Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!

This week's episode is another edition of Code Comment, where your nice hosts look at the project, code, assets, and design of an indie game in development to see how it's made.This week, we're looking at HoverboardVR, a movement prototype that uses a DDR Dance Pad for locomotion in VR, created by Martha and her brother Henry.You may have heard us talk about this project on the show before, and how you get to see it in action.Martha and Henry utilized the Virtual Reality Tool Kit for their prototype.Mark mentioned the Sega Activator, a failed peripheral for the Sega Genesis.Martha’s website has a description of Martha and Henry’s recent talk at MinneWe…Video

This week, your nice hosts take a moment to celebrate Glitch's 8th birthday! Also: Martha doesn't like jumps, Stephen talks in a British(?) accent, and Mark calls Mega Man ugly.0:05:55PlatformersThe 2.5D Owl game we were talking about is called Everend.We talked about how we define game genres in a previous episode."I do business." You can download an early demo of the parkour racing game Sparkour right now!The Widget Satchel team watched a lot of ferret videos.You Say Jump, I Say How High?Nordic Game Conference 2016YouTubeSuper Mario Land Is WeirdBrawl in the Family0:48:55Player AgencyWhat is Player Agency and what is it good for?StackExchange RPGA new direction for David CageSamit SarkarPolygon

This week we interview Aubrey Jane Scott, game developer for Monster Games, and discuss game development workflows. We go in-depth about keeping on task and making sure you're able to complete your projects.WorkflowsIRLProductionAubrey competed in the North Star Roller Derby. Her name on the team is Glitch …Mark mentioned social jet lag that he’s just recently discovered.Jesse Schell is one of Aubrey’s mentors, who wrote about the Elemental Tetrad that she references in the show.Double Fine’s documentary series, Double Fine Adventure, is a good look into th…Aubrey brings up decision mapping as a good way to brainstorm.

This week your nice hosts discuss making game demos and physical games! Martha is nostalgic, Mark eats some marshmallows and Stephen can't remember his childhood. Oh, and Mortho likes sports. But you probably already knew that.Photo credit- Neat Corporation press photo of their game Budget Cuts. Have you played the demo?GLITCH BdayOrgan Temple VR, Sara's VR gameOneirogen, Andrew’s VR gameHere is the cool print out of Mark's play-through of Oneirogen!The marshmallows Mark bought with his tax return0:12:40Making a DemoBudget Cuts demoStanley Parable demoNetstorm0:41:21Physical GamesShips across the oceanCalvinballCup stackingJohann Sebastian Joust

This week, your nice hosts have put together a new video format for the show, called Code Comment, where we take apart a game from our gamedev community, looking at the project, code, assets, and design to see how it's made.For this first edition, we chose Claw Breaker, a game jam game turned upcoming commercial release made by a team that included Martha and Stephen. It's how they met!Video

This week, Mark returns from San Fransisco, your nice hosts get the math wrong, and everyone agrees that Claw Breaker is worth real money.We’re launching our new video format (now called “Code Comment”) next week! In the first edition, we dig into Claw Breaker! Look forward to it!And if you haven’t already, check our our Nice Plays videos.0:06:43NostalgiaThe old PlayStation Spyro games are being re-released as a trilogy, to some mixed reception.Firmament is a VR game being made by the developers of Myst.Speaking of Myst nostalgia, Cyan just announced a 25th Anniversary re-release.Mark recently read a few of the Boss Fight Books: books about past games with i…We talked about our game influences in a previous episode: “Schrödinger’s Anima…0:34:23PC Games MarketSteam Spy announces it’s shutting down, blames Valve’s new privacy settingsSam MachkovechArs TechnicaLet's Be Realistic: A Deep Dive into How Games Are Selling on SteamMike RoseGDCJane Ng, lead artist at Campo Santo, started a great thread on Twitter about lo…Mark mentioned the user testing he commissioned for Metro Nexus, which we talked about with Hannah Murphy in the episode “Games User Research, Redux! (with Hannah Murphy).”

Mark is still in San Fransisco, so his lovely wife Dale (she of Evil Games Club) fills in and talks with Martha and Stephen about bad game design and good character design.0:02:48"Bad" Game DesignWe put Martha though the worst Mario game ever in an episode of Nice Plays.Nice Plays: Super Mario Bros. 2 [Japan] (1986)Want some rye?The Tetris EffectWikipediaUbisoft Aware of Tetris Ultimate IssuesJason DunningPlayStationLifeStyleE.T.: Walkthrough and Easter EggsTrillingWonderYouTubeA videogame for #blacklivesmatterZach BudgorKill Screen0:32:52Character DesignChoosing Your Pirate In Sea Of Thieves Is HardMike FaheyKotakuHow to Convey Character’s Personality Through Shape, Variance and SizeBilyanaGraphic MamaMaking ComicsScott McCloudWikipediaCrumpets and Badonkadonks: Creating Tiny TinaAshly and Anthony BurchYouTube

This week Dale from Evil Games Club joins us as we call in to Mark on location in San Francisco for the Game Developers Conference!Minneapolis is the Most BikingestMOST Bikingest!Most parklandest!Gayest city? Magazine says it's Minneapolis0:02:17GDC 2018 HighlightsSony VR with Joshua BellBudget CutsGorogoa postmortemClassic postmortem on Sonic the HedgehogGame Dev Union / Games Workers UniteThe Other PartyGameJolt’s Bring Your Own Indie Party, where Mark showed his game for three hou…Participants in Glitch’s Power Leveling program got to tour Double Fine’s studio, among other adventures!Katie’s twitter thread of all the awesome Minnesotans at GDC!

This week on Nice Plays, the show where the Nice Games Club gamedevs play nice games, we continue a conversation from last week’s roundtable, and preview a topic from an upcoming episode.Your nice hosts talk about gamedev philosophy while Martha plays the zen-inspired game Everything, and talk about character design as Stephen wanders into Martha's ranch and makes a big ‘ol mess in the super-adorable farming game Slime Rancher.Video

This week on Nice Plays, the show where the Nice Games Club gamedevs play nice games, we continue a conversation from last week’s roundtable, and preview a topic from an upcoming episode.Your nice hosts talk about gamedev philosophy while Martha plays the zen-inspired game Everything, and talk about character design as Stephen wanders into Martha's ranch and makes a big ‘ol mess in the super-adorable farming game Slime Rancher.Video