Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!

Ellen recently gave an engaging and informative presentation at igdatc's monthly Gamedev Meeting! Plus: audience participation, bad passwords, and (if you stick around) a second dog!Also, please enjoy Mark transposing the letters "G" and "D" in "IGDA" each time he says it. He will never learn.International Game Developers Association, Twin CitiesWatch other past igdatc meetings on YouTubeTips for Designing Games for Learningigdatc's Gamedev Meeting for November 2020, cued up to the start of Ellen's presentation.

Holly extends her stay for another week to help your nice hosts interview Tiffany Otto, freshly sprung from government-mandated quarantine to bring her "slimy" wisdom and experience into the clubhouse.Tiffany, the Director of Partnerships for IndieCade, is over-indexed in business, but she wants to raise the index for everyone. If preparing pitch decks, scheduling business meetings, and networking with your peers seems daunting, you won't want to miss this one. Just be sure to stick around for Ellen to swoop in at the end to button it all up.Business SpeakEventsIRLMarketingWhat It’s Like to Be Quarantined on an Island Over Coronavirus Fears - Isabella Kwai, The New York TimesIndieCade's "Playing TogethAR Showcase"Mark talked about his expereince going to IndieCade in the very first episode of the show:"We in this."Seven Touches – A Basic Marketing Principle in Action - LisaMarie Dias, CompuKolHere's how to reduce friction in sales - George Brontén, MembrainUnderstanding Indie Publishers - Callum Underwood, YouTubeHow to Pitch to Raw FuryChunking (psychology) - WikipediaHomeTeam GameDevFrom Sage on the Stage to Guide on the Side - Alison King, College Teaching

Holly Harrison is back in the clubhouse as Guest Host for a wide-ranging discussion on new consoles, fail states, and worldbuilding. Stephen gives a weird example, Mark makes a funny noise, and Holly invites us to Join Lobby. Plus, we only mention Star Trek once!Join Lobby - Video Game Culture Feed - Holly Harrison, TwitterBugsnax is Dale's current game of choiceUbisoft’s toxic culture problems allegedly span more than a decade of abuse - Megan Farokhmanesh, The Verge"My dad gives his initial impressions on the PlayStation 5" - Josh Du, TwitterWhy Cheaper Next-Gen Gaming is Key to Growing the Games Industry - Alysia Judge, IGN Mark found a way to hide his PS5 on a bookshelf.Stephen and Charles mentioned they have a "secret Target" for console releasesGDC 2017 Special (Part 2)Target reopens E. Lake Street store heavily damaged in riots - Dee DePass, Star Tribune32:28Fail StatesShadow Complex (2009)Wikipedia57:08Worldbuilding"Queer identity in Watch Dogs: Legion should be more than flavor text"Carolyn PetitPolygon

After recording our extra-long 200th episode, we kept the tape rolling for nearly an hour's worth of additional content.Unbeknownst to your nice hosts, Dale also selected clips from the show's 4-year history, and we discussed how things have changed and how they've stayed the same! Tune in for "more fun," "more casual," and "more Ellen sound effects." Plus, Stephen fixes some very old bugs, and Mark provides a halfway-solicited Super Mario Sunshine rant. We also ended up with a lot more outtakes than in a usual recording...So, how! do you get this extra 40+ minutes of content? Simple, by becoming a patron (at any level) on our new Patreon page!Nice Games Club on Patreon

Your nice host emeritus Martha Megarry returns to the (virtual) clubhouse, along with Dale LaCroix (of Evil Games Club) to celebrate 200 episodes!Each of your nice hosts have picked an episode from the past 4 years and pulled clips to listen to and discuss, expanding on the original topics. We also talk about the past, present, and future of the show, and and and... well, it's a double-length episode, so listen and find out!Did we mention we now have a Patreon?0:11:42100th Episode Special (revisit)You heard right, we've got merch! Get your Nice Games Club t-shirt today!Favicon (pronounciation)Wiktionary0:52:05Learning Through Games (revisit)Pointer (computer programming)WikipediaAdventures With Anxiety!Nicky Case1:13:45Messages and Meanings (revisit)Portal 2 Finds A Unique Way to OffendMichael McWhertorKotakuNo chess at the Olympics anytime soonAndré SchulzChessBase1:46:04Game Libraries (revisit)Our favorite games from the Itch.io racial justice bundleEngadgetLizzy CrossingEva Lee

This week: Stephen starts out British, Mark gets all the references, and Ellen makes octopus noises. We talk high-level about what it takes to make (and market) games for young children, and Mark shares some insights about comedy in games—can it be more than silly memes? Maybe!COMING SOON!- PATREON?!!- EPISODE 200??!!!WOOOHOOOO!!!!!!0:10:42Games for Young ChildrenDesigning for Youth - Making Games for Players Under 14Extra CreditsYouTubeDesigning Apps and Games for Kids (The Right Way)Paul Armstrong, Carly Gloge, Jim Nichols, Alex BowmanGDCCar Wash Game for Kids (gameplay video)YouTubeZen Koi - Game for iOS and AndroidLandShark GamesScratch from MIT"Scratch helps young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively — essential skills for life in the 21st century."Ellen mentioned children's franchises Blues Clues, "Baby Shark" from Pinkfong, and P.J. Masks.0:44:16Comedy in GamesWe mentioned the following games and game series during this part of the roundtable:Ratchet and ClankJob SimulatorOctodad: Dadliest CatchInflatalityDivekickThe Stanley Parable

