Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!

The hosts dive into the woes of Unity and the elegance found in game design. They discuss the innovative word puzzle game Noodle and the challenges of composition over inheritance in coding. With humor, they compare programming practices in Unity and Godot. The conversation shifts to how elegance is perceived across different fields, using amusing anecdotes. They also explore the balance between simplicity and complexity in games, advocating for the appreciation of 'jank' as a valuable design aspect.

It's the first-ever "Nice Games Panel," in which we invite multiple guests on the show to discuss something interesting! Our panelists today include multiple creators who are known for their work on horror games: Schera Wyss, Conner Rush, Henry Hoare, Samuel Guglielmo, and Nick F. We discuss the fundamental nature of horror as a genre (or maybe a theme or an "orientation"), and what devs should consider if they're looking to make horror games that haunt players long after the end credits roll.Photo credit - Andrea Piacquadio, PexelsHorror Games 101Game DesignDreadXP SCP Foundation: Secure, Contain, Protect - collaborative fiction, WikidotSamuel GuglielmoGuestExternal linkon Twitter (or X or whatever)on BlueSky SocialNikk FGuestExternal linkNick F on itch.ioConner RushGuestExternal linkon TikTokSchera WyssGuestExternal linkon CoHostHenry HoareGuestExternal linkwebsiteon itch.ioon Twitter (or X or whatever)

Mark is back from Toronto, and guest host Holly Harrison is back in the clubhouse! Holly completes a topic, Stephen likes that part, and Ellen reads half a book.Talking Heads Take Over TIFF As ‘Stop Making Sense’ Reunion Has Crowds Dancing … - Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline'Lost Ladies' Review: Kiran Rao’s Delightful Hindi Comedy Swings and Wins - Proma Khosla, IndieWire'Robot Dreams' Review: A Beautiful Tale of Friendship and Love in the Hand-Draw… - Tomris Laffly, The Wrap0:09:09CompletionismConfessions of a Semi-Reformed Video Game CompletionistMatthew GaultViceResearch on the Effects of MediaDouglas GentileComposition with Red Blue and Yellow (Piet Mondrian)WikipediaHieronymus Bosch painted sheet music on a man's butt and now you can hear itSarah DoughertyThe World0:52:56Educating IntuitionEducating IntuitionRobin M. HogarthThe University of Chicago PressDoorway effectWikipedia

Guest Freya Holmér, Unity Insider, joins the hosts to discuss Unity's controversial runtime fee policy. They cover the update to the policy, lack of trust and communication, revenue splits in game development, frustration with Unity, and the importance of accountability and trust in companies.

We continue the recent production talks this week as we welcome Julia Keren-Detar into the clubhouse! The discussion topic is "working on a bigger team" but we also somehow talk about rain water barrels at some point? It's relevant, I swear.Mushroom 11 -  Untame, SteamWorking on a Bigger TeamProductionWork: A deep history, from the stone age to the age of robots - James Suzman, Penguin Random HouseAn example of what Ellen brings up during the episode, probably.Julia Keren-DetarGuestJulia Keren-Detar is a game designer at Spry Fox, a Netflix studio. She has worked on games like Alphabear and Cozy Grove. Before Spry Fox, she previously worked on Mushroom 11.External linkLinkedIn

