Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!

Ellen, Stephen, and Mark
  • 4.7 (41)
  • VIDEO GAMES
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!

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

  1. 2 DAYS AGO

    “That’s way too many pawns.” Communicating Difficulty; Remixed Play Modes [Nice Replay]

    #368 “That’s way too many pawns.” Roundtable 2024.10.11 This week, Ellen kicks things off with a chat about how games tell players, “This might be tough!” and how to make that fun and fair. Stephen and Mark jump in with their takes on what makes difficulty settings shine. Then, Mark thinks about the practice taking familiar game mechanics and twisting them into something fresh. Think pacifist runs or limited equipment modes. Why limit yourself to one way to play when you can remix the whole game? As always, there are some goofs in here, too. Unity 6 Preview is now available  -  Nancy Larue ,  Unity Unity is canceling the Runtime Fee  -  Matt Bromberg ,  Unity Unite Conference  -  Unity Hasbro Game Night (for Switch) We Were Here Series  -  Total Mayhem Games ,  Steam Loopy: a tool for thinking in systems  -  Nicky Case Machinations: Create digital twins for your systems, processes or economies Communicating Difficulty 0:21:44 Ellen Burns-Johnson Game Design Really Bad Chess Puzzmo  -  Orta Therox & Zach Gage Aggro Crab Studio "Why Quitting Is Usually Worth It"  -  David Duchovny & Stephen Dubner ,  Freakonomics Radio Network Remixed Play Modes 0:40:35 Mark LaCroix Game Design Metro Nexus  -  Noble Robot 10 Most Unique Multiplayer Modes In Video Games  -  James Kennedy ,  The Gamer Extra game modes  -  Universal Videogame List PARKS Board Game  -  59 Parks

  2. FEB 13

    Optimization (with Jarryd Huntley) [Nice Replay]

    #366 Optimization Interview 2024.09.26 Entering the clubhouse this week is our the third Owl (employee of Owlchemy Labs) and first Peabody Award winner (as lead developer for We Are OFK), to talk about the "dos," "don'ts," and "good enoughs" of optimization. Cleveland video game designer Jarryd Huntley wins Peabody Award for ‘We Are OFK’  -  Joey Morona ,  cleveland.com We are OFK  -  Peabody Awards Cleveland Game Developers  -  Linktree Optimization Hardware Production Programming Is Using LINQ in C# Bad for Performance?  -  James Vickers ,  The Startup For Vs Foreach In C#  -  Sagar Gavand ,  C# Corner Jarryd Huntley Guest

  3. FEB 6

    Nice Thinking: "Dialogue Through Goals" [Nice Replay]

    #349 Dialogue Through Goals Nice Thinking 2024.05.29 Stephen brings a half-baked thought into the clubhouse for this Nice Thinking episode: how can we improve dialogue systems? He's got some opinions, which Mark and Ellen immediately debunk, but it leads to some engaging conversation. Dialogue Through Goals Stephen McGregor Game Design Narrative

  4. JAN 30

    "The lensing effect of the window." Theming vs. Aesthetics; Parries [Nice Replay]

    #361 "The lensing effect of the window." Roundtable 2024.08.22 It’s hot in the clubhouse and hot in Ellen’s greenhouse this week, so your hosts are eager to crunch through some discussion. Ellen introduces the concept of the MDA framework, and the differences between Theming and Aesthetics, and Stephen comes to a major conclusion about parrying. Theming vs. Aesthetics 0:06:40 Ellen Burns-Johnson Game Design The MDA Framework  -  Wikipedia Ellen promised Dictionary.com definitions, so here you go: Aesthetics  -  Dictionary.com Theme  -  Dictionary.com We talked about theming and aesthetics for a GameJam Game from a previous episode The Bike Boom Alien Isolation Themes explored n : Demystifying the Terror of Alien Isolation  -  Andy Robertson ,  Wired Parries 0:28:56 Stephen McGregor Game Design Stephen's list of why parries are so popular: 1) A way to reward mastery or paying attention 2) Rewards participation 3) An appreciable way to consider mastering the game The different variations of Parrying 1) Just Dodges 2) Traditional Parrying (miss = block) 3) Dynamic Parrying release parrying 4) Alternate button (paper mario parrying) EVO Moment 37  -  Wikipedia

  5. JAN 23

    Tutorialization with Puzzles (with Luke Spierewka) [Nice Replay]

    #371 Tutorialization with Puzzles Interview 2024.11.01 "Tutorials shouldn’t feel like tutorials!" Like most aspects of game design, it's an easy concept to summarize but a difficult one to pull off. Luke Spierewka and the team at Afterburn Games have mastered it, using their charming approach in successful titles like Golf Peaks and Railbound. Come learn the arcane secrets of the puzzle game tutorial! Also featuring some great room sound. Afterburn Games (studio) Tutorialization with Puzzles Game Design On crafting Railbound, a cozy track-bending puzzle game  -  Evgeny Obedkov ,  Game World Observer Dynablaster (game)  -  Wikipedia Luke Spierewka Guest Luke is a game designer, programmer, and jack of all trades. He makes games, organizes events, gives talks (and interviews) and does "lots of other stuff." He's worked on many titles, including Railbound, Golf Peaks, Gwent, and SUPERHOT. Learn more about Luke at http://spierek.net/

  6. JAN 16

    "A slow meat computer" King Making; Thinky Bits (Off-Screen Gameplay) [Nice Replay]

