregorProductionMartha took a blacksmithing class! Also, her instructor told her this was a perfect forge weld.
Martha brought up fighting scope creep on our GDC 2017 Special.
GDC 2017 Special (Part 1)
Project management is a way to combat scope creep that we’ve covered before, in the episode
"We joke here."
A core concept for your game can help focus ideas as well. We go over this in our Game Design Primer topic in our episode
"That makes me retroactively nervous." Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-Making - Sam KanerOur post on the r/gamedev. Special thanks to SaxPanther, ledat, GravityGamesInt, Bwob, and DustyPixel for their stories.
SaxPanther created a battle royale game out of the Unity Roll-A-Ball tutorial.
ledat shared a story on how one person accidentally created banking software after attempting to streamline coffee orders.
eSports
0:30:53
Martha MegarryEventsGamingLeague of Legends
- League of Legends World Championship is happening RIGHT THE DANG NOW!
- Martha will be rooting for her favorite team, C9.
Player Signings, Salaries, and More in the Overwatch League™ - Blizzard EntertainmentLeague of Legends' ratings top NBA Finals, World Series clinchers - Patrick Dorsey, ESPNAn example of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament casting. - TwitchThe Story of DOTA - Paul Dean, EurogamerThe biggest Call of Duty tournament shines light on growth of esports - Jordan Crook, TechCrunchThe Rise and Fall of StarCraft II as an eSport - Kevin Hovdestad, IGNHow Intellectual Property Rights Are Hurting Esports Teams - Leonard Langenscheidt, The Esports ObserverThere is, in fact, a Civilization VI eSports scene. - Leif Johnson, Motherboard
105
Pass them Laughs (Haha!)Nice Games Jam
2018.09.25
This week on Nice Games Club we are trying out a new type of episode: Nice Games Jam! We get a topic from Martha’s boyfriend Dylan and then attempt to create a playable game by the end of the episode. We then include the rules here in the show notes for you to play at home!
Let us know what you think of this episode format on the feedback from!
Prompt a realtime card game [for PC]
Game type Card game
Materials
52 Card deck + two jokers
Six sided die (One per Player)
A stuffed trophy - we used a plush Toad! but a jesther hat would be the most appropriate
Setup * Each player starts with seven cards.
Rules * This game happens in real time. No turns! * Roll for six with the dice, if so draw a card then pass it or another card in your hand to someone * If you’re passed a card, you have to discard a card that was not passed to you. * Having a joker allows you to pick up the TROPHY (Toad) on a roll of six. * If you pick up the TROPHY (Toad), the game stops, you announce you have a joker and are looking for another, if someone has it they have to give it to you, the person losing a joker draws a card, the person gaining the joker discards a card. * If you have two jokers, you can end the game early by saying “haha!” at any point. * If you gain a joker you cannot discard it. * The game ends if someone says “haha!” or as soon as the deck runs out (and all card passes are resolved.) * If you have the highest poker hand, you win!
63
"I have so much feelings..."Roundtable
2018.01.02
This week, your nice hosts get into it. Stephen is split on everything, Mark is the bad guy, and it's all Martha's fault.
Stephen and Mark talked about their Ludum Dare 40 game, Widget Satchel, which Martha played on last week’s Nice Plays episode!
Loot Systems
0:03:58
Stephen McGregorGame DesignZelda: Breath Of The Wild Players Are Tricking Amiibos To Grind For Rare Loot - Ethan Gach , KotakuNioh's latest patch fixes its most annoying flaw - Jeffrey Matulef, Eurogamer
Stephen brought up our recent episode on repetition in games,
"Schrödinger’s Animal Crossing."NeuroVoider Chock-Full of Rogue-Like KillBot Twin-Stick Shooting - James Cunningham, Hardcore GamerBungie says it " betrayed" Destiny 2 fans over transparency - YouTube
Loot Boxes
0:29:30
Martha MegarryGamingMarketingLoot boxes in video games will soon get a review flag from OpenCritic - Sam Machkovech, Ars TechnicaWhat You Need To Know About Shadow of War's Controversial Loot Boxes - Patricia Hernandez, KotakuA Guide To The Endless, Confusing Star Wars Battlefront II Controversy - Gita Jackson, KotakuGearbox boss Randy Pitchford is ‘very much against predatory monetization schem… - Dustin Bailey, PCGamesNAn inconvenient truth: game prices have come down with time - Ben Kuchera, Ars TechnicaI Just Got A Bunch Of Overwatch Gift Cards, And I'm Terrified To Use Them - Nathan Grayson, KotakuHow Luis Von Ahn Turned Countless Hours Of Mindless Activity Into Something Val… - Alison Griswold, Business InsiderGame Designer Damion Schubert posted a thread on Twitter about how to do loot boxes ethically. Mark was not convinced.
15
"We are artists and we should be artists."Roundtable
2017.03.13
A day late but worth the wait! In this high signal-to-noise roundtable episode, each member of the club picks a topic that they are particularly passionate about:
Stephen shares his wisdom and guidance about playtesting your work early and often, Martha helps you get your act together in a practical discussion about project management, and Mark tries to explain the obligation he feels as an artist, but picks a weird hill to die on as he wrongly insists that Portal 2 isn't really about anything.
We're trying to make the show even better and we need your input! Be nice and visit our feedback form to tell us what you think!
Ice Cold Games@zacharyjohnsonNIce Games Club Feedback Form
Demoing and Playtesting
0:03:27
Stephen McGregorProduction
Project Management
0:33:26
Martha MegarryProductionToolstrelloAgile Development - WikipediaWaterfall Development - WikipediaKanban Development - WikipediaThe Blue Yarn - 99% Invisible - The Blue Yarn, 99% InvisibleNUMMI (2015) - NUMMI, This American LifeDavid Megarry's Three Questions all project managers should ask:
“Do you have all the resources you need?"
"Do you have any roadblocks or impediments?"
"Are you on schedule?”
“A project manager (PM) is more of a problem solver than anything else. If you don’t have the resources, the PM finds them. If there are roadblocks, the PM helps to find a way to get around them. If not on schedule, the PM alters it or adds more resources or changes scope. Above all, the PM communicates with management as to the state of the project so they can make proper decisions and not be blindsided or surprised.” -David Megarry
Messages and Meanings
0:52:56
Mark LaCroixGame DesignSummerland - Michael Chabon, NovelA Closer Look at How Three Assassin's Creed Games Have Handled Slavery - Evan Narcisse, KotakuFor Honor's accidental alt-right connection - Allegra Frank, Polygon
42
"You can see the cabbage in it."Roundtable
2017.08.30
It's a slightly experimental show this week, as we try to see what a two-topic episode looks like. Also, Martha defends her love of coleslaw, Stephen still doesn't really like VR, and Mark has almost completely lost his voice.
Discuss this week's episode on Reddit in r/gamedev here.
Video Game Immersion
0:05:54
Stephen McGregorGamingOur pal and VR innovator Andrew Fladeboe.Representation and Embodiment in Virtual Reality - Jorge Albor, PopMattersWould You Kindly Read This Article on Gaming’s Greatest Plot Twist? - Mike Diver, ViceOur recent episode of Nice Plays: OneShot - Nice Games Club, YouTubeEnhancing VR Immersion with the CPU in Star Trek: Bridge Crew - Cristiano F, Intel DevelopersCognitive Flow: The Psychology of Great Game Design - Sean Baron, Game DeveloperWhy Sonic the Hedgehog is awful, and always has been - Ryan Brown, MIrrorRequiem, a “roleplaying” mod for The Elder Scrolls: SkyrimMark is up to 118 shrines in Breath of the Wild. Stephen is not happy.
Main Menus and First Impressions
0:39:27
Mark LaCroixUI / UXWhy do console games require a button press before showing the main menu? - StackExchangeGame Design: Splash Screen - Jesse Freeman, MediumThe Ten Commandments Of Video Game Menus - Kirk Hamilton, KotakuWe didn’t get a chance to talk about it in the episode, but here is a cool brea… - Mike Fahey, Kotaku
88
The Gaming PressInterview
2018.05.29
Stephen is away showing off his games at the Anime Central convention, so we're also joined this week by our new permanent guest host and self-proclaimed "mean old lady," Holly Harrison, who was a guest on a previous episode!
For an episode 18 months in the making, Ben Hanson, video producer for Game Informer and host of the excellent gaming podcast The Game Informer Show, finally enters the clubhouse for a wide-ranging discussion about which games and developers get the attention of the gaming press, developing games for modern audiences, and creative leadership in both AAA and indie teams.
The Gaming Press
GamingIRLMarketingHere is the fabled tweet that started the long road to this episode.Subscribe to The Game Informer Show via RSS (podcast) or on YouTube.
Get more of Ben's unimpeachable wisdom on Twitter!How A Japanese Reality TV Show About Nothing Became A Global Hit - Mia Nakaji Monnier, BuzzfeedBen mentioned a clubhouse favorite game by a local developer, Color Jumper (on …
Enjoy Martha's famous crab dance!
Where the Water Tastes Like Wine Postmortem - Johnnemann Nordhagen, MediumBen mentioned the Easy Allies podcastAlan Alda's Experiment: Helping Scientists Learn To Talk To The Rest Of Us - Lulu Garcia-Navarro, NPRBen HansonGuestBen is a founder of MinnMax, former video producer for Game Informer, and overall fun enthusiast.
External link
TwitterMinnMax
10
"Try it once."Roundtable
2017.01.30
Our 10th(!!!) episode has your nice hosts teetering on the edge of not-so-niceness as they each describe something they just don't get (or don't quite like) in gaming, and hope the other two can bring them around.
Watching Games
0:01:28
Mark LaCroixGamingIRLEVO Fighting Game TournamentThe Controversial Dichotomy Between Sports and eSports - Jesse Aaron, Huffington PostAchievement Hunter - Rooster TeethThe Best of Modern Warfare Mythbusters - Defend teh House, YouTubeContradiction: Spot the Liar! - Giant BombHer Story"On Let's Plays" - That Dragon, Cancer
Narrative in Games
0:13:00
Stephen McGregorNarrativeLudonarrative Dissonance in Bioshock - Click NothingHow many times can you enter the cell? - Batman: Arkham Knight - YouTubePortal 2 - funniest quotes - ultrasoftcore, YouTubeThe Stanley ParableBrothers: A Tale of Two Sons - Ending - Epilogue - YouTube
Board Games
0:29:27
Martha MegarryTabletopDungeon! (created by Martha's dad, David Megarry)Animal Town Games: Save the Whales, Dam Builders, Nectar CollectorEvolutionStar Trek: AscendancyPuerto RicoPandemicFlashpoint
8
"Will you be the best with me?"Roundtable
2017.01.23
Some firsts in this episode: Our first iTunes review (thanks, Abdiwak!), our first episode of interconnected topics, and our first big ideological disagreement (ooo, drama!).
Gaming Mastery
0:01:33
Gamer Motivation Profile quiz - Quantic Foundry
Strategy Guides and Wikis
0:20:45
Martha MegarryGamingTools(Martha) Pokemon Crystal guide - Nintendo Power(Stephen) Donkey Kong Country 2 guideNintendo Power's Dragon Warrior giveaway - Press the Buttons
Designing Party Games
0:38:30
Mark LaCroixGame DesignUltimate Chicken HorseWe Didn’t Playtest This At All!SpaceteamJackbox Party PackSave the WhalesSushi Go!Overcooked
In this week's episode, Mark tackles optimization and Martha attempts to Catch 'em all.
- Widget Satchel is coming to PC and consoles!
- TASCAM stands for "Teac Audio Systems Corporation America."
Optimization
0:04:53
Mark LaCroixProgrammingAvoiding Unity Update Loops - Brad KeysMark put his Timer class on GitHub - GitHubUnity editor Extensions -The power of OnValidate - CJF incStatic Constructors (C# Programming Guide)
We talked about the Widget Satchel in a Code Comment Episode
Code Comment: "Widget Satchel"McDonalds! McDonalds! McDonalds! - @mcclure111, Twitter
Verdent Skies Code Comment
Code Comment: "Verdant Skies"ExecuteInEditMode will run your script in edit mode - The Knights of Unity
Mark was able to quickly find this animated GIF in his archives. He made this 3D model of a lizard creature in the Summer of 1998 (it pre-dates Pokémon's arrival in the US!) using a Windows 95 program called Micrografx Simply 3D.
Renaming Serialized Fields - Leonardo Carneiro, UnityTexturePacker - Code + Web Software - Code and Web
Pokémon
0:54:18
Martha MegarryGamingPokémon dual-type charts.Pokémon Y Nuzlocke Challenge - Polygon, YouTubePokémon Snap was ahead of its time - Jenna Stoeber, PolygonDr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine - Wikipedia23 Of The Weirdest Pokémon - Kyle Hilliard, Game Informer
This week on Nice Games Club we talk all about the labor of love that is making games for a living: how it can be great, how it can be not-so-great and how it could get better. Mark reports back from a conference, Martha gets on her soap box and Stephen realizes this podcast has been about documenting his career journey this entire time.
- Joggernauts by local developer Space Mace is on Steam and Switch!
- Joggernauts soundtrack by Robert Frost III
- Adobe MAX
Game Dev as a Day Job
0:11:44
Stephen McGregorIRLStephen works at Gamesmart!Glitch Jobs BoardGamasutra Jobs Board - Game Developer
Unions
0:38:53
Martha MegarryIRLTwin Cities Labor ChorusTelltale hit with class-action lawsuit for breaking labor laws - Samit Sarkar, PolygonInside Rockstar Games' Culture Of Crunch - Jason Schreier, KotakuVox UnionGame Workers UniteIt's Time For Game Developers To Unionize - Jason Schreier, KotakuOpinion: Now is the time to unionize the game industry - Katherine Cross, Game DeveloperMyles Horton - 20th Century Union Organizer - WikipediaUnions Must Address Racism - Ian Haney Lopez, AFL-CIO Blog
Freya Holmér, co-founder of Neat Corporation (makers of VR stealth game Budget Cuts) and creator of Shader Forge, joins the clubhouse remotely from Sweden, while your nice hosts join Freya on her regular gamedev Twitch stream.
Freya outlines her theory of gamedev self-education, touching on themes from her Glitchcon 2018 keynote presentation, but wait, there's more! It's an episode that ends half-way though its running time but keeps going anyway, as we branch off into a wide range of topics, including (but not limited to): the social habits of American vs. Swedish game developers, the difference between "duck" and "crouch," accidentally building a LGBT community, and the evolutionary advantage of believing in ghosts.
Self-education, et al.
IRLMisc.You can also find the livestream of the podcast on Freya’s Twitch here!Freya HolmerGuestFreya Holmér is game developer and co-founder of Neat Corporation (makers of VR stealth game Budget Cuts) and creator of Shader Forge. She spends signifiant time interacting with people on her gamedev Twitch stream.
External link
Freya on TwitchFreya on Twitter @FreyaHolmerFreya on YouTubeFreya on Instagram @freya_holmerNeat Corporation's WebsiteNeat Corp on Twitter @neatcorpBudget Cuts on SteamBuget Cuts on OcculusShader Forge on GitHub
On this week’s episode, your nice hosts talk with local artist/developer and VR Creative at Pixel Farm, Krista McCullough, about VR workflows and a lot more!
VR Workflows
ProductionVR / AR / XRPixel Farm VRJoyce Minions on Twitter - @minionsart, TwitterSculptris (free 3D sculpting software)Mike Blackney's exploration of spline-based modelling - TwitterKrista McCulloughGuestKrista McCullough is a VR Developer in Minneapolis.
External link
On Twitter @knm_xyzOn Instagram @knm_xyz
This week your Nice Hosts turn the Club House into a time machine to discuss 90s consoles and listen to some wicked video game soundtracks. Mark teaches us about LaserDisc, Martha is an 8-bit jukebox and Stephen ignores sick burns on jazz. Radical!
- 90s Slang - Bustle
90s Consoles
0:06:35
Mark LaCroixHardwareSolving the Zelda Timeline in 15 Minutes - Polygon, YouTubeBBC Domesday project - Wikipedia
Video Game Soundtracks
0:38:30
Stephen McGregorAudioKingdom Hearts InsiderPortal (jump pad song) Video - YouTubeLouie Zhong’s BandcampPolygon Sims jazz piano video - Clayton Ashley, Polygon
This week’s episode is another edition of Code Comment, where your nice hosts look at the project, code, assets, and design of an indie game to see how it’s made.
This week we are joined by Farzan Fatemi of Sleepy Macaw to show us behind the scenes of his abstract puzzle game Adjacency, which is available now on Steam and Itch! Martha steals Mark's line, Stephen and Mark discuss the idiosyncrasies of Unity and at the end of the episode Farzan reveals some surprising opinions about puzzle games.
Buy Adjacency now on Steam and Itch!
Video
This week, Stephen promises he can stop whenever he wants, Martha gets there eventually, and Mark earns 100%.
