Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!

Lydia, Stephen, and Mark
  • 4.7 (42)
  • Video Games
  • Updated Weekly

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

  1. 6d ago

    Nice Games Jam: "Triage Simulator"

    This week, Ian emerges from the clubhouse vents to fill-in for Stephen as Dale gives us a bare minimum prompt with maximum implications. Prompt "Make a game called 'Triage Simulator'" Game type Design document Player count 1 Rules Triage - the verb Learn about the consequences of your actions later Papers Please-like interface   Situation/Scenario Buckets to sort in - limited space within the bucket Every level is a different situation  Level 1 - Hospital Level 2 - Pizza Day at the Elementary School Level 3 - Water Station at a Marathon Level 4 - Planning a Foot Route as a Courier Level 5 - Anubis is back from vacation and he’s backlogged ???Level 7 - In the pizza store making the pizza for the elementary school A system-based puzzle - Scheduling and ordering  Information you don’t have   How many more of each type are coming in? Information that lets you anticipate incoming situations  Events happening in the background that mean something going to come in at some point You get the case  Outside context as a bulletin on the side that is in natural language and would have some influence on the level that the player doesn’t know yet Time constraint known (5min, 90s) The Puzzle  Sorting - the simplest system possible of how much resources go where   Highest PriorityPretty ImportantMid-tierLow PriorityMehCannot rank within the bucket (eg. cannot say there is a highest priority of highest priority items) Put in buckets or stamp it with a stamp Each item gets ranked on certain variables which then designate which tier it should be assigned  No right answer - aiming for highest efficiency Walkthrough a level - Sandwich lunch orders   BIG TRIAGE MACHINE that gets plonked onto a desk  Area of the broader context of what’s happening (updated throughout the shift time) Deck of cards with variables for that level (eg. Order for 3, the order, how much it cost, extra paid to rush, for or to go) Timing element - different form per level  Punches into the card to annotate the cards (with unique shaped punches UrgencyImpactSeverityScaleConsequenceExceptional (YES/NO)Feed the punch card into a different part of the machine which crunches the punch numbers and gives a recommendation that the player can then either follow or ignore Want to be able to punch as much as you want into one card If punch 2, will average the numbers out  Or always read the lowest number? What if more than 2 punches? The machine is snarky at you? Put the card into 1-5 slots in the contraption that then stamps the thing and keeps it in its own mail slot as the final verdict (can’t get it back) with counters of how many went through each slot.   Someone picks up the tickets periodically and gives vague body language feedback on the ticket Accessibility features: Pause while reading Time scale adjustments 0.75x, 0.5x, 0.25x

  2. Jul 16

    "Level designing your own home." Story Players Won't See; Polish Priorities

    In this episode Mark talks about an awesome Game Jam he is planning in association with Global Game Jam - Listeners in the Midwest or the UK (or have the ability to get there) can make a game on a train in Junction Jam. Mark rants about his new apartment, Stephen realizes that the purpose of this podcast is to rant and Lydia imagines what it would be like to have a following on YouTube, then waffles on sharing her social media TTRP in these show notes (let her know i the discord or feedback form if you want this) Mark philosophizes  about the artist's intent vs the receiver's experience. Lydia compares Slay the Spire to Slay the Spire 2. Junction Jam Junction Jam The clubhouse discussed Junction Jam in "We need more train service in this country." What We Did On Our Winter Break (2025-26) Mark's apartment Lydia rediscovers a game she made, and then she waffles on sharing it with everyone. If you want to see her materials, you can ask on the discord or the feedback form. Story Players Won't See He Won't Stop Making a Map to an Imaginary Place People Make Games YouTube Jerry's Map Polish Priorities

  3. Jul 9

    Nice Thinking: "Who That Pocket Monster?"

