Nice Games Club

In this episode the your nice hosts discuss broken games, solved games, and purposely broken games. Ellen realizes that even if it is broken, doesn't mean you need to fix it. They discuss who's job it is to make a game fun, and how you can always make a game not fun. This episode features the origin story of Stephen Business, and if you are still reading, spoiler alert: Mark's topic is a stealth sequel to his topic about Curling.Stephen reports that the paperwork has been submitted and he is officially a co-owner of Future Club!Ellen now co-owns a still difficult to obtain Steam Deck.Noble Robot now offers coworking at thier Minneapolis office.Stephen and Ellen went to see a show at the Minnesota Fringe Festival - and Ellen LOVED it!Fringe Festival History - Wikipedia"Developers" - Michael Rogers, Minnesota Fringe Festival Broken games 0:24:00 Mark LaCroixGame DesignNo More Jokeys Channel on YouTu

It's our second climb into the scruff as your nice hosts continue development on "Dogpile!" We've updated the rules and did a lot of work toward defining the properties of a full prototype deck, consisting of 100, or 150... or maybe 250 unique cards? However many it ends up being, we're looking forward to part 3! Prompt Keep working on "Dogpile!" Game type Card game Player count 2-4 Setup Shuffle a standard 52-card deck.Deal 5 cards to each player.Set the remaining cards aside; this is the draft deckFor the first round, assign the "player one" indicator to the person who most recently played with a dog.TermsTurn: One player's action.Round: Once around the table (each player takes an action).Draft Deck: The pile of dog cards you draw from each round.Dogpile: This is where the dogs that you're able to recruit into your pack will end up.Pack Leader: The card drawn from the Draft

Your nice hosts accidentally stumble into the thesis of the show as this episode explores these two topics! Also found in the show: Stephen's composed song, Mark tries to avoid Entity Component Models and Ellen thinks about snakes for 20 minutes (but holds it together somehow).Beefsteak Tomato - WikipediaWoman in Motion - ParamountWoman in Motion on Peacock - PeacockWoman in Motion on Tubi - TubiNoble Robot - Noble Robot GameMaker for Unity Devs 0:06:01 Stephen McGregorProgrammingToolsStephen was wrong, here's a marketplace for GameMaker plugins - YoYo GamesWhat is the difference between statically typed and dynamically typed languages? - Stack OverflowRust - Rust TeamMain Theme for Rooty Tooty Fresh n Shooty (Stephen's Work Project) - Stephen McGregor Inspiration from Behavioral Economics 0:40:58

Your nice hosts talk to Andrew Eiche, COO at Owlchemy Labs (Job Simulator, Vacation Simulator, Cosmonious High) about the state of VR in 2022, and where VR and VR development tools may be going in the coming years.Andrew talks about how industrial design should influence VR design, why you shouldn't take inspiration from movies, and how ergonomics are important. Also, Ellen takes a hard stand on the right way to use a dial. VR in 2022 and its Future VR / AR / XROwlchemy LabsThe Design of Everyday Things - Don Norman, bookHeadsetsPico VR HeadsetPlaystation VR2VR EnginesVRTK (Virtual Reality Tool Kit)TButt - Turbo ButtonCosmonious HighCosmonius High on Tik Tok - Tik TokCosmonius High on TwitterCosmonius High on SteamAndrew EicheGuest Andrew Eiche is Chief Operating Owl and Cable Slinger at Owlchemy Labs. Andrew's background is game development and computer programing External l

It’s Ellen’s 100th episode as a Nice Games Club host! And there’s no better way to celebrate a big day than with a Nice Games Jam. Dale gave us a prompt and you’ll never guess the theme. Can your Nice Hosts come up with a playable prototype in “ruffly” an hour? Enjoy live edits, goofs, special cubes, and piles of dogs taken to the logical extreme! Ellen's first episode as a permanent host. "Click here for fleet operations.""Ameritrash" - Board Game GeekTexas Hold'em Poker - BicycleCan Dogs See Color? - American Kennel Club Prompt Create a game that could be subtitled "The 100 Dog Days of Calendar Math." Game type Card game Player count 2+ Materials Two standard 52-card decks Setup First, some additional prompt information. The objective is to get your dog pack to exactly 100 membe

This week, we invite our first guest for Nice Thinking! Adam Clewes-Boyne is putting together an initiative for neurodiversity advocacy and education in the games industry, specifically focused on ADHD. It started as a meetup at a conference, and Adam wants to see where it can go next. Neurodiversity in Gamedev EventsIRL Adam joined us, after a fashion, in a previous episode: Game Dev London does Nice Games JamCoffee with Butterscotch podcast - Butterscotch ShenanigansHow the Gender Gap Leaves Girls and Women Undertreated for ADHD - CHADDStrategic Planning for Nonprofits - National Council of NonprofitsAdam Clewes-BoyneGuest Adam is a co-founder of the Game Dev London community and games studio BetaJester, as well as a mentor with Limit Break and Into Games. External link

