Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!

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

In this super-sized episode, your nice hosts get into the gritty details of game design with a trio of terrific topics. Martha lays out the concept for her next game, Stephen complains about Smash Bros. (!), and Mark takes a lot of notes. Plus, maybe the best topic transitions to ever come out of the clubhouse!We're still looking for feedback from our listeners! Be nice and visit our feedback form. It will only take a minute of your time and it will help us make the show better.Nice Games Club Feedback Form0:05:18PrototypingDon't skip the Game Design Workshop at GDC 2017GDCMark's Sonic the Hedgehog solitaire card gameHolographic Mark Mk I0:26:28Point and ClicksPuzzle Dependency Graph PrimerJoshua WinbergGame DeveloperThe Day of The Tentacle: Dependency Graph AnalysisThe Website is Down Dev BlogDouble Fine AdventureDoubleFineProdYouTubeHumongous EntertainmentCosmic OsmoWikipedia30-plus years of HyperCard, the missing link to the WebMatthew LasarArs Technica0:42:26User InterfacesUser interface design in video gamesAnthony StonehouseGame DeveloperThe User Interface Continuum: A Study of Player PreferenceKristine JorgensenGame DeveloperSplinter Cell: Conviction Developer DiaryIGNYouTubeMirror’s Edge – UX is not UIPapa_LampGur-uHue's color blind mode in action Color Jumpers color blind mode in actionBen BurnesYouTubeThe Division UI and Gameplay WalkthroughYouTubeGDC Breaking conventions with Zelda: Breath of the WildHidemaro FugibayashiGDC

In this interview episode, we talk with Lord President of the Game Design Club at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Rachel Peterson Reese Valentine, to talk about how to go about getting an education in games. Your nice hosts also recount their own gamedev educational origin stories, and the episode closes out with a quick run though of all the advice!Games EducationArtIRLBecause Learning Matters (129) - Extra Credits, YouTubeMinneapolis Colledge of Art and DesignPong Clone Tutorial Rachel's quick-draw artQuick-draw portrait of MarkQuick-draw portrait of StephenWhite-board self-portraitEducational LinksOne Game a MonthOn Game Schools - How to Find a Good School - Extra Credits, YouTubeGame Center - NYUUniversity of Wisconsin -StoutGame Design Workshop - bookGDC VaultUnite Conference - UnityGame Maker's Toolkit - YouTube

A day late but worth the wait! In this high signal-to-noise roundtable episode, each member of the club picks a topic that they are particularly passionate about:Stephen shares his wisdom and guidance about playtesting your work early and often, Martha helps you get your act together in a practical discussion about project management, and Mark tries to explain the obligation he feels as an artist, but picks a weird hill to die on as he wrongly insists that Portal 2 isn't really about anything.We're trying to make the show even better and we need your input! Be nice and visit our feedback form to tell us what you think!Ice Cold Games@zacharyjohnsonNIce Games Club Feedback Form0:03:27Demoing and Playtesting0:33:26Project ManagementtrelloAgile DevelopmentWikipediaWaterfall DevelopmentWikipediaKanban DevelopmentWikipediaThe Blue Yarn - 99% InvisibleThe Blue Yarn99% InvisibleNUMMI (2015)NUMMIThis American LifeDavid Megarry's Three Questions all project managers should ask: “Do you have all the resources you need?" "Do you have any roadblocks or impediments?" "Are you on schedule?”“A project manager (PM) is more of a problem solver than anything else. If you don’t have the resources, the PM finds them. If there are roadblocks, the PM helps to find a way to get around them. If not on schedule, the PM alters it or adds more resources or changes scope. Above all, the PM communicates with management as to the state of the project so they can make proper decisions and not be blindsided or surprised.” -David Megarry0:52:56Messages and MeaningsSummerlandMichael ChabonNovelA Closer Look at How Three Assassin's Creed Games Have Handled SlaveryEvan NarcisseKotakuFor Honor's accidental alt-right connectionAllegra FrankPolygon

It's the finale of our double-sized GDC 2017 special, recorded on the final day of the Game Developers Conference.Martha and Mark were joined once again in San Fransisco by "Special Reporter" Dylan Skerbitz to talk about the back half of the conference, while Stephen joins in remotely from Glitch HQ to talk all about the Nintendo Switch!0:02:40GDC 2017 SessionsSid Meier tells Civilization’s origin story, cites children’s history booksSam MachkovechArs TechnicaMartha meets her Hero, Sid MeierDouble Fine's Digital ArchaeologyBrendan SinclairGamesIndustry.bizLadykiller in a Bind ReviewAllegra FrankPolygonDouble TapSte Curran0:19:48Nintendo Switch LaunchUnreal Engine 4.15 supports Nintendo Switch, HDR, and AFR for Nvidia SLIMark WaltonArs TechnicaYou can expect a Super Smash Bros. game for Nintendo SwitchCNET0:34:46Flash Games PostmortemHow Flash Games and Newgrounds Foretold Today’s Indie Experimentalism Kate GreyVice0:36:32Experimental Games Workshop'Multibowl' Is the First Real Video Game MixtapeZack KotzerVice0:38:22Micro-PostmortemsChristine Love's Micropostmortems summaryChristine LoveTwitter

Martha and Mark were in San Fransisco for the Game Developers Conference, and there was so much to say we had to split it into two episodes!While Stephen was holding down the fort back home, we were joined in San Fransisco by Nice Games Club's in-house "special reporter" Dylan Skerbitz.0:00:58Train JamTrain JamTrain Jam participants heading to GDC 2017 anxious about ‘Muslim ban’Charlie HallPolygon0:13:13Train Jam InterviewsArvind Raja Yadav made Zombies on Demand More from Arvind: Pyrodactyl GamesAndrew Shouldice made Uncomfortably More from Andrew: Secret LegendKate Gray made Post Birb More from Kate: https://kategray.me/Kate Compton made Travels in Od More from Kate: galaxykate.comAlex Carlson made Ultimate Train Fighter 2600 More from Alex: acwd.meCreatrix Tiara made What The $!#&@! Do They Need Now? More from Tiara: creatrixtiara.comMatt Findlater made Flashlight Flashbang More from Matt: @justattackgamesStefan Lopuszanski made Time Twins More from Stefan: stexe.com0:24:21Day of the Devs at Alamo DrafthouseDay of the Devs at GDC 2017OobletsRimeMineko's Night MarketKnights and BikesPyreTacoma0:35:06GDC 2017 Sessionskhronos.orgWeb VRTurbo Button's "TButt" FrameworkGitHubGames that should be Games againRami Ismail0:52:35Adventures in Conference Scheduling0:55:35Star Trek: Bridge Crew