- If you like The Good Place, check out The Good Place: The Podcast! - Podcast
Space Exploration games
0:06:18
Martha MegarryGaming"Elite: the game that changed the world" - Adam Lusher, The Telegraph"BBC releases computer history archive" - BBChttps://www.polygon.com/2017/12/25/16817700/elite-dangerous-fuel-rats-rescue-cm… - Owen S. Good, Polygon"New Book Chronicles The Continuing History Of EVE Online" - Lee Yancy, Kotaku"Warring EVE Online Factions Declare Peace, For Money" - Lee Yancy, Kotaku"Star Citizen’s $27,000 bundle raises eyebrows" - Charlie Hall, Polygon
Gaming Habits
0:46:05
Mark LaCroixGamingIRLThe Surrounding Game, a recent documentary about American players of Go."Develop 2015 Highlights Rami Ismail, Indie Keynote" - Develop Conference and Rami Ismail, YouTube
This week on Nice Games Club we are trying out a new type of episode: Nice Games Jam! We get a topic from Martha’s boyfriend Dylan and then attempt to create a playable game by the end of the episode. We then include the rules here in the show notes for you to play at home!
Let us know what you think of this episode format on the feedback from!
Prompt a realtime card game [for PC]
Game type Card game
Materials
52 Card deck + two jokers
Six sided die (One per Player)
A stuffed trophy - we used a plush Toad! but a jesther hat would be the most appropriate
Setup * Each player starts with seven cards.
Rules * This game happens in real time. No turns! * Roll for six with the dice, if so draw a card then pass it or another card in your hand to someone * If you’re passed a card, you have to discard a card that was not passed to you. * Having a joker allows you to pick up the TROPHY (Toad) on a roll of six. * If you pick up the TROPHY (Toad), the game stops, you announce you have a joker and are looking for another, if someone has it they have to give it to you, the person losing a joker draws a card, the person gaining the joker discards a card. * If you have two jokers, you can end the game early by saying “haha!” at any point. * If you gain a joker you cannot discard it. * The game ends if someone says “haha!” or as soon as the deck runs out (and all card passes are resolved.) * If you have the highest poker hand, you win!
This week on the program, Mark starts playing Spider-Man, Stephen ignores your narrative, and Martha is very smart.
- The 'Spider-Man' Puddle Controversy Is One Of Gaming's Dumbest - Dave Thier, Forbes
Hub Worlds and Safe Houses
0:09:09
Martha MegarryGame DesignDestiny 2 Will Let You Play 'Fully Scored Soccer' - Alex Walker, KotakuGearbox and Claptrap honor late Borderlands fan with eulogy, NPC in sequel - Jessica Conditt, EngadgetSea of Thieves is fun until you meet other pirates - Fraser Brown, Rock Paper Shotgun
Environmental Storytelling
0:38:20
Mark LaCroixNarrative
An image of some of the narrative-assisting collectables in Widget Satchel
Mark talks about the subtext of Metro Nexus' overworld maps in our episode topic on research for games.
"That gets real meta, real fast."
This week on Nice Games Club your nice hosts talk all about Modding and Self-Publishing Must-Haves. Stephen explains different viewpoints on mod-ownership, Martha goes fishing on easier mode and Mark makes too many gifs.
Modding
0:05:00
Stephen McGregorGaming"Who owns the mods?" - Yonnie Ming Kow and Bonnie Nardi, First MondayThe Requiem mod team tells its community about the delays to their update here. - RedditNexus Mods is a great place to find community created mods.Wrye Musings is a blog from a famous Elder Scrolls modder who writes about vari…
Self-publishing Must-haves
0:44:30
Mark LaCroixMarketingYou can find good examples of gifs on the Widget Satchel Steam page. - Steam
Learn more about how to make a good website on our Website topic in our episode
"Ugly and hard to use."“How we Used Discord to build a dream community for our game Descenders” - Mike Rose , Discord
We have had friend of the pod/media relations wiz Holly Harrison on the show to talk about Community Management and Media Relations in our interview episode
Community Managment
This week, we look at Verdant Skies, the sci-fi life-simluation game from Howling Moon Software, available now on Steam, Itch, and Humble Bundle!
We're joined by two of the game's developers, Andy and Beth Korth, as well as their little one, Gabe. All three are making their second appearances in the clubhouse, as they were the program's very first guests back in our second episode (exactly 100 episodes ago)! We've already booked them for episode 202!
Video
This week, Mark doesn’t respect your secrets (but will keep them), Martha tells us where D&D really comes from, and Stephen reveals that he will play a Kirby RPG if someone makes one for him.
Pitching to Consoles
0:05:11
Mark LaCroixHardwareMarketingPlayStation
Information is on the PlayStation Partners site. Your first step is to fill out their company registration page.
Xbox
Information is on the ID@Xbox site. Before submitting your game, your first step will be to apply to the program with basic information about your company.
Nintendo
For Wii U and 3DS development, registration is open to all developers on their developer portal.
For Switch development, just send them an email! ThirdPartyPublisher@noa.nintendo.com.
General Business stuff
We talked about starting a business for your game studio in a previous episode.
"I trolled myself."“Not-for-profit game developer faces major obstacles” - Colin Campbell, Polygon
Turn-Based RPGs
0:52:15
Martha MegarryGaming“How to choose the least annoying Octopath Traveler” - Brian Gilbert, Polygon“The Dungeons and Dragons Session That Became a Real-Life Phenomenon” - Lewis Packwood, KotakuRPG Maker
In this episode, your nice hosts celebrate 100 episodes of Nice Games! We reminisce a bit on how the podcast has been going and go behind the scenes on what it takes to release one of the episodes.
Thanks for listening to us 100 times!
100th Episode Special
0:00:27
Meta
Our evil counterparts, Evil Games Club, have released two episodes so far...
Evil Games Club!
and this one
Evil Games Club 2!
Martha in the recording studio aka "Clubhouse"
Stephen
The Microphones we use to record.The audio interface (hardware) we use to record
This week’s episode is another edition of Code Comment, where your nice hosts look at the project, code, assets, and design of an indie game in development to see how it’s made.
This week, we are joined by Lane Davis, Charles McGregor and our co-host Stephen McGregor to take a look behind the scenes of their cooperative shoot-em-up Fingeance! Lane shows us how he and Stephen design levels for different difficulties, Stephen explains how they use 'Object Pooling' to spawn bullets and Charles breaks down his music tracks to show us how he sets the emotion for each level. It's the episode that is definitely three three three!
Video
This week, a listener gives Martha a great topic, Mark establishes a Do-ocracy, and Stephen has trouble with transitions.
Developing Ideas
0:05:48
Martha MegarryIRLThe book Martha recommended is "If You Want to Write" by Brenda Ueland. It has been described as "the best book ever written about how to write" but its advice applies equally well to all types of creative work.
Game Dev Success
0:36:10
Stephen McGregorIRL
This week on Nice Games Club we interview VR Developer Andrew Fladeboe about his dream-like VR experience/thesis project Oneirogen! We explore the infinite and paradigm changing possibilities of VR, learn how Andrew brought his virtual experience into the real world as an installation and get his advice for creating change- make more weird art!
Picture is a screenshot of Oneirogen by Andrew Fladeboe
Virtual Reality
VR / AR / XROneirogen on SteamAlchemists - WikipediaJoseph Campbell - WikipediaCarl JungCave of Forgotten Dreams film by Werner HerzogAndrew FladeboeGuestAndrew Fladeboe is an Artist and VR Developer. His photographs have been displayed worldwide.
External link
Andrew's websiteAndrew is on Twitter @FladeboeFind Andrew on Instagram @FladeboeOneirogen is on Steam now
This week on Nice Games Club your nice hosts discuss the good, the bad and the ugly of Level Design and Heads Up Displays. Mark has opinions about Sonic, Stephen picks his hill to die on and Martha brings in a pinch hitter.
Picture from this Reddit thread on MMO HUDs
Level Design
0:14:19
Mark LaCroixGame DesignTen Principles of Good Level Design (Part 1) - Dan Taylor, Game DeveloperMark and Stephen rant about Sonic the Hedgehog’s level design, but here’s a def… - Satchell Drakes, YouTubeKoichi Hayashida is the Level Design Director for Mario Galaxy/Director of Mario 3D Land (and lots and lots of other Marios) that Mark mentioned.
The Structure of Fun: Learning from Super Mario 3D Land’s Director - Christian Nutt, Game DeveloperBug! game - Wikipedia
HUDs
0:53:49
Stephen McGregorUI / UXDiegetic HUDs and UI - TV TropesThe Moon Fields by local dev Lunarsignals
This week’s episode is another edition of Code Comment, where your nice hosts look at the project, code, assets, and design of an indie game in development to see how it’s made.
This week, we look at our first non-Unity project (!!!) as Mark walks us though the ActionScript codebase of Metro Nexus, his in-development homage to the classic(?) arcade-era game City Connection. We also look at the art asset workflow Mark designed for the game.
Video
This week, Martha admits to piracy, Stephen tells Nintendo to just stop making GameCube controllers already, and Mark tells his favorite video game story which is about buttons because Mark is boring.
- Amazing Mario 3 Speedrun Is Full Of Setbacks And Sportsmanship - Heather Alexandra, Kotaku
Language of Games
0:11:31
Martha MegarryGame DesignWhen snarky players still want to give info against the GM’s wishes, you get th… - @SeiWot, TwitterStop, Drop, and Heal: The history of regenerating health” - Jeff Dunn, GamesRadarAn article from the developers of Mirror’s Edge Catalyst on the new Runner’s Vi… - EAThe Sony PlayStation’s buttons get explained by their designer - John Brownlee, Geek.comThe Japanese Side of the PlayStation Button Confusion - Richard Eisenbeis, KotakuThe passion of the checkpoint: Why gaming's most frustrating failure is so hard… - Ben Kuchera, Polygon
We played the convention-defying game OneShot on our very first Nice Plays episode.
Nice Plays: OneShot (2016)Rami Ismail documented his mother’s playing through new games on Twitter. - @tha_rami, Twitter
Sequels
1:07:25
Mark LaCroixMisc.The MIT Dropouts Who Created Ms. Pac-Man: A 35th-Anniversary Oral History - Benj Edwards , Fast CompanyTV Tropes has a list of spiritual successors in video games. - TV Tropes
The clubhouse welcomes back Lane Davis and new guest Gloria Kim to discuss developing and releasing a visual novel in 2018. We talk through the process of creating their visual novel, Ruler by Default, as well as hear their insights about being successful in the genre.
Visual Novels
Game DesignMarketingNarrativeTake a look at "Ruler by Default'"'s funded Kickstarter campaign.Buy "Ruler by Default" on Steam now - SteamGloria KimGuestProject lead, character design. Gloria is currently a student, soon to graduate from the University of Minnesota. From an early age she grew up playing visual novels and life simulators like the one we hope to create. Her past experiences include taking commissions from a local game store, numerous web comic entries, hosting artist booths at multiple anime conventions
Gloria Kim is a video game designer, artist and a visual novel enthusiast. She is a web comic writer, a anime artist and her biggest project to date was "Ruler by Default" a sucessfully funded kickstarter campaign from her comapny, Pistachi Studios
External link
Ruler by Defualt on Steam@studiopistachio on twitterPistashi Studios on FacebookLane DavisGuestLane Davis is Game designer/developer and friend of the show. He develops Fingance with Stephen McGregor and his brother Charles McGregor, and is one of the favorite fans of the club.
External link
Escape Industreis
This week, your nice hosts cover the topics of Rogue-likes and Crowdfunding while sneaking in a third topic about E3.
In this episode, Mark discusses his previous crowdfunding campaigns, Stephen discovers his new love for an old genre and Martha proposes a new E3 uniform rule.
- [0:00:28] E3
- Here’s the official E3 recap website if you missed any news.
- The Real Stories Behind E3’s Glossy Game Demos - Patrick Klepek, Kotaku
- HitRecord, Beyond Good & Evil 2 and the #nospec backlash - Jeff Ramos, Polygon
Roguelikes
0:29:45
Stephen McGregorGame DesignGamingAn article on the The Berlin Interpretation of Roguelikes from the Internationa… - Game Set Watch
We covered procedural generation in a previous episode:
"Mutual butt-kicking."
Crowdfunding
0:57:47
Martha MegarryMarketingProductionStar Citizen, I am disappointed - Robert Purchese, EurogamerThe Double Fine Adventure! documentary series is available on Youtube.Fig is a newer option for game developers to get funding.Mark loved WHAT THE GOLF?, already funded through Fig!
We talked about Steam Greenlight with the Korth family in their interview episode.
Steam GreenlightHatchfund has helped many artists become successfully funded as well.
This week’s episode is another edition of Code Comment, where your nice hosts look at the project, code, assets, and design of an indie game in development to see how it’s made.
This week, we scamper though Widget Satchel, a mascot-based platformer Mark and Stephen are working on. We took a look at the game right in our Ludum Dare Extravaganza Nice Play episode but the team has done so much more work since then! Learn all about the cool tools Mark coded to help Stephen build levels quickly, how mischief physics works, and more!
- We took a look at the game right in our Ludum Dare Extravaganza Nice Play episode but the team has done so much more work since then!
Nice Plays: Ludum Dare 40 games (2017)
Video
This week on Nice Games Club your nice hosts discuss Code Libraries, Tutorials and all the juicy pre-E3 news that was available at the time of this recording. Stephen debates the merits of show vs. tell in tutorials, Martha complains about the WordPress theme and plug-in search and Mark doesn't fall for Pokemon propaganda.
Picture: a diagram from this Wikipedia article of the iconic World 1-1 from Super Mario Brothers which was a tutorial in disguise!
- [0:05:17] Pre-E3 News
- How Close is 'Assassin's Creed: Origins' Egypt to the Real Thing? - Justin Reeve, Waypoint
Code Libraries
0:17:29
Mark LaCroixProgrammingNot Invented here (NIH) philosophy - TechopediaUnity ratchets up its marketing to game developers - without a GDC booth - Dean Takahashi, VentureBeat
Tutorials
0:41:51
Stephen McGregorGame DesignUI / UX
Stephen is still in missing in Chicagoland, so we once again retained the services of guest co-host Holly Harrison for an episode featuring two topics that could not be more completely unrelated to each other.
First, Holly teaches us some media relations skills that gamedevs need to know (even if they don't want to), and then, because Stephen isn't around to stop us, Mark and Martha (but mostly Mark) talk about the history of Star Trek games!
Media Relations
0:01:25
Holly HarrisonMarketingProductionHey you, indiedev, use presskit()!Write a better press release using the Inverted Pyramid - Todd Versteeg, Signature StyleHolly recommended “trying out” Buzzsumo and Buzzstream.
Artist Statement Guidelines - Getting Your Sh*t TogetherSimilarweb - WikipediaAsk Holly your PR questions on twitter: @hollharris.
Star Trek Games
0:31:20
Mark LaCroixGaming“How a Star Trek card game quietly continues, 10 years after its official end” - Cyrus Farivar, Ars TechnicaThe unreleased sequel to the Star Trek VCR board game was called “Borg Q-Uest.”…
The "Q the Referee" CCG card that features a still taken from that game's unused footage.
The fictional VCR board game from Community we mentioned was called “Pile of Bu…Mark talked about the end of the 90s-era Star Trek action figure line. That sto…“Looking At The Star Trek: TNG Interactive Technical Manual From 1994” - Will Stape, Treknews“The inside story of Apple's forgotten project: Quicktime VR” - Kif Leswing, Business InsiderYou can actually play “Star Trek: Klingon” on YouTube!“Language App Duolingo Finally Added Klingon” - David Murphy, Lifehacker“The best Star Trek games” - Richard Cobbett, PC Gamer“Jeff Bezos announces Amazon is picking up 'The Expanse'” - Richard Lawler, Engadget“Retrohistories: Secret of Vulcan Fury: Trek's Lost Adventure” - Chris Chapman, YouTube“The Game Archaeologist: Perpetual's Star Trek Online” - Justin Olivetti, EngadgetUbisoft teased on Twitter that DS9’s USS Defiant will appear in Bridge Crew.
Mark praised Star Trek: Ascendancy on a previous episode of the program.
Nicest of 2016“Hogwarts Mystery Players Upset With Use of Microtransactions” - Shabana Arif, IGN
For an episode 18 months in the making, Ben Hanson, video producer for Game Informer and host of the excellent gaming podcast The Game Informer Show, finally enters the clubhouse for a wide-ranging discussion about which games and developers get the attention of the gaming press, developing games for modern audiences, and creative leadership in both AAA and indie teams.
The Gaming Press
GamingIRLMarketingHere is the fabled tweet that started the long road to this episode.Subscribe to The Game Informer Show via RSS (podcast) or on YouTube.
Get more of Ben's unimpeachable wisdom on Twitter!How A Japanese Reality TV Show About Nothing Became A Global Hit - Mia Nakaji Monnier, BuzzfeedBen mentioned a clubhouse favorite game by a local developer, Color Jumper (on …
Enjoy Martha's famous crab dance!
Where the Water Tastes Like Wine Postmortem - Johnnemann Nordhagen, MediumBen mentioned the Easy Allies podcastAlan Alda's Experiment: Helping Scientists Learn To Talk To The Rest Of Us - Lulu Garcia-Navarro, NPRBen HansonGuestBen is a founder of MinnMax, former video producer for Game Informer, and overall fun enthusiast.
