In this week's roundtable, Ellen needs help with ALL the things. Stephen and Mark offer advice on where to find people who can help, and discuss some of the hidden challenges of expanding one's team. Later, Stephen challenges everyone to think about how games can do a better job of implementing companion characters. Also, some host backstory tidbits, weird horse names, and (of course) a bit about Glom.Rival Stars: Horse Racing (the game that Ellen’s playing) - PikPok, Google Play Store“What’s your favorite commentary-friendly name?” - RedditAhead Of The Kentucky Derby, 5 Absurd Rules For Naming Racehorses (2015) - Julie Alderman, NPR0:11:46Finding HelpHiring Game DesignersGame Developer0:46:22Companion Characters[The] 10 Best Companions In Gaming HistoryJom ElauriaScreenRant

(Some of) your nice hosts went to Origins Game Fair last week! Aside from taking in the show and learning more about the world of board games, they were there to attend the launch of their card game Glom. But before they went, they talked about the state of the next card game they're working on (and working on pitching to publishers), Dogpile!The Historical Legacy of Juneteenth - Smithsonian InstitutionW. E. B. Du Bois: A Resource Guide - Angela McMillian, Library of CongressThe State of "Dogpile!"Sell sheet for "Dogpile!"Rules document for "Dogpile!"Sell Sheets for Game Designers 101Luke LaurieLeague of GamemakersCooper BlackWikipediaListen to us come up with the game in:Dogpile!We developed it further in:Dogpile! (part 2)‘Heroin for middle-class nerds’: how Warhammer conquered gamingAlex HernThe Guardian

Your nice hosts return to form with a roundtable recorded together for the first time in a while! In this episode, Stephen sneaks a mini-topic in, Ellen asks some controversial questions and Mark helps us realize when we're breaking the law.As a side note, Glom is available right now! We've talked about it plenty on the show, but for more information or purchasing info you can go to nicegames.club/glom.Summer Games Done Quick 2023 - YouTube0:10:27LicensingA complete guide to font licensing for designersGarrick WebsterCreative Bloq0:36:22Cheating, Part 1

After Mark's time with COVID, the first day he was free to go outside, the area was covered with the smoke of distant wildfires. Another bout of smoke has rolled in to the Twin Cities just in time for the release of this episode.The club spends this Nice Thinking episode talking about the making of Glom, and discussing their feelings about pitching and publishing board games. They discover that Mark and Stephen dread pitching, but Ellen thinks it can be fun (it's her superpower).This section is about Dale, who edited this episode.I did write most of the Glom cards, but that was really playing to my superpower of brainstorming lots of ideas, very quickly. The club mentioned...that I have a full time job - TRUE...that I have to deal with the club's crap - TRUE...cats - TRUE - I volunteer at a cat shelterFor 'Dogpile!' the game - I thought up 100 dog names - EASY and I have been thinking up ~20 cat names a week (my superpower right?)Finally, they share the story of how Mark no longer edits every episode, and that's how Dale got to title this episode and add a section of episode notes about cats.GLOMGlom launched on June 14th, 2023. It is available for purchase now!Our official Glom hompage.This section is about cats.It’s kitten season and the cat shelters are full - please consider adopting a cat (or other animal, but you should really consider a cat or two). The city of Minneapolis Animal Care and Control has been waving cat adoption fees on select days. Minneapolis Pet AdoptionIf you choose a cat from Feline Rescue in Saint Paul, the name might have been suggested by Dale. Don't worry, you can promptly change their name to that of your favorite video game character. Feline RescueCheck out these two: Phobos and Deimos, named after the two moons of Mars (or Mario and Luigi if you prefer), they are available at the time of publicationDeimos and Phobos, the moon brothers are available for adoption via this link0:04:40Nice Thinking about our future in Board GamesThe game GLOMEpisode 210 is the NiceGames Jam that created GlomFor the record, the third deck that was renamed goal, was originally called “Scoring System Deck.”We talked about pitching the game with Peter Yang in episode 231Pitching Tabletop GamesWe're excited about 'Dogpile!' 'Dogpile!' was a game Jam from episode 272Dogpile!And we did a followup in episode 275Dogpile! (part 2)0:46:06Nice Thinking about NiceGameJam Games with PotentialMark's List of 5 Games1. From episode 272, Dogpile!2. From episode 275,Palace of Versailles3. From episode 192, recorded live, Roboston! (parts 1 and 2)4. From episode 157,Reravel: A Backwards Storytelling GameThey also mention these GameJam Games:6. From episode 134, Rules7. From episode 143Ants of Destiny: Morsels of the QueenNice Thinking about traveling to conferencesOrigins is June 21-25 2023 in Columbus OHGenCon is August 3-6 in Indianapolis, IN

The podcast discusses fall damage mechanics in Legend of Zelda and other games, lessons learned from Tears of the Kingdom, personal experiences with COVID-19 and antiviral medication, TV shows and documentaries, analyzing the efficiency of Tears of the Kingdom, the role and importance of fall damage in video games.

