Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!

In this episode, Martha (and then Stephen) are tortured by bad level design and user-hostile game mechanics in the original Japanese version of Super Mario Bros. 2, while Mark praises the oft-misunderstood American version of the game.NOTE: Mark was wrong. There *were* mid-level checkpoints in the original Super Mario Bros.Game: Super Mario Bros. 2 (Japan)Developer/Publisher: NintendoPlatform: Famicom Disk SystemYear: 1986Genre: PlatformerThis game is exhaustively detailed at Super Mario Wiki.Mark really loves the American version of Super Mario Bros. 2, which you can read a lotabout.Video

In our first (and likely only ever) Halloween episode, Martha haunts the clubhouse, Mark delivers some bad Zelda-related news to Stephen, and from Stephen’s topic a thousand flowers bloom.Mark gave a talk on object-oriented programming at the first annual M+DEV confe…0:04:41Upcoming GamesTech Interview: Destiny 2 and Bungie's return to PC gamingRichard LeadbetterEurogamer18 new Nintendo Switch games are out this week — the most everAllegra FrankPolygonPokemon Stars: all the latest leaks from the confirmed Nintendo Switch gameEmma BoyleTechRadar[Your Name] the HedgehogKnow Your Meme0:20:58Release DatesThe Dark Night Rises had No Competition at the Box OfficeJim PagelsSlateThe Weird Reason Why Video Games Are Released On Tuesdays Karyne LevyBusiness InsiderWe asked folks at r/gamedev about release date strategies. Thanks to those who contributed to this episode!0:31:07Win ConditionsLoot Boxes Are Designed To Exploit UsHeather Alexandra,KotakuHow Game Designers Protect Players From ThemselvesGame Maker's ToolkitYouTubeThe long, hard, journey behind the design of Dead Cells’ player builds Alex WiltshireRock Paper ShotgunDesert Bus For Hope

This week, we talk to Ben Franks, Dreamcast aficionado, and discuss the various ways its preservation has taken form. Your nice hosts also take a short trip down memory lane as we reminisce about our favorite video game hardware.Here's a video Martha captured while we were recording the episode, as Ben open… - Nice Games Club with Ben Franks, YouTubePreserving the DreamcastHardwarePreserving the Art of Play - Jacob Brogan, SlateHere are the Xbox 360 and PS3 emulators Stephen mentioned. Less than 20% of their game libraries are fully playable.This Facebook group wants Dreamcast GD ROM Drive Emulation to happen.Clean room engineering uses formal methods and iteration in software developmen… - WikipediaThe Dreamcast’s SH4 processor has an open source version called J-core.Remember Game Gear? - Levi Buchanan, IGN Elysian Shadows is being developed for Dreamcast, PC and...Ouya? Here are the tidy insides of a Dreamcast:Morepictures of Ben’s Dreamcaststuff!Windows CE did indeed run on Dreamcast. Here’s a list of games that used it.KallistiOS, a prograde development system for Dreamcast. - Cryptic Allusion Game DevThe Dreamcast’s Visual Memory Unit. - WikipediaSonic Adventure had a pretty robust Chao raising minigame. - Sonic RetroSonic Shuffle, Sega’s attempt at a Mario Party-like game.The creators of Elysian Shadows have created a VMU emulator called ElysianVMU. - The DreamCast JunkyardHow to burn a Dreamcast CDI. - The .ISO zoneA guide to replace a Dreamcast GD-ROM drive. - iFixit

In this episode (Nice Games Club's 50th!), Martha plays (and finishes!) a game Stephen once recommended to Mark (but Mark forgot about). A first-person narrative, Thirty Flights of Loving is a 5-year old game written in a 10-year old engine, but still holds up, according to your nice hosts, anyway.Game: Thirty Flights of LovingDeveloper/Publisher: Blendo GamesPlatform: PC (Windows, Mac)Year: 2012Genre: First-person NarrativeIGN has (for some wonderful reason) a strategy guide for this game.The 27 Homages Of Thirty Flights Of Loving - David Valjalo, Rock Paper ShotgunBlendo Games most recent release was the indie darling Quadrilateral Cowboy.Video

In this episode, Mark plays one of Martha's favorites, the classic PC point and click adventure Pajama Sam 2, and learns why she loves and is inspired by this game's development studio so much.Game: Pajama Sam 2: Thunder and Lightning Aren’t So FrighteningDeveloper/Publisher: Humongous EntertainmentPlatform: PC (Windows, Mac, Linux)Year: 1998Genre: Point & Click AdventureWe mentioned, but didn't show, the game's intro cut scene.As it happens, Pajama Sam was voiced by one of Mark's favorite comic actors, Pamela Adlon, although she's more famous for voicing Bobby on King of the Hill. She is currently starring in the show Better Things, which she created and produces, and for which she was nominated for an Outstanding Lead Actress Emmy in 2017.This game includes references to other Humongous titles, including Backyard Sports.Boris Karloff played Frankenstein's monster.Video

