Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!

This week’s episode is another edition of Code Comment, where your nice hosts look at the project, code, assets, and design of an indie game in development to see how it’s made. This week, we look at our first non-Unity project (!!!) as Mark walks us though the ActionScript codebase of Metro Nexus, his in-development homage to the classic(?) arcade-era game City Connection. We also look at the art asset workflow Mark designed for the game. Video

This week, Martha admits to piracy, Stephen tells Nintendo to just stop making GameCube controllers already, and Mark tells his favorite video game story which is about buttons because Mark is boring. Meta You can wishlist Widget Satchel and Claw Breaker on Steam right now! You can also add Widget Satchel and Claw Breaker to your itch.io collection! “Amazing Mario 3 Speedrun Is Full Of Setbacks And Sportsmanship” - Heather Alexandra, Kotaku [0;11;31] Language of Games When snarky players still want to give info against the GM’s wishes, you get this Tweet. “Stop, Drop, and Heal: The history of regenerating health” - Jeff Dunn, GamesRadar An article from the developers of Mirror’s Edge Catalyst on the new Runner’s Vision. “The Sony PlayStation’s buttons get explained by their designer” - John Brownlee, Geek “The Japanese Side of the PlayStation Button Confusion” - Richard Eisenbeis, Kotaku “The passion of the checkpoint: Why gaming's most frustrating failure is so hard to fix” - Ben Kuchera, Polygon We played the convention-defying game OneShot on our very first Nice Plays episode. Rami Ismail documented his mother’s playing through new games on Twitter. [1;07;25] Sequels “The MIT Dropouts Who Created Ms. Pac-Man: A 35th-Anniversary Oral History” - Benj Edwards, Fast Company TV Tropes has a list of spiritual successors in video games.

This week, Martha admits to piracy, Stephen tells Nintendo to just stop making GameCube controllers already, and Mark tells his favorite video game story which is about buttons because Mark is boring. Amazing Mario 3 Speedrun Is Full Of Setbacks And Sportsmanship - Heather Alexandra, Kotaku Language of Games 0:11:31 Martha Megarry Game Design When snarky players still want to give info against the GM’s wishes, you get th… - @SeiWot, Twitter Stop, Drop, and Heal: The history of regenerating health” - Jeff Dunn, GamesRadar An article from the developers of Mirror’s Edge Catalyst on the new Runner’s Vi… - EA The Sony PlayStation’s buttons get explained by their designer  - John Brownlee, Geek.com The Japanese Side of the PlayStation Button Confusion -  Richard Eisenbeis, Kotaku The passion of the checkpoint: Why gaming's most frustrating failure is so hard… - Ben Kuchera, Polygon We played the convention-defying game OneShot on our very first Nice Plays episode. Nice Plays: OneShot (2016) Rami Ismail documented his mother’s playing through new games on Twitter. - @tha_rami, Twitter Sequels 1:07:25 Mark LaCroix Misc. The MIT Dropouts Who Created Ms. Pac-Man: A 35th-Anniversary Oral History - Benj Edwards , Fast Company TV Tropes has a list of spiritual successors in video games. - TV Tropes

The clubhouse welcomes back Lane Davis and new guest Gloria Kim to discuss developing and releasing a visual novel in 2018. We talk through the process of creating their visual novel, Ruler by Default, as well as hear their insights about being successful in the genre. Notes/Links: You can find Ruler by Default on Steam! Also take a look at its funded Kickstarter campaign. Lane and Gloria are part of Pistachi Studios, which is on Facebook and Twitter.

The clubhouse welcomes back Lane Davis and new guest Gloria Kim to discuss developing and releasing a visual novel in 2018. We talk through the process of creating their visual novel, Ruler by Default, as well as hear their insights about being successful in the genre. Visual Novels Game Design Marketing Narrative Take a look at "Ruler by Default'"'s funded Kickstarter campaign. Buy "Ruler by Default" on Steam now - Steam Gloria Kim Guest Project lead, character design. Gloria is currently a student, soon to graduate from the University of Minnesota. From an early age she grew up playing visual novels and life simulators like the one we hope to create. Her past experiences include taking commissions from a local game store, numerous web comic entries, hosting artist booths at multiple anime conventions Gloria Kim is a video game designer, artist and a visual novel enthusiast. She is a web comic writer, a anime artist and her biggest project to date was "Ruler by Default" a sucessfully funded kickstarter campaign from her comapny, Pistachi Studios External link Ruler by Defualt on Steam @studiopistachio on twitter Pistashi Studios on Facebook Lane Davis Guest Lane Davis is Game designer/developer and friend of the show. He develops Fingance with Stephen McGregor and his brother Charles McGregor, and is one of the favorite fans of the club. External link Escape Industreis

