Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!

#235The New ClubhouseNice Thinking2021.09.16After 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 ClubhouseMark LaCroixIRLMetaErgonomic 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

#224"To whom it may concern."Roundtable2021.07.09Holly Harrison, aka "Best Friend of the Show," is back in the clubhouse! And we recorded this episode in person again! Can you tell? It probably comes through in the goofs...There's plenty of silliness in this week's episode, even though your Nice Hosts explore some serious topics. Holly asks us what we can do to become more ethical consumers (and developers) of games. Ellen examines the dynamics of grind. Stephen finally admits to something BIG, and Mark takes a break.Join Lobby - Video Game Culture Feed - Holly Harrison, InstagramHolly joined us for episode 40...Community Managment...and for episode 88...The Gaming Press...and for episode 89..."A mean secret that stays in this room."...and for episode 201..."Not like Beauty and the Beast."...and for episode 202!Business SpeakEllen's new laptop: Alienware M15R4Gris (a game, not a musical) - SteamNoble Engine - Mark LaCroixHere's episode 217, in which we discussed open source.Open Source SoftwarePhoto by Helmi Lutvyandi from PexelsEthical Consumption0:13:06Holly HarrisonGamingMisc.Conflict minerals: Which gaming companies may have funded human rights abuses i… - Rebekah Valentine, GamesIndustry.bizIs There Really Such a Thing as “Ethical Consumerism”? - Maya Singer, VogueSummary of sexual and non-sexual allegations (megathread) - RedditGrind0:47:59Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignGamingr/truegaming: For those who like talking about games as much as playing them. - RedditEllen’s take on grind: “Going through the same content multiple times as a means to progress towards an in-game goal that doesn’t pertain to the player’s skill.”

#210GlomNice Games Jam2021.03.31This week your nice hosts have a rowdy game jam. Dale gave us a prompt: Create a matching game with a puzzle element. The puzzle must be "what matches first" and bonus points if there's cats.The goal of every Nice Games Jam is for the team to come up with a playable game by the end of the episode. Did Stephen, Mark, and Ellen make it happen, or did they end up with a pile of nonsense? Well, maybe a bit of both.The "dot game" that Ellen referenced is called Dots & Boxes - WikipediaA three-sided die similar to the one that Eric, Ellen's partner, owns.Here's a place you can buy your own three-sided die - Nvenom8 Designs on ShapeWays MarketplaceGame typeTabletop gamePlayer countAnyMaterialsPaper, pencil or penSetupEach player should have:Paper (or someplace to compose sentences)Something to write with (typing on a screen is fine)Some way of indicating points passed to other players (chips, coins, etc.) -- in the rules below, these will be referred to as "chips"The game requires three decks. As of this airing, each deck has three cards:Prompts deck "Nice to meet you.""Where is the bathroom?""Can I pet your cat?"Constraints deck No letter Es (this is incredibly difficult)Exactly 4 wordsOnly single-syllable wordsScoring deck Most wordsMost lettersLongest word in the sentenceRulesThe goal of the game is to acquire the most points out of all the players.Players acquire points by writing sentences that adhere to the Prompt, Constraint, and Scoring card drawn for each round.SetupShuffle all three decks.Distribute chips evenly amongst all players.Starting a RoundDraw a single card from each deck. Place all three face-down on the table.Set the timer for the desired duration: 1 minute, 2 minutes (default) or 3 minutes.Flip all three cards face-up and start the timer.All players then attempt to compose a sentence that meets the criteria of all three cards (Prompt, Constraint, and Scoring) within the time limit.Share Your SentencesEach player speaks their sentence aloud. (If you're playing online, you can also enter your sentence into the text chat.) The sequence in which players share their sentences doesn't matter—just be nice about it.Round ScoringPlayers can’t use any of the words in the phrase on the Prompt card. There’s a penalty (-1 point) for each word used. Exception: You can use the same spelling of a word if it’s another type of word (noun vs. verb) Alternate rule for extra challenge and silliness: Remove the exception to the above rule.The player whose sentence meets the conditions on that round's Scoring card wins 3 points.Players pass one of their chips to the person who had, in the player's opinion, the coolest sentence. This is a subjective judgment and has nothing to do with the rules. Each chip received counts as 1 point for the receiving player.DisputesDuring Round Scoring, any player can raise an argument about how the rules apply to another player's sentence. If you bring an argument, you have to propose a resolution, and people will vote on the proposal. (For example, you can propose a change to someone's point total that round, or suggest a change to a person's sentence to bring it within the rules.) If the vote passes, the solution goes through.Continue Play and End the GameFor each subsequent round of play, draw a new set of cards. Play and score according to the above rules.The game ends when all Prompt cards have been used. Shuffle Constraints and Scoring cards back into their respective decks as needed.The player with the most points wins!