It's been a while but your nice hosts come up with a game in roughly an hour, this one for the cat owners out there! After a fairly long meta, we get into the mind of a cat and design a competitive game for them to play.Toronto International Film FestivalRenew an adult passport - USA.govBloor–Yonge station - WikipediaPromptCreate a game my mother can (and wants to) play with her cats, with the supply list below. Bonus points if this can be played a single cat or multiple cats at the same time, for optimum usefulness in listener households with single catsGame typeDesign documentPlayer count2MaterialsAt least two catsA cat toy shaped like a die with a treat insideList of activities the die points toSetupPick an end date for when the game stops (can be arbitrary).RulesGive the cats the cat toy shaped like a die, they will roll the die and leave it eventually, and this determines the next activity for the human to set up. Once the die decides what the next activity is, the human sets it up based on a chart. Once the task is completed and cats are awarded points, repeat the die roll and do the next activity until the end date (since remember, you're on Cat Time so the amount of activities you do depends on your cats). The winner is the cat with the most points by the end!Examples of tasks (there would be at least 20):Cat task: One cat at a time for this challenge. Put something on top of the cat’s head and start the stopwatch. Whichever cat keeps the object on their head the longest gets X points.Cat task: Make a loud meowing sound. Whichever cat looks at you first gets X points.Human task: Award the cat who has been the best sport X points.Cat task: Hold both cats in your hands. Whichever cat jumps off first LOSES. Winner gets X points.Cat task: Place a ring of non-breakable objects (probably cat toys) around the edge of a table so that the tabletop is fully circled by objects. Place both cats, the task ends when both cats are off the table. Each cat gets a number of points equal to a multiplier of the number of objects that were knocked off the table.Cat task: Put the same number of treats in each hand. Call both cats over for them to snack from your hands. Whichever cat finishes their treats first is the winner and gets X points.Human task: Pick the cat that you feel the most sorry for and award them X points.Human task: Pick the cat that currently looks the sleepiest and sit them out for the next challenge.

This week, Stephen and Ellen catch up with Mark about his (and Dale's) trip to GenCon. There is a happy minor Glom update, and then it's down to business. What's grind? What purpose does it serve, and what are the mechanics of it? Your nice hosts attempt to come up with some definitions & guidelines—you decide whether they succeed. And feel free to share your opinions on Discord :)Gen Con06:08GrindA Necessary Evil: Grinding in GamesBrice MorrisonGame Developer26:32Emphasizing Uniqueness

In this episode your nice hosts welcome Rick Stemm of PikPok to the clubhouse to talk about what happens after a game gets greenlit.Turns out the answer involves building your team and trust. Rick touts the idea of a sh*tty first draft - faster and worse. Coaching feedback givers for what you are looking for, and the importance of building a trust in a team. Rick spouts useful idioms and your host claim points for each time Rick says ‘cohesive’ or ‘holistic.’Who scored the most points? Turns out Stephen declared that the points don’t matter, good thing I never bothered tabulating them.  Getting Things GoingIRLRick StemmGuestRick Stemm is the Design Manager and Narrative Director at PikPok! RIck is originally from Wisconsin but now lives and works in New Zealand. Rick Stemm can be reached by email at Rick@PikPok.comExternal linkRick Stemm is on LinkedIn

We return to the topic of cheating for the third (and final, maybe?) time this week! In this episode, Ellen brings cheating to a close, Mark makes up a band he'd totally listen to, and Stephen comes up with an engaging dish washing game.Cubistry - Match 2 LLC, Google Play Store0:12:26Cheating, Part 3We first visited cheating in this episode."What's a little grand larceny?"Cheating Part II in this episode.Cheating, Part 2Anti-cheat in video games: The A to ZReinhard BlaukovitschIrdetoMedal of dishonour: why do so many people cheat in online video games?Keith StuartThe GuardianReport: Cheating Is Becoming A Big Problem In Online GamingNelson GranadosForbes167: Randomly Generated TitleCoffee with ButterscotchButterscotch ShenanigansCS:GO - Overwatch guideEd ThornRock Paper ShotgunHOW TO GET OVERWATCH CASES IN CS:GO: CLEAN UP THE GAMEDaniel MorriseSports.netYouTube videos17 Video Games That ROAST CheatersT5GYouTubeTackling Cheating In GamingGDCYouTubeHow DayZ Deals With CheatersGDCYouTubeRobocalypse Now: Using Deep Learning to Combat Cheating in Counter-Strike: Glob…GDCYouTube0:50:22Putting the Real World in GamesVenbaVisai GamesGame Jam GamesSonderA Hot Clock Productionitch.ioSmile SimulatorAnyanwuitch.io

Your nice hosts get called to the boss' office to interview Frani Esquenazi, who is Stephen's actual boss at Future Club. Frani discusses servant leadership, getting your "C" legs, and not having all the answers.LeadershipIRLProductionServant Leadership - Mind ToolsServant Leadership is NOT What You Think - John S. Todorovic, LinkedInWomen in Games - DiscordFrani EsquenaziGuestCEO of Future Club.External linkLinkedInFuture Club website