External link
TwitterMinnMax
This week's episode is another edition of Code Comment, where your nice hosts look at the project, code, assets, and design of an indie game in development to see how it's made.
This week, we're looking at HoverboardVR, a movement prototype that uses a DDR Dance Pad for locomotion in VR, created by Martha and her brother Henry.
You may have heard us talk about this project on the show before, and how you get to see it in action.
- Martha and Henry utilized the Virtual Reality Tool Kit for their prototype.
- Mark mentioned the Sega Activator, a failed peripheral for the Sega Genesis.
- Martha’s website has a description of Martha and Henry’s recent talk at MinneWe…
Video
This week, your nice hosts take a moment to celebrate Glitch's 8th birthday! Also: Martha doesn't like jumps, Stephen talks in a British(?) accent, and Mark calls Mega Man ugly.
Platformers
0:05:55
Martha MegarryGame DesignGamingThe 2.5D Owl game we were talking about is called Everend.
We talked about how we define game genres in a previous episode.
"I do business." You can download an early demo of the parkour racing game Sparkour right now!The Widget Satchel team watched a lot of ferret videos.You Say Jump, I Say How High? - Nordic Game Conference 2016, YouTubeSuper Mario Land Is Weird - Brawl in the Family
Player Agency
0:48:55
Stephen McGregorGame DesignNarrativeWhat is Player Agency and what is it good for? - StackExchange RPGA new direction for David Cage - Samit Sarkar, Polygon
This week we interview Aubrey Jane Scott, game developer for Monster Games, and discuss game development workflows. We go in-depth about keeping on task and making sure you're able to complete your projects.
Workflows
IRLProductionAubrey competed in the North Star Roller Derby. Her name on the team is Glitch …Mark mentioned social jet lag that he’s just recently discovered.Jesse Schell is one of Aubrey’s mentors, who wrote about the Elemental Tetrad that she references in the show.
Double Fine’s documentary series, Double Fine Adventure, is a good look into th…Aubrey brings up decision mapping as a good way to brainstorm.Aubrey Jane ScottGuestAubrey is a Games Generalist focusing on Engineering and Design.
External link
Aubrey's WebsiteTwitter
This week your nice hosts discuss making game demos and physical games! Martha is nostalgic, Mark eats some marshmallows and Stephen can't remember his childhood. Oh, and Mortho likes sports. But you probably already knew that.
Photo credit- Neat Corporation press photo of their game Budget Cuts. Have you played the demo?
- GLITCH Bday
- Organ Temple VR, Sara's VR game
- Oneirogen, Andrew’s VR game
- Here is the cool print out of Mark's play-through of Oneirogen!
- The marshmallows Mark bought with his tax return
Making a Demo
0:12:40
Mark LaCroixMarketingProductionBudget Cuts demoStanley Parable demoNetstorm
Physical Games
0:41:21
Martha MegarryPhysical GamesShips across the oceanCalvinballCup stackingJohann Sebastian Joust
This week, your nice hosts have put together a new video format for the show, called Code Comment, where we take apart a game from our gamedev community, looking at the project, code, assets, and design to see how it's made.
For this first edition, we chose Claw Breaker, a game jam game turned upcoming commercial release made by a team that included Martha and Stephen. It's how they met!
Video
This week, Mark returns from San Fransisco, your nice hosts get the math wrong, and everyone agrees that Claw Breaker is worth real money.
- We’re launching our new video format (now called “Code Comment”) next week! In the first edition, we dig into Claw Breaker! Look forward to it!
- And if you haven’t already, check our our Nice Plays videos.
Nostalgia
0:06:43
Stephen McGregorGamingThe old PlayStation Spyro games are being re-released as a trilogy, to some mixed reception.
Firmament is a VR game being made by the developers of Myst.Speaking of Myst nostalgia, Cyan just announced a 25th Anniversary re-release.Mark recently read a few of the Boss Fight Books: books about past games with i…We talked about our game influences in a previous episode: “Schrödinger’s Anima…
PC Games Market
0:34:23
Mark LaCroixMarketingProductionSteam Spy announces it’s shutting down, blames Valve’s new privacy settings - Sam Machkovech, Ars TechnicaLet's Be Realistic: A Deep Dive into How Games Are Selling on Steam - Mike Rose, GDCJane Ng, lead artist at Campo Santo, started a great thread on Twitter about lo…
Mark mentioned the user testing he commissioned for Metro Nexus, which we talked about with Hannah Murphy in the episode “Games User Research, Redux! (with Hannah Murphy).”
Mark is still in San Fransisco, so his lovely wife Dale (she of Evil Games Club) fills in and talks with Martha and Stephen about bad game design and good character design.
"Bad" Game Design
0:02:48
Stephen McGregorGame Design
We put Martha though the worst Mario game ever in an episode of Nice Plays.
Nice Plays: Super Mario Bros. 2 [Japan] (1986)Want some rye?The Tetris Effect - WikipediaUbisoft Aware of Tetris Ultimate Issues - Jason Dunning, PlayStationLifeStyleE.T.: Walkthrough and Easter Eggs - TrillingWonder, YouTubeA videogame for #blacklivesmatter - Zach Budgor, Kill Screen
Character Design
0:32:52
Martha MegarryArtNarrativeChoosing Your Pirate In Sea Of Thieves Is Hard - Mike Fahey, KotakuHow to Convey Character’s Personality Through Shape, Variance and Size - Bilyana, Graphic MamaMaking Comics - Scott McCloud, WikipediaCrumpets and Badonkadonks: Creating Tiny Tina - Ashly and Anthony Burch, YouTube
This week Dale from Evil Games Club joins us as we call in to Mark on location in San Francisco for the Game Developers Conference!
- Minneapolis is the Most Bikingest
- MOST Bikingest!
- Most parklandest!
- Gayest city? Magazine says it's Minneapolis
GDC 2018 Highlights
0:02:17
Mark LaCroixEventsSony VR with Joshua BellBudget CutsGorogoa postmortemClassic postmortem on Sonic the HedgehogGame Dev Union / Games Workers UniteThe Other PartyGameJolt’s Bring Your Own Indie Party, where Mark showed his game for three hou…Participants in Glitch’s Power Leveling program got to tour Double Fine’s studio, among other adventures!
Katie’s twitter thread of all the awesome Minnesotans at GDC!
This week on Nice Plays, the show where the Nice Games Club gamedevs play nice games, we continue a conversation from last week’s roundtable, and preview a topic from an upcoming episode.
Your nice hosts talk about gamedev philosophy while Martha plays the zen-inspired game Everything, and talk about character design as Stephen wanders into Martha's ranch and makes a big ‘ol mess in the super-adorable farming game Slime Rancher.
Video
This week on Nice Plays, the show where the Nice Games Club gamedevs play nice games, we continue a conversation from last week’s roundtable, and preview a topic from an upcoming episode.
Your nice hosts talk about gamedev philosophy while Martha plays the zen-inspired game Everything, and talk about character design as Stephen wanders into Martha's ranch and makes a big ‘ol mess in the super-adorable farming game Slime Rancher.
Video
This week, your nice hosts get a bit personal as they talk about the research that has gone into their games and the philosophies behind them, as well what exactly a Nice Game is. Also in the episode: Stephen has confusing feelings about MAR10 Day, Mark finds more reasons to reference Star Trek and Martha discusses her previously undisclosed acting talents.
- Perhaps it is time for the… Millenium of the Peach.
- We’re all excited about the upcoming games described in this Nintendo Direct.
Research for Games
0:10:35
Mark LaCroixGame DesignHere are the 30 maps Mark spent a few weeks researching for.How ‘Never Alone’ turns cultural heritage into video game history - Matt Kamen, WiredHow Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice deals with psychosis - James Lloyd, Science FocusUniverse SandboxElite DangerousMark mentions this game 30 for 30 episode titled Madden’s Game. - 30 for 30, ESPN
Gamedev Philosophies
0:45:26
Martha MegarryIRLMisc.The Manifesto Jam has many fascinating statements about approaching game development. Here are the ones we mention on the show:
I was trying to make a game but my dog got in the way…Secret languagesMoney-festoRules for not losing myselfManifesto for gentle gamesGames are weird tiny things that teach usNotecard minifestos
This week Stephen made it to the clubhouse despite the Minnesota snow, Mark shares his knowledge of object oriented programming and Martha yells at the Unity docs.
Photo is of Glitch HQ and is from Glitch.mn
- There’s a #nicegamesclub channel on the MSPGameDev Slack now!
- Stephen’s interview on Tech.MN
- Mark’s 30 Metro Nexus maps, in gif form!
Game Programming
0:09:13
Mark LaCroixProgrammingGodot is a game engine similar to Unity, but with object-oriented programming a…
We’ve talked about coding styles in our episode titled
"Proper ones and twos."Martha went to the coding boot camp Prime Digital Academy.Learning Fluency - Sara Simon, MediumMark mentioned the book Game Programming Pattern, a resource also available for… - Robert Nystrom
Work Spaces
0:52:06
Stephen McGregorIRLToolsIf you use part of your home for business, you may be able to get a tax reducti…
Your nice hosts welcome instructional designer Ellen Burns-Johnson to the clubhouse, as we discuss the many ways to approach teaching using interactive games. Along the way, we talk about bugs (of the many leg variety), snow falling from buildings, and traumatizing but educational game experiences.
Learning Through Games
Game DesignUI / UXEllen references THOTH, a twin-stick shooter made by Carlsen Games.Much of Ellen’s work is based off of the CCAF framework.Learn about how to make fake news from the educator backed Bad News.Custom eLearning Vs. Off-The-Shelf eLearning: Which Is Right For You? - Ayesha Habeeb Omer, Ph.D, eLearning IndustryCathy Moore talks about training design ideas on her blogKentucky Fried Chicken’s Virtual Reality game The Hard Way - YouTubeAssassin’s Creed Origins’ new educational mode is a violence-free tour through … - Andrew Webster, The VergeEllen played SimAnt as a kid!Ellen Burns-JohnsonYour Nice HostGuestBy day, Ellen Burns-Johnson is a learning experience designer (LXD) and consultant. With more than a decade of experience in the education and training industries, she has crafted the instructional strategy and design for dozens of major initiatives across diverse topics, from classroom safety to IT sales. Emphasizing collaboration and playfulness in her approach to creating learning experiences, Ellen’s work has earned multiple awards for interactivity and gameful design.
By night (and on the weekends) Ellen stays as plugged into the Twin Cities Gamedev scene as she’s able to, contributing to game jam teams and local projects. She was a level designer and “explosion czar” on Widget Satchel and a designer/producer for a few different Ludum Dare and Global Game Jam teams.
Ellen lives in Saint Paul with her husband Eric and their two dogs, Dante and Pixel. Ellen is terrible at racing games, she always picks the sniper build, and she loves a good puzzle/platformer.
External link
Ellen on LinkedInEllen on Twitter
This week on Nice Plays, the show where the Nice Games Club gamedevs play nice games, we played two just-released local indie games.
Martha played the life-simulation game Verdant Skies, and Stephen played the non-violent 3D platformer Newt One. We had a lot to say about both, which we loved, and not just because the developers are friends of the show.
You can watch both episodes on YouTube by using the links below, or by visiting this episode's page on https://nicegames.club
- Download a special Nice Games Club-themed item for your home in Verdant Skies by using this code: A836-4C64-83CB
Video
This week on Nice Plays, the show where the Nice Games Club gamedevs play nice games, we played two just-released local indie games.
Martha played the life-simulation game Verdant Skies, and Stephen played the non-violent 3D platformer Newt One. We had a lot to say about both, which we loved, and not just because the developers are friends of the show.
You can watch both episodes on YouTube by using the links below, or by visiting this episode's page on https://nicegames.club
Video
This week, your nice hosts talk about Star Trek for longer than usual, and Mortho returns with an NGC Sports Update. Also: Stephen executes a delicious self-own in a discussion on Achievements, Mark sings a song about cities, and Martha hopes to design puzzles that even Stephen will appreciate.
- The Greatest Discovery podcast
- Report: Geguri Will Be The First Woman Signed To An Overwatch League Team - Nathan Grayson, Kotaku
Achievements
0:08:10
Stephen McGregorGame DesignGamingPortal 2’s best achievement: This is the Part Where He Kills You - BuddytheRat, YouTubeAchievement Unlocked is a parody game about achievementsHUDdledLudum Dare Nice Plays specialThe Simpsons Game - AchievementBros, YouTubeAlexander Hamilton, a Federalist, probably wouldn’t have liked Achievements eit…
Puzzle Design
0:39:46
Martha MegarryGame DesignLevel Design Workshop: Solving Puzzle Design - Jolie Menzel, GDCAnalysis: Puzzle Design in the Myst Series - Gregory Weir, Game DeveloperTim Schafer on Day of the Tentacle’s awful car wash puzzle: “[It] seemed a lot … - Bob Mackey, USgamerThis Might Be Persona 5's Biggest Localization Fail - Chris Kohler, KotakuGrumpy Gamer on Puzzle Dependency Charts - Ye Olde Grumpy Gamer BlogOur pal Martin’s company Abstract Puzzle makes games including Puzzle Prison VRVisual Understanding Environment is an Open Source project for managing digital…Embedded Puzzle Manifesto - Joey Jones, Far Far Future
This week, Martha goes into more detail about her game, Stephen gushes about all the plushies he wants and Mark reminisces about the good old days of Super Mario Bros. 3.
Merch
0:07:49
Mark LaCroixMarketing
Stephen's Kirby Corner
The Nintendo World Store is an awesome place for sweet Nintendo swag."Blown Up Game Boy From The Gulf War" - Vince Veneziani, TechCrunch
Mark's pikman plushie watches over his demo setup
Mark’s “Tails” aka Miles Prower plush!
TopataCo is a nice place to host your merch at.
The Space Junk team made stickers of their garbage!
Don’t you just want to hug a Sprocket of your own?
Here’s an older gif of Fingeance’s enemies.
Metro Nexus maps would make great posters, right?
The Joggernauts team has been selling their pins everywhere you can find them!
The Coleslaw Council’s official pin design.
Starting a Game
0:39:18
Martha MegarryIRL
Martha started working on her point and click game
Ron Gilbert’s blogThimbleweed Park dev
We’ve talked a bit about Programmer Art in a previous episode
"Bananas, from here to eternity."Martha realized during the show that the Usborne puzzle adventures were influen…
It's Global Game Jam 2018! In this special jam episode you'll hear field interviews with gamedevs at the Minneapolis Gamecraft site mid-jam as they work on their games. Then your nice hosts talk all about how the weekend went for them and what they each got out of the experience. Martha is a stage manager, Mark can't help but make artistic developer art and Stephen is the GGJ MVP.
- Stephen’s GGJ game: ”Dicer and Clasp: Dungeon Skedaddle”. - Stephen's GGJ Team, GGJ
- Mark’s GGJ gam: ”CMYK”. - Mark's GGJ Team, GGJ
- Marth's GGJ Interviews
- Adia on Twitter. Adia’s game: “Jank Escape”
- Ellen on Twitter. Ellen worked with Stephen on “Dicer and Clasp.”
- “Intergalactic Transmissing”
- “Radwave”
- “Social Anxiety Simulator”
- “Space Pirate Radio”
- Charles’ wry tweet about the GGJ theme.
Global Game Jam 2018
EventsIntergalactic Transmissing found the community at nesdev.com a great resource f…Mark used a very helpful open-source library called VRTK for his GGJ game.Mark used AssetForge to create 3D assets for his GGJ game.
Rachel Peterson was a guest on a previous episode.
Games Education
(Watch this and other Nice Plays on YouTube in HD-quality.)
All three of your nice hosts play ball in this episode, taking each other to task in the super-playful party fighter Lethal League. Martha almost beats Stephen, Stephen patiently tries to explain it to Mark, and Mark doesn't understand what's happening even when he's winning.
Video
(Watch this and other Nice Plays on YouTube in HD-quality.)
In this episode, Mark dies a lot in Nioh, but his complaining has nothing to do with that.
We're trying something new with Nice Plays, where we pick up our episode a little ways into a game rather that starting from the beginning. We'll also be talking about a particular mechanic or feature in the game which relates to a topic we had discussed in detail on a previous episode of the podcast.
We're taking baby steps in this direction with this episode, where we pick up about an hour into the game, and focus a bit on the loot system. Your nice hosts discussed loot systems (and loot boxes) a few weeks ago in the episode "I have so much feelings." (https://nicegames.club/2018/01/i-have-so-much-feelings-loot-systems-loot-boxes/)
Video
It's been awhile since your nice hosts recorded in the clubhouse, and they have a lot to talk about, including news about Martha's now-in-development point-and-click game!
This, plus the return of Mortho, an uncritical endorsement of capitalism, and Stephen admitting that Uncharted 4 maybe had some good things about it.
- That Nintendo Labo Robot Game Looks Awfully Familiar - Chris Kohler, Kotaku
- The Global Game Jam is this weekend! It’s not too late to sign up!
- An Overwatch Women's League isn't the answer - Ashley Oh, Polygon
Steam
0:10:06
Stephen McGregorHardwareMarketingThe biggest issues with Steam in 2017, according to 230 developers - Lars Doucet, PC GamerVerdant Skies will be out on Steam real soon!
