Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!

This week, your nice hosts get into it. Stephen is split on everything, Mark is the bad guy, and it's all Martha's fault.Stephen and Mark talked about their Ludum Dare 40 game, Widget Satchel, which Martha played on last week’s Nice Plays episode!0:03:58Loot SystemsZelda: Breath Of The Wild Players Are Tricking Amiibos To Grind For Rare LootEthan Gach KotakuNioh's latest patch fixes its most annoying flaw Jeffrey MatulefEurogamerStephen brought up our recent episode on repetition in games,"Schrödinger’s Animal Crossing."NeuroVoider Chock-Full of Rogue-Like KillBot Twin-Stick ShootingJames CunninghamHardcore GamerBungie says it " betrayed" Destiny 2 fans over transparencyYouTube0:29:30Loot BoxesLoot boxes in video games will soon get a review flag from OpenCriticSam MachkovechArs TechnicaWhat You Need To Know About Shadow of War's Controversial Loot BoxesPatricia HernandezKotakuA Guide To The Endless, Confusing Star Wars Battlefront II ControversyGita JacksonKotakuGearbox boss Randy Pitchford is ‘very much against predatory monetization schem… Dustin BaileyPCGamesNAn inconvenient truth: game prices have come down with timeBen KucheraArs TechnicaI Just Got A Bunch Of Overwatch Gift Cards, And I'm Terrified To Use ThemNathan GraysonKotakuHow Luis Von Ahn Turned Countless Hours Of Mindless Activity Into Something Val…Alison GriswoldBusiness InsiderGame Designer Damion Schubert posted a thread on Twitter about how to do loot boxes ethically. Mark was not convinced.

(Watch this and other Nice Plays on YouTube for HD-quality.)It's an Xmas miracle! In this jumbo-sized edition, your nice hosts play 36 (!!!) games in less than 50 minutes! Each of these games were created during the 40th Ludum Dare online game jam, which took place December 1st - 4th, 2017.Stephen and Mark participated in this jam with friends of the show Sara Ferret and Lane Davis, and to cap off this episode, Martha plays their game, Widget Satchel.GamesAntiBucketAvoidanceBabies with GunsBetween StationsBrick RacerClaustrophobiaCoinminator 2000Critters Inc.CrosstalkDangle CopterApparently I'm a DetectiveThe Fabulous Orchestra of Mister VincentGames Games GamesGreen Chefs and PancakesHeartless JumpHeavy HeartsHUDdledI'm Not HereJust Another DayKetchup QuestKiwi is the KeyToo Many RulesFit InMini MysteryMothsNo Coins AllowedNoteBoyOffice EscapeSynapseTailThe Adequate ShepardThe GravediggerI'll Take You To Tomato TownToo Many Cats!Enjoy the FlowersWidget SatchelVideo

Your nice hosts interview Ben Burnes, sole developer of recently released Color Jumper, to discuss the process of finally releasing a game, and the lessons learned along the way.Releasing a GameMarketingProductionColor Jumper is available on Steam right now! You can try it out on the itch.io pageThe 20/60/20 Rule of Leadership” - Derrick Strand, LinkedInBen had mixed results with Keymailer.Ben shared two years(!!) of in-development GIFs of Color Jumper.Facepunch.Steamworks is a C# Library for Steamworks.Will Tice was a previous guest who we talked to about solo development.Solo DevelopmentBen talked about how every last 10% of work is another 90% of work, and so on. But don’t worry, because 0.999... is equal to 1!The Agile Composer: Project Management for Game Audio -  Dan Hulsman, Video Game Music Academy

This week is Stephen's first turn as roundtable host, Mark teaches us about film and Martha sells her soul for three Destiny 2 faction tokens.Mark and Stephen and friends made it through Ludum Dare! Check out their game called Widget Satchel.0:02:49InfluencesWhat Is Blackout Poetry? These Fascinating Poems Are Created From Existing Art E. Ce MillerBustleThat action/puzzle game Stephen was trying to remember was Meteos.We talked about Star Wars Episode 1 Racing in our episode on racing games."We joke here."The Secret of Mario's Jump (and other Versatile Verbs)Game Maker's ToolkitYouTubeThe Norwood Suite Is A Very Different Kind Of Music Game EThan GachKotaku0:46:44RepetitionThe Unexpected Joy Of Repetition In Video GamesHeather AlexanderKotakuDesert Bus comes to VR at long lastOwen S. GoodPolygonStuck on repeat: why we love repetition in musicTom Service The GuardianSaying the same word over again until it means nothing is called semantic satia…WikipediaLoops EpisodeRadiolabPodcast