The clubhouse is packed in this episode, as your nice hosts discuss the Kenyan game dev scene with developers Alila Omondi Wekoto, Denis Odero and Shyam Shah! We talk about the importance of community, the value of higher education and also argue about Xbox vs Playstation (vs Switch, slightly)!Alila brings up the episode where we interviewed Chel Wong, award winning composer who recently worked on KINE.Game Audio Tools and WorkflowsKINE is out on Steam now!Gamedev in KenyaMisc.Game Devs KenyaWebsiteDevsKenya on TwitterGameDevs on Instagram - InstagramCovid Killer - GameGame Devs Kenya is running another boot camp on November 7th!Nairobi Game Development CenterKenya has a co-working space for game developers called Nairobi Game Development Center. Here are some pictures!Mentioned in the episode:Usiku Games is a mobile games studio located in Kenya. Nairobi Garage - annother coworking spaceFour-part, moderated debate about Xbox vs Playstation! - Game Devs Kenya, SoundCloudAfrica Comicade recently held a 3-day Game Jam.Mark Cerny goes over the possibilities of the new hardware within the Playstati… - PlayStation, YouTube

Your nice hosts return to Roboston in a first for the program, revisiting and expanding upon on a previous Nice Games Jam game! Ellen conjures some frightening scenarios, Stephen and Mark work the numbers, and everybody loves conditional formatting.See the original rules in the show notes forRoboston! (Live at 2D Con 2020)Check out our cool spreadsheet of game cards and notes!Astral Gunners is available in Early Access, go get it!random.orgWeird Alchemy - Board Game GeekBagger 288 - WikipediaPromptCreate 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 - 8MaterialsDeck of Robot PartsDeck of Player RolesDeck of Objectives6-sided dieRulesPatch Notes!New Roles:Turtle: have more DEF than any other value AND complete the objective.Generalist: All stats within 5 points of each other AND complete the objective.Specialist: One stat is 7 points greater than the next highest stat AND complete the objective.New Objectives:GIANT MUTANT TREE ATTACK - It's 'leafing' downtown a total mess! Stats required to beat: Off: 21, Def: 16, Int: 8ALIEN INVASION - They're slimy and they have the wrong number of eyes. Stats required: Off: 13, Def: 21, Int: 16BAGGER 288 - This mining robot has gained sentience and is scooping up the suburbs! Stats needed: Off:13, Def: 13, Int: 23WEAPONIZED WIND TURBINE - Green, scary energy! Stats needed: Off 15, Def 15, Int 15In this episode we tried for a longer game by increasing the number of robot parts to 2 Body Parts, 2 Head Parts and 8 Limb Parts.To create the part stats, we gave them a random number between -3 and 5 of Offense, Defense and Intelligence. Feel free to make your own!

This episode bops! Our guest on the show this week is Chel Wong, an award-winning game composer who has worked on several published and early-access titles, like Watch This Space and Kine. Her work on Kine earned the game the award for Best Audio at Reboot Develop Red 2019. From composing to mastering, we ask Chel to describe her preferred tools and workflows for creating music for games. Also, there is a tense debate—Galaxy or Sunshine?MetaReboot Developed Red ConferenceGame Audio Network Guild (GANG) AwardsMark mentioned that once upon a time in a previous episode, he also talked about using Reaper."She also cheats a lot."Game Audio Tools and WorkflowsAudioGamesKine - SteamLab Rats (a satirical puzzler by Gwen Bond, formerly Gwen Frey) - SteamAudio Software ToolsReaperReasonFL Studio (stand for Fruit Loops)Helm AudioTAL NoisemakerMusescore - Software for Written MusicInstrument SynthizersKomplete - Native InstrumentsKontact - Native InstrumentsAudio HardwareFocusrite -Scarlett SeriesMicrophonesShure SM57Shure SM58Shure SM7bAudio-Technica AT2035Other MentionsGame Sound ConChel and her friend Tiffany Otto are going for 120 stars on Super Mario 64!  - ChelWongAudio, Twitch

In a heavy start to a very fun episode, your nice hosts check in on each other as the COVID-19 pandemic stretches into the fall. Ellen unknowingly makes a timely West Wing reference, and Stephen only allows Mark to tell three Star Trek stories.You can watch Mark's mini-talk at PAX Online 2020, called "People, too" It was part of a panel on animals in games called "Lovely or Lethal: Will these animals cuddle me or kill me?"If you are looking to stay informed on the latest about the pandemic, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and other news websites are providing extensive daily COVID-19 coverage for free to non-subscribers.0:15:25Games in Other MediaWhy I’m not buying the Harry Potter gameStacey HenleyPolygonAny news on the IRL, playable version of Nine Kings?Reddit‘The West Wing’ Cast To Perform 2002 Episode On HBO Max To Benefit Michelle Oba…Greg EvansDeadlineWhy 'Edge of Tomorrow' Got Retitled 'Live Die Repeat'Jack Giroux/FilmList of games in Star TrekWikipedia'Black Mirror: Bandersnatch' Review: Interactive Movie Falls ShortDaniel D'AddarioVarietyKimmy Schmidt vs. the Reverend Is What Interactive TV Was Made ForJen ChaneyVultureMark talked about the two Star Trek "interactive movies" that were produced in the 90s in a previous episode:"A mean secret that stays in this room."The "horror movie where the seats had creepy touch" that Stephen was talking about might have been the infamous 1950s camp classic The Tingler.Minnesota FringeThe 49 Original Whose Line Is It Anyway? Games, RankedLuke WinkieVultureIt makes more sense in context...0:52:57Online PlayExplaining how fighting games use delay-based and rollback netcodeRicky PuschArs TechnicaMost people who play video games online experience 'severe' harassment, new stu…Dave SmithBusiness InsiderBackend ToolsUnity MultiplaySteam Multiplayer OverviewPhotonPlayFab