In this larger than normal episode, your nice hosts bring a lot to the top of the show with a bunch of exciting news. And there's still two topics to discuss after that! Mark brings his documentation A game, Stephen describes his time at SGDQ and Ellen has complaints to bring to the table.Summer Games Done Quick 2022 - YouTubeStephen and Charles walking across SGDQ on camera - YouTubeDall-E 2 - OpenAIHere's a collection of images that Ellen has generated using Dall-E 2!DALL·E 2 Preview - Risks and Limitations - OpenAI Maintaining an Open-Source Project 0:21:25 Mark LaCroixProgrammingGit Submodules - gitLDoc - Steve Donovan, GitHubMarkdown Guide - Mark Cone, The Markdown GuideTypora - Typora Should we design for Killers? 0:49:50 Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignGaming

Nina Marotta (and Kelso the cat) from High Moon Studios enters the clubhouse to talk about level and interaction design. She showers your nice hosts with bits of wisdom, such as:"Games are ugly for 90% of their development.""You have to live your life in order to be a good team member and a good designer." Level and Interaction Design Game DesignNina mentions the Geam Design program at Kent State We previously talked to Professor Chris Totten in episode 264 Teaching Gamedev to Young People, Again!Nina MarottaGuest Nina Marotta is a level and interaction designer at High Moon Studios in Cincinatti Oh External link MrsCheif7 on twitter

How much of the culture around a game is rooted in its design? That's one of the questions that comes up as Mark takes us on a tour of curling—an Olympic sport that's described as "chess on ice." We examine its origins, the Spirit of Curling, and some specific rules that may have a big impact on how players behave towards one another. Later, Stephen considers some questions about off-ramps, the parts of a game that guide players as they end a play session. Should we as designers encourage players to take breaks? Gato Roboto by doinksoft (from Devolver Digital) - Steam Curling 0:10:15 Mark LaCroixGame DesignAbout Curling - World Curling FederationWhy is this Olympic Sport called Chess on Ice? - by user "Pete", Chess.comCurling might be an antidote to our troubled times - Kristen Gelineau, The Detroit NewsGlossary of curling - WikipediaDeflategate - Wikipedia

It's part three of our unintentional "Gamedev in..." series! Your nice hosts speak with Daniela Gamarra about making games in Peru. Daniela shares her perspective on entering the industry, making progressive games in a conservative culture, and being asked "how much do you need to make this game?"Previous "Gamedev in..." episodes: We spoke with Ryan Sumo for: Gamedev in the Philippines We spoke with "Game Devs Kenya" for: Gamedev in Kenya Gamedev in Peru IRLProductionHow Creative Leaders Play the Long Game for Innovation - Ideo UIGDA PeruIGDA Peru - EducationLima Game JamLEAP Game StudiosBamtang GamesDirección Audiovisual, la Fonografía y los Nuevos MediosDaniela GamarraGuest Peruvian game developer and founder of Indaga Studios. External link on TikTokon LinkedInon Ins

Your nice hosts bring deep topics to the clubhouse this week! Listen in as Stephen forgets the name of the Uncharted lead character (but remembers the voice actor), Ellen brings up Mass Effect many, many times and Mark describes more interesting tidbits about Widget Satchel's development.Serious Play ConferenceLumbearJack - YouTubeSlayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer - SteamMax's award! - TwitterReed the Robotanist - Steam Here's a CableACE award. Parasocial Relationships 0:09:25 Ellen Burns-JohnsonIRLNarrativeParasocial Interaction - Wikipedia“The Player’s Parasocial Interaction with Digital Entities”  - Katrine Kavli, IT University in Copenhagen“Is It Weird for Adults to Have Imaginary Friends?” - Stephen Dubner and Angela Duckworth, No Stupid Questions“Tragic but true: how podcasters replaced our real friends” - Rachel Aroesti, The Gu

It's a packed episode this week, with birthdays, illnesses, and some Nice Thinking. Stephen, Mark, and Ellen discuss how the group might put on a tournament for local gamers, featuring locally-made indie games. How can one create a competition that involves many different games of widely different genres? Hopefully your nice hosts are up to the challenge. Either way, you're in for a treat! Plus, we get to finally hear Stephen's TRUE feelings about Star Trek.Prehistoric Planet on Apple TV - BBCThe Man Who Fell To Earth - ShowtimeStar Trek: Strange New Worlds - ParamountCOVID 19 Quarantine and Isolation Calculator - Centers for Disease ControlAlternate titles for this episode:"It finally got me""Lil' Baby Stephen"Episode artwork from RODNAE Productions on Pexels. Nice Thinking 0:13:12 Mark LaCroixEventsElemetals: Death Metal Death Match - WALLRIDE, SteamAstral Gunners - Sati Bros, SteamHyperDot - Ch

It's a sequel to last week's episode! This week, your nice hosts speak with Kent State University animation and game design professor Chris Totten about formal game design education. We get into the details of theory and practice, and discuss how teaching gamedev is both similar and different from other professional and artistic fields. Teaching Gamedev to Young People, Again! Game DesignIRLAn Architectural Approach to Level Design - Christopher W. TottenKudzu -  Pie for Breakfast Studios, itch.ioLa Mancha -  Pie for Breakfast Studios, Board Game GeekGDEX and Origins 2022, June 8-12Chris TottenGuest Professor at Kent State University, author of multiple books on level design, and creative director for "Little Nemo and the Nightmare Fiends." External link TwitterLinkedInLittle Nemo and the Nightmare Fiends