In this episode, Stephen fights his demons, Martha likes sports now, and Mark learns a lot about both.0:02:41Scope CreepMartha took a blacksmithing class! Also, her instructor told her this was a perfect forge weld.Martha brought up fighting scope creep on our GDC 2017 Special.GDC 2017 Special (Part 1)Project management is a way to combat scope creep that we’ve covered before, in the episode"We joke here."A core concept for your game can help focus ideas as well. We go over this in our Game Design Primer topic in our episode"That makes me retroactively nervous." Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-MakingSam KanerOur post on the r/gamedev. Special thanks to SaxPanther, ledat, GravityGamesInt, Bwob, and DustyPixel for their stories.SaxPanther created a battle royale game out of the Unity Roll-A-Ball tutorial.ledat shared a story on how one person accidentally created banking software after attempting to streamline coffee orders.0:30:53eSportsLeague of LegendsLeague of Legends World Championship is happening RIGHT THE DANG NOW!Martha will be rooting for her favorite team, C9.Player Signings, Salaries, and More in the Overwatch League™Blizzard EntertainmentLeague of Legends' ratings top NBA Finals, World Series clinchersPatrick DorseyESPNAn example of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament casting.TwitchThe Story of DOTAPaul DeanEurogamerThe biggest Call of Duty tournament shines light on growth of esportsJordan CrookTechCrunchThe Rise and Fall of StarCraft II as an eSportKevin HovdestadIGN How Intellectual Property Rights Are Hurting Esports TeamsLeonard LangenscheidtThe Esports ObserverThere is, in fact, a Civilization VI eSports scene.Leif JohnsonMotherboard

This week, Stephen finally gets a theme song, Mark plays devil's advocate, and Martha gets dangerously close to a topic your nice hosts swore to never talk about on the show.0:02:40DLC and ExpansionsWhen Mark was young, he bought unofficial Quake mods on CD-ROM.Turns out, Electronics Boutique and EB Games are the same thing.Day-One DLC Isn’t Always Evil, Says Borderlands 2 GuyTina AminiKotakuPatch The ProcessRami IshmailStreet Fighter V is a Barebones Game That’s a Sign of the TimesPaul TamburroCraveCode analysis of No Man's Sky praises engine, criticises "unfinished" game Andy ChalkPC GamerIt turns out Sony won’t be charging PS4 Pro players for 4K upgrade patchesDanny CowanDigital TrendsMario Party 2: Luigi wins by doing absolutely nothingKlydeStromYouTubeTurns out, Dungeons & Dragons does use software-style versioning for their “patch notes.”After recording this episode, Mark had an idea for how to price DLC in Metro Nexus.Nier Automata Lets Players Buy PSN Trophies With In-Game MoneyHeather AlexandraKotakuPayday 2 rolls back microtransactions after fan outrageKyle OrlandArs Technica5G - Press START to PlayMake Hack RepeatYouTubeI Am Rich: The Story of the World's Strangest Mobile AppAntoni Zolciak In’saneLab0:38:34Genre in GamesWikipedia says “Genres are not usually defined by the actual content of the game.”“List of accolades received by Grand Theft Auto V”  - WikipediaWikipediaTurns out, Call of Duty games have been nominated for a lot of BAFTAs over the years.What makes an RPG an RPG: a universal definition Craig SternSinister DesignMass Effect - Don’t Touch ThatsvaalbardYouTubeMass Effect - Blasto! (hilarious)Generic GamingYouTubeLudonarrative Dissonance in BioshockClint HawkingClick NothingNaughy Dog Doesn’t Get Ludonarrative DissonanceAlessio PalumbowccftechA good critical review of Jason Schreier’s book “Blood, Sweat, And Pixels,” which Mark read recently and really liked.

