Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!

#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 years10 chips for each playerSet of years/eventsTimerSetupPlace 8 item cards on the table easily accessible for all players. Pick a random year/event. Set timer for 1 minute.RulesStart the timer to start the roundWhile the timer runs, players place chips on items to bid on themWhen 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 roundItems that are earned get their times revealed, player closest to the chosen year/event winsPlay 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 AccomplishmentsMarkBlippo+Nice Games AllianceGDC 2026 Speakers - Mark LaCroixStephenStephen successfully helped run an unsuccessful Kickstarter campaign, which he detailed in:"The things that create the geometry."Melanated Game KitchenLydiaLydia 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" GamesLydiaWord PlayGame Maker's ToolkitSteamMy SimsWikipediaAge of Mythology: RetoldWikipedia(Honorable Mention) PeakWikipedia(Honorable Mention) Axolotl with a GunBright Bard Gamesitch.ioMarkMario Kart WorldNintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour(Honorable Mention) Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2StephenKirby Air Riders Blue Prince(Honorable Mention) Root (Honorable Mention) 2XKO0:36:402026 Most Anticipated GamesLydiaSlay The Spire 2Steam(hopeful) Tales of the Abyss RemakeWikipedia(hopeful) Persona 6RedditMarkBig 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.StephenStephen is always wishing for another Kirby gameNioh 30:47:222026 ResolutionsHear more on last year's resolutions in:Nicest of 2024StephenMake 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 DiscriminationMarkFinish 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.LydiaGo 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, BandcampThe ADA: Your Responsibilities as an Employer - U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission0:13:28Lydia 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 - YouTubeWho is the Sky - David ByrneTwin Cities violin maker saves the day for David Byrne's bandleader - Brianna Kelly, Bring Me The NewsNoble Robot Website - Noble Robot0:14:47Interactivity 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 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

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, GDCSymphony of SeasonsPaul McCartney "Got Back" tourU.S. Bank Stadium Officials Addressing Sound Concerns For Concerts - CBS Minnesota0:16:06Being 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 ConferenceCHEST Medicine ConferenceEosinophilic and Noneosinophilic AsthmaCHEST Journal Podcast(Yes, Dale included that last link because its host is named Dr. Pepper.)Escape room gamesLydia'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 - WikipediaPromptCreate a pirate themed game about food and scurvy management.Game typeCard gamePlayer count2-4MaterialsEvent deckResource DeckSetupShuffle the event deck and the resource deck separately. Deal 5 cards from the resource deck to each player.RulesCard gameSet makingNeed to create as many sets as you can to create grog, while preventing vermin from being in your handThese resources will keep you going in phase 2 when pulling from port of call / event cardsWhoever is able to travel farthest (successfully draw the most port of call / event cards) winsBeneficial foodGrog (face cards)Rum - JackSugar - QueenWater - KingLimes - AceSalt 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 MaggotsRatsRulesEach turn you have one action. You can either:Draw a cardPlay a complete setAfter a certain number of cards (10 as default), you all go to sail and have ports of call eventsDraw an event card each turnPorts 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 stacksShip catThe cat joins the most rat-infested ship (removes all rats from hand)OR spend the most salt meat to attract it to your shipTrade with each otherDraw 3 cards and give 1 card from hand to the player on your left. Make stacksInjured shipmateSpend water and salt from your handSpend maggots from your handThreat of scurvySpend grogWeevil infestation! Lose a hard tack for every weevil in your hand. Discard those cards from your hand and stacks(?)