In this episode Truman Simpson joins us to talk about teaching game development to young people, through Gameheads, an organization for which Truman is a long standing volunteer. The clubhouse discusses the importance of seeing what is possible and what is achievable, and Stephen is jealous of today's youths. Teaching Gamedev to Young People Gameheads Truman Simpson volunteers with Gameheads. Gameheads is an organization that teaches youth and prepares them for careers in game development. Gameheads is lead by Damon Packwood and operates out of Oakland and the Bay Area, CA, with possible expansions around the US. Gameheads WebsiteGameheads TwitterDamon Packwood's TwitterTruman Simpson's twitterTeaching and Games cross-pollination

In this episode, Stephen, Mark, and Ellen talk about gameplay loops. Then, they talk about art direction. Then they talk about loops. And then art direction. And then, more loops. Just kidding! It’s a regular roundtable discussion about diagramming gameplay, establishing art direction, and when to take out the garbage.Habitica: Gamify Your LifeEducating Intuition - Robin M. Hogarth, University of Chicago Press Diagramming Gameplay Loops 0:15:20 Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignActionable Gamification: Beyond Points, Badges, and Leaderboards - Yu-kai Chou, Octalysis GroupHow To Perfect Your Game’s Core Loop - Nathan Lovato, Game AnalyticsLoops and Arcs - Daniel Cook, Lost GardenHow Games Use Feedback Loops - Game Maker's Toolkit, YouTubeDaniel Cook: Game Design Theory I Wish I had Known When I Started - IGDA Seattle, YouTubeExpanding UX: Gameplay Loops - Vitaly Starush, MediumThe Gameplay Loop: a Play

At GDC, your nice hosts met and spoke with this week's returning guests. We were so impressed with their project "[i] doesn't exist," we wanted to have them on a full episode to talk about the unique machine learning system they built for it. Be nice and have a listen!LUAL Games on Twitter"[i] doesn't exist" demo - itch.io[I] doesn't exist - a modern text adventure - KickstarterIf you're in Sweden, Lu and Al and their game will be at Arctic Game Week next week, May 25-28, 2022. We first met Lu and Al and spoke with them for a recent episode: GDC 2022 Special (Part 2)Some meta news: Mark wrote a song for this year's Charity EP Jam, which is actually a double-length album! All proceeds go to Able Gamers. Machine Learning NarrativeProgrammingSimulated AI creatures demonstrate how mind and body evolve and succeed together - Devin Coldewey, TechCrunchWhat is GitHub Copilot? An

It's a Nice Postmortem! Ellen brings her instructional design colleague Mark Hamilton to discuss the development process behind the LxJamathon, a combination of both a hackathon and a game jam meant to allow instructional designers to practice their skills! Find out what went well and what didn't in this fascinating look into the event. Postmortem: "LxJamathon" ProductionInstructional Design Reddit - RedditInstructional Design Discord - DiscordLxJamathon Website - Ellen Burns-Johnson and Mark Hamilton, LxJamathonLxJamathon itch.io - Ellen Burns-Johnson and Mark Hamilton, itch.ioMidwest Mysteries - The Oscaloose - SoundCloudLxJamathon Entries - itch.ioA Simple Guide to Four Popular Online Learning Formats - Nameera Sallum, CommLab IndiaMark HamiltonGuest Mark Hamilton is a instructional media developer and studio manager for the University of Iowa. External link

Game designer Monica Fan joins us this week for a Nice Games Jam that is extra-mischievous and extra-cute. There's drama amongst the roommates, and we're pretty sure the cat's to blame. But can we prove it? Can your Nice Hosts (and Nice Guest) make a playable prototype by the end of the episode? How many times will Stephen say "meow" before the outro rolls? So many questions!Monica Fan @DesignerMonica - TwitterWait Wait...Don't Tell Me! - NPRHere's the best way to shuffle a pack of cards – with a little help from some m… - Graham Kendall, phys.org Prompt From Dale this time: "Design a game where you discover clues and have to solve a mundane mystery. Bonus points if there is a cat in it. EXTRA bonus point if it's the cat who did it!" Game type Card game Player count 4 Materials Standard deck of playing cardsCoins or tokens to indicate the accumulation of blameOPTIONAL

It's a Nice Postmortem! Hunter Bond and Mike Ducarme talk the making of Infernax—an old school adventure platformer with puzzle elements, unholy curses, and lots of old-school awesomeness. From its earliest conception to playtesting, promoting, and publishing, what did they do and what did they learn? Postmortem: "Infernax" ProductionInfernax - TwitterJust Shapes and BeatsBerzerk StudioAs promised, Hunter's PO Box: PO Box 10275, Albuquerque, NM 87184Hunter BondGuestMike DucarmeGuest

Settle in, because we could only trim the 5+ hours of interviews we recorded last month at GDC down to 2 hours. Of course, if you want to hear all of it, there's always the Patreon...