    #347 "A slow meat computer" Roundtable 2024.05.16 In the episode, Mark, Ellen, and Stephen talk local events, including (don’t worry everyone’s fine) a fire in the clubhouse’s building, construction, and the games they are playing, so if you are just here for the topics, go ahead and skip to minute 23. Ellen learns about King Making, Stephen humble brags about being good at Smash Brothers, and Dale plays kingmaker in naming the second topic! News Masu Fire  -  Paul Walsh ,  Star Tribune Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)  -  Jared Brey ,  Governing What We are Playing Dragon's Dogma 2  -  Wikipedia Princess Peach Showtime NPR Review  -  Rakiesha Chase-Jackson ,  NPR King Making 0:23:00 Stephen McGregor Game Design Stephen has been QA testing Harvest Kingdom  -  Ben Hunder ,  Discord The YouTube video that Stephen references  -  Distraction Makers ,  YouTube Kingmaking in Root (Leder Games) video  -  Cole Wehrle ,  GDC Smallworld  -  Board Game Geek Thinky Bits (Off-Screen Gameplay) 0:49:17 Ellen Burns-Johnson Game Design Games discussed Return of the Obra Din Spirit Island  -  Board Game Geek Death Drives a Bus  -  itch.io

  7. JAN 9

    Nice Games Jam: "Eddies" [Nice Replay]

    #338 Eddies Nice Games Jam 2024.03.11 The clubhouse is caffeinated and ready to jam, game jam that is. The clubhouse is giving a prompt where air movement is the main mechanism of action and they create a physical game for a tabletop (in the style of 'Hungry Hungry Hippos'). The notoriously unpredictable 'Eddies' of air movement gives this game it's name. The main challenge for the team - a more sanitary air blower mechanism than drinking straws: a tiny bellows, small whoopie cushions, slide whistles, or party noisemakers? Prompt "Create a game where the main mechanics are fans and or leaf blowers." Game type Tabletop game Player count 2 - 8 Materials Blowing mechanisms - one per player (drinking straw in playtest) A bunch of small peices of junk A container for the small peices of junk Playing feild (box, 8 sided) Rule Card Deck Setup This is a game about some young teenagers who find some leaf blowers in their (octagonal) cul-du-sac and make a game with them. Each player will select a side of the playing field (the box) as their home territory. The goal of the game is to have the least amount of junk (points-wise) fall off of your side of the field. Rule Cards: Separate the Rule cards into the three categories: Puff Variants, Point Variants, and Zone Variants. Shuffle the cards from each category, and pull three of each category to start each of the three rounds.Cards rule examples Puff: Each player has 3 puffs per turnPoint: Each black item is worth +1 point, all other items are worth -1 pointZone: The windy end of your blowing mechanism may not be placed within zones 1+2 of the playing fieldShuffle the remaining rules cards from three categories together.From the combined deck, deal 4 cards to each player.The player may look at their hand of cardsPlace Junk (perform at the start of each round): Gather some junk and place it in a container. Typically dice and pieces from other games will make up the majority of the junk, but this may also be dodads from your junk drawer like golf pencils, nails and screws, magnets etc.At the beginning of each round a different player will grab a handful of junk from the container and place it in the center of the 8-sided playing area.The junk placer may not arrange the junk when placing it down. Any junk that falls off of the playing field will be returned to the container of junk. Rules After the junk is placed the rule for each category is revealed, by flipping over the top rule card from each of the three piles: Puff, Point, and Zone. The displayed rules are now in effect. The player who placed the junk will go first. Each player turn has three phases: 1. The play may put a rule card from their hand into play by stacking it on top of the exsisting rule for the category which it belongs to (puff, point, or zone). That rule is now in effect and the rule that was covered up is no longer in effect. 2. The player uses their "leaf blower" to puff the objects in on the playing field the number of times indicated by the Puff rule. They must follow any Zone rules in effect. 3. The player's turn is scored according to the rule cards in effect. The player draws back up to 4 cards in their hand. The round ends when each player has had 5 turns. New junk is placed in the center of the playing field, new rule cards are revealed and the next round starts. The object of the game is to have the least scoring junk blown off your edge of the playing field. Highest scoring player (usually player closest to 0 wins), as most junk is worth negative points.

  8. JAN 2

    The Intersection of Puzzle and Story (with Ron Gilbert) [Nice Replay]

    #354 The Intersection of Puzzle and Story Interview 2024.07.05 Narrative designer and pal of the program Beth Korth fills in for Ellen as guest host this week and next! Your nice hosts welcome famed designer Ron Gilbert (Monkey Island, Thimbleweed Park) into the clubhouse to discuss the virtues of inexperience, friction for its own sake, how it's all about story, and it's puzzles all the way down. The Intersection of Puzzle and Story Game Design Narrative Production Return to Monkey Island will have a hint system because the internet exists now  -  Joshua Rivera ,  Polygon Verdant Skies  -  Steam Classic Game Postmortem: Maniac Mansion  -  GDC ,  YouTube The phrase "confederacy of dunces" derives from a Jonathan Swift quote. Examples of movies that feature a poorly-received genre twist include Serenity (2019), Remember Me (2010), and Safe Haven (2013). Ron Gilbert Guest Owner of Terrible Toybox, the designer/creator of Monkey Island, The Cave, Pajama Sam and the designer/co-creator of Maniac Mansion, DeathSpank and Thimbleweed Park. Co-designer of Return to Monkey Island. External link Mastodon - @grumpygamer@mastodon.gamedev.place Blog - Grumpy Gamer Studio - Terrible Toybox

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

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