We previously talked about Steam Direct in the clubhouse...
"We joke here."
...and had Andy, Beth and Gabe Korth in to discuss Steam Greenlight.
Steam GreenlightA few alternatives to Steam: Itch.io, Good Old Games, Humble Bundle, Robot Cache.
So You Want To Compete With Steam - Lars Doucet, Game Developer
Games in Games
0:43:35
Mark LaCroixGame DesignGamingTV Tropes has a great list of games within games.The secret world of hidden games - K. Thor Jensen, Geek.comMicrosoft Excel ‘95 contained Hall of Tortured Souls and Excel ‘97 had a space simulator!
Long Lost Emulation Easter Egg Discovered in GoldenEye - Kate Cox, KotakuInside the Development of Gaming's Biggest Mystery, 'Frog Fractions 2' - Patrick Klepek, WaypointUncharted 4 Has The Perfect Video Game Ending - Luke Plunkett, KotakuWolfenstein 3D returns with a twist in Wolfenstein 2 - Patrick Gill, PolygonOne of Martha’s favorite games, Spy Fox in Dry Cereal, contains a small game ca…
This week, your nice hosts are introduced by Felix Foster, writer and narrative designer, to talk about character dialogue (or dialog, as was deemed also appropriate during the show).
Character Dialogue
Game DesignProductionFelix mentions The Prophet from The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, who is looking for… - xenmordoc, YouTubeHere’s examples of audio logs from Bioshock Infinite. - YouTubeFallout 4’s 'Full Dialogue' Mod Makes The Game Way Better - Kirk Hamilton, KotakuBranching Conversation Systems and the Working Writer, Part 1: Introduction - Alexander Freed, Game DeveloperClementine Won't Remember That: The False Promises of Telltale's The Walking De… - Matthew Byrd, , Den of Geek
We talked about character creation and motivations in a previous episode,
"Shaniqua Shepard sounds cool."Felix FosterGuestFelix Foster is a writer and narrative designer. He is on the board of Twin Cities Pride.
External link
@felixxx244Felix is on Instagram @felixxx244
Another year of great games! All "four" of your hosts gather in the freezing clubhouse to talk about some of the nicest games of 2017. They decided that they couldn't ALL talk about Zelda and Mario for the whole episode so each of them picked exactly two games to highlight. Mark is on brand, Stephen makes some ambitious resolutions and Martha totally didn't cheat the system.
- Listen to Sara’s Widget Satchel Soundtrack here! - Sara Ferrart
- Play the jam version of Widget Satchel - Ludem Dare Game Jam
Martha’s/Mortho’s Nicest (2017)
0:08:19
Martha MegarryNicestThimbleweed Park - Terrible Toybox, IncSlime Rancher - Monomi ParkDestiny 2 - BungieCheck out #madewithblocks on Twitter to see/share amazing things made with Bloc…
We talk a lot about Destiny 2 in our topic, Repetition, in our episode
"Schrödinger’s Animal Crossing."
Mark’s Nicest (2017)
0:22:09
Mark LaCroixNicestStar Trek: Bridge Crew - UbisoftGorogoa - Buried Signal & Annapurna InteractiveThe old school Star Trek game we reminisced about is probably Star Trek: The Ne… - Spectrum Holobyte
We talked about VR immersion in a past episode
"You can see the cabbage in it."If you are local stop by Glitch’s VR Night run by Mark!The Puzzle Of A Lifetime - Chris Kohler , Kotaku
Stephen’s Nicest (2017)
0:32:33
Stephen McGregorNicestArms - NintendoNeurovoider - Flying Oak Games
Hear more about Stephen’s love for fighting games on our Fighting game topci in episode,
"Shaniqua Shepard sounds cool."
Stephen's Most Anticipated (for 2018)
0:38:35
Stephen McGregorNicestSoul Calibur 6 - Michael McWhertor, PolygonKirby 2018 - Nintendo, YouTubeSmash on the Switch (NINTENDO PLEASE)
Martha's/Mortho's Most Anticipated (for 2018)
Martha MegarryNicestMineko’s Night Market - Meowza GamesOoblets - Glumberland
This week, your nice hosts get into it. Stephen is split on everything, Mark is the bad guy, and it's all Martha's fault.
Stephen and Mark talked about their Ludum Dare 40 game, Widget Satchel, which Martha played on last week’s Nice Plays episode!
Loot Systems
0:03:58
Stephen McGregorGame DesignZelda: Breath Of The Wild Players Are Tricking Amiibos To Grind For Rare Loot - Ethan Gach , KotakuNioh's latest patch fixes its most annoying flaw - Jeffrey Matulef, Eurogamer
Stephen brought up our recent episode on repetition in games,
"Schrödinger’s Animal Crossing."NeuroVoider Chock-Full of Rogue-Like KillBot Twin-Stick Shooting - James Cunningham, Hardcore GamerBungie says it " betrayed" Destiny 2 fans over transparency - YouTube
Loot Boxes
0:29:30
Martha MegarryGamingMarketingLoot boxes in video games will soon get a review flag from OpenCritic - Sam Machkovech, Ars TechnicaWhat You Need To Know About Shadow of War's Controversial Loot Boxes - Patricia Hernandez, KotakuA Guide To The Endless, Confusing Star Wars Battlefront II Controversy - Gita Jackson, KotakuGearbox boss Randy Pitchford is ‘very much against predatory monetization schem… - Dustin Bailey, PCGamesNAn inconvenient truth: game prices have come down with time - Ben Kuchera, Ars TechnicaI Just Got A Bunch Of Overwatch Gift Cards, And I'm Terrified To Use Them - Nathan Grayson, KotakuHow Luis Von Ahn Turned Countless Hours Of Mindless Activity Into Something Val… - Alison Griswold, Business InsiderGame Designer Damion Schubert posted a thread on Twitter about how to do loot boxes ethically. Mark was not convinced.
(Watch this and other Nice Plays on YouTube for HD-quality.)
It's an Xmas miracle! In this jumbo-sized edition, your nice hosts play 36 (!!!) games in less than 50 minutes! Each of these games were created during the 40th Ludum Dare online game jam, which took place December 1st - 4th, 2017.
Stephen and Mark participated in this jam with friends of the show Sara Ferret and Lane Davis, and to cap off this episode, Martha plays their game, Widget Satchel.
- Games
- AntiBucket
- Avoidance
- Babies with Guns
- Between Stations
- Brick Racer
- Claustrophobia
- Coinminator 2000
- Critters Inc.
- Crosstalk
- Dangle Copter
- Apparently I'm a Detective
- The Fabulous Orchestra of Mister Vincent
- Games Games Games
- Green Chefs and Pancakes
- Heartless Jump
- Heavy Hearts
- HUDdled
- I'm Not Here
- Just Another Day
- Ketchup Quest
- Kiwi is the Key
- Too Many Rules
- Fit In
- Mini Mystery
- Moths
- No Coins Allowed
- NoteBoy
- Office Escape
- Synapse
- Tail
- The Adequate Shepard
- The Gravedigger
- I'll Take You To Tomato Town
- Too Many Cats!
- Enjoy the Flowers
- Widget Satchel
Video
Your nice hosts interview Ben Burnes, sole developer of recently released Color Jumper, to discuss the process of finally releasing a game, and the lessons learned along the way.
Releasing a Game
MarketingProductionColor Jumper is available on Steam right now! You can try it out on the itch.io page
The 20/60/20 Rule of Leadership” - Derrick Strand, Linked InBen had mixed results with Keymailer.Ben shared two years(!!) of in-development GIFs of Color Jumper.Facepunch.Steamworks is a C# Library for Steamworks.
Will Tice was a previous guest who we talked to about solo development.
Solo DevelopmentBen talked about how every last 10% of work is another 90% of work, and so on. But don’t worry, because 0.999... is equal to 1!
The Agile Composer: Project Management for Game Audio - Dan Hulsman, Video Game Music AcademyBen BurnesGuestBen Burnes is a game programmer, artist, musician, and cat lover. His game Color Jumper was recently released.
External link
@ben_burnes on twitterBen Burnes creates music on PatreonBen Burnes on YouTubeHis music is on SoundCloudBen Burnes on Twitchand on Trello
This week is Stephen's first turn as roundtable host, Mark teaches us about film and Martha sells her soul for three Destiny 2 faction tokens.
Mark and Stephen and friends made it through Ludum Dare! Check out their game called Widget Satchel.
Influences
0:02:49
Mark LaCroixIRLProductionWhat Is Blackout Poetry? These Fascinating Poems Are Created From Existing Art - E. Ce Miller, BustleThat action/puzzle game Stephen was trying to remember was Meteos.
We talked about Star Wars Episode 1 Racing in our episode on racing games.
"We joke here."The Secret of Mario's Jump (and other Versatile Verbs) - Game Maker's Toolkit, YouTubeThe Norwood Suite Is A Very Different Kind Of Music Game - EThan Gach, Kotaku
Repetition
0:46:44
Martha MegarryGame DesignThe Unexpected Joy Of Repetition In Video Games - Heather Alexander, KotakuDesert Bus comes to VR at long last - Owen S. Good, PolygonStuck on repeat: why we love repetition in music - Tom Service , The GuardianSaying the same word over again until it means nothing is called semantic satia… - WikipediaLoops Episode - Radiolab, Podcast
(Watch this and other Nice Plays on YouTube for HD-quality.)
In this episode, Mark plays the opening chapter of one of Martha's very favorite games, Borderlands 2, and then Martha takes over to show off her badassitude. Your nice hosts talk about narrative in FPS games, generous loot systems, and how wonderful/terrible Claptrap is.
Game: Borderlands 2
Developer: Gearbox Software
Publisher: 2K Games
Platform: PC
Year: 2012
Genre: First-person shooter
Video
(Watch this and other Nice Plays on YouTube for HD-quality.)
In this episode, your nice hosts battle each other in a brand new indie fighting game. The overall win-loss record isn't important... the main takeaway is that Martha and Mark both beat Stephen.
Game: Inflatality
Developer: Hojo Studio
Publisher: Hojo Studio
Platform: PC
Release date: Oct. 26, 2017
Genre: Fighting
Video
This week, Martha hosts her first roundtable episode, Mark starts another argument, and Stephen gets sassy about his favorite game genre.
Stephen did regret promising to have his talk notes up. They’ll be up ASAP!
Martha had a blast at the My Brother, My Brother and Me show!
Fighting Games
0:08:08
Stephen McGregorGamingGames N’ Go in Roseville, MN often has Friday fighting game nights.The Moon Fields, a Wisconsin fighting game by Lunar Signals.Terminology and glossary guide for fighting games - Event HubsThe White Belts Facebook group is helpful for those looking to start fighting g…In case you’re curious who the top characters are in Super Smash Bros. games, h…Sonic hurricane dot com is a great guide about footsies and the role it plays i…
Character Roleplaying
0:40:09
Mark LaCroixGamingNarrativeThe Uncharted 2 commercial Mark references. It is pretty terrible.
We reference a few of the future games talked about in the past episode,
"We joke here."Seems some other people agree with Mark’s stance on Shepard’s first name.
It’s a very special episode, as your nice hosts celebrate one year(!!!) of Nice Games Club by revising their favorite topics from the show’s first 50+ episodes. Also: Mark complains about Las Vegas, Martha repeatedly gets the last laugh, and Stephen doesn’t like talking about his problems.
Imposter Syndrome (revisited)
0:03:06
Stephen McGregorIRLImpostor Syndrome Is Not Just a Confidence Problem - Alicia Liu, Medium
Conferences / Gaming Events (revisited)
0:14:20
Mark LaCroixEventsGamingAdobe’s prototype AI tools let you instantly edit photos and videos - James Vincent, The VergeSo Adobe XD CC is out, what now? - Alexander Dimitrov, Prototypr
VR Development (revisited)
0:24:50
Martha MegarryVR / AR / XRWe never miss an opportunity to plug Beach Ball Valley. - SteamGoogle BlocksLogitech made a VR keyboard kit so you can type in the Vive - Adi Robertson, The VergeEVE developers CCP pulling out of VR - Adam Smith, Rock Paper ShotgunOculus is closing its VR film studio - Adi Robertson, The VergeGoogle acquires Owlchemy Labs VR game studio - Lucas Matney , TechCrunchWindows Mixed Reality Headsets Gain SteamVR Support, a Library of VR Games - Anton Shilov, AnandTech
Prototyping (revisited)
0:40:08
Game DesignProduction
This topic revisits our episode
"Pick up all the things."15 Top Prototyping Tools Go Head-to-Head - Dave Kearney and Daniel Schwarz, SitepointYouthprise
Messages and Meanings (revisited)
0:48:44
Mark LaCroixGame Design
This topic revisits our episode
"We are artists and we should be artists."
Strategy Guides (revisited)
1:06:04
Stephen McGregorGaming
This topic revisits our episode
"We are artists and we should be artists."
The Future of Nice Games Club
1:13:57
Meta
A special episode, with a unique guest, who is also a fan of the show! Minneapolis-based Riddle Room creator and owner Art Allen enters the clubhouse to talk about making, designing, and operating puzzle/escape room games, and the ways in which its similar and different from creating digital games.
Puzzle/Escape Rooms
Physical GamesPeeking Behind the Locked Door: A Survey of Escape Room Facilities - Scott NicholsonThe 10 Best VR Puzzle and Escape Room Games - Andy O'Donnell, LifewireThe Stagecoach-themed children’s book we talked about is Nine for California, b…Escape Room Enthusiast Facebook groupEscape Room Owners Facebook groupArt AllenGuestArt Allen is the creator and owner of Minneapolsi-based Riddle Room. Riddle Room operates four separate Escape Room Games in the Twin-Cities, including 2017 Golden Lock In Winner for the Room Utopia, from Room Escape Artist.
External link
Riddle Room website.Riddle Room on Twitter.Art Allen on Twitter.Riddle Room on Facebook.Riddle Room's Utopia game.
In this episode, Mark plays a new indie release by a Twin Cities developer. He dies a lot, and it's only partially the controller's fault.
Game: Color Jumper
Developer/Publisher: Tall Beard Studios
Platform: Windows / Mac / Linux
Year: 2017
Genre: Precision Platformer
- Color Jumper on Itch.io.
- Color Jumper on Steam.
- Ben Burnes on Twitter.
- Ben is also a musician and songwriter!
- ...and he streams on Twitch!
Video
In this episode, Martha (and then Stephen) are tortured by bad level design and user-hostile game mechanics in the original Japanese version of Super Mario Bros. 2, while Mark praises the oft-misunderstood American version of the game.
NOTE: Mark was wrong. There were mid-level checkpoints in the original Super Mario Bros.
Game: Super Mario Bros. 2 (Japan)
Developer/Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Famicom Disk System
Year: 1986
Genre: Platformer
- This game is exhaustively detailed at Super Mario Wiki.
- Mark really loves the American version of Super Mario Bros. 2, which you can read a lotabout.
Video
In our first (and likely only ever) Halloween episode, Martha haunts the clubhouse, Mark delivers some bad Zelda-related news to Stephen, and from Stephen’s topic a thousand flowers bloom.
- Mark gave a talk on object-oriented programming at the first annual M+DEV confe…
Upcoming Games
0:04:41
Mark LaCroixGamingTech Interview: Destiny 2 and Bungie's return to PC gaming - Richard Leadbetter, Eurogamer18 new Nintendo Switch games are out this week — the most ever - Allegra Frank, PolygonPokemon Stars: all the latest leaks from the confirmed Nintendo Switch game - Emma Boyle, TechRadar[Your Name] the Hedgehog - Know Your Meme
Release Dates
0:20:58
Mark LaCroixMarketingThe Dark Night Rises had No Competition at the Box Office - Jim Pagels, SlateThe Weird Reason Why Video Games Are Released On Tuesdays - Karyne Levy, Business InsiderWe asked folks at r/gamedev about release date strategies. Thanks to those who contributed to this episode!
Win Conditions
0:31:07
Stephen McGregorGame DesignLoot Boxes Are Designed To Exploit Us - Heather Alexandra,, KotakuHow Game Designers Protect Players From Themselves - Game Maker's Toolkit, YouTubeThe long, hard, journey behind the design of Dead Cells’ player builds - Alex Wiltshire, Rock Paper ShotgunDesert Bus For Hope
This week, we talk to Ben Franks, Dreamcast aficionado, and discuss the various ways its preservation has taken form. Your nice hosts also take a short trip down memory lane as we reminisce about our favorite video game hardware.
- Here's a video Martha captured while we were recording the episode, as Ben open… - Nice Games Club with Ben Franks, YouTube
Preserving the Dreamcast
HardwarePreserving the Art of Play - Jacob Brogan, SlateHere are the Xbox 360 and PS3 emulators Stephen mentioned. Less than 20% of their game libraries are fully playable.
This Facebook group wants Dreamcast GD ROM Drive Emulation to happen.
Clean room engineering uses formal methods and iteration in software developmen… - WikipediaThe Dreamcast’s SH4 processor has an open source version called J-core.
