Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!

Lydia, Stephen, and Mark
  • 4.7 (41)
  • Video Games
  • Updated Weekly

The podcast where nice gamedevs talk gaming and game development. Nice!

  1. 3d ago

    "I need less squidgy." Part-time Work; Hint

    After the supersized meta of this episode, your nice hosts discover (or rediscover in some cases) the joy of part-time work, and contemplate the intricacies of hints for games. Lydia gave this card to Stephen for his graduation party! Gabe Korth was mentioned during the meta, recently found in this Nice Games Jam episode! Repair-ent 0:22:45 Part-time Work Speculative work Wikipedia Hint Chicory: A Colorful Tale Wishes Unlimited Games

  2. May 28

    Dark Patterns (with Sam Liberty)

    Your nice hosts have talked a lot over the years about exploitative game design, and this week we brought in an expert on gamification to lay out some of the dark patterns in games that take players' money and time via deceptive framing and UX. https://samliberty.com Sam Liberty  -  Medium Sam Liberty  -  LinkedIn Dark Patterns Game Design Why “Addictive” Gameplay Should Never Be The Goal  -  Lydia Symchych ,  ELB Learning HEXAD Framework Addiction by Design  -  Natasha Dow Schüll Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything  -  BJ Fogg How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be  -  Katy Milkman How dating apps weaponized loneliness against their users  -  Sam Liberty

  3. May 21

    Working with Voice Actors (with Yuri Lowenthal)

    In this episode, Yuri Lowenthal, prolific actor and Insomniac's Spider-Man, web-crawls into the clubhouse and does whatever a spider can, assuming a spider can talk into a microphone about the art of acting in video games. Mark explores the difference between screen acting and voice acting, Lydia takes comfort in the fact that when you have a team supporting you, you’re not going to mess it up on your own, and Stephen learns that snipping an Achilles tendon is a finishing move. Working with Voice Actors Audio Yuri Lowenthal on Bluesky Yuri Lowenthal on Instagram  -  Instagram

  4. May 14

    Interactive Fiction Communities (with Andrew Plotkin)

    Warm weather is on the way and you need to stay hydrated. As a start, take a sip of water every time you hear the phrase "in the 90's." This week we're learning about Interactive Fiction - its history, communities, and transformations over the years - from living archive of the medium, Andrew Plotkin. As a bonus, Stephen discovers that he isn't the only one who is wrong about things!  Credit for this episode's extra-thorough show notes goes to Andrew. Thanks, Andrew! Interactive Fiction Communities Events IRL Narrative Colossal Cave Adventure  -  William Crowther and Donald Woods ,  The Interactive Fiction Database The Visible Zorker: Zork 1 Interactive Fiction Competition (ongoing since 1995!)  -  Interactive Fiction Competition Inform IF language launched around 1993 (https://www.inform-fiction.org/). You can find the modern version at https://inform7.com/ This allowed people to create games for Infocom’s original Z-machine, which was invented as a proprietary system in 1979 but is now open-source. The modern version of the IF community's FTP site  -  Interactive Fiction Archive Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation Narrascope Conference Twine  -  Chris Klimas ,  Twinery Rise of the Video Game Zinesters  -  Anna Anthropy ,  Amazon The Cuddled Little Vice (Sandman)  -  Elizabeth Sandifer ,  Eruditorum Press Andrew's Interactive Fiction and Game recommendations - IFcomp 2025 winners - Type Help - Roottrees are dead - Return of the Obra Dinn - Murder at the Birch Tree Theater

  5. May 7

    "Look who's old now!" Exhibiting Your Game; Design Investigations

    We talk of the old and the new in this episode, where we sort of revisit a long ago discussed topic and bring in a new topic for our (and your) perusal. Lydia, Mark and Dale (not Stephen) finishing Video Game Mayhem... ... and Wizard's Tower in record time! Trapped Puzzle Rooms MPS Community Education Lydia's family sewing machine! 0:09:39 Exhibiting Your Game 0:39:39 Design Investigations Reading backwards: Reading against the grain Katherine Firth Research Degree Insiders

  6. Apr 30

    Healthy Criticism (with August Brown)

    We welcome August Brown back into the clubhouse once more to discuss healthy criticism in the workplace, and how to foster that environment in your spaces. Healthy Criticism Production Hotel Infinity  -  Studio Chyr No Hard Feelings  -  Liz Fosslien & Mollie West Duffy ,  Portfolio

  7. Apr 23

    "He's scientific methoding you." Characterization Through Mechanics; Tutorials vs. Instructions

    How is it April? The episodes have been so long lately it feels like it should be more than two months since the hiatus ended. As a countermeasure, the Nice Hosts have another set of roundtable topics to break up your week and retune the time dilation. Stephen tries hard not to talk about fighting games, Lydia ponders the nature of instructions, and everyone talks a lot more about Mario than they thought they would.  0:01:41 Characterization Through Mechanics We talked about characterization in Smash on a previous episode. "I’m intrigued by big door." Lewis Chessmen Wikipedia 0:29:24 Tutorials vs. Instructions The "tutorial" Lydia encountered at work that inspired this topic.

  8. Apr 16

    "That's fixin’ to get ready." 3D Lighting; Menus vs Parkour

    All of your regular hosts finally make it into the clubhouse again to present to you a roundtable! After a fairly lengthy meta (it's been a long time y'all, but all interesting stuff!), we expose elements of 3D lighting and discuss an internet meme that's maybe relevant for game development. No Kings Protests Erin Macdonald YouTube Channel  -  Erin Macdonald ,  YouTube GURPS Prime Directive Core Rulebook  -  Steve Jackson Games 0:26.12 3D Lighting We previously had Mark's friend and colleague Mike on to workshop Ladder Game. Ladder Game Universal Render Pipeline documentation Unity SG Series Part 1: A Brief (and Incomplete) History of Baked Lighting Representa… MJP The Danger Zone Reflectors: Your Secret Weapon for Amazing Portrait Photography Oded Wagenstein Digital Photography School 0:58.43 Menus vs Parkour menus and parkour imGhostKitty Reddit Save Room - Organization Puzzle Fractal Projects Steam

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4.7
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The podcast where nice gamedevs talk gaming and game development. Nice!

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