Nice Games Club

Holly Harrison, aka "Best Friend of the Show," is back in the clubhouse! And we recorded this episode in person again! Can you tell? It probably comes through in the goofs... There's plenty of silliness in this week's episode, even though your Nice Hosts explore some serious topics. Holly asks us what we can do to become more ethical consumers (and developers) of games. Ellen examines the dynamics of grind. Stephen finally admits to something BIG, and Mark takes a break. Join Lobby - Video Game Culture Feed - Holly Harrison, Instagram Holly joined us for episode 40... Community Managment ...and for episode 88... The Gaming Press ...and for episode 89... "A mean secret that stays in this room." ...and for episode 201... "Not like Beauty and

Back in March, Mark created a game engine in an unfamiliar programming language for an unreleased console... and in June he explained himself in a presentation at IGDATC's Gamedev Meeting. The full video presentation of Mark's talk "So, you made a game engine?" Mark LaCroix Hardware Programming Noble Engine, a li'l game engine for Playdate - Noble Robot, GitHub Noble Engine Project Template - Noble Robot, GitHub Playdate console Playdate developer portal

Starting an indie studio is hard, starting a worker-owned cooperative is harder. This week your nice hosts interview longtime friend of the show Reese Valentine and their fellow co-founder Mackenzie Denker, both of Amelore. It's co-ops 101, which happens to be exactly the info Stephen needs right now! Amelore Coop website Amelore on Twitter Reese previously visited the clubhouse for one of our earliest episodes, in early 2017: Games Education Co-op Studios IRL Production The 7 Cooperative Principles - The National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International Mission Statements - Adam Schwartz, The Cooperative W

This week, Mark talks about Star Trek, Stephen wants to talk more about Star Trek, and Ellen hypes the website.

Your vaccinated hosts return to the clubhouse to record their first in-person episode in over a year. This one's for us, but you might like it, too. There was a lot of hugs before the recording. Charity EP Jam (the new album drops June 11th!) - Chel Wong Indie bundle for Palestinian Aid - Alanna Linayre, itch.io Mark's "Widget Satchel II" was featured in Panic's E3-style announcement video. Special In-Person Special Mark LaCroix Stephen McGregor Ellen Burns-Johnson IRL Meta Misc.

Can games be used for therapeutic purposes? Absolutely! In this episode we talk with Adam Davis, therapeutic Game Master, and a co-founder and executive director of Game to Grow, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The organization is focused on "the use of games of all kinds for therapeutic, educational, and community growth." Adam shares his experiences from over a decade in therapeutic play—how Game to Grow began, how he thinks about games as part of therapeutic experiences, and how he once managed SEVEN tabletop RPG campaigns simultaneously. We hope you enjoy our inspiring conversation with this really cool guy! Helmet nachos! Source: Target Field Eats on Twitter https://twitter.com/tfeats/status/1039672499892576256 Therapeutic Games Game Design Tabletop

This week in the clubhouse, your nice hosts discuss the not so-intuitive nature of novelty, and the novel method of using intuition in games. Featured in the episode: Ellen reveals secrets of her home, Stephen relates a topic to fighting games for the 218th time, and Mark brings up the best parts of the Mass Effect trilogy. Matias Ergo Pro Keyboard Ellen mentioned screen burnout, a topic we've covered in this episode. "Empty the bucket." Tweet on writing 'structure' Novelty 12:27 Stephen McGregor Game Design Intuition 45:19 Ellen Burns-Johnson Game Design

There's a second Mark in the clubhouse! This week we're joined by Mark Mandel, who is involved in many things worth mentioning! Mark is a Developer Advocate at Google Cloud for Games, leading the Developer Relations team; he founded Agones, a game server hosting platform; he has a dog. What else? Listen to find out. During this episode, Mark talks about open source software in the gamedev scene—why it's important, what developers can gain from supporting open source, tips for participating in open source projects, and more.  Open Source Software Programming Tools Open Source Definition Demo video of Veloren, an Open Source MMORPG - Open Source Games, YouTube Zero D, an open source game

This week, we talk about the core interactions that games are made of with Allan Rust, creative director of The Game Agency. We've been wanting to have Allan on the program for a long time, and it was worth the wait! Ellen and Mark's Ludum Dare 48 game, Sonder (a story) can now be played in a web browser from its Itch.io page! Stephen (and company)'s game Fingeance is still hot off the presses. Go download it and reclaim the sea! Gameful UX Game Design UI / UX The Training Arcade "Jeopardy!" TV Challenge Demo An 'Overjoyed' LeVar Burton Welcomes Chance To Guest-Host 'Jeopardy!' - Bill Chappell, NPR

Oh dang, Fingeance is out! In this episode, Stephen talks about finally releasing his long-in-development game that's been a big part of Nice Games Club history, too! Hear about the game's unique development history, why now was the right time to put it out into the world, and learn a bit about how you might want to to approach your own long-gestating projects. Fingeance on itch.io (download for free)! Escape Industries on Twitter Fingeance Portmortem Stephen McGregor Game Design Production Back in 2018, we peeked inside Fingeance for a video episode of the show: Code Comment: "Fingeance" In 2019, we did a postmortem-ish episode for Widget Satchel:

Sound the alarm, it's the second half of Evil Games Club's latest nefarious reign over the clubhouse! This time, Adia, Dylan and Dale take their misdeeds to new heights with an "Evil Games Jam." Can they invent a playable game and test it in a single episode? What maddening mechanics will be unleashed from these malevolent minds? Take shelter under your headphones and listen if you dare! The Interactive Fiction Competition Spring Thing Festival of Interactive Fiction Ludum Dare 48 NaNoReNO Jam OST Jam Prompt Create a game you might find in a casino, where the house always wins. Game type Card game Player count 3 Materials Standard deck of 52 playing cards

Uh oh! The evils are back again for the first of a two-episode residency in the clubhouse, where Dale takes a hair census, Adia is "air-quoting heavily," and Dylan is a child of the Internet... literally. Playing Outside Your Genre / Difficulty 0:05:21 Adia Alderson Dylan Skerbitz Accessibility Game Design Expert Tips Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night Doesn't Tell You - Justin Clark, SVG How the Video Game Industry Quietly Powered Through a Pandemic - Trilby Beresford, The Hollywood Reporter Cheating 0:34:48 Dale LaCroix Game Design

This week, your nice hosts get smart. Stephen approaches a major milestone, Ellen's planning her first PC build, and Mark does a book report. Plus, there's a new feedback form for you to sample and enjoy!  Aged. Learned. It's Nice Games Club. Fingeance trailer - Escape Industries, YouTube Fingeance main site - Escape Industries Buy Fingeance on Itch.io! Razer Kishi controller Amazon Luna controller Ellen's PC Build - The Journey Begins 0:20:04 Ellen Burns-Johnson Hardware US favorite video game devices 2020 - J. Clement, Statista

It's back to basics this week as we welcome Osama Dorias, lead game designer on the upcoming Gotham Knights at WB Games Montréal, to talk about his multi-year journey of making games with his kids, and what it taught him about his craft. It might be our cutest episode yet! Osama, along with Fawzi Mesmar, and Rami Ismail, recently launched their own very nice gamedev podcast, The Habibis! Building Blocks of Design Art Game Design IRL Tabletop Tools The Game Crafter A selection of cards from "Ali and Mimi's Card Game"

This week your nice hosts have a rowdy game jam. Dale gave us a prompt: Create a matching game with a puzzle element. The puzzle must be "what matches first" and bonus points if there's cats. The goal of every Nice Games Jam is for the team to come up with a playable game by the end of the episode. Did Stephen, Mark, and Ellen make it happen, or did they end up with a pile of nonsense? Well, maybe a bit of both. The "dot game" that Ellen referenced is called Dots & Boxes - Wikipedia A three-sided die similar to the one that Eric, Ellen's partner, owns. Here's a place you can buy your own three-sided die - Nvenom8 Designs on ShapeWays Marketplace Game type Tabletop game Player count Any Materials Paper, pen

This week, your nice hosts look within themselves. Mark is afraid of falling off the tree, Stephen does the teeter-tottering he has to do, and Ellen doesn't struggle with this. Markey, Colleagues Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill to Make Daylight Saving Time Per… Tiny Room Stories: Town Mystery Animal Restaurant Learn Lua in 15 Minutes - Tyler Neylon Hungarian Notation Your Internal Battery 0:24:56 Ellen Burns-Johnson Gaming IRL Gamer Motivation Profile Your nice hosts talked about thier Gamer Motiviation Profiles in:

A regular nice roundtable! In the first part this week's episode, Mark leads an examination of how fonts can support gameplay, worldbuilding, and immersion. In the second half, Stephen makes us think—really think—about the benefits of "janky" gameplay. Mark shares some font history facts, Stephen starts his manifesto, and Ellen takes on the case. Mark's new keyboard Chel Wong's charity album Press Reset (new gamedev book) - Jason Schreier Where to Start with Vlad Taltos (the book series that Ellen mentioned) - Stephen Brust, Tor Books Fonts 0:09:37 Mark LaCroix Misc. History and Evolution of Typography

After a slightly longer than usual hiatus, your nice hosts (along with your nice guest host Dale LaCroix) return to the virtual clubhouse for the first new episode of 2021 to talk about what we did on our winter break! PLUS: Mark is a tax robot, Stephen hopes he’s not fired, and Ellen loves being right. Closed Hands, the interactive fiction game (directed by Dan Hett) that Mark worked on over the last few months, was released this week! Clsoed Hands at Twin Cities Playtest (January 2021) Show Your Work! - Austin Kleon Working Out Loud - Seth Godin What We Did On Our Winter Break (2021) Mark LaCroix Stephen McGregor Dale LaCroix Ellen Burns-Johnson Game Design

This Nice Replay is a two-parter! Part one: Roboston! (Live at 2D Con 2020) Part two: Roboston! (part 2) #192 Roboston! (Live at 2D Con 2020) Nice Games Jam Live Video 2020.09.17 Your nice hosts recorded a live Nice Games Jam episode at 2D Con 2020! You can listen to the edited audio of the recording here! You can find the video of the live recording right here! Prompt Create a game where you are working together to construct a robot, but each player has a secret task t

#185 "Empty the bucket." Roundtable 2020.07.28 Your nice hosts are tired, then get energized. Stephen is thinking about it, Mark brought a few unlikely examples, and Ellen is also thinking about it. Here's a fun new thing: We've recently started a Discord channel for listeners to discuss the show with each other. It's part of the Twin Cities Gamedev Discord server, but you don't need to be a Twin Cities gamedev to partisipate! Get directly to the Nice Games Club discussion channel via https://nicegames.club/discord Burnout 0:06:43 Stephen McGregor IRL Burn-out, an "occupational phenomenon" - World Health Organization