This week, Ellen and Stephen learn guest Zack Gilbertson's whole deal. Afterwards, Zack walks your nice hosts though an overview of what it's like for an indie developer to work with Unreal Engine, a popular-but-slightly-less-popular-than-Unity game engine.Unreal EngineGame DesignProductionProgrammingToolsUnreal Engine - Epic GamesLighting in Unreal Engine 5 for Beginners - William Faucher, YouTubeIntroduction to Blueprints - Unreal Engine Documentation, Epic GamesAlina Matson joined us in a previous episode to talk about Visual CodingEpic Games Store now lets developers publish their own games - Justin Carter, Game DeveloperFree Epic Games Content (for Unreal Engine) - Epic GamesZack GilbertsonGuestExternal linkSquidlandPersonal website

Max Kunze, Nice Games Club Guest Booker, takes over for Mark while he's still sick this week on another Nice Games Jam! Mark actually created the prompt for this episode, and your nice hosts find a way to inject many explosions into this board game made from it that you can try out yourself using the rules below!The playtest session we alluded to in the episode is on Patreon! If you want to hear how we playtested it over Miro, check it out there!PromptCreate a game where risk is extremely attractive and the consequences of failure are disastrous.Game typeCard gamePlayer count2 - 4Materials25 cubes42 cards1 Chaos Cube (six-sided die)SetupSet the 25 cubes in the center of the table so everyone can reach it. This is the stockpile.Deal out 3 cards to each player, hidden from the other players.First player is the person who was most recently in a car.RulesOn your turn, choose a card to play and follow its instructions.Types of cards: Excursion: draw 1, 2, or 3 cubes from the Gas Stockpile bag You have the option of rolling the Chaos CubeCasting Curses: Have another player roll the risk diceBad Weather: Skip the next player’s turnRaid: Steal a gas cube from another player’s cache You have the option of rolling the Chaos CubeForesight: See what cards another player hasTheft: Steal a random card from another playerIf the card allows you to roll the Chaos Cube, you can choose to roll it to increase your rewards. But there's a risk that you will both burn the cubes in your own collection and in the stockpile!At the end of your turn, draw back up to 3 cards.Play continues like this with each player playing one card until there are no more cubes remaining in the stockpile. The player with the most cubes in their own collection at the game's end wins!Future changesWe want way more excursion cardsWe want to have a way for players to steal from each otherMore cubes!MAYBE: Casting Curses doesn’t grant the possibility of granting +1 cube to the recipient of the curseAdd Sabotage back in: Remove X cubes from the Stockpile bag (1, 2, or 3 is noted on the card). You can remove a larger number by rolling the Chaos Cube, but that also carries the risk of blowing up your cache!

On this episode, we talk with two of Ellen's coworkers and the Games Agency, Jamaal Sawyer-Dymski & Greg Borreson. They talk about their career paths, from their time as young nerds, to working in very different areas of computer sciences and programming, to the fact that saying "Enhance" doesn't actually help with anything CSI style, to working with your nice host, Ellen.Ellen has some audio problems (they get better), Stephen gets called out, and Mark calls it in from home (because Dale exposed him to Covid). Spoilers:Dale and Mark are recovering (slowly) from Covid. It turns out that the secret to getting into game development is showing up to a music festival and harassing your roommate's boyfriend. Who knew?Wandering into Game DevelopmentIRLImpact JSApache CordovaJamaal Sawyer-DymskiGuestJamaal was a professional musician (saxophone), before transitioning into game development, through learning programming in a Master's program for forensic computing. Jamaal resides outside of San Diego, CA.Greg BorresonGuestGreg Borreson learned programming through website development at the University of Alberta (that's in Canada). He transitioned to game development through a contact he made at a music festival.

In this episode, Stephen points out the number three! It’s everywhere! Also, what is it about animation that captures our minds and imaginations so effectively? Your hosts explore the topic and share some ideas. Ellen gets hung up on math, and Mark tries to keep everyone calm. Good Question: How Do Street Sweepers Work? - WCCO - CBS Minnesota, YouTubeA street sweeper in Bloomington, Minnesota. Image from https://www.bloomingtonmn.gov/0:17:30Stephen's "Rule of Threes"0:48:16The Psychology of AnimationVisual attention and motion designMark HazlewoodInside Design from InVision5 examples of web animation done rightJoe JordanInside Design from InVisionAnimation for Attention and ComprehensionAurora HarleyNielsen Norman GroupMotion onset really does capture attentionKendra C. Smith & Richard A. AbramsAttention, Perception, & PsychophysicsThe necessity of interactive animation for gamesChristiaan MolemanGame DeveloperStudy explores how visual effects in videogames help players to make sense of g…Ingrid FadelliTech XploreThe CEO of Corn (aka "Corn Kid")Recess TherapyYouTube

This week, your nice hosts clop along sprawling acres of horse games and horses in games. They are led to water by the foremost expert on the topic, Alice Ruppert, creative director of the recent Horse Tales - Emerald Valley Ranch and writer of the horse-gaming blog The Mane Quest.The Taxonomy of Horse GamesGame DesignGamingProductionThe Mane QuestHorse Tales - Emerald Valley RanchAlice RuppertGuestAlice is a game designer, producer, and writer based in Zurich, Switzerland.External linkPersonal websiteThe Mane Quest