Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast‪!‬ Ellen, Stephen, and Mark

Most of our favorite games aren't created by solo devs; they're created by groups of people. And, when you get a bunch of people together in a group, culture happens. So, what makes for a good working culture in a game development team? How do you establish such a thing and maintain it? When we say someone doesn't "fit the culture" of a team, what does that mean—and what should the team do about it? Chris Bergman, CEO of Gylee Games, joins us for an enlightening discussion about how he thinks about work culture, and he didn’t swear even one time!
Work Cultures
Misc.
Production


Gylee Games


Ra Ra Boom!
 - 
Steam


Gylee and Friends Podcast


Ask A Manager Blog



Chris Bergman
Guest

Chris is the founder of Gylee and creator of Ra Ra Boom. Gylee is named after his kids, Guy and Lee. Chris is a longtime serial entrepreneur who is passionate about creating entertainment that is uplifting and enlightening. He's also an imposter DJ and has been rollerblading since 1994.


External link
Chris on Instagram
Chris on Twitter (X)

In this more games-adjacent episode, Mark recounts his experiences at the South by Southwest conference this year! Many fascinating discoveries to be found within that topic, in addition to Stephen's continued obsession with Dragon's Dogma 2 and Ellen's experience with the podcast as a listener.
Stagg EKG Pro Electric Kettle
 - 
Fellow

Stephen's used this for a couple of weeks now (in fact as he's editing this episode). It's... okay! Not as many features as expected with the app, it just updates the firmware of the kettle. It is nice to wake up to hot water though! And it's quite fast.

0:09:52
South by Southwest 2024

South by Southwest



Just Play Jam
Cinereach



Just Play Jam 2023
itch.io



How Design Thinking Protects White Supremacy talk
SWSX



What Is the Design Thinking Process? The 5 Steps Complete Guide
Emily Stevens
Career Foundry



Intel crushed its supplier diversity targets 8 years early. Here’s how
Ben Unglesbee
Supply Change Dive



Intel® One Mono
Intel



Intel One Mono Typeface
GitHub



Net neutrality restored as FCC votes to regulate internet providers
David Hamilton
AP News



Money
Spyres
YouTube






1:08:31
Player Friction

Dragon's Dogma 2 Is Polarizing Its Community, And It's Not Just the Microtransa…
Rebekah Valentine
IGN

In this Episode Seth Fulkerson joins us in the clubhouse to talk the game engine, GameMaker. Seth is a long time user of GameMaker who's latest project is "Arzette: the Jewel of Faramore." The clubhouse discusses the history of GameMaker, the scripting language GML, and the advantages and disadvantages of the system.
And Stephen learns a bunch of the stuff he wished he knew when he actively using GameMaker.
GameMaker
Programming
Tools


Seth's body of work:



CDi Zelda Titles Remastered
 - 
Retro RGB


Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore
 - 
Wikipedia


GameMaker



GameMaker Licensing Costs


YoYoGames GameMaker Github
 - 
GitHub


GameMaker history on Wikepdia
 - 
Wikipedia


GameMaker Language (GML)



GML Manual


GameMaker Tools



GameMaker Marketplace


Add Ons for Game Maker:
-Scatterbox
-Yellow Afterlife
-Juju Adams


Shaun Spalding GameMaker Tutorials
 - 
Shaun Spalding
, 
YouTube



Seth Fulkerson
Guest

Seth Fulkerson is a longtime GameMaker user, and enthusiast of CD-ROM Full Motion Video games. He championed the Zelda CD-i remakes.
External link
The Dopster aka Dopply LinkTree

We’re joined this week by Laura Onderwater, friend of the show! Laura is an experienced concept artist currently working with Greensky Games. In this interview, she shares a bit about her workflow and how she thinks about worldbuilding from an artistic perspective. Plus, your hosts learn when to cry into a pillow, and Stephen repeatedly asks for THE limit.
Greensky Games

SWARM - "The Epic Arcade Shooter Built for VR"
 - 
Greensky Games

Visual Worldbuilding
Art


Meow Wolf - Immersive Experiences


Wrist and forearm stretches for the workplace
 - 
Mayo Clinic


The Art of Psychonauts 2
 - 
Ashley Esqueda
, 
Double Fine Productions



Laura Onderwater
Guest

Laura is a passionate concept artist with years of experience in creating art for games. Laura is always excited to work on new projects, and to bring ideas and worlds to life.
External link
Laura on LinkedIn
Laura on Artstation

Your nice hosts conclude their GDC 2024 coverage with a pair of interviews they conducted at the show. Mark catches a post-show cold, Stephen gets over his, and Ellen thought everything sounded great.
Midwest Games / Carbon Engine

Midwest Games



Midwest Games


Chris Klimecky
 - 
LinkedIn


Midwest Games - Work with us


Carbon Engine



Carbon Engine
 - 
Limited Run


Shantae Advance
 - 
Shantae Wiki


Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore



Alyssa Walles
Guest

Alyssa Walles is Midwest Games' Chief Operating Officer, as well as the Executive Director of the IGDA Foundation.
External link
LinkedIn
Midwest Games Leadership Announcement




Audi Sorlie
Guest

Producer at Limited Run Games and Member of Digital Foundry.
External link
LinkedIn

And now, the conclusion (sorta!), as tour nice hosts recount the back half of the week at this year's GDC. It's a long one, but there's somehow even more on our Patreon.
GDC 2024 Special (Part 2)

ReSpec: Accountability Support



How Nintendo made Super Mario Bros. Wonder so weird
Andrew Webster
The Verge



Jack Foley (sound effects artist)
Wikipedia



The return of 1ReasonToBe and why we still need it
Marie Dealessandri
GamesIndustry.biz



Panic says two pallets of Playdates worth $400,000 have vanished in Vegas
Chris Kerr
Game Developer



A frequently-cited "good first episode" of Nice Games Club is one where we interview August Brown:
Developer/Publisher Relations


We had Monica on the show to help create a Nice Game Jam game in:
Blame the Cat! (with Monica Fan)