#220“My face is over here.” Special In-Person SpecialSpecial2021.06.10Your vaccinated hosts return to the clubhouse to record their first in-person episode in over a year. This one's for us, but you might like it, too.There was a lot of hugs before the recording.Charity EP Jam (the new album drops June 11th!) - Chel WongIndie bundle for Palestinian Aid - Alanna Linayre, itch.ioMark's "Widget Satchel II" was featured in Panic's E3-style announcement video.Special In-Person SpecialMark LaCroixStephen McGregorEllen Burns-JohnsonIRLMetaMisc.South Korea’s COVID Success Stems From an Earlier Infectious Disease Failure -  Jiyeon Kim and Neil Richards, Slate

#219Therapeutic GamesInterview2021.06.03🎉 🎂 🎉 It's Ellen's birthday! 🎉 🎂 🎉Wish her a happy one via the show's feedback form (seriously, that's what she asked for): nicegames.club/feedback.Can games be used for therapeutic purposes? Absolutely! In this episode we talk with Adam Davis, therapeutic Game Master, and a co-founder and executive director of Game to Grow, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The organization is focused on "the use of games of all kinds for therapeutic, educational, and community growth."Adam shares his experiences from over a decade in therapeutic play—how Game to Grow began, how he thinks about games as part of therapeutic experiences, and how he once managed SEVEN tabletop RPG campaigns simultaneously. We hope you enjoy our inspiring conversation with this really cool guy!Helmet nachos! Source: Target Field Eats on Twitter https://twitter.com/tfeats/status/1039672499892576256Therapeutic GamesGame DesignTabletopGame to Grow blogCritical Core on KickstarterDrama Therapy - North American Drama Therapy AssociationWheelhouse WorkshopIndividualized Education Plan (IEP) - Understood.comCollaboration vs. cooperation: What's the difference? - The Ripple Team, Ripple IntranetGame to Grow Keynote at the 2018 Washington Therapy Conference  - Adam DavisNo Thank You, Evil: The Award-Winning Game of Make-believe for Creative Kids an…

#216"They wouldn't fully respawn." Fingeance PostmortemSpecial2021.05.06Oh dang, Fingeance is out! In this episode, Stephen talks about finally releasing his long-in-development game that's been a big part of Nice Games Club history, too!Hear about the game's unique development history, why now was the right time to put it out into the world, and learn a bit about how you might want to to approach your own long-gestating projects.Fingeance on itch.io (download for free)!Escape Industries on TwitterFingeance PortmortemStephen McGregorGame DesignProductionBack in 2018, we peeked inside Fingeance for a video episode of the show:Code Comment: "Fingeance"In 2019, we did a postmortem-ish episode for Widget Satchel:"Space ferrets lift off!" Widget Satchel Special