This week, your nice hosts cover the topics of Rogue-likes and Crowdfunding while sneaking in a third topic about E3. In this episode, Mark discusses his previous crowdfunding campaigns, Stephen discovers his new love for an old genre and Martha proposes a new E3 uniform rule. [0;00;28] E3 Here’s the official E3 recap website if you missed any news. “The Real Stories Behind E3’s Glossy Game Demos” - Patrick Klepek, Kotaku “HitRecord, Beyond Good & Evil 2 and the #nospec backlash” - Jeff Ramos, Polygon [0;29;45] Rogue-likes An article on the The Berlin Interpretation of Rogue-likes from the International Roguelike Development Conference of 2009. We covered procedural generation in a previous episode: “Mutual butt-kicking.” [0;57;47] Crowdfunding “Star Citizen, I am disappointed” - Robert Purchese, Eurogamer The Double Fine Adventure! documentary series is available on Youtube. Fig is a newer option for game developers to get funding. Mark loved WHAT THE GOLF?, already funded through Fig! Steam Greenlight Korth episode Hatchfund has helped many artists become successfully funded as well.

This week, your nice hosts cover the topics of Rogue-likes and Crowdfunding while sneaking in a third topic about E3. In this episode, Mark discusses his previous crowdfunding campaigns, Stephen discovers his new love for an old genre and Martha proposes a new E3 uniform rule. [0:00:28] E3 Here’s the official E3 recap website if you missed any news. The Real Stories Behind E3’s Glossy Game Demos - Patrick Klepek, Kotaku HitRecord, Beyond Good & Evil 2 and the #nospec backlash - Jeff Ramos, Polygon Roguelikes 0:29:45 Stephen McGregor Game Design Gaming An article on the The Berlin Interpretation of Roguelikes from the Internationa… - Game Set Watch We covered procedural generation in a previous episode: "Mutual butt-kicking." Crowdfunding 0:57:47 Martha Megarry Marketing Production Star Citizen, I am disappointed - Robert Purchese, Eurogamer The Double Fine Adventure! documentary series is available on Youtube. Fig is a newer option for game developers to get funding. Mark loved WHAT THE GOLF?, already funded through Fig! We talked about Steam Greenlight with the Korth family in their interview episode. Steam Greenlight Hatchfund has helped many artists become successfully funded as well.

 Video Link: https://youtu.be/sVFMwvHVV90 This week’s episode is another edition of Code Comment, where your nice hosts look at the project, code, assets, and design of an indie game in development to see how it’s made. This week, we scamper though Widget Satchel, a mascot-based platformer Mark and Stephen are working on. We took a look at the game right in our Ludum Dare Extravaganza Nice Play episode but the team has done so much more work since then! Learn all about the cool tools Mark coded to help Stephen build levels quickly, how mischief physics works, and more! NOTE: For the first few episodes in this new video format, we’ll be looking at games that your nice hosts have a hand in, but we are looking forward to digging into projects from outside the clubhouse, too! Get in touch with us (contact@nicegames.club) if you’d like to come on the show and show us the guts of your game!

This week’s episode is another edition of Code Comment, where your nice hosts look at the project, code, assets, and design of an indie game in development to see how it’s made. This week, we scamper though Widget Satchel, a mascot-based platformer Mark and Stephen are working on. We took a look at the game right in our Ludum Dare Extravaganza Nice Play episode but the team has done so much more work since then! Learn all about the cool tools Mark coded to help Stephen build levels quickly, how mischief physics works, and more! We took a look at the game right in our Ludum Dare Extravaganza Nice Play episode but the team has done so much more work since then! Nice Plays: Ludum Dare 40 games (2017) Video