Remember Game Gear? - Levi Buchanan, IGN Elysian Shadows is being developed for Dreamcast, PC and...Ouya?* Here are the tidy insides of a Dreamcast: * * Morepictures of Ben’s Dreamcaststuff! * Windows CE did indeed run on Dreamcast. Here’s a list of games that used it.
KallistiOS, a prograde development system for Dreamcast. - Cryptic Allusion Game DevThe Dreamcast’s Visual Memory Unit. - WikipediaSonic Adventure had a pretty robust Chao raising minigame. - Sonic RetroSonic Shuffle, Sega’s attempt at a Mario Party-like game.The creators of Elysian Shadows have created a VMU emulator called ElysianVMU. - The DreamCast JunkyardHow to burn a Dreamcast CDI. - The .ISO zoneA guide to replace a Dreamcast GD-ROM drive. - I Fix ItBen FranksGuestBen Franks hosts Gaymer Space at GlitchHQ. You can also email him at ben@franks.net with all your Dreamcast questions!
In this episode, Mark plays one of Martha's favorites, the classic PC point and click adventure Pajama Sam 2, and learns why she loves and is inspired by this game's development studio so much.
Game: Pajama Sam 2: Thunder and Lightning Aren’t So Frightening
Developer/Publisher: Humongous Entertainment
Platform: PC (Windows, Mac, Linux)
Year: 1998
Genre: Point & Click Adventure
- We mentioned, but didn't show, the game's intro cut scene.
- As it happens, Pajama Sam was voiced by one of Mark's favorite comic actors, Pamela Adlon, although she's more famous for voicing Bobby on King of the Hill. She is currently starring in the show Better Things, which she created and produces, and for which she was nominated for an Outstanding Lead Actress Emmy in 2017.
- This game includes references to other Humongous titles, including Backyard Sports.
- Boris Karloff played Frankenstein's monster.
Video
In this episode (Nice Games Club's 50th!), Martha plays (and finishes!) a game Stephen once recommended to Mark (but Mark forgot about). A first-person narrative, Thirty Flights of Loving is a 5-year old game written in a 10-year old engine, but still holds up, according to your nice hosts, anyway.
Game: Thirty Flights of Loving
Developer/Publisher: Blendo Games
Platform: PC (Windows, Mac)
Year: 2012
Genre: First-person Narrative
- IGN has (for some wonderful reason) a strategy guide for this game.
- The 27 Homages Of Thirty Flights Of Loving - David Valjalo, Rock Paper Shotgun
- Blendo Games most recent release was the indie darling Quadrilateral Cowboy.
Video
In this episode, Stephen fights his demons, Martha likes sports now, and Mark learns a lot about both.
Scope Creep
0:02:41
Stephen McGregorProductionMartha took a blacksmithing class! Also, her instructor told her this was a perfect forge weld.
Martha brought up fighting scope creep on our GDC 2017 Special.
GDC 2017 Special (Part 1)
Project management is a way to combat scope creep that we’ve covered before, in the episode
"We joke here."
A core concept for your game can help focus ideas as well. We go over this in our Game Design Primer topic in our episode
"That makes me retroactively nervous." Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-Making - Sam KanerOur post on the r/gamedev. Special thanks to SaxPanther, ledat, GravityGamesInt, Bwob, and DustyPixel for their stories.
SaxPanther created a battle royale game out of the Unity Roll-A-Ball tutorial.
ledat shared a story on how one person accidentally created banking software after attempting to streamline coffee orders.
eSports
0:30:53
Martha MegarryEventsGamingLeague of Legends
- League of Legends World Championship is happening RIGHT THE DANG NOW!
- Martha will be rooting for her favorite team, C9.
Player Signings, Salaries, and More in the Overwatch League™ - Blizzard EntertainmentLeague of Legends' ratings top NBA Finals, World Series clinchers - Patrick Dorsey, ESPNAn example of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament casting. - TwitchThe Story of DOTA - Paul Dean, EurogamerThe biggest Call of Duty tournament shines light on growth of esports - Jordan Crook, TechCrunchThe Rise and Fall of StarCraft II as an eSport - Kevin Hovdestad, IGNHow Intellectual Property Rights Are Hurting Esports Teams - Leonard Langenscheidt, The Esports ObserverThere is, in fact, a Civilization VI eSports scene. - Leif Johnson, Motherboard
This week, Stephen finally gets a theme song, Mark plays devil's advocate, and Martha gets dangerously close to a topic your nice hosts swore to never talk about on the show.
DLC and Expansions
0:02:40
Martha MegarryGamingProductionWhen Mark was young, he bought unofficial Quake mods on CD-ROM.
Turns out, Electronics Boutique and EB Games are the same thing.
Day-One DLC Isn’t Always Evil, Says Borderlands 2 Guy - Tina Amini, KotakuPatch The Process - Rami IshmailStreet Fighter V is a Barebones Game That’s a Sign of the Times - Paul Tamburro, CraveCode analysis of No Man's Sky praises engine, criticises "unfinished" game - Andy Chalk, PC GamerIt turns out Sony won’t be charging PS4 Pro players for 4K upgrade patches - Danny Cowan, Digital TrendsMario Party 2: Luigi wins by doing absolutely nothing - KlydeStrom, YouTubeTurns out, Dungeons & Dragons does use software-style versioning for their “patch notes.”
After recording this episode, Mark had an idea for how to price DLC in Metro Nexus.
Nier Automata Lets Players Buy PSN Trophies With In-Game Money - Heather Alexandra, KotakuPayday 2 rolls back microtransactions after fan outrage - Kyle Orland, Ars Technica5G - Press START to Play - Make Hack Repeat, YouTubeI Am Rich: The Story of the World's Strangest Mobile App - Antoni Zolciak , In’saneLab
Genre in Games
0:38:34
Mark LaCroixGame DesignMetaWikipedia says “Genres are not usually defined by the actual content of the game.”
“List of accolades received by Grand Theft Auto V” - Wikipedia - WikipediaTurns out, Call of Duty games have been nominated for a lot of BAFTAs over the years.
What makes an RPG an RPG: a universal definition - Craig Stern, Sinister DesignMass Effect - Don’t Touch That - svaalbard, YouTubeMass Effect - Blasto! (hilarious) - Generic Gaming, YouTubeLudonarrative Dissonance in Bioshock - Clint Hawking, Click NothingNaughy Dog Doesn’t Get Ludonarrative Dissonance - Alessio Palumbo, wccftechA good critical review of Jason Schreier’s book “Blood, Sweat, And Pixels,” which Mark read recently and really liked.
Uh oh… they're back… it's EVIL GAMES CLUB!
Snide laugh! Malicious gafaw! In this, our second evil episode, your evil hosts revisit some of the dumb topics Nice Games Club covered in previous episodes, and correct the record where required. We're at it again, being evil, that is!
- Dale posts bugs on Instagram now. - Instragram
- This is the spider Dale was talking about in the intro. - Instagram
Crafting Systems
0:02:46
Adia AldersonGame Design
This topic is a followup to the episode
"It's against the law to stop."5 Approaches to Crafting Systems in Games (and Where to Use Them) - Alexander King, Envato Tuts+The absolute best video game crafting systems - Ty Arthur, Game SkinnyHow The Witcher 3 succeeds where Mass Effect: Andromeda falls short - Jody Macgregor, PC GamerMass Effect: Andromeda's Menus Are A Mess - Alex Walker, Kotaku AustraliaGames like Fallout 4 take crafting too far for the average player - BlackTideTV, GameSkinnyFallout 4 Has A Ton Of Junk, And It's Stressing Me Out” - Patricia Hernandez, Kotaku
Game Jams
0:26:23
Dylan SkerbitzEvents
This is a followup to the episodes
"Bananas, from here to eternity."
and this episode which talks about Dylan on the Train Jam
GDC 2017 Special (Part 1)Global Game Jam 2018 starts Jan 26th.“Echoes of Kai Anders” (Adia and Stephen’s GGJ 2017 game). - Adia Alderson and Stephen McGregor et al., GGJ“Listen Up, Four Eyes” (Dylan, Martha, and Mark’s GGJ 2017 game). - Dylan Skerbitz, Martha Megarry, Mark LaCroix et al., GGJA list of upcoming Game Jams
Game jams on itch.ioindiegamejams.comGameJolt JamsLudum Dare 40 takes place Dec 1st-4th, 2017Your evil hosts praised the organizer of Train Jam 2017, Adriel Wallick. - @MsMinotaur, Twitter(off topic!)
A Musical Character Customization Trick For Everyone To Copy - Kirk Hamilton, Kotaku
Bad Gamedev Habits
0:52:39
Dale LaCroixIRL
This topic is a followup to the episode
"Can I tweet about this?"While this topic was mostly evil talk directed at Nice Game Club, it also included some uncharacteristically sage advice from your evil hosts. Take heed, or suffer!
Well, it finally happened. Dale LaCroix, (aka: "#1 Playtester," one-third of Evil Games Club, and Mark's wife) joins your nice hosts in the clubhouse to talk about playtesting!
Stephen writes down everything Dale says about what it takes to be a good playtester, Martha laughs at all of Dale's jokes, and Mark deals with the fact that his wife doesn't really like his game.
- We also talked about the recent solar eclipse. Check out Martha's photo, taken at the moment of totality
Playtesting
Production
This isn't the first time we've talked about playtesting on the show. We talked about it on the Interview with Nic VanMeerten
Games User Research and Analytics
This is what Martha looks like when she is demoing Claw Breaker
Stephen's playtesting notebook
Dale LaCroixYour Nice StaffGuest HostsYour Evil HostsDale grew up playing computer games, but rediscovered her love of gaming with the more modern generation of consoles, starting when she insisted that she and husband Mark buy a then hard to come by Wii. Since then she can boast that she owns seven videogame consoles to her husband’s three.
Dale manages the Nice Games Club Twitter account (@nicegamesclub) where she mostly posts and retweets nice things, but can promise it won’t be free of the swears, or sarcastic comments about Gwent.
Dale claims to be the #1 Playtester, a title she gave herself. But don’t take her feedback too seriously, especially if she says your game is too hard because she’s not particularly good at games. Dale is also a part of the Evil Games Club where she also likes to give critical feedback to the Nice Games Club.
Projects
ReravelFelix Drags Dale Through The Marvel UniverseEvil Games Club
External link
Dale's personal TwitterDale runs the Nice Games Club Twitter
This week, Martha has so much to talk about that she runs out of time, Stephen espouses the virtues of building your own gamedev tools, and Mark names the episode after a Star Trek thing because it's his birthday today so he gets to.
Discuss this episode on Reddit using this thread in r/gamedev.
Intro to Linguistics for Game Developers
0:03:31
Martha MegarryAudioGame DesignThe Legend of Zelda’s Hylian Language - FandomThe Language Creation SocietyA list of constructed languages in video games. - WikipediaMyst’s created language, D’ni. - FandomUK Professors Go Primal With 'Far Cry' - Gail Hairston, University of KentuckySIL’s Glossary of Linguistics article on sonority scale - SILSkyrim’s Dragon Shouts - Matt Miller, Game InformerOmniglot is an encyclopedia of writing systems and languages - OmniglotThe Conlangers Library game list - Conlangers LibraryNo Man’s Sky guide: alien races, languages and Monolith puzzles - Jeffrey Parkin, PolygonThe Rosetta Stone in Fez (Pretty obvious clue in hindsight.) - mykwud, YouTubeTwitter Blowup Leads to Sudden Cancellation of Fez II - Owen Good, KotakuPlaying the Birth and Death of Language in 'Dialect' - Alex Roberts, WaypointScientology’s enturbulating lingo - Britt Peterson, The Boston GlobeKathryn Hymes on Twitter - @chiclashaw, TwitterThe Language Construction Kit, a book Martha recommended, is available for free… - bookDescribing Morphosyntax: A Guide For Field Linguists is the other book Martha r… - bookSpeaking ‘Star Trek’: Meet the Man Who Made Up the Klingon Language - Matt Blitz, Popular MechanicsThe Klingon Language Institute is a thing that exists.International Phonetic Alphabet - WikipediaMass Effect: Meeting the Elcor Ambassador - Thieving HIppo, YouTubeGaming’s favorite VR mouse uses sign language in the cutest way - Allegra Frank, PolygonCantonese vs. Mandarin - Off the Great Wall, YouTubeFeast Your Eyes on This Beautiful Linguistic Family Tree - Arika Okrent, Mental FlossThe Conlangery Podcast is a neat podcast about linguistics and conlang. - Podcast
Making Your Own Tools
0:44:57
Stephen McGregorTools
We referenced a few of our episodes during the show:
"75% sure.""The Stevechievement."GDC 2017 Special (Part 1)GDC 2017 Special (Part 2)Stephen’s tool he recently made for Fingeance. - Stephen McGregor, TwitterTech Toolbox microtalks at GDC 2017 - GDCOur friends at Howling Moon made Super Fast Soft Shadow. - Unity
"Nice Plays" are video episodes where your nice hosts play and talk about a game, and after 17 minutes, our egg timer goes off and we give our final thoughts. In this episode, Mark plays the recent indie game Boor, and your nice hosts all find a lot to like about it!
Game: Boor (http://www.dazlog.com/boor/)
Developer: DazlogStudio
Publisher: Badland Games
Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux
Release date: February 14th, 2017
Genre: 2D Puzzle-Platformer
Summary: "Eden is a human colony far from Earth. To develop a better society, settlers made an artificial intelligence, BOOR, to help them, but this machine turned against them. When a little girl accidentally lands on the planet of Eden, she discovers BOOR has taken over and there are only a few survivors left. With her special ability to multiply herself, she'll help them destroy BOOR and reclaim the world."
- Martha and Mark worked on a game for the 2017 Global Game Jam about eyeballs!
- Boor was made by a single developer, a topic we discuss in a previous episode.
Solo Development
Video
"Nice Plays" are video episodes where your nice hosts play and talk about a game, and after 17 minutes, our egg timer goes off and we give our final thoughts. In this episode, Stephen plays the NES port of the classic arcade game Solomon's Key!
Game: Solomon's Key
Developer: Tecmo
Publisher: Tecmo
Platform: NES
Release date: July 1987 (US)
Genre: 2D Puzzle-Platformer
Summary: "You and Dana, the wizard of Lyrac, must unlock Solomon’s scroll of secrets to restore peace in the constellations. With Dana’s magic, fire, and mystical powers, you will help release the imprisoned Princess of the Fairies and harness the evil forces within the constellations. But first, you need the key!"
- 30 years on, people are still arguing over how to pronounce NES - Hugh Langley, TechRadar
- Solomon’s Key was indeed part of the very first batch of games for the Wii Virt… - Wikipedia
- Solomon’s Key cheat codes
Video
It's a slightly experimental show this week, as we try to see what a two-topic episode looks like. Also, Martha defends her love of coleslaw, Stephen still doesn't really like VR, and Mark has almost completely lost his voice.
Discuss this week's episode on Reddit in r/gamedev here.
Video Game Immersion
0:05:54
Stephen McGregorGamingOur pal and VR innovator Andrew Fladeboe.Representation and Embodiment in Virtual Reality - Jorge Albor, PopMattersWould You Kindly Read This Article on Gaming’s Greatest Plot Twist? - Mike Diver, ViceOur recent episode of Nice Plays: OneShot - Nice Games Club, YouTubeEnhancing VR Immersion with the CPU in Star Trek: Bridge Crew - Cristiano F, Intel DevelopersCognitive Flow: The Psychology of Great Game Design - Sean Baron, Game DeveloperWhy Sonic the Hedgehog is awful, and always has been - Ryan Brown, MIrrorRequiem, a “roleplaying” mod for The Elder Scrolls: SkyrimMark is up to 118 shrines in Breath of the Wild. Stephen is not happy.
Main Menus and First Impressions
0:39:27
Mark LaCroixUI / UXWhy do console games require a button press before showing the main menu? - StackExchangeGame Design: Splash Screen - Jesse Freeman, MediumThe Ten Commandments Of Video Game Menus - Kirk Hamilton, KotakuWe didn’t get a chance to talk about it in the episode, but here is a cool brea… - Mike Fahey, Kotaku
This week, your nice hosts are still relaxing in Mark's dining room for an episode that has it all: a disagreement about Bluetooth, some good ClawTalk™, and the shortest conversation ever had on the subject of tabs vs. spaces. All this, plus a slightly higher than usual number of wild digressions.
Discuss this episode on Reddit in this thread on r/gamedev!
Input Methods and Controls
0:01:29
Stephen McGregorHardwareStephen’s controller of choice, Power A FUSION.New Windows 10 Xbox wireless controller adapter delayed into 2018 - Gabe Gurwin, Digital TrendsMetro Nexus’ tutorial in action - Mark LaCroix, TwitterBehold, the unintuitive enjoyment of Claw Breaker. - Martha Megarry, YouTube“How to Claw Effectively” - Ture Vangaurd, YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY-o0zYxjyE - Game Maker's Toolkit, YouTube“You say jump, I say how high?” - Martin FasterholdtMartha’s favorite Fingeance fighter, Sparky.This goofy game turns your entire keyboard into the controller - Andrew Webster, The VergeAlternative controls game Butt Sniffin Pugs, shown at Ctrl.Alt.GDC.