Uh oh… they're back… it's EVIL GAMES CLUB!Snide laugh! Malicious gafaw! In this, our second evil episode, your evil hosts revisit some of the dumb topics Nice Games Club covered in previous episodes, and correct the record where required. We're at it again, being evil, that is!Dale posts bugs on Instagram now. - InstagramThis is the spider Dale was talking about in the intro. - Instagram0:02:46Crafting SystemsThis topic is a followup to the episode "It's against the law to stop."5 Approaches to Crafting Systems in Games (and Where to Use Them)Alexander KingEnvato Tuts+The absolute best video game crafting systemsTy ArthurGame SkinnyHow The Witcher 3 succeeds where Mass Effect: Andromeda falls shortJody MacgregorPC GamerMass Effect: Andromeda's Menus Are A MessAlex WalkerKotaku AustraliaGames like Fallout 4 take crafting too far for the average playerBlackTideTVGameSkinnyFallout 4 Has A Ton Of Junk, And It's Stressing Me Out”Patricia HernandezKotaku0:26:23Game JamsThis is a followup to the episodes"Bananas, from here to eternity."and this episode which talks about Dylan on the Train JamGDC 2017 Special (Part 1)Global Game Jam 2018 starts Jan 26th.“Echoes of Kai Anders” (Adia and Stephen’s GGJ 2017 game).Adia Alderson and Stephen McGregor et al.GGJ“Listen Up, Four Eyes” (Dylan, Martha, and Mark’s GGJ 2017 game).Dylan Skerbitz, Martha Megarry, Mark LaCroix et al.GGJA list of upcoming Game JamsGame jams on itch.ioindiegamejams.comGameJolt JamsLudum Dare 40 takes place Dec 1st-4th, 2017Your evil hosts praised the organizer of Train Jam 2017, Adriel Wallick.@MsMinotaurTwitter(off topic!)A Musical Character Customization Trick For Everyone To CopyKirk HamiltonKotaku0:52:39Bad Gamedev HabitsThis topic is a followup to the episode"Can I tweet about this?"While this topic was mostly evil talk directed at Nice Game Club, it also included some uncharacteristically sage advice from your evil hosts. Take heed, or suffer!

Well, it finally happened. Dale LaCroix, (aka: "#1 Playtester," one-third of Evil Games Club, and Mark's wife) joins your nice hosts in the clubhouse to talk about playtesting!Stephen writes down everything Dale says about what it takes to be a good playtester, Martha laughs at all of Dale's jokes, and Mark deals with the fact that his wife doesn't really like his game.We also talked about the recent solar eclipse. Check out Martha's photo, taken at the moment of totalityPlaytestingProductionThis isn't the first time we've talked about playtesting on the show. We talked about it on the Interview with Nic VanMeertenGames User Research and AnalyticsThis is what Martha looks like when she is demoing Claw BreakerStephen's playtesting notebook

This week, Martha has so much to talk about that she runs out of time, Stephen espouses the virtues of building your own gamedev tools, and Mark names the episode after a Star Trek thing because it's his birthday today so he gets to.Discuss this episode on Reddit using this thread in r/gamedev.0:03:31Intro to Linguistics for Game DevelopersThe Legend of Zelda’s Hylian LanguageFandomThe Language Creation SocietyA list of constructed languages in video games.WikipediaMyst’s created language, D’ni.FandomUK Professors Go Primal With 'Far Cry'Gail HairstonUniversity of KentuckySIL’s Glossary of Linguistics article on sonority scaleSILSkyrim’s Dragon ShoutsMatt MillerGame InformerOmniglot is an encyclopedia of writing systems and languagesOmniglotThe Conlangers Library game listConlangers LibraryNo Man’s Sky guide: alien races, languages and Monolith puzzlesJeffrey ParkinPolygonThe Rosetta Stone in Fez (Pretty obvious clue in hindsight.)mykwudYouTubeTwitter Blowup Leads to Sudden Cancellation of Fez II Owen GoodKotakuPlaying the Birth and Death of Language in 'Dialect'Alex RobertsWaypointScientology’s enturbulating lingo Britt PetersonThe Boston GlobeKathryn Hymes on Twitter@chiclashawTwitterThe Language Construction Kit, a book Martha recommended, is available for free…bookDescribing Morphosyntax: A Guide For Field Linguists is the other book Martha r…bookSpeaking ‘Star Trek’: Meet the Man Who Made Up the Klingon LanguageMatt BlitzPopular MechanicsThe Klingon Language Institute is a thing that exists.International Phonetic AlphabetWikipediaMass Effect: Meeting the Elcor AmbassadorThieving HIppoYouTubeGaming’s favorite VR mouse uses sign language in the cutest wayAllegra FrankPolygonCantonese vs. MandarinOff the Great WallYouTubeFeast Your Eyes on This Beautiful Linguistic Family TreeArika OkrentMental FlossThe Conlangery Podcast is a neat podcast about linguistics and conlang.Podcast0:44:57Making Your Own ToolsWe referenced a few of our episodes during the show: "75% sure.""The Stevechievement."GDC 2017 Special (Part 1)GDC 2017 Special (Part 2)Stephen’s tool he recently made for Fingeance.Stephen McGregorTwitterTech Toolbox microtalks at GDC 2017GDCOur friends at Howling Moon made Super Fast Soft Shadow.Unity