This week on Nice Games Club your nice hosts discuss Code Libraries, Tutorials and all the juicy pre-E3 news that was available at the time of this recording. Stephen debates the merits of show vs. tell in tutorials, Martha complains about the WordPress theme and plug-in search and Mark doesn't fall for Pokemon propaganda. Picture: a diagram from this Wikipedia article of the iconic World 1-1 from Super Mario Brothers which was a tutorial in disguise! [0:00:00] Meta [0:05:17] Pre-E3 News "How Close is 'Assassin's Creed: Origins' Egypt to the Real Thing?" - Justin Reeve, Waypoint [0:17:29] Code libraries Not Invented here (NIH) philosophy "Unity ratchets up its marketing to game developers - without a GDC booth" - Dean Takahashi, VentureBeat [0:41:51] Tutorials

This week on Nice Games Club your nice hosts discuss Code Libraries, Tutorials and all the juicy pre-E3 news that was available at the time of this recording. Stephen debates the merits of show vs. tell in tutorials, Martha complains about the WordPress theme and plug-in search and Mark doesn't fall for Pokemon propaganda. Picture: a diagram from this Wikipedia article of the iconic World 1-1 from Super Mario Brothers which was a tutorial in disguise! [0:05:17] Pre-E3 News How Close is 'Assassin's Creed: Origins' Egypt to the Real Thing? - Justin Reeve, Waypoint Code Libraries 0:17:29 Mark LaCroix Programming Not Invented here (NIH) philosophy - Techopedia Unity ratchets up its marketing to game developers - without a GDC booth - Dean Takahashi, VentureBeat Tutorials 0:41:51 Stephen McGregor Game Design UI / UX

Stephen is still in missing in Chicagoland, so we once again retained the services of guest co-host Holly Harrison for an episode featuring two topics that could not be more completely unrelated to each other. First, Holly teaches us some media relations skills that gamedevs need to know (even if they don't want to), and then, because Stephen isn't around to stop us, Mark and Martha (but mostly Mark) talk about the history of Star Trek games! [0;01;25] Media Relations Hey you, indiedev, use presskit()! “Write a better press release using the Inverted Pyramid” - Todd Versteeg Holly recommended “trying out” Buzzsumo and Buzzstream. “Artist Statement Guidelines” - Getting Your Sh*t Together Similarweb according to Wikipedia. Ask Holly your PR questions on twitter: @hollharris. [0;31;20] Star Trek games “How a Star Trek card game quietly continues, 10 years after its official end” - Cyrus Farivar, Ars Technica The unreleased sequel to the Star Trek VCR board game was called “Borg Q-Uest.” It may have been cancelled based on the name alone. Here's the "Q the Referee" CCG card that features a still taken from that game's unused footage: The fictional VCR board game from Community we mentioned was called “Pile of Bullets.” Mark talked about the end of the 90s-era Star Trek action figure line. That story is told in a recently released episode of “The Toys That Made Us” on Netflix. “Looking At The Star Trek: TNG Interactive Technical Manual From 1994” - Will Stape, Treknews “The inside story of Apple's forgotten project: Quicktime VR” - Kif Leswing, Business Insider You can actually play “Star Trek: Klingon” on YouTube! “Language App Duolingo Finally Added Klingon” - David Murphy, Lifehacker “The best Star Trek games” - Richard Cobbett, PC Gamer “Jeff Bezos announces Amazon is picking up 'The Expanse'” - Richard Lawler, Engadget “Retrohistories: Secret of Vulcan Fury: Trek's Lost Adventure” - Chris Chapman, YouTube “The Game Archaeologist: Perpetual's Star Trek Online” - Justin Olivetti, Engadget Ubisoft teased on Twitter that DS9’s USS Defiant will appear in Bridge Crew. Mark praised Star Trek: Ascendancy on a previous episode of the program. “Hogwarts Mystery Players Upset With Use of Microtransactions” - Shabana Arif