(Watch this and other Nice Plays on YouTube for HD-quality.)In this episode, Mark plays the opening chapter of one of Martha's very favorite games, Borderlands 2, and then Martha takes over to show off her badassitude. Your nice hosts talk about narrative in FPS games, generous loot systems, and how wonderful/terrible Claptrap is.Game: Borderlands 2Developer: Gearbox SoftwarePublisher: 2K GamesPlatform: PCYear: 2012Genre: First-person shooterVideo

(Watch this and other Nice Plays on YouTube for HD-quality.)In this episode, your nice hosts battle each other in a brand new indie fighting game. The overall win-loss record isn't important... the main takeaway is that Martha and Mark both beat Stephen.Game: InflatalityDeveloper: Hojo StudioPublisher: Hojo StudioPlatform: PCRelease date: Oct. 26, 2017Genre: FightingVideo

This week, Martha hosts her first roundtable episode, Mark starts another argument, and Stephen gets sassy about his favorite game genre.Stephen did regret promising to have his talk notes up. They’ll be up ASAP!Martha had a blast at the My Brother, My Brother and Me show!0:08:08Fighting GamesGames N’ Go in Roseville, MN often has Friday fighting game nights.The Moon Fields, a Wisconsin fighting game by Lunar Signals.Terminology and glossary guide for fighting gamesEvent HubsThe White Belts Facebook group is helpful for those looking to start fighting g…In case you’re curious who the top characters are in Super Smash Bros. games, h…Sonic hurricane dot com is a great guide about footsies and the role it plays i…0:40:09Character RoleplayingThe Uncharted 2 commercial Mark references. It is pretty terrible.We reference a few of the future games talked about in the past episode,"We joke here."Seems some other people agree with Mark’s stance on Shepard’s first name.

It’s a very special episode, as your nice hosts celebrate one year(!!!) of Nice Games Club by revising their favorite topics from the show’s first 50+ episodes. Also: Mark complains about Las Vegas, Martha repeatedly gets the last laugh, and Stephen doesn’t like talking about his problems.0:03:06Imposter Syndrome (revisited)Impostor Syndrome Is Not Just a Confidence ProblemAlicia LiuMedium0:14:20Conferences / Gaming Events (revisited)Adobe’s prototype AI tools let you instantly edit photos and videos James VincentThe VergeSo Adobe XD CC is out, what now? Alexander DimitrovPrototypr0:24:50VR Development (revisited)We never miss an opportunity to plug Beach Ball Valley.SteamGoogle BlocksLogitech made a VR keyboard kit so you can type in the ViveAdi RobertsonThe VergeEVE developers CCP pulling out of VR Adam SmithRock Paper ShotgunOculus is closing its VR film studio Adi RobertsonThe VergeGoogle acquires Owlchemy Labs VR game studioLucas Matney TechCrunchWindows Mixed Reality Headsets Gain SteamVR Support, a Library of VR GamesAnton ShilovAnandTech0:40:08Prototyping (revisited)This topic revisits our episode"Pick up all the things."15 Top Prototyping Tools Go Head-to-HeadDave Kearney and Daniel SchwarzSitepointYouthprise0:48:44Messages and Meanings (revisited)This topic revisits our episode"We are artists and we should be artists."1:06:04Strategy Guides (revisited)This topic revisits our episode"We are artists and we should be artists."1:13:57The Future of Nice Games Club

A special episode, with a unique guest, who is also a fan of the show! Minneapolis-based Riddle Room creator and owner Art Allen enters the clubhouse to talk about making, designing, and operating puzzle/escape room games, and the ways in which its similar and different from creating digital games.Puzzle/Escape RoomsPhysical GamesPeeking Behind the Locked Door: A Survey of Escape Room Facilities - Scott NicholsonThe 10 Best VR Puzzle and Escape Room Games -  Andy O'Donnell, LifewireThe Stagecoach-themed children’s book we talked about is Nine for California, b…Escape Room Enthusiast Facebook groupEscape Room Owners Facebook group

In this episode, Mark plays a new indie release by a Twin Cities developer. He dies a lot, and it's only partially the controller's fault.Game: Color JumperDeveloper/Publisher: Tall Beard StudiosPlatform: Windows / Mac / LinuxYear: 2017Genre: Precision PlatformerColor Jumper on Itch.io.Color Jumper on Steam.Ben Burnes on Twitter.Ben is also a musician and songwriter!...and he streams on Twitch!Video