Rocksmith Vs. Rock Band 3 – The Pro Guitar Showdown - Jeff Atwood, Fake Plastic RockGuy beats Dark Souls with DK Bongos - Jordan Devore, DestructoidGameplay of racing game Kirby Air Ride - Mutch Games, YouTube
We mentioned this previous episode
"We joke here."
we also mentioned this one
"Will you be the best with me?"
Coding Syles
0:36:49
Mark LaCroixProgrammingWhat is your preferred Indent Style?Whatever you do, don’t code like this. - @HisCursedness, TwitterDon’t be a Stephen: Comment your code!Martha uses a cool HTML template engine called Pug.Getting started with Pug template engine - António Regadas, MediumRussian nesting dolls are called matryoshka. - WikipediaCamelCase or snake_case?
DarkBASIC, which Stephen used when he was young, went open-source in 2016! - the Game CreatorsHistory around Pascal Casing and Camel Casing - Brad Abrams, MIcrosoft“Namespacing” in Objective-C - Matt, name spacing hipsterJetBrains IDE’s: Webstorm for JavaScript and Rider for C#.
Visual Studio Code is a lightweight Visual Studio that Mark really likes.
Splatoon 2, ur, I mean Shooters
1:13:45
Martha MegarryGamingApparently, Splatoon devs didn’t realize the comparison to Super Mario Sunshine… - Sean Ayres, Nintendo EnthusiastDesigning FPS Multiplayer Maps - Dodger, On Game DesignDesign Patterns in FPS Levels - Kenneth Hullett & Jim Whitehead, University of California - Santa CruzLost Planet - SomeCallMeVidal, YouTubeLost Planet's only sequel - Woophoro, YouTube
We also referenced our episode on
Violence in Games
This week, the clubhouse is being occupied by Glitch's Summer 2017 Immersion Program cohort, so your nice hosts relocate to Mark's kitchen and talk over tea with the astoundingly insightful and utterly charming Holly Harrison, professional social media and community manager, to talk about building and engaging with an audience online.
Community Managment
MarketingTide tries and fails to act cool in response to Mr. Clean... - @tide, Twitter...while Sonic the Hedgehog succeeds. - @sonic_hedgehog, TwitterArby’s does some cool video game things on Twitter. - @arbys, TwitterThe true owner of @Velveeta - @Velveeta, TwitterYou Know An Internet Joke Is Kinda Over Once Nintendo's Had A Turn - EThan Gach, KotakuBuilding audience early with visuals-first development in Ooblets - Chris Priestman, Game DeveloperConsumers Aren’t Looking to Buy From Brands That Are ‘Cool’ on Social - SproutSocialThe Simple Facebook Posting Strategy That Helped us 3x Our Reach and Engagement - Brian Peters, BufferFollow the MNgamedev Bot on Twitter - @MNgamedev_bot, TwitterMN Game Dev Slack - mngamedevbot, SlackWhat We Know About The Instagram Shadowban, And How To Discover If You’ve Been … - PLANNPaper Darts, Literary Arts MagazineComcast and Verizon’s Sneaky Push to Kill Net Neutrality Is Just Embarrassing - Libby Watson, GizmodoBioware "Kissing Day" tweet. - @Bioware, TwitterInnes McKendrick tweets about egg cups. - Innes McKendrick, TwitterCheck your Twitter analytics - TwitterHolly HarrisonGuest HostsGuestHolly Harrison is a marketing bruiser for GLITCH, managing social media and helping promote Minnesota made video games like Hyper|Dot and Optica. Holly is an honorary guest host for the show and will sometimes join in on roundtable and interview episodes.
It's Nice Games' Club take on the Let's Play! Introducing "Nice Plays," where the Nice Games Club gamedevs play nice games. Our first Nice Play features the recent indie (re-)release "OneShot." We talk about the game's unique design choices as we fumble around to figure out the controls.
But, like for every Nice Play, after 17 minutes of gameplay our egg timer goes off, which means it's time to end the show.
Game: OneShot (website)
Developer: Little Cat Feet
Publisher: Degica
Release date: June 30th, 2014 (original), December 6, 2016 (remake, Steam)
Genre: Adventure, Puzzle
Summary: "OneShot is a surreal top down Puzzle/Adventure game with unique gameplay capabilities. You are to guide a child through a mysterious world on a mission to restore its long-dead sun. The world knows you exist."
Video
This week, Martha stops short of detailing the DNS protocol, Mark describes a completely different Star Trek VR thing which he made for the Minnesota Orchestra Hall, and Stephen explains how to lose like a real champ.
Plus, like the classic 1985 film Clue, this episode has multiple endings!
Discuss this episode on Reddit using this thread in r/gamedev!
- Stephen's headphone audio testing suite
- White Land - F-Zero Arranged, YouTube
- The Sea - Magic Pengel, YouTube
- Do It - Tuxedo, YouTube
- Stephen updated the feedback form! Let us have it!
Your Game’s Website
0:08:13
Martha MegarryMarketingStand Still, Stay Silent, a webcomicCity of Hunger development blogMidwest Game Developers Facebook grouppresskitDomain Name System - WikipediaThe Difference Between Shared Hosting, VPS, and Dedicated Hosting - 99robotsHTML5 Up (free, simple site templates)EverendOoblets
Game Exhibits and Installations
0:36:31
Mark LaCroixPhysical Games* Mark’s “Holodeck” VR installation at Minnesota Orchestra Hall + Installation, Gameplay, Photo, Animation, Props, People, More people!
An Ode to the Okudagram - Will Nguyen, TreknewsVR Snowball ShootersA Maze BerlinVR Pigeons at A Maze Berlin 2017 - spunior, YouTubePeter Molydeux, a parody Twitter account - TwitterThe world of weird video games at Alt.Ctrl.GDC - Jessica Conditt, EngadgetHands-on with Line Wobbler: a 16 foot tall, one-dimensional dungeon crawler - Nick Robinson, Polygon
Losing
1:06:40
Stephen McGregorIRLDota 2 Tournament Holds Rage-Quit Competition For Fans - Eric Van Allen, KotakuBayonetta Pro Upsets Smash's Best To Win Evo Championship - Eric Van Allen, KotakuVVVVVV No Death Mode - microdicePeercast, YouTubeSuper Mario Odyssey Won't Have Game Over Screens - Hope Corrigan, IGN
The clubhouse A/C broke, and it got so hot during the recording of this episode that your nice hosts started to get a little delirious.
But before they completely melted down, Mark talked about how Enemy AI can be a great tool for both level design and narrative design, Stephen collaborated on a discussion about co-op games, and Martha shared her excitement about the recently held Summer Games Done Quick speedrunning event.
Discuss this episode on Reddit using this thread at r/gamedev!
- Stephen is on Twitter @leonyx03
- Some highlights from Mark's VR night!
- highlight 1
- highlight 2
- highlight 3
Enemy AI
0:03:00
Mark LaCroixGame DesignDesign Club - Super Mario Bros: Level 1-1 - How Super Mario Mastered Level Desi… - Extra Credits, YouTubeNobody dies on the first goomba - Sephzilla, Destructoid2007 AiGameDev.com Awards: Technical Innovation in Game AIEnemy design and enemy AI for melee combat systems - Bart Vossen, Game DeveloperAnalysing Mario to Master Super Mario Maker - Game Maker's Toolkit, YouTubeChip’s Challenge:1A - Zabrush Cimahi, YouTubeSaltybet - Twitchseebotschat - TwitchThe Perfect Organism | The AI of Alien: Isolation - Tommy Thompson, AI and GamesA Thousand Tiny Details: Emergent Storytelling in Slime Rancher - Steven Lumpkin, TwitterPeople Have Discovered The Perfect Way To Mess With Your Cat - Rachael Krishna, BuzzfeedMeet the Artist Using Ritual Magic to Trap Self-Driving Cars - Beckett Mufson, Vice
Co-op Games
0:29:40
Stephen McGregorGamingMartha asked Mark to cut a part out of this section, but Stephen edited this episode, so...
Overcooked: How To Make Co-op Cookery Fun - Philippa Warr, Rock Paper ShotgunMiyamoto talks Super Mario Galaxy co-op - Alexander Sliwinski, Engadget
Speedrunning
0:47:42
Martha MegarryGamingAwesome Games Done QuickSpeedDemosArchiveOcarina of Time - Skip 99% of Traveling Across the Field - Swordless Link, YouTubeThe Man Who Does The Impossible in Super Mario 64 - Patricia Hernandez, KotakuSpeedrunning RulesBlindfolded speedrun race - Noko Online, YouTubeI can't believe this actually happened (glitch discovered during blindfolded sp… - Tokyoboi, YouTubeKotaku’s speedrun articles - KotakuIntelligent Qube by caneofpacci - Games Done Quick, YouTubeTASBot plays Brain Age by micro500, xy2_ in 20:06 - - Games Done Quick, YouTubeWorld Record Progression: Super Mario World - Summoning Salt, YouTube0:00 / 29:59 I Am Bread by Blood_Thunder in 20:50 - Games Done Quick, YouTube0:00 / 1:06:01 The Talos Principle by Azorae in 58:16 - Games Done Quick, YouTubeTomb Raider: Underworld hard mode - Jarek, Speed Demos ArchiveYes, you can speedrun in Fingeance
New Trick Has Ocarina of Time Speedrunners Debating What A Glitch Actually Is - Heather Alexandra, Kotaku
In a previous episode, we mentioned that Mark's game, Metro Nexus, recently underwent a usability study, so for this episode, we brought in the Games User Researcher who conducted it, Hannah Murphy!
Hannah talks about her work, explains the value of UX research for indie developers, and discusses the study she did for Metro Nexus.
Discuss this episode on Reddit using this thread in r/gamedev!
Games User Research and Analytics
UI / UXMetro Nexus User Research
Metro Nexus Usability Report - Hannah MurphyMetro Nexus gameplay trailer video.Metro Nexus tutorial screen gif - TwitterLinkst for User Research
IGDA Games User Research Special Interest GroupUX & QA Testing: What's the Difference? - Lindsay Lauters Miller, Game DeveloperMIT’s Game Lab’s list of recommended courses includes a few which are focused o…How to break into Games User Research - Steve BromleyList of UX degrees offered by universitiesBest Colleges with Human Computer Interaction Degrees in the US - Universities.com#GamesUR on Twitter - TwitterHow to Conduct a Heuristic Evaluation - Jakob Nielsen, Nielsen Norman GroupGroupthink - Groupthink - WikipediaOn Indie Game Pricing - Dan Adelman, Game Developer
In the outro, we joke about our recent Live Episode! Listen to it!
LIVE from GlitchCon 2017Hannah MurphyGuestHannah Murphy is a professional Computer User Inferface researcher and a freelance Games User Researcher.
External link
Hannah’s GamesUR Blog.Hannah Murphy on Twitter: @h_jmurphy.
Martha brags about her computer, Mark finds yet another excuse to talk about Star Trek, and Stephen is still holding out hope for a Smash Bros. announcement.
Discuss this week’s episode on Reddit using this thread in r/gamedev!
- Glitch Community Events Calendar
- We talked about Mark’s VR Night as if it happened already, but after we recorde…
- Ice Cold Games
Building a PC
0:05:08
Martha MegarryHardwareProject Scorpio Xbox Development Kit - Xbox, YouTubeOne Xbox One X Box - Jess Brohard , TwitterHTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Windows Mixed Reality system requirements - Cale Hunt, VR HeadsMartha picks her PC parts on PCPartPicker!The Big Form Factor Guide – ATX - 10stripeUgly gaming PCs are our own fault - Vlad Savov, The VergeProject Scorpio rocks high-end vapor chamber cooler - Derek Strickland, TweakTownIf you’re in the Twin Cities, Techdump is a great resource for recycled PC com…Want help? Check out r/buildapcformeWhat You Need To Know About Overclocking - Alex Walker, Kotaku Australia
Pen and Paper Games
0:37:18
Mark LaCroixTabletopNew Ships and Crews Take Off with Star Trek Adventures - Jeff McArthur, Geek & SundryHurdy-Gurdy - WikipediaMark created a bot that tweets Star Trek technobabble 8 times a day
Tech the Tech - @techthetech, Twitter200 Word RPG ChallengeD&D 4th Edition – What Went Wrong? - Grey Lotus, Grey LotusThe Dwarvenaut - Josh Bishop, Documentry FilmEmergent Gameplay: Letting the Players Create Their Own Fun” - David Daw, PCWorldAnalysis: Story And The Trouble With 'Emergent' Narratives - Tom Cross, Game Developer
Mwa ha ha! For our first villainous episode, your evil hosts discuss what their deal is, do a deep dive into Quantic Foundry's Gamer Motivation Profile, and rail against Mario Kart battle mode. Enjoy! Or don't! We don't care! We're evil!
Discuss this evil episode on Reddit using this thread in r/gamedev!
An Evil Introduction
0:01:44
Dale LaCroixIRLPlay every game from this year's Train Jam - Charlie Hall, PolygonWash my HandsBlind Shootout
Dylan was a guest on Nice Games Club for two episodes from GDC.
GDC 2017 Special (Part 1)GDC 2017 Special (Part 2)http://www.phpbbhq.com/developmentofphp.phpRen'Py, a visual novel engineInk, a scripting/markup language for visual novelsChoiceScript, a programming language for choose-your-own-adventure games
Adia has been a guest on Nice Games Club for two Co-op Recap episodes:
Co-op Recap: Interactive Fiction
Adia was also on this Co-op Recap episode!
Co-op Recap: TransmediaWhy Rubber Duck Debugging is the best way to debug your code - Alec Morgana, ZenHubFingeance, Escape Industries
Gamer Motivation Profile
0:15:20
Adia AldersonGamingIRLGamer Modivation Profile - Quantic FoundryLEGO City Undercover still has some lengthy load times on Switch - Chris Carter, DestructoidA Critique of Radar Charts - Grahm Odds, Scott LogicZelda: Breath of the Wild rupee farming - How to make rupees with bowling - Jake Lear and Jeff Ramos, PolygonThe Natural: The Trouble Portraying Blackness in Video Games - Evan Narcisse, KotakuAt E3 2017, Black Characters' Hair Looks Better Than Ever - Gita Jackson, KotakuAnimal Crossing Fans Want More Than Just White Skin Colors In New Leaf - Patricia Hernandez, KotakuThe Complete, Untold History of Halo - Steve Haske, ViceThe Story Behind Mass Effect: Andromeda's Troubled Five-Year Development - Jason Schreier, KotakuLet's Talk About: The cultural significance of Saints Row 4 - Chris Plante, PolygonThe Secret Behind Scribblenauts: Making Objects By Hand (And Lots Of Crunch) - Jason Schreier, Kotaku
Mario Kart
1:22:23
Dylan SkerbitzGamingNo links for this section, just evil talk.
In this episode, you nice hosts discuss some current events and engage in some future prognostications. Plus: more puns than reasonable.
Apologies for the slightly odd audio quality on this one. The band playing at the bar downstairs was a bit louder and started a bit earlier than we expected. Much sound modeling. So noise reduction.
Discuss this episode on Reddit using this thread on r/gamedev!
Future Projects
0:04:31
Stephen McGregorIRLA Way Out blew us away at E3, but can the devs keep pace with their own ambitio… - Charlie Hall, Polygon
Our episode about Serial Game Design, featuring Lane Davis.
"I am a Juice Journeyman!"BloodRayne: Betrayal Review - Colin Moriaty, IGNStar Fox Guard: The Kotaku Review - Stephen Totilo, KotakuFinishing A Game - Derek Yu, Make Games tumblr
Steam Direct
0:37:40
Mark LaCroixHardwareMarketingValve sets Steam Direct self-publishing fee at $100 - Samit Sarkar, PolygonValve is not your friend, and Steam is not healthy for gaming - Tim Colwill, Polygon
Way back in our second episode, we talked with Beth and Andy Korth about Steam Greenlight.
Steam GreenlightThe hidden world of Steam trading - Mitch Bowman, Polygon
Racing Games
0:53:02
Martha MegarryGamingHydro Thunder Hurricane Review - Justin Calvert, GameSpotRetrospective: Star Wars Episode I Racer - Martyn Carroll, EurogamerStar Wars Episode 1 Racer: Watto Hums Cantina Song - EventHorizon5, YouTubeMark talked about the original PlayStation’s wonky affine texture mapping, which was not “perspective correct.”
Nic VanMeerten is a Games User Researcher and one of the co-founders of Glitch. He talks to your nice hosts about how meeting with researchers working on League of Legends at Riot Games jump-started his career in Games User Research, the different research methods used in GUR, the benefits of qualitative versus quantitative approaches, working with Unity Analytics, and more!
Discuss this week’s episode on Reddit using this thread in r/gamedev!
Games User Research and Analytics
UI / UXLeague Of Legends' Neverending War On Toxic Behavior - Dillion Skiffington, KotakuHow League Of Legends Enables Toxicity - Yannick LeJacq, KotakuUnderstanding User Research - Maurice Tan, Game DeveloperGames User Research: What’s Different? - Jakob Nielsen , Nielsen Norman GroupHannah Murphy - Games User Researcher BlogZodiappHow To Tame Your Analytics - Sasa Stublic, Game DeveloperWhat is R?
