Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!

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, Steam0:06:27QA 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 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

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 - SteamLe Ballon Rouge - WikipediaWater Cycle - WikipediaLoop Hero - SteamHuman Resource Machine - SteamPromptto match the current weather - what goes on inside the clouds during a thunderstorm?Game typeDesign documentPlayer count1RulesYou control a cloud factory and manage what the cloud distributesMission-based, scenariosPlenty of fun fantasy optionsCondition optionsSunshineWaterStatic (use a balloon?)WindThe shape of your factory/cloudWater is your core resourceUse it to build the factory, use it to make the rain and complete tasks, use it to expandGain it from water vapor and such (water cycle)Your factory is also water, you can reuse itYou go through a campaignPick between a set of jobs each time, bigger jobs give more repIsometric viewLevel 1: rain on the hot dog cartHave the cloud rain over an area for a specific period of timeThe mission before you just needed to dump some waterThe player needs to collect water to have enough rain on the hot dog cartAutomation is the gameYou need to shape the cloud to fit all of the machines that you order from a catalogCatalog has a ton of options, with their own efficienciesLevel 2: rain on a hot dog festivalLevel ??: Flood the Nile 

Explore the intriguing world of save systems in gaming, where accessibility meets player experience. The hosts delve into the psychological impact of progress loss and its implications for game design. They also tackle the tricky topic of non-disclosure agreements, discussing their role in maintaining trust among developers. Plus, personal anecdotes about birthdays and humorous gift discussions add a light-hearted touch to the conversation. The blend of serious topics with playful banter keeps listeners engaged and entertained!

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 InformerEmotional 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 NemoChris 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, Goodreads