It's that season—there's snow on the ground, and it's time for the annual "year in review" episode. Your nice hosts are getting ready to take a break from recording for a few weeks while serving up some of our favorite episodes from the past year. But before we start hibernating, there's a lot to discuss! What did we accomplish this year, and how do we feel about it? What are our goals for next year? Are we taking on any fun projects during our hiatus? And what are we looking forward to playing next year (besides all the Kirby games, of course)?Nice Games Club is five years old! That's a solid handful of years. Happy birthday show, and thanks to you all for listening!The feeling is real, even if this video isn't.0:13:45Local Releases (2021)Fingeance by Escape Industriesitch.ioTotally Reliable Delivery Service (console release this year)YouTubeAnodyne 2: Return to Dust (on Nintendo Switch this year)Nintendo.comClosed Hands by Passenger Games Ltd.0:43:17Nicest (2021)Hades by Supergiant GamesFirewatch by Campo SantoWhere Should We Begin? A Game of Stories from Esther PerelMetroid: Fusion (Ellen played it on emulator)Nintendo.comPokémon QuestPokemon.comBowser’s FuryNintendo.comRatchet & Clank: Rift ApartPlaystation.comMetroid: DreadNintendo.comHumankindDeathloopRogue CompanyHavenYouTubeValheimIt Takes TwoSteam1:10:25Most Anticipated (for 2022) Endling: Extinction is Forever (from Handy Games)Weird West (by Wolfeye Studios, published by Devolver)Game InformerTiny Tina's WonderlandsGame InformerSCHiMEwoudSolo-developed ‘Mars First Logistics’ is a physics-based sandbox on MarsAlan WenNME.comCyberpunk cat adventure Stray will let you do highly accurate cat stuffMichael McWhertorPolygonLittle Kitty, Big CityDouble Dagger StudioThe Playdate handheld system!!!Kirby™ and the Forgotten LandNintendo.comMultiversus (from Warner Bros)Dragon's Dogma 2 will run on the same engine as Resident Evil Village, leaker s…Connor SheridanGamesRadar1:26:51Gamedev Resolutions / What We're Working On (for 2022)

Your nice hosts (Ellen, mainly) conduct a double-interview, with a consummate professional and a committed amateur, on the subject of game design though the lens of tabletop game mastering. Subjects include the dynamic between system design and session design, the balance between planning and improvisation, and how players can be encouraged to participate in the process.Designing like a Dungeon MasterGame DesignNarrativeTabletopAlternity - Sasquatch Game StudioMDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research - Robin Hunicke, Marc LeBlanc, Robert Zubek, Northwestern UniversityDread, a game of horror and suspense - The Impossible DreamThousand Year Old Vampire - Tim HutchingsRobin's Laws of Good Game Mastering - Robin D. LawsUnpossible Game LabsCon of the NorthKatrina imagined a future with "Westworld as a video game," which coincidentally was a topic in one of our first episodes:"It's against the law to stop."

Three nice hosts, plus two topics, plus three meta topics equals a good time! Listen to Stephen's secret to popcorn success, Mark bringing up the Observer effect multiple times and Ellen's branding plans for her latest game.Forever - Endless Runner Engine - DreamteckFlavacol - Popcorn SupplyThe definition of Chrimbo - Lexicon0:08:33Player CountDevelopers explain why 4 is the magic multiplayer numberCass MarshallPolygonMultitapWikipediaMAG ReviewDAN RYCKERTGame InformerParenting young kids is exhausting. Should we rethink the nuclear family?Sophie Brickman0:36:33Hidden Information

As the podcast approaches its fifth anniversary, your hosts get a little (more) frivolous. Mark shares some industry news about hardware releases. Ellen prompts everyone to share their experiences of learning development tools and examine their process of learning through the lens of Maximum Whooo. Stephen explores the difference between cooperative and collaborative gameplay, and invents something called a Feedborm. Dang!Steamworks Virtual Conference: Steam Deck - SteamSteam Deck launch delayed by two months - Jay Peters, The VergeIndie handheld Playdate delayed to 2022 - Michael McWhertor, PolygonHow Long to Beat: Metroid Dread - HowLongToBeat14:05Learning to Use ToolsArticulate Storyline 360, an e-learning development toolGodot, an open-source 2D & 3D game engineGodot: Getting Started >> Step by stepJuan Linietsky, Ariel Manzur and the Godot communityGodotTuckman's stages of group developmentWikipediaCoDecks: Playful PlanningSonder (a story)Ludum DareProactive and Retroactive Interference (re: learning interference)Dr. Saul McLeodSimply Psychology53:10.0Co-Op GamesOvercooked Co-Op Review: Five-star co-op gamingJason LoveCo-OptimusThere’s a Difference Between Cooperation and CollaborationRon AshkenasHarvard Business Review