Nic mentioned the Unity Analytics public API. We talked about APIs on last week’s episode.
"75% sure."Nic VanMeertenGuestNic VanMeerten is a Games User Researcher and one of the co-founders of Glitch.
Want to find Nic on the Internet? Search Nicolaas VanMeerten on Google! or follow him on twitter
External link
@nicolaasvm
In our second-longest ever, Mark explains the difference between an API and an SDK (and why it's important to know), Martha got her phone mugged and lost all her mobile game saves, and Stephen leads a discussion about designing for difficulty in your games (but mainly as an excuse to talk about fighting games again).
All this, plus your nice hosts celebrate 30 episodes, and Mark doesn't edit out something Martha asks him to, but only because Martha was the one who edited this episode.
Runtimes, SDKs, and APIs
0:02:31
Mark LaCroixToolsPopular Runtimes
Java Virtual Machine - WikipediaAIR Runtime - WikipediaDalvik runtime - WikipediaAndroid Runtime (ART) - WikipediaCommon Language Runtime (.NET) - WikipediaArticles
“A Primer For Unity Developers: What The Heck Is Mono?” - - Logan Booker, Lifehacker AU“What is the Difference Between an API and an SDK? - Kristopher Sandoval, Nordic APIs BlogStarling 2 - Starling WikiCitrus EngineGeneric Animation Framework
Mobile Games
0:23:34
Martha MegarryGamingHardwareSlayin review - Chris Carter, DestructoidQuizUp is trying to reinvent itself by turning into a social network - Josh Lowensohn, The VergeAlphabear Review – Why Do Bears Like Spelling Bees? - Gamer BloggerHow to Monetize an Infinite Runner - Michail Katkoff, Game AnalyticsVirtual Buttons Are Holding Mobile Games Back - Muir Freeland, Game DeveloperMiyamoto Plays Super Mario Run, Eats Cake - BuzzFeed Multiplayer, YouTubeCivilization Revolution 2 is a Good Mobile Game, But is It a Good Civ Game? - Alex Newhouse, GameSpotTurns out, Hercules is both Greek and Roman. - Tufts UniversitySmash Hit Is The Most Addictive Android And iOS Game Of The Year So Far - Mihir Patkar , Make Use OfI've been texting with an astronaut - Laura Hudson, Boing BoingSpaceteam review - Rich Stanton, Eurogamer
Difficulty
0:54:27
Stephen McGregorGame DesignStreet Fighter V Fans Are Not Sure What To Make Of Seemingly Simplistic Newcome… - Ian Walker, KotakuYomi - Urban dictionaryZelda: Breath of the Wild’s first DLC pack sounds really neat - Samit Sarkar,, PolygonHard Mode: Good Difficulty Versus Bad Difficulty - Paul Suddaby, Envato Tuts+Difficulty is Difficult: Designing for Hard Modes in Games - Daniel Boutros, Game DeveloperWhere Did the Challenge Go? The Problem with Skyrim - j-u-i-c-e, Level SkipThe Civilization series has a difficulty problem, and Civ 6 solves it without e… - Jordan Forward, PCGamesNhttps://www.reddit.com/r/changemyview/comments/6cg9k1/cmv_dark_souls_isnt_hard_… - Vectornaut, r/ChangeMyView, RedditYoshi’s Woolly World is tougher than it looks, but only if you want it to be - Matt Gerardi, AV ClubTim Schafer recalls when Steven Spielberg asked for a hint in Day of the Tentac… - Owen Good, PolygonTim Schafer's take on 'good puzzle theory' and being stuck as entertainment - Micheal McWhertor, Polygon
A roundtable episode in disguise! Game designer/developer and friend of the show, Lane Davis, enters the clubhouse to guest host an episode where the topics are all his!
Lane brings some friendly debate (and shockingly accurate calendar math) to the show, in his continuing quest to make Nice Games Club just a little bit less nice. Yet he somehow manages to say some of the nicest things anyone has ever said on the program.
- Lane has previously been a guest at the Nice Games Club, when he hosted a COOP TALK
Co-op Recap: Transmedia
Serial Game Design
0:03:05
Lane DavisGame DesignEdmund McMillen's ‘Basement Collection’ Shows Off his Early Work - ComplexUnderstanding Design Space - Damion Schubert, Zen of DesignTrying to Make Idea-Rich Games - Jonathan BlowToo many ideas and projects. How do I choose one and stick with it? - RedditAlex Carlson Game DesignerOne Game a Month
Changing Your Mind
0:14:57
Lane DavisGame DesignWhy Criticism Is Important to Game Development - A.J. Maciejewski, Video ChumsWhy I want you to steal my ideas - Seth Godin, TED IdeasThe Poisonous ‘Not Invented Here’ syndrome - Game Design, YouTubeScoping for Game Jams - Carolyn VanEseltine, Sibyl Moon Games
Starting Your Next Project
0:31:19
Lane DavisIRLIt’s ok to pull the plug on your game - Ivan Jakubi, Machina Game Dev AcademyWriting Reusable Code - Noel Llopis, Games From Within
Video Game Juice
0:35:18
Lane DavisGame DesignFacebook Study Finds Introverts Feel More Comfortable with VR Social Interaction - Dominic Brennan, Road to VRSqueezing more juice out of your game design! - Nathan Lovato, Game AnalyticsJuice It or Lose It - Martin Jonasson, Petri Purho , GDC“Hollow Knight - Let’s Play Walkthough Commentary” - 123Pazu, YouTube
In this roundtable episode, your nice hosts settle back into the clubhouse, still exhausted a few days after the excitement of GlitchCon 2017.
Martha conducts a debrief on the weekend's festivities, Stephen gives his presentation on game design (for both new and experienced gamedevs), and Mark leads a discussion on multitasking in game development workflows.
GlitchCon 2017 Debrief
0:02:26
We talked about PROTOTYPING in Episode 19
"Pick up all the things."
At Glitchcon Martha gave a talk about GIT, get her PRESENTATION SLIDES In the notes in her topic VERSION CONTROL
"The Stevechievement."Mark's greatest invention the $6 playtester seatThe Soap FactoryIndie Momhood - Bekah Saltsman, Game DeveloperHeather Kelley on TwitterAtmocopter
Game Design Primer
0:31:06
Stephen McGregorGame DesignStephen's Game Design Workshop Slides - Stephen McGregorConcept art for Fingeance character Gwen - Charles McGregorThe Magic School Bus “In the Haunted House” - Fandom
We reference our episode on PLAYTESTING
"We are artists and we should be artists."
Multitasking in Game Development
0:48:33
Mark LaCroixIRL"The Myth of Multitasking" - Christine Rosen, The New AtlantisThe Importance of Holistic Game Design - Daniel Clark, IGN"If Multitasking Is Impossible, Why Are Some People So Good at It?" - Derek Thompson, The AtlanticWhy your brain likes it when you multi-task - Claudia Hammond, BBC
This week's roundtable episode features a (mostly) silent co-host: Ikaros the official Glitch HQ office doge! While not distracted by adorableness, Martha gives a primer on Git and version control best practices, Stephen leads a discussion on art direction, and Mark tries to understand PC gamers.
- Feedback Form
- GLITCHCON Celebrates A Weekend Of Gaming - Troy Strand, Tech {dot} MN
Version Control
0:03:58
Martha MegarryProductionToolsGitMartha's Git workshop presentation slides - Martha MegarryA Short History of Git - gitSourceTreeGItKrakenMerging Unity scenes, prefabs and assets with git - David Douglas, Deadly FingersGit for Unity Developers - Alistair Doulin , Game DeveloperGitHubBitbucketHerokuPushing to multiple git repos - Alex ArmstrongCode School: Learn Git - Paolo Perrotta, Code School
Art Direction
0:33:38
Stephen McGregorArt
In our episode " Bananas from here to eternity" the third topic in the roundtable is on Developer Art
"Bananas, from here to eternity."The Design Bible Behind New York City’s Subway Republished as a Limited-Edition… - Kristin Hohenadel, SlateSPY Fox Series Mini-Games - FandomBehind Borderlands' 11th-hour style change - Tor Thorsen, GameSpotCiv V Art Director Explains Art Deco Look - Adam Biessener, Game InformerAnimation Bootcamp: Cuphead Process and Philosophy - Jake Clark, GDC
Console vs. PC Development
0:54:44
Mark LaCroixHardwareBook Review: The Art of Game Design - Daniel CookValve making big changes to Steam's trading card economy - Derek Strickland, TweakTownSony Developer ProgramXbox LIVE Creator's programID@XBOXBecoming a Nintendo Switch indie dev will be tough early on - Kris Graft
This week's interview episode features Dev Jana, one half of the team behind Newt One, a non-violent music-infused 3D platformer.
We talk with Dev about how Newt One transformed (through continuous iteration) from a "Mario 64" clone into a game where "there are no bad guys" and nothing you do can hurt anything.
We also discuss the purpose and use of violence in video games, including the games we're all working on. When can violence be utilized effectively though mechanics and story? And when is it simply an lazy way to build tension and create challenge for the player?
Violence in Games
Game DesignHappiness: The Science of Subjective Well-Being - Edward Diener, NOBAThis Is What It’s Like To Play Dishonored 2 In Low Chaos, Non-Violent Fashion - Jonathan Leak, Game RevolutionFirewatch: games without violence can be just as good or even better! - Florian Uhlemann, MediumSonic Frees the Forest Animals - Dorkly, YouTubeAddressing Conflict: Tension and Release in Games - John Nelson Rose, Game DeveloperI Finally "Get" 'HItman' - Nick Dinicola, PopMattersTen Years Later: Videogames Not Responsible for Columbine - Andy Chalk, The EscapistWere video games to blame for massacre? - Winda Benedetti, NBC NewsUnmasking the Avatar: The Demographics of MMO Player Motivation, In-Game Prefer… - Nick Yee, Game DeveloperMetaphors: The impossibility of being literal - R.G.L., The EconomistGamer Motivation Profiling by Quantic Foundry - Quantic FoundryDev JanaGuest
External link
DevNAri.com@dnanewtoneFacebook: /DevNAri
For our first ever LIVE episode, we took the main stage at GlitchCon 2017 along with our guests Rebekah and Adam Saltsman, co-founders of Finji, publisher of "Night in the Woods" and developer of "Overland" and "Canabalt," to talk about talking about games!
Plus your nice hosts and their guests each recount moments where they "leveled up" as game developers.
LIVE from GlitchCon 2017
EventsIRL[0:01:45] Talking about your game to different audiences
[0:32:35] Moments where you “leveled up” as a gamedev
[0:45:56] Outro
At the end of this episode, Stephen was able to guilt a whole room full of people to fill out our feedback form, but that doesn't mean you're off the hook. Hearing from you helps make our show better, so get on it!
Rebekah SaltsmanGuestRebekah Saltsman is a game designer and co-founder of Fingi
External link
On Twitter @BexSaltsman Finji is on Twitter @finjicoFinji has a websiteAdam SaltsmanGuest
External link
Adam is on Twitter @ADAMATOMICFinji is on Twitter @finjicoFinji has a websiteOverland is on Twitter @OverlandGame
This week's roundtable provides practical knowledge on three of today's most important life topics: Starting a business, being a good competitor, and playing Nintendo.
Taxes and Business
0:01:51
Mark LaCroixIRLIndie Developer tax issues: Is game development your hobby or your business - Zachary Strebeck, Game DeveloperHow LLC Members Are Taxed - NOLOStarting a Business - MN Department of Employment and Economic DevelopmentInc FileLegal ZoomDo You Need a Physical Address For Your Business? - Belle Wong, Legal Zoom
Nintendo Switch
0:23:49
Martha MegarryGamingHardwareArms launches on June 16, new character Min Min revealed - Brian, Nintendo EverythingNintendo Reveals A new ARMS Character, And It's An Odd One - Robert Sephazon, Nintendo LifeJackbox Party Pack 3Human Resource MachineNintendo Switch dev kits could run as low as $440 - Alissa McAloon , Game DeveloperWith the Switch, Nintendo is getting right what the PlayStation Vita got wrong - David Houghtin, GamesRadarPlayStation Vita isn’t dead, just ask Nintendo Switch indie developers - Chris Plante, The Verge
Competition
0:43:20
Stephen McGregorGaming"Playing to Win" and a Philosophy of Competition in Gaming - Mark Newheiser“Is Wavedashing necessary for competitive play?” - reddit - RedditClaw Breaker Trailer - Martha Megarry, YouTubeMetro Nexus Gameplay - Noble Robot, YouTube
In this interview episode, we talk to Glitch's "Official Zookeeper" Alex Chang, who is the producer of this year's Glitch Connect digital games festival, coming up May 5-7th, 2017. He talks with us about what it's like to put on a show, and gives some great advice on how to put on your own.
We recorded this episode before the sessions for GlitchCon were announced. Check out the full listing here!
The final stop on the GlitchCon brewery tour is on April 19th at Modest Brewing Co. in Minneapolis.
Putting on a GlitchCon!
EventsAlex ChangGuestProducer of the 2017 Glitch Connect Digital Games Festival and Video game programmer.
This week's roundtable episode has it all: Confusion, technobabble, randomness... and shoot, a whole lot more besides!
We're still looking for feedback from our listeners! Be nice and visit our feedback form. It will only take a minute and it will help make the show better!
Getting Out of a Rut
0:02:54
Stephen McGregorIRLTim Schafer on ProductivityStephen's motivation week
Bots! Bots! Bots!
0:19:44
Mark LaCroixGame DesignTech the TechTraceryTracery for UnityKate ComptonMark Gritter on TwitterPlay This Clever Adventure Game Entirely On Twitter - Jason Schreier, KotakuMeetup Bot Makers - MinneapolisQuick, Draw!Cheap Bots, Done Quick
Procedural Generation
0:35:40
Martha MegarryProgrammingProcedural world generation: The simulation, functional and planning approaches - Rune Skovbo Johansen o, Game DeveloperSpelunk Generator Lessons - Darius Kazemi, Tiny SubversionsNo Man’s Sky – Procedural Content - gregkwaste, 3DGameDevBlogHow Planets are Made in Elite: Dangerous Horizons - Jeff Williams, wccftechFallout 4: Here's All the Names That Codsworth Can Say - Eddie Makuch, GameSpot
On this Co-Op Recap episode, we welcome musician and 3D artist Sara Ferret along with game designer Ajuawak Kapashesit to talk about March's Glitch Co-Op Talk topic, Problematic Games.
Problematic Games
Gaming"7 Ridiculously Sexualized Moments in the Metal Gear Solid Games" - Dorkly, YouTube"Assassin’s Creed and the straight-white-male default" - Duane de Four, How ManlySara FerretGuestAjuawak KapashesitGuest
In this super-sized episode, your nice hosts get into the gritty details of game design with a trio of terrific topics. Martha lays out the concept for her next game, Stephen complains about Smash Bros. (!), and Mark takes a lot of notes. Plus, maybe the best topic transitions to ever come out of the clubhouse!
We're still looking for feedback from our listeners! Be nice and visit our feedback form. It will only take a minute of your time and it will help us make the show better.
- Nice Games Club Feedback Form
Prototyping
0:05:18
Stephen McGregorGame DesignDon't skip the Game Design Workshop at GDC 2017 - GDCMark's Sonic the Hedgehog solitaire card gameHolographic Mark Mk I
Point and Clicks
0:26:28
Martha MegarryGame DesignPuzzle Dependency Graph Primer - Joshua Winberg, Game DeveloperThe Day of The Tentacle: Dependency Graph Analysis - The Website is Down Dev BlogDouble Fine Adventure - DoubleFineProd, YouTubeHumongous EntertainmentCosmic Osmo - Wikipedia30-plus years of HyperCard, the missing link to the Web - Matthew Lasar, Ars Technica
User Interfaces
0:42:26
Mark LaCroixGame DesignUser interface design in video games - Anthony Stonehouse, Game DeveloperThe User Interface Continuum: A Study of Player Preference - Kristine Jorgensen, Game DeveloperSplinter Cell: Conviction Developer Diary - IGN, YouTubeMirror’s Edge – UX is not UI - Papa_Lamp, Gur-uHue's color blind mode in action Color Jumpers color blind mode in action - Ben Burnes, YouTubeThe Division UI and Gameplay Walkthrough - YouTubeGDC Breaking conventions with Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Hidemaro Fugibayashi, GDC
In this interview episode, we talk with Lord President of the Game Design Club at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Rachel Peterson Reese Valentine, to talk about how to go about getting an education in games. Your nice hosts also recount their own gamedev educational origin stories, and the episode closes out with a quick run though of all the advice!