Stephen is still in missing in Chicagoland, so we once again retained the services of guest co-host Holly Harrison for an episode featuring two topics that could not be more completely unrelated to each other. First, Holly teaches us some media relations skills that gamedevs need to know (even if they don't want to), and then, because Stephen isn't around to stop us, Mark and Martha (but mostly Mark) talk about the history of Star Trek games! Media Relations 0:01:25 Holly Harrison Marketing Production Hey you, indiedev, use presskit()! Write a better press release using the Inverted Pyramid - Todd Versteeg, Signature Style Holly recommended “trying out” Buzzsumo and Buzzstream. Artist Statement Guidelines - Getting Your Sh*t Together Similarweb - Wikipedia Ask Holly your PR questions on twitter: @hollharris. Star Trek Games 0:31:20 Mark LaCroix Gaming “How a Star Trek card game quietly continues, 10 years after its official end” - Cyrus Farivar, Ars Technica The unreleased sequel to the Star Trek VCR board game was called “Borg Q-Uest.”… The "Q the Referee" CCG card that features a still taken from that game's unused footage. The fictional VCR board game from Community we mentioned was called “Pile of Bu… Mark talked about the end of the 90s-era Star Trek action figure line. That sto… “Looking At The Star Trek: TNG Interactive Technical Manual From 1994” - Will Stape, Treknews “The inside story of Apple's forgotten project: Quicktime VR” - Kif Leswing, Business Insider You can actually play “Star Trek: Klingon” on YouTube! “Language App Duolingo Finally Added Klingon” - David Murphy, Lifehacker “The best Star Trek games” - Richard Cobbett, PC Gamer “Jeff Bezos announces Amazon is picking up 'The Expanse'” - Richard Lawler, Engadget “Retrohistories: Secret of Vulcan Fury: Trek's Lost Adventure” - Chris Chapman, YouTube “The Game Archaeologist: Perpetual's Star Trek Online” - Justin Olivetti, Engadget Ubisoft teased on Twitter that DS9’s USS Defiant will appear in Bridge Crew. Mark praised Star Trek: Ascendancy on a previous episode of the program. Nicest of 2016 “Hogwarts Mystery Players Upset With Use of Microtransactions” - Shabana Arif, IGN

For an episode 18 months in the making, Ben Hanson, video producer for Game Informer and host of the excellent gaming podcast The Game Informer Show, finally enters the clubhouse for a wide-ranging discussion about which games and developers get the attention of the gaming press, developing games for modern audiences, and creative leadership in both AAA and indie teams. Stephen is away showing off his games at the Anime Central convention, so we're also joined this week by our new permanent guest host and self-proclaimed "mean old lady," Holly Harrison, who was a guest on a previous episode! Notes/Links: Here is the fabled tweet that started the long road to this episode. Subscribe to The Game Informer Show via RSS (podcast) or on YouTube. Get more of Ben's unimpeachable wisdom on Twitter! "How A Japanese Reality TV Show About Nothing Became A Global Hit" - Mia Nakaji Monnier, BuzzFeed Ben mentioned a clubhouse favorite game by a local developer, Color Jumper (on sale now!). Enjoy Martha's famous crab dance! "Where the Water Tastes Like Wine Postmortem" - Johnnemann Nordhagen Ben mentioned the Easy Allies podcast. "Alan Alda's Experiment: Helping Scientists Learn To Talk To The Rest Of Us" - Lulu Garcia-Navarro, NPR

For an episode 18 months in the making, Ben Hanson, video producer for Game Informer and host of the excellent gaming podcast The Game Informer Show, finally enters the clubhouse for a wide-ranging discussion about which games and developers get the attention of the gaming press, developing games for modern audiences, and creative leadership in both AAA and indie teams. The Gaming Press Gaming IRL Marketing Here is the fabled tweet that started the long road to this episode. Subscribe to The Game Informer Show via RSS (podcast) or on YouTube. Get more of Ben's unimpeachable wisdom on Twitter! How A Japanese Reality TV Show About Nothing Became A Global Hit - Mia Nakaji Monnier, Buzzfeed Ben mentioned a clubhouse favorite game by a local developer, Color Jumper (on … Enjoy Martha's famous crab dance! Where the Water Tastes Like Wine Postmortem - Johnnemann Nordhagen, Medium Ben mentioned the Easy Allies podcast Alan Alda's Experiment: Helping Scientists Learn To Talk To The Rest Of Us - Lulu Garcia-Navarro, NPR Ben Hanson Guest Ben is a founder of MinnMax, former video producer for Game Informer, and overall fun enthusiast. External link Twitter MinnMax