Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!

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 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 catsA cat toy shaped like a die with a treat insideList of activities the die points toSetupPick 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.

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 :)Gen Con06:08GrindA Necessary Evil: Grinding in GamesBrice MorrisonGame Developer26:32Emphasizing Uniqueness

In 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 GoingIRL

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 Store0:12:26Cheating, Part 3We 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 ZReinhard BlaukovitschIrdetoMedal of dishonour: why do so many people cheat in online video games?Keith StuartThe GuardianReport: Cheating Is Becoming A Big Problem In Online GamingNelson GranadosForbes167: Randomly Generated TitleCoffee with ButterscotchButterscotch ShenanigansCS:GO - Overwatch guideEd ThornRock Paper ShotgunHOW TO GET OVERWATCH CASES IN CS:GO: CLEAN UP THE GAMEDaniel MorriseSports.netYouTube videos17 Video Games That ROAST CheatersT5GYouTubeTackling Cheating In GamingGDCYouTubeHow DayZ Deals With CheatersGDCYouTubeRobocalypse Now: Using Deep Learning to Combat Cheating in Counter-Strike: Glob…GDCYouTube0:50:22Putting the Real World in GamesVenbaVisai GamesGame Jam GamesSonderA Hot Clock Productionitch.ioSmile SimulatorAnyanwuitch.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.LeadershipIRLProductionServant Leadership - Mind ToolsServant Leadership is NOT What You Think - John S. Todorovic, LinkedInWomen in Games - Discord

Editor at IGN, Alex Stedman, joins the hosts to delve into the world of cheating in contemporary video games. They discuss the nature of cheating, reasons behind cheating behavior, ethical implications, and the impact on gaming communities. Exciting updates on game releases, personal experiences, and game design analysis are also shared throughout the podcast.

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 GamesIRLNarrativeAtmospheric sci-fi western roguelike The Foglands launches on PS VR2 this year - Derek O'Dell, Playstation BlogThe Foglands - SteamTools for Game WritingConfluence - AtlassianScrivenerInk - Inkle StudiosTwine - TwineryArticyBitsy

Kelsey McKinney, a writer for Defector, and Quantic Foundry, a research organization analyzing gamer motivations, join the hosts to discuss player motivations and copying others in game design. They also touch on attending Origins Game Fair, frustrations with cliffhangers in TV shows, complexity in competitive sports, eating salty food, analyzing and incorporating others' work, and amusing horse names in games.

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 Alpha

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?” - RedditAhead Of The Kentucky Derby, 5 Absurd Rules For Naming Racehorses (2015) - Julie Alderman, NPR0:11:46Finding HelpHiring Game DesignersGame Developer0:46:22Companion Characters[The] 10 Best Companions In Gaming HistoryJom ElauriaScreenRant