    In this week's episode, the Nice Hosts want to make this year's IDGATC summer picnic the very best, like no picnic ever was. Lydia brings to the table a game that relies on knowing nothing about Pokémon, Mark accuses her of knowing too much about Pokémon, and Stephen does his best as their acting Person-Who-Knows-Pokémon (nicegames.club/feedback). Will they make a game in time to play that weekend? Stay tuned as the journey continues. Strange Finds (demo)  -  Steam Pinfinity Not-Game-of-Thrones Puzzle Room  -  Trapped Puzzle Rooms Puzzle Works Escape Co. Prompt Turn the Pokemon guessing game Lydia plays with her husband into a party game in time for the IDGATC summer picnic. Game type Tabletop game Player count 6+ Materials Electronic device (laptop or phone) Random Pokémon Generator (we use randompokemonpicker.com) Grid of possible Pokémon pictures and names Setup Divide into two teams of at least 3 people. The two Team Captains stand in front facing both teams. Distribute the list of the possible Pokémon to the players, either physically or digitally. Team Captains pull up the random generator on their device.  If you'd like to play at home, here is the graphic Lydia made for the IDGATC picnic, complete with rules and round order: Rules Gen 1, Kanto region, Unevolved, Default version Pokémon onlyTwo teams, 3+ people each, not including Team CaptainsBoth team are trying to guess the same, randomly selected PokémonOnly Team Captains can see the selected PokémonTeam Captains must know as little about Pokémon as possibleTeam Captains may not reveal obvious physical characteristics in their initial description1 correctly guessed Pokémon = 1 pointFirst team to 2 points wins!Round Order: Team A asks their Captain "Who that Pocket Monster?"Team A's Captain describes the Pokémon in a humerous, vibes-based wayTeam A may ask 1 obvious yes/no question about the Pokémon and it's appearance. If the Captain can't answer the question, they will say so and the team may ask a different one.Team A guesses which Pokémon their Captain is describingIf correct, Team A gets a point and a new Pokémon is chose. If incorrect, the process repeats for Team BRepeat steps 1-4 until a Team guesses the Pokémon correctly. If the rounds are dragging on, the Team Captains may reveal the Pokémon and take a point (bragging rights) for themselves

  4. Jul 2

    "That’s basically numbers." Discussing Scope; Inspiration Though Research

    In addition to the topics of this episode, we also revisit Lydia's bachelorette party game made in a previous episode! Listen to find out how it went, as well as the fascinating conversations your hosts talk through. We talked through Lydia's bachelorette party game in this Nice Thinking episode. Bachelorette Weekend Dinner Quest 0:12:23 Discussing Scope 0:32:06 Inspiration Though Research Valet Wikipedia The examples Lydia brings up in the show. More examples in the link below! 1980-1989 Karina Reddy Fashion History Timeline

  5. Jun 25

    The Job Market (with Amir Satvat)

    This week's guest has good advice, harsh truths, hard numbers, and a big smile. Amir Satvat, tireless advocate and resource-provider for game developers looking for work via his organization ASGC (Always Supporting the Games Community), enters the clubhouse to help your nice hosts wrap their minds around a difficult job market. The Job Market IRL Always Supporting the Games Community homepage ASGC Discord server Amir Satvat  -  LinkedIn Game Industry Coffee Chat Discord server

  6. Jun 18

    Nice Thinking: "Bachelorette Weekend Dinner Quest"

    In this episode Lydia discusses how best to make all her friends hangry by making them do puzzles before releasing food. By which I mean, she got Stephen and Mark to do her work for her. So, if you were part of the weekend of puzzles and quests that Lydia was preparing for, please tell us how Stephen and Mark did, at nicegames.club/feedback. Lydia got Mark a present, which the clubhouse audibly reacts to, but never describes. This is it: Puzzeling the Bachelorettes Rebus Rebus generator festisite Rebus generator EduPics Puzzle completion

  7. Jun 11

    Vehicle Design (with Kris Roberts)

    Seatbelts, everyone! This week the Nice Hosts talk vehicles, which apparently means more than just cars. That's good news because none of them know much about cars (hopefully Nice Guest and vehicle specialist, Kris Roberts doesn't notice). So pile on in and buckle up: we're going to talk about the challenges of capturing the feel of a vehicle with video game inputs, what a solid vehicle system needs at a minimum, and the hobbyist racing scene. Vehicle Design Game Design Production Programming Kris shared a couple photos of his sports car with us. His car, at another angle. Kris Roberts's Website  -  Kris Roberts Sim Racing Streamers

  8. Jun 4

    "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

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

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