Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!

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 GamesIndie Boards and Cards0:10:25Games With Your DogsTreibball (push ball) - giant football for dogs!Naturally Happy DogsYouTubeGetting started and teaching 'outside'FluentPetYouTubeHere'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)Games Industry GatheringYerba Buena GardensIGF Accepts Over 400 Entries for GDC 2022Independent Games Festival'Unpacking' and 'Inscryption' Lead in IGF 2022 NominationsIndependent Games FestivalInscryption wins the IGF Grand Prize and GDC Game Of The Year Award 2022Jai Singh BainsRock 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 Coding0:05:33Building Assets and PluginsCharles was last on the show on this episode about Level Editors.Level EditorsCharles destroys his brother on the airRewired Unity PluginGuavamanUnity Asset StorePlaymaker Add-onsHutong GamesManaged Plug-insUnity0:37:26Ink EngineInk EngineInkle StudiosInk Unity IntegrationInkle 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 CodingProgrammingToolsPlaymaker - 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 MinnesotaZebraZappsWe mentioned a previous interview episode with Freya Holmer,Self-education, et al.

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., AndscapeHint, hint... - Mike Rose, Twitter0:13:18Milestone BuildsMilestoneWikipedia0:46:47Wikis and GuidesHow to pause Elden RingJeffrey ParkinPolygon

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 SpecialStephen's grumpy tweet.Game Dev London0:18:36Safecracker!!Nice Games Club's 1hr Game Jam Challenge - Part 1Game Dev LondonYouTubeCreating "Safecracker!!" in part 1 of Game Dev London's 2-part episodeThe Lockpicking LawyerYouTube0:41:19Adventurer, PleaseNice Games Club's 1hr Game Jam Challenge - Part 2Game Dev LondonYouTubeCreating "Adventurer, Please" in part 2 of Game Dev London's 2-part episodeMark's Beverly Crusher t-shirt Jefferies TubeMemory AlphaUnplugged Independents: Weave: Storytelling RedefinedSeamus 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 - YouTubeYou made it! Thanks for another unforgettable year of Global Game Jam!15:00Games You Get for FreeXbox Game Pass Ultimate tip: How to get 3 years of access to hundreds of games …PCWorldKo-FiThe Jolly Jawbreaker44:00Joy vs. FunThe Giver: Language and CommunicationStudy guideShmoop

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 (2021-22)The path to unionizing has been rough for Raven Software, and it’s about to get…Ash ParrishThe VergeGame Dev LondonSeven Billion HumansUntitled Goose Game is getting a second goose and local co-opNicole CarpenterPolygonThe 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 GeniusLara PellegrinelliNPR

#240Sledgehammer BrideNice Thinking2021.10.28It'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 SocietySledgehammer 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

#211Building Blocks of DesignInterview2021.04.08It'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 DesignArtGame DesignIRLTabletopToolsThe Game CrafterA 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.