Games Education
ArtIRLBecause Learning Matters (129) - Extra Credits, YouTubeMinneapolis Colledge of Art and DesignPong Clone Tutorial Rachel's quick-draw art
Quick-draw portrait of MarkQuick-draw portrait of StephenWhite-board self-portraitEducational Links
One Game a MonthOn Game Schools - How to Find a Good School - Extra Credits, YouTubeGame Center - NYUUniversity of Wisconsin -StoutGame Design Workshop - bookGDC VaultUnite Conference - UnityGame Maker's Toolkit - YouTubeReese ValentineGuestCo-founder of Amelore co-op, a worker-owned game studio. Former President of the Game Design Club at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
External link
https://twitter.com/AReeseOfCake
A day late but worth the wait! In this high signal-to-noise roundtable episode, each member of the club picks a topic that they are particularly passionate about:
Stephen shares his wisdom and guidance about playtesting your work early and often, Martha helps you get your act together in a practical discussion about project management, and Mark tries to explain the obligation he feels as an artist, but picks a weird hill to die on as he wrongly insists that Portal 2 isn't really about anything.
We're trying to make the show even better and we need your input! Be nice and visit our feedback form to tell us what you think!
- Ice Cold Games
- @zacharyjohnson
- NIce Games Club Feedback Form
Demoing and Playtesting
0:03:27
Stephen McGregorProduction
Project Management
0:33:26
Martha MegarryProductionToolstrelloAgile Development - WikipediaWaterfall Development - WikipediaKanban Development - WikipediaThe Blue Yarn - 99% Invisible - The Blue Yarn, 99% InvisibleNUMMI (2015) - NUMMI, This American LifeDavid Megarry's Three Questions all project managers should ask:
“Do you have all the resources you need?"
"Do you have any roadblocks or impediments?"
"Are you on schedule?”
“A project manager (PM) is more of a problem solver than anything else. If you don’t have the resources, the PM finds them. If there are roadblocks, the PM helps to find a way to get around them. If not on schedule, the PM alters it or adds more resources or changes scope. Above all, the PM communicates with management as to the state of the project so they can make proper decisions and not be blindsided or surprised.” -David Megarry
Messages and Meanings
0:52:56
Mark LaCroixGame DesignSummerland - Michael Chabon, NovelA Closer Look at How Three Assassin's Creed Games Have Handled Slavery - Evan Narcisse, KotakuFor Honor's accidental alt-right connection - Allegra Frank, Polygon
It's the finale of our double-sized GDC 2017 special, recorded on the final day of the Game Developers Conference.
Martha and Mark were joined once again in San Fransisco by "Special Reporter" Dylan Skerbitz to talk about the back half of the conference, while Stephen joins in remotely from Glitch HQ to talk all about the Nintendo Switch!
GDC 2017 Sessions
0:02:40
Martha MegarryEventsSid Meier tells Civilization’s origin story, cites children’s history books - Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica Martha meets her Hero, Sid Meier
Double Fine's Digital Archaeology - Brendan Sinclair, GamesIndustry.bizLadykiller in a Bind Review - Allegra Frank, PolygonDouble Tap - Ste Curran
Nintendo Switch Launch
0:19:48
Stephen McGregorGamingHardwareUnreal Engine 4.15 supports Nintendo Switch, HDR, and AFR for Nvidia SLI - Mark Walton, Ars TechnicaYou can expect a Super Smash Bros. game for Nintendo Switch - CNET Friend of the show, Adia, showing off some new wares
Flash Games Postmortem
0:34:46
Mark LaCroixEventsHow Flash Games and Newgrounds Foretold Today’s Indie Experimentalism - Kate Grey, Vice
Experimental Games Workshop
0:36:32
Mark LaCroixEvents'Multibowl' Is the First Real Video Game Mixtape - Zack Kotzer, Vice
Micro-Postmortems
0:38:22
Mark LaCroixEventsChristine Love's Micropostmortems summary - Christine Love, Twitter
Martha and Mark were in San Fransisco for the Game Developers Conference, and there was so much to say we had to split it into two episodes!
While Stephen was holding down the fort back home, we were joined in San Fransisco by Nice Games Club's in-house "special reporter" Dylan Skerbitz.
Train Jam
0:00:58
Martha MegarryEventsTrain JamTrain Jam participants heading to GDC 2017 anxious about ‘Muslim ban’ - Charlie Hall, Polygon
Train Jam Interviews
0:13:13
Dylan SkerbitzEventsArvind Raja Yadav made Zombies on Demand
More from Arvind: Pyrodactyl Games
Andrew Shouldice made Uncomfortably
More from Andrew: Secret Legend
Kate Gray made Post Birb
More from Kate: https://kategray.me/
Kate Compton made Travels in Od
More from Kate: galaxykate.com
Alex Carlson made Ultimate Train Fighter 2600
More from Alex: acwd.me
Creatrix Tiara made What The $!#&@! Do They Need Now?
More from Tiara: creatrixtiara.com
Matt Findlater made Flashlight Flashbang
More from Matt: @justattackgames
Stefan Lopuszanski made Time Twins
More from Stefan: stexe.com
Day of the Devs at Alamo Drafthouse
0:24:21
Mark LaCroixEventsDay of the Devs at GDC 2017OobletsRimeMineko's Night MarketKnights and BikesPyreTacoma
GDC 2017 Sessions
0:35:06
Martha MegarryEventskhronos.orgWeb VRTurbo Button's "TButt" Framework - GitHubGames that should be Games again - Rami Ismail
Adventures in Conference Scheduling
0:52:35
Mark LaCroixEvents
Star Trek: Bridge Crew
0:55:35
Mark LaCroixDylan SkerbitzGamingVR / AR / XR
On this Co-Op Recap episode, we welcome developer Lane Davis and writer Felix Foster, who were the co-facilitators of the Glitch Co-Op Talk about Transmedia and Intellectual Property.
Also, friend of the show Adia Alderson returns to fill in for Martha, who we all missed very dearly, but you wouldn't know it by how lively our conversation was. We really get into it!
Transmedia
IRLI Have No Mouth but I Must ScreamZelda CYOA books - ZeldaWiki"Why Are There No Good Video Game Movies?" - Extra Credits, YouTubeMortal Kombat chess - WikiaMortal Kombat Tetris - WikiaHitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy - WikipediaHow Transmedia Made LEGO the Most Powerful Brand in the World - Animation World NetworkOverwatch Comic - Tracer - Blizzard EntertainmentFelix FosterGuestFelix Foster is a writer and narrative designer. He is on the board of Twin Cities Pride.
External link
@felixxx244Felix is on Instagram @felixxx244Lane DavisGuestLane Davis is Game designer/developer and friend of the show. He develops Fingance with Stephen McGregor and his brother Charles McGregor, and is one of the favorite fans of the club.
External link
Escape Industreis
Developer, pixel artist, and YouTube vlogger Will Tice joins the club to talk about building his own game engine, and what it's like to go solo.
Solo Development
IRLLibgdx"It's official: XNA is dead" - IndieGames.comunTied Games devlogunTied Games - Speed Sprinting videoWill TiceGuestWill Tice is a developer, pixel artist and Youtube vlogger.
External link
unTied Games@untiedgamesunTied Games FacebookunTied Games YoutubeunTied Games Patreon
It's an episode packed to the gills, hosted by two manatees and an otter!
Your hosts each talk about their time with Glitch's Immersion program, and Mark shares what he learned about its most recent cohort, which he filmed for an upcoming documentary.
We then bum ourselves out talking about how we never have enough time to work on our projects, but things pick up for the final segment as we gab about some of our our favorite gamedev tools, including a bunch of suggestions from listeners. Be sure to browse the links below to learn more about them!
Glitch’s Immersion Program
0:04:00
Mark LaCroixTools
Work/Life Balance
0:18:22
Stephen McGregorIRL
Tools of the Trade
0:32:33
Martha MegarryToolsVersion Control
SourceTreeGitkrakenUnimergeUnity Assets
Unity Assets StoreSuper Fast Soft Shadows - UnityRewiredGraphics Software
MagicaVoxelBlender3D Studio MaxAdobe Create CloudAdobe AnimatePyxel EditUser Forums
Stack OverflowUnity ForumGame Engines
UnityConstructSuperpowersCitrus EngineInk /InkleRen'PySound and Music
BFXRReasonGarage BandReaperProject Managment
TrelloVisual Understanding EnvironmentVisual Studio CodeCodecks - Codecks did not exsist at the time of this episode, but later became a episode sponsorCode Editors / IDEs
Sublime TextVisual StudioMonoDevelopJet BrainsFlash BuilderFDTFlash DevelopNotetaking
Google KeepEvernoteOneNoteOther Resources
Humble Indie Dev BundlesMIdwest Game Jam Resources
Once a month, the Twin Cities chapter of the International Game Developers Association holds a public meetup, where all are welcome to view presentations, plug their projects, and network with others.
As chair of the IGDA-TC, Ryan Foss coordinates and hosts the meetup, and his example helps foster a welcoming and supportive environment for Twin Cities gamedevs. In this episode, we talk to Ryan about what it takes to maintain an "extracurricular activity."
Extracurricular Activities
EventsIRLInternational Game Developers Association, Twin CitiesMinnesota Virtual Reality and Human-Computer Interaction GroupIGDA-TC podcastRyan FossGuestAs chair of the IGDA-TC, Ryan Foss coordinates and hosts the meetup, and his example helps foster a welcoming and supportive environment for Twin Cities gamedevs.
External link
Independent Game Developers Association, Twin Cities Chapter
Our 10th(!!!) episode has your nice hosts teetering on the edge of not-so-niceness as they each describe something they just don't get (or don't quite like) in gaming, and hope the other two can bring them around.
Watching Games
0:01:28
Mark LaCroixGamingIRLEVO Fighting Game TournamentThe Controversial Dichotomy Between Sports and eSports - Jesse Aaron, Huffington PostAchievement Hunter - Rooster TeethThe Best of Modern Warfare Mythbusters - Defend teh House, YouTubeContradiction: Spot the Liar! - Giant BombHer Story"On Let's Plays" - That Dragon, Cancer
Narrative in Games
0:13:00
Stephen McGregorNarrativeLudonarrative Dissonance in Bioshock - Click NothingHow many times can you enter the cell? - Batman: Arkham Knight - YouTubePortal 2 - funniest quotes - ultrasoftcore, YouTubeThe Stanley ParableBrothers: A Tale of Two Sons - Ending - Epilogue - YouTube
Board Games
0:29:27
Martha MegarryTabletopDungeon! (created by Martha's dad, David Megarry)Animal Town Games: Save the Whales, Dam Builders, Nectar CollectorEvolutionStar Trek: AscendancyPuerto RicoPandemicFlashpoint
Some firsts in this episode: Our first iTunes review (thanks, Abdiwak!), our first episode of interconnected topics, and our first big ideological disagreement (ooo, drama!).
Gaming Mastery
0:01:33
Gamer Motivation Profile quiz - Quantic Foundry
Strategy Guides and Wikis
0:20:45
Martha MegarryGamingTools(Martha) Pokemon Crystal guide - Nintendo Power(Stephen) Donkey Kong Country 2 guideNintendo Power's Dragon Warrior giveaway - Press the Buttons
Designing Party Games
0:38:30
Mark LaCroixGame DesignUltimate Chicken HorseWe Didn’t Playtest This At All!SpaceteamJackbox Party PackSave the WhalesSushi Go!Overcooked
Musician and educator Troy Strand joins the club to talk about writing music for indie games and working with indie devs, and your nice hosts do a lot of learning. Troy also shares details about his new crowdfunding platform Raisable.
Music for Indie Games
AudioVerdant SkiesVenture AcademyRaisableTroy StrandGuestTroy Strand is a musician and educator, who creates music for Minnesota game developers among other things.
External link
https://twitter.com/yellowchordVimeo Music Demo Reel
In this special episode, your nice hosts say some nice things about a few games they played and loved in 2016, and talk a little about what they're looking forward to in gaming for 2017.
- Martha got new insulation material for our ice-cold clubhouse.
- Doing it right.
Martha's Nicest (2016)
Martha MegarryNicestOvercookedOverwatch
Mark's Nicest (2016)
Mark LaCroixNicestPaper Mario: Color SplashStar Trek: Ascendancy
Stephen's Nicest (2016)
Stephen McGregorNicestConceptDivinity: Original Sin
Consensus Pick (2016)
Mark LaCroixMartha MegarryStephen McGregorNicestBeach Ball Valley
Our first Co-Op Recap episode features writer and developer Adia Alderson to discuss all things Interactive Fiction!
- Interactive Fiction - Wikipedia
Interactive Fiction
Narrative[Tools]
Ink Scripting LanguageChoiceScriptTwineInform[Discussion]
Writing Ages in Myst - WikiaThe Lost PigStrong Bad - Thy DungeonmanHitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy game - BBCHitchhiker's Guide To Douglas Adams' Secret Gaming Passion - Game Informer PodcastInteractive Fiction DatabaseGDC Talk "Ink: The Narrative Scripting Language" - Joseph Humfrey , GDC[Outro]
Glitch Event: Story ForgeAdia Alderson on Twitter - @Adia_AldAdia AldersonYour Evil HostsGuestAdia Alderson is a Software Engineer and web developer. She currently works at Slalom.
Adia loves narrative games and announcing to you what’s going to happen next in suspenseful movies and TV shows. Adia is the first to see the flaws, and point them out to you, and the last to follow directions, which makes her a perfect member of the Evil Games Club.
External link
Adia's Twitter
Our post-Xmas episode features "happiness, all over the place," multiple instances of the word "chill," and is covered with Mark's since-Thanksgiving sniffles.
- SUPERHOT VR Review - Ben Lang, Road to VR
Bugs!
0:02:36
Street Fighter II designer opens up about the cancelling 'bug' - Game DeveloperIndie Game Project Management with Trello - Michael CannBethesda. Bethesda Never Changes...Regression testing - WikipediaGoat Simulator Hits Xbox One With "Millions of Bugs" - Eddie Makuch, GameSpot
Game Jams!
0:20:55
Stephen McGregorEventsGlobal Game Jam (January 20 - 22 , 2017)Gamecraft.mn (Minnesota GGJ site)Midwest Game Jam 2016 gamesHow to Get the Most Out of a Game Jam - Christer Kaitila, tuts+Ludum Dare
Developer Art!
0:42:08
Mark LaCroixArtBetter Programmer Art - gamedev.netWhite Boxing Your Game - Game DeveloperBehind Borderlands' 11th-hour style change - GameSpotThe Legend of Zelda at Spaceworld 2000
Without Glitch, there would be no Nice Games Club, so we were very happy to welcome the Executive Director and co-founder of GLITCH, Evva Kraikul, to share with us what it takes to build a community of game makers, how to get involved, and the "small moments that define a community.”
Resources for Game Makers
Glitch.mnGlitch ConnectGamecraftMetropolitan Regional Arts CouncilMinnesota State Arts BoardThe McKnight FoundationNorthern Spark - Twin Cities MNMeetup.com searchHow to create an Eventbrite eventIGDA Chapters listingGameNest - San FransiscoGlitchCityLA - Los AngelesHand-Eye Society - TorontoBabycastles - New York CityThe Video Game Industry's Problem With Racial Diversity - NewsweekHow Diversity Makes Us Smarter - Scientific AmericanEvva KraikulGuestEvva Kraikul is a Founder & Creative Director at GLITCH
Projects
Claw Breaker
External link
GLITCH
Nothing can stop us, not even good jazz at high volume!
- MN Gamedev Twitter Bot
Westworld as a Video Game
0:02:00
Mark LaCroixMisc.What People Who Make Video Games Think of Westworld - io9 - Evan Narcisse, IO9
Crafting Systems
0:11:44
Martha MegarryGame DesignMinecraft's unique crafting systemNo Man’s Sky is an existential crisis simulator... - Peter Suderman, VoxLittle AlchemyDoodle GodLittle Inferno
Designing Games for Non-Gamers
0:27:30
Stephen McGregorGame DesignBoom Blox, a Steven Spielberg/EA Game - WikipediaOperant Conditioning Chamber (aka Skinner Box) - WikipediaVideo Games Are Boring - Brie Code, GamesIndustry.biz
On our first interview episode, it's a family affair, as Beth and Andy Korth (plus adorable baby Gabe!), join us in the Nice Games Clubhouse to share their experience getting their upcoming game Verdant Skies though the Steam Greenlight process.
- Little Gabe, making eyes at Martha.
Steam Greenlight
MarketingProductionVerdant Skies Greenlight pageSkye Storme's YouTube video on Verdant Skies - Skye Storme's , YouTubeVerdant Skies website@Verdant_SkiesBeth KorthGuestBeth Korth is a narrative designer, and the Vice Chair at the Independent Game Developer Association, Twin Cities.
External link
@BethKorthVerdant SkiesAndy KorthGuestFounder and developer for Howling Moon Software.
External link
Howling Moon SoftwareVerdant Skies
Holy bolts, our first episode!
Impostor Syndrome
0:01:58
Stephen McGregorIRLImposter Syndrome - WikipediaInternational Game Developers Association - Twin CitiesGlitchMN
Gaming Events
0:22:38
Mark LaCroixEventsGamingOculus Touch controllersLone Echo multiplayerFingeance demo downloadObduction VR
VR Development
0:55:57
Martha MegarryVR / AR / XR"Attack on Titan" VR experimentAndrew Fladeboe VRBeach Ball ValleyIntropy Games