Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!

Uh oh! The evils are back again for the first of a two-episode residency in the clubhouse, where Dale takes a hair census, Adia is "air-quoting heavily," and Dylan is a child of the Internet... literally.0:05:21Playing Outside Your Genre / DifficultyExpert Tips Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night Doesn't Tell YouJustin ClarkSVGHow the Video Game Industry Quietly Powered Through a PandemicTrilby BeresfordThe Hollywood Reporter0:34:48CheatingHere’s how ‘Hades’ makes going back to hell feel freshGene ParkThe Washington Post9 out of 10 people played Mass Effect as ParagonBrett MakedonskiDestructoidYour Nice Hosts talked about Strategy Guides way back in episode 8:"Will you be the best with me?"

This week, your nice hosts get smart. Stephen approaches a major milestone, Ellen's planning her first PC build, and Mark does a book report. Plus, there's a new feedback form for you to sample and enjoy! Aged. Learned. It's Nice Games Club.Fingeance trailer - Escape Industries, YouTubeFingeance main site - Escape IndustriesBuy Fingeance on Itch.io!Razer Kishi controllerAmazon Luna controller0:20:04Ellen's PC Build - The Journey BeginsUS favorite video game devices 2020J. ClementStatistaGaming - Statistics and FactsStatistaVideo Game Industry Statistics In 2020PC Part PickerELEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS0:41:00Press Reset by Jason SchreierPress Reset: Ruin and Recovery in the Video Game IndustryJason SchreierAmazon

It'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.

This 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!

This week, your nice hosts look within themselves. Mark is afraid of falling off the tree, Stephen does the teeter-tottering he has to do, and Ellen doesn't struggle with this.Markey, Colleagues Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill to Make Daylight Saving Time Per…Tiny Room Stories: Town MysteryAnimal RestaurantLearn Lua in 15 Minutes - Tyler NeylonHungarian Notation0:24:56Your Internal BatteryGamer Motivation ProfileYour nice hosts talked about thier Gamer Motiviation Profiles in:"Will you be the best with me?"Evil Games Club also tackled thier Gamer Motivations Profiles in thier first outing:Evil Games Club! 5 Signs That You May Be an AmbivertRena GoldmanHealthlineNemesis JamCannibalInteractiveitch.io0:48:12Finding Your Artistic Voice

A regular nice roundtable! In the first part this week's episode, Mark leads an examination of how fonts can support gameplay, worldbuilding, and immersion. In the second half, Stephen makes us think—really think—about the benefits of "janky" gameplay. Mark shares some font history facts, Stephen starts his manifesto, and Ellen takes on the case.Mark's new keyboardChel Wong's charity albumPress Reset (new gamedev book) - Jason SchreierWhere to Start with Vlad Taltos (the book series that Ellen mentioned) - Stephen Brust, Tor Books0:09:37FontsHistory and Evolution of TypographyKonstantin Kirilov; Nikolay PetroussenkoFont FabricThe history of fontsPrepressurePopular StandardsISOMini MetroDestinyNight in the WoodsVA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action0:39:52JankBalan Wonderworld is a strange game of furry musicalityMichael McWhertorPolygonBalan Wonderland gameplay video Kinda Funny GamescastYouTubeBullet Witch on SteamGoat SimulatorHuman Fall Flat on SteamL.O.V.E.R.S in a Dangerous SpacetimeINSIDEOvercooked

After a slightly longer than usual hiatus, your nice hosts (along with your nice guest host Dale LaCroix) return to the virtual clubhouse for the first new episode of 2021 to talk about what we did on our winter break!PLUS: Mark is a tax robot, Stephen hopes he’s not fired, and Ellen loves being right.Closed Hands, the interactive fiction game (directed by Dan Hett) that Mark worked on over the last few months, was released this week!Closed Hands at Twin Cities Playtest (January 2021)Show Your Work! - Austin KleonWorking Out Loud - Seth GodinWhat We Did On Our Winter Break (2020-21)If you missed it, last week we re-ran our Roboston episodes:Roboston! (parts 1 and 2)Roboston: Game RulesRoboston: Development Session NotesYour nice hosts' hiatus "Working Agreement"We brought Roboston to Twin Cities Playtest in January......and again in February.

