Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!

It's Global Game Jam 2018! In this special jam episode you'll hear field interviews with gamedevs at the Minneapolis Gamecraft site mid-jam as they work on their games. Then your nice hosts talk all about how the weekend went for them and what they each got out of the experience. Martha is a stage manager, Mark can't help but make artistic developer art and Stephen is the GGJ MVP. Stephen’s GGJ game: ”Dicer and Clasp: Dungeon Skedaddle”. - Stephen's GGJ Team, GGJ Mark’s GGJ gam: ”CMYK”. - Mark's GGJ Team, GGJ Marth's GGJ Interviews Adia on Twitter. Adia’s game: “Jank Escape” Ellen on Twitter. Ellen worked with Stephen on “Dicer and Clasp.” “Intergalactic Transmissing” “Radwave” “Social Anxiety Simulator” “Space Pirate Radio” Charles’ wry tweet about the GGJ theme. Global Game Jam 2018 Events Intergalactic Transmissing found the community at nesdev.com a great resource f… Mark used a very helpful open-source library called VRTK for his GGJ game. Mark used AssetForge to create 3D assets for his GGJ game. Rachel Peterson was a guest on a previous episode. Games Education

"Nice Plays" are video episodes where your nice hosts play and talk about a game for 17 minutes, and then an egg timer goes off! (Watch this and other Nice Plays on YouTube in HD-quality.) In this episode, Mark dies a lot in Nioh, but his complaining has nothing to do with that. We're trying something new with Nice Plays, where we pick up our episode a little ways into a game rather that starting from the beginning. We'll also be talking about a particular mechanic or feature in the game which relates to a topic we had discussed in detail on a previous episode of the podcast. We're taking baby steps in this direction with this episode, where we pick up about an hour into the game, and focus a bit on the loot system. Your nice hosts discussed loot systems (and loot boxes) a few weeks ago in the episode "I have so much feelings." (http://nicegames.club/2018/01/i-have-so-much-feelings-loot-systems-loot-boxes/)

"Nice Plays" are video episodes where your nice hosts play and talk about a game for 17 minutes, and then an egg timer goes off! (Watch this and other Nice Plays on YouTube in HD-quality.) All three of your nice hosts play ball in this episode, taking each other to task in the super-playful party fighter Lethal League. Martha almost beats Stephen, Stephen patiently tries to explain it to Mark, and Mark doesn't understand what's happening even when he's winning.

(Watch this and other Nice Plays on YouTube in HD-quality.) In this episode, Mark dies a lot in Nioh, but his complaining has nothing to do with that. We're trying something new with Nice Plays, where we pick up our episode a little ways into a game rather that starting from the beginning. We'll also be talking about a particular mechanic or feature in the game which relates to a topic we had discussed in detail on a previous episode of the podcast. We're taking baby steps in this direction with this episode, where we pick up about an hour into the game, and focus a bit on the loot system. Your nice hosts discussed loot systems (and loot boxes) a few weeks ago in the episode "I have so much feelings." (https://nicegames.club/2018/01/i-have-so-much-feelings-loot-systems-loot-boxes/) Video

(Watch this and other Nice Plays on YouTube in HD-quality.) All three of your nice hosts play ball in this episode, taking each other to task in the super-playful party fighter Lethal League. Martha almost beats Stephen, Stephen patiently tries to explain it to Mark, and Mark doesn't understand what's happening even when he's winning. Video

(Watch this and other Nice Plays on YouTube in HD-quality.) All three of your nice hosts play ball in this episode, taking each other to task in the super-playful party fighter Lethal League. Martha almost beats Stephen, Stephen patiently tries to explain it to Mark, and Mark doesn't understand what's happening even when he's winning. Video

It's been awhile since your nice hosts recorded in the clubhouse, and they have a lot to talk about, including news about Martha's