Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!

A roundtable episode in disguise! Game designer/developer and friend of the show, Lane Davis, enters the clubhouse to guest host an episode where the topics are all his!Lane brings some friendly debate (and shockingly accurate calendar math) to the show, in his continuing quest to make Nice Games Club just a little bit less nice. Yet he somehow manages to say some of the nicest things anyone has ever said on the program.Lane has previously been a guest at the Nice Games Club, when he hosted a COOP TALKCo-op Recap: Transmedia0:03:05Serial Game DesignEdmund McMillen's ‘Basement Collection’ Shows Off his Early WorkComplexUnderstanding Design SpaceDamion SchubertZen of DesignTrying to Make Idea-Rich Games Jonathan BlowToo many ideas and projects. How do I choose one and stick with it?RedditAlex Carlson Game DesignerOne Game a Month0:14:57Changing Your MindWhy Criticism Is Important to Game DevelopmentA.J. MaciejewskiVideo ChumsWhy I want you to steal my ideasSeth GodinTED IdeasThe Poisonous ‘Not Invented Here’ syndromeGame DesignYouTubeScoping for Game JamsCarolyn VanEseltineSibyl Moon Games0:31:19Starting Your Next ProjectIt’s ok to pull the plug on your gameIvan JakubiMachina Game Dev AcademyWriting Reusable CodeNoel LlopisGames From Within0:35:18Video Game JuiceFacebook Study Finds Introverts Feel More Comfortable with VR Social InteractionDominic BrennanRoad to VRSqueezing more juice out of your game design!Nathan LovatoGame AnalyticsJuice It or Lose ItMartin Jonasson, Petri Purho GDC“Hollow Knight - Let’s Play Walkthough Commentary”123PazuYouTube

In this roundtable episode, your nice hosts settle back into the clubhouse, still exhausted a few days after the excitement of GlitchCon 2017.Martha conducts a debrief on the weekend's festivities, Stephen gives his presentation on game design (for both new and experienced gamedevs), and Mark leads a discussion on multitasking in game development workflows.0:02:26GlitchCon 2017 DebriefWe talked about PROTOTYPING in Episode 19"Pick up all the things."At Glitchcon Martha gave a talk about GIT, get her PRESENTATION SLIDES In the notes in her topic VERSION CONTROL "The Stevechievement."Mark's greatest invention the $6 playtester seatThe Soap FactoryIndie MomhoodBekah SaltsmanGame DeveloperHeather Kelley on TwitterAtmocopter0:31:06Game Design PrimerStephen's Game Design Workshop SlidesStephen McGregorConcept art for Fingeance character GwenCharles McGregorThe Magic School Bus “In the Haunted House”FandomWe reference our episode on PLAYTESTING"We are artists and we should be artists."0:48:33Multitasking in Game Development"The Myth of Multitasking"Christine RosenThe New AtlantisThe Importance of Holistic Game DesignDaniel ClarkIGN "If Multitasking Is Impossible, Why Are Some People So Good at It?" Derek ThompsonThe AtlanticWhy your brain likes it when you multi-taskClaudia HammondBBC

This week's roundtable episode features a (mostly) silent co-host: Ikaros the official Glitch HQ office doge! While not distracted by adorableness, Martha gives a primer on Git and version control best practices, Stephen leads a discussion on art direction, and Mark tries to understand PC gamers.Feedback FormGLITCHCON Celebrates A Weekend Of Gaming - Troy Strand, Tech {dot} MN0:03:58Version ControlGitMartha's Git workshop presentation slidesMartha MegarryA Short History of GitgitSourceTreeGItKrakenMerging Unity scenes, prefabs and assets with gitDavid DouglasDeadly FingersGit for Unity DevelopersAlistair Doulin Game DeveloperGitHubBitbucketHerokuPushing to multiple git reposAlex ArmstrongCode School: Learn GitPaolo PerrottaCode School0:33:38Art DirectionIn our episode " Bananas from here to eternity" the third topic in the roundtable is on Developer Art"Bananas, from here to eternity."The Design Bible Behind New York City’s Subway Republished as a Limited-Edition…Kristin HohenadelSlateSPY Fox Series Mini-GamesFandomBehind Borderlands' 11th-hour style changeTor ThorsenGameSpotCiv V Art Director Explains Art Deco LookAdam BiessenerGame InformerAnimation Bootcamp: Cuphead Process and PhilosophyJake ClarkGDC0:54:44Console vs. PC DevelopmentBook Review: The Art of Game DesignDaniel CookValve making big changes to Steam's trading card economyDerek StricklandTweakTownSony Developer ProgramXbox LIVE Creator's programID@XBOXBecoming a Nintendo Switch indie dev will be tough early on Kris Graft