This Nice Replay is a two-parter!Part one:Roboston! (Live at 2D Con 2020)Part two:Roboston! (part 2)#192Roboston! (Live at 2D Con 2020)Nice Games JamLiveVideo2020.09.17Your nice hosts recorded a live Nice Games Jam episode at 2D Con 2020! You can listen to the edited audio of the recording here!You can find the video of the live recording right here!PromptCreate a game where you are working together to construct a robot, but each player has a secret task they are trying to get the robot to complete along the way.Game typeTabletop gamePlayer count3-8Materials1 Deck of Robot Parts1 Deck of Player Roles1 Deck of Objectives1 DieSetupDeal out an even number of Robot Parts to each player, and one Player Role. Then draw the first card in the Objectives deck for the team's objective.RulesEach player has a Player Role, this is their victory condition. Example roles: Warmonger: have more offensive value than any other value AND complete the objectiveScientist: have more intelligence value than any other value AND complete the objectiveSaboteur: cause robot to fail the objectiveOn each turn, each player places a Robot Part of any type face down. There are limits to how many of each type of Robot Part will fit on a robot (in the episode we went with one body part, one processor and four limbs)Each part is simultaneously revealed once everyone has chosen their card. If each part can be placed with no conflict, start the next turn. If their are some parts in conflict, roll a die to determine who's Robot Part is used.Continue until there are no more available parts to place on the robot. Whoever has completed their victory condition wins!

#185"Empty the bucket."Roundtable2020.07.28Your nice hosts are tired, then get energized. Stephen is thinking about it, Mark brought a few unlikely examples, and Ellen is also thinking about it.Here's a fun new thing: We've recently started a Discord channel for listeners to discuss the show with each other. It's part of the Twin Cities Gamedev Discord server, but you don't need to be a Twin Cities gamedev to partisipate! Get directly to the Nice Games Club discussion channel via https://nicegames.club/discordBurnout0:06:43Stephen McGregorIRLBurn-out, an "occupational phenomenon" - World Health OrganizationTeacher Burnout: What It Is, Why It Happens, and How You Can Prevent End-Of-Yea… - WaterfordToxic management cost an award-winning game studio its best developers - Megan Farokhmanesh, The VergeAsynchronous and Asymmetric Gameplay0:46:39Mark LaCroixGame DesignAsynchronous Multiplay: Futures for Casual Multiplayer Experience - Ian Bogost, Georgia Institute of TechnologyRelaxed Hardcore: Why Asynchronous is the Next Big Thing in Core Gaming - Ian Hardingham, GDCWhy an Asymmetric Board Game Pissed Off Me and My Friends - Kyle Rogacion, Goomba StompAre Asymmetrical Multiplayer Games Becoming a Major Trend? - Micah Shapiro, GameRant

#170"Stephen, his arms wide!" Roundtable2020.04.14Ellen Burns-Johnson joins us once again in the virtual club house to discuss Redundancy and Arcades! Ellen teaches us about how we learn, Mark balances the game, Martha only plays the best character, and Stephen has a revelation.Photo Credit: Michelle Bruch, from this Southwest Journal Article about the DonutronRedundancy0:13:01Mark LaCroixGame DesignUI / UXThe Forgetting Curve hypothesis by Hermann Ebbinghous - WikipediaThe Distributed Practice learning strategy - WikipediaArcades0:50:39Stephen McGregorGamingIRLWhy You Can't Call It a "Barcade" - Brenna Houck, EaterDino Dash -  Abdel Shahied, YouTubeThe 'Donutron' Arcade at Glam Doll Donuts in Minneapolis