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 GamesNickelodeon All-Star Brawl for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo.comMetroid: Dread - Nintendo.comDenver Botanical GardensRocky Mountain National ParkLucile's Creole Cafe (has a GREAT breakfast!)10:04Deluxe EditionsRock, Paper, Scissors: Deluxe Edition (on Kickstarter)Day of Dragons (in early access)37:28Illusions of ChoiceJellyvision LabsJellyvision (history) WikipediaStop signsWikipediaOperation LifesaverThe Illusion of Choice in Telltale Games' The Walking DeadAdrian FroschauerOntological 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!).5:15PrototypesHere's a previous episode where we've talked about prototyping!"A way to farm notions."0:33:38Game ShowsEllen 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.0:10:34Frustration0:50:28Meetings

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 GunnersPillars of CreationGames shown at 2D Con 2021:Snow Day: The Cold WarEmeryJohnny ChainsawArmed and GelatinousCaptain's Log: Crisis DetectedMerchant of WindvaleFar AwayMagical Unicorn QuestChronicles of the Wolf and Wallachia: Reign of DraculaEterbal ExodusWidget SatchelThey StirredAstral GunnersFitmentFingeanceOllie-OopHyperDotCULTivatePillars of Creation0:13:05Learning a Game EngineThe Only Certainty Is That He Won’t Show UpDave ItzkoffThe New York TimesStep by Step Godot Documentation - IndexGodot EngineStep by Step Godot Documentation - InstancingGodot EngineStop Waiting for Godot JamTerry Cavanaghitch.io#stopwaitingforgodotTwitterTypes of Interference in PsychologyKendra Cherryverywellmind0:43:14GunsCritical Reaction to Mass Effect CitadelMetacritic20 years on, Bushido Blade remains a fighting game masterpieceSimon ParkinEurogamerAny 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 ClubhouseErgonomic 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 IndividualsHappy 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)For 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 typeTabletop gamePlayer count2Materials4x4 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.SetupPlace 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-PawnRulesThe 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 GamesMarketingPhysical 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 linkPeter 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 VRGame DesignIRLVR / AR / XRDark Slope StudiosThe Void - WikipediaMalls have a future: location-based entertainment - Kim Schaefer, VentureBeatCurtis Hickman - Speaker Biography - Future of StorytellingFacebook HorizonDana WareGuestCreative 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 linkhttps://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! - TwitterMy Boy! Emulator (Android app) - Google Play StoreIs 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 TimesHeader 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.0:12:16Bonus ContentGames mentioned in this segment included:Paper Mario: The Origami KingClosed Hands30 Flights of LovingSuper Smash Bros. UltimateBatman: Arkham seriesA 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 LegendOllie BarderForbesWrinkles in Spacetime: The Warped Astrophysics of InterstellarAdam RogersWiredFirst Images of a Black Hole from the Event Horizon Telescope*Susanna KohlerAAS 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.0:45:29Giving TalksView recently-broadcasted talks from IGDA-TCTwitchResonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences (a book)Nancy Duarte