This week's interview episode features Dev Jana, one half of the team behind Newt One, a non-violent music-infused 3D platformer.We talk with Dev about how Newt One transformed (through continuous iteration) from a "Mario 64" clone into a game where "there are no bad guys" and nothing you do can hurt anything.We also discuss the purpose and use of violence in video games, including the games we're all working on. When can violence be utilized effectively though mechanics and story? And when is it simply an lazy way to build tension and create challenge for the player?Violence in GamesGame DesignHappiness: The Science of Subjective Well-Being - Edward Diener, NOBAThis Is What It’s Like To Play Dishonored 2 In Low Chaos, Non-Violent Fashion - Jonathan Leak, Game RevolutionFirewatch: games without violence can be just as good or even better! - Florian Uhlemann, MediumSonic Frees the Forest Animals - Dorkly, YouTubeAddressing Conflict: Tension and Release in Games  - John Nelson Rose, Game DeveloperI Finally "Get" 'HItman' - Nick Dinicola, PopMattersTen Years Later: Videogames Not Responsible for Columbine - Andy Chalk, The EscapistWere video games to blame for massacre? - Winda Benedetti, NBC NewsUnmasking the Avatar: The Demographics of MMO Player Motivation, In-Game Prefer… - Nick Yee, Game DeveloperMetaphors: The impossibility of being literal - R.G.L., The EconomistGamer Motivation Profiling by Quantic Foundry - Quantic Foundry

For our first ever LIVE episode, we took the main stage at GlitchCon 2017 along with our guests Rebekah and Adam Saltsman, co-founders of Finji, publisher of "Night in the Woods" and developer of "Overland" and "Canabalt," to talk about talking about games!Plus your nice hosts and their guests each recount moments where they "leveled up" as game developers.LIVE from GlitchCon 2017EventsIRL[0:01:45] Talking about your game to different audiences[0:32:35] Moments where you “leveled up” as a gamedev[0:45:56] OutroAt the end of this episode, Stephen was able to guilt a whole room full of people to fill out our feedback form, but that doesn't mean you're off the hook. Hearing from you helps make our show better, so get on it!

This week's roundtable provides practical knowledge on three of today's most important life topics: Starting a business, being a good competitor, and playing Nintendo.0:01:51Taxes and BusinessIndie Developer tax issues: Is game development your hobby or your businessZachary StrebeckGame DeveloperHow LLC Members Are TaxedNOLOStarting a Business - MN Department of Employment and Economic DevelopmentInc FileLegal ZoomDo You Need a Physical Address For Your Business?Belle WongLegal Zoom0:23:49Nintendo SwitchArms launches on June 16, new character Min Min revealedBrianNintendo EverythingNintendo Reveals A new ARMS Character, And It's An Odd OneRobert SephazonNintendo LifeJackbox Party Pack 3Human Resource MachineNintendo Switch dev kits could run as low as $440 Alissa McAloon Game DeveloperWith the Switch, Nintendo is getting right what the PlayStation Vita got wrongDavid HoughtinGamesRadarPlayStation Vita isn’t dead, just ask Nintendo Switch indie developersChris PlanteThe Verge0:43:20Competition"Playing to Win" and a Philosophy of Competition in GamingMark Newheiser“Is Wavedashing necessary for competitive play?” - redditRedditClaw Breaker TrailerMartha MegarryYouTubeMetro Nexus GameplayNoble RobotYouTube

Hype is alive in the clubhouse as your nice hosts preview all the sessions at Glitch Connect 2017, taking place at the Soap Factory in Minneapolis, May 5-7th!

In this interview episode, we talk to Glitch's "Official Zookeeper" Alex Chang, who is the producer of this year's Glitch Connect digital games festival, coming up May 5-7th, 2017. He talks with us about what it's like to put on a show, and gives some great advice on how to put on your own.We recorded this episode before the sessions for GlitchCon were announced. Check out the full listing here!The final stop on the GlitchCon brewery tour is on April 19th at Modest Brewing Co. in Minneapolis.Putting on a GlitchCon!Events

This week's roundtable episode has it all: Confusion, technobabble, randomness... and shoot, a whole lot more besides!We're still looking for feedback from our listeners! Be nice and visit our feedback form. It will only take a minute and it will help make the show better!0:02:54Getting Out of a RutTim Schafer on ProductivityStephen's motivation week0:19:44Bots! Bots! Bots!Tech the TechTraceryTracery for UnityKate ComptonMark Gritter on TwitterPlay This Clever Adventure Game Entirely On TwitterJason SchreierKotakuMeetup Bot Makers - MinneapolisQuick, Draw!Cheap Bots, Done Quick0:35:40Procedural GenerationProcedural world generation: The simulation, functional and planning approachesRune Skovbo Johansen oGame DeveloperSpelunk Generator LessonsDarius KazemiTiny SubversionsNo Man’s Sky – Procedural Contentgregkwaste3DGameDevBlogHow Planets are Made in Elite: Dangerous HorizonsJeff WilliamswccftechFallout 4: Here's All the Names That Codsworth Can SayEddie MakuchGameSpot

On this Co-Op Recap episode, we welcome musician and 3D artist Sara Ferret along with game designer Ajuawak Kapashesit to talk about March's Glitch Co-Op Talk topic, Problematic Games.Problematic GamesGaming"7 Ridiculously Sexualized Moments in the Metal Gear Solid Games" - Dorkly, YouTube"Assassin’s Creed and the straight-white-male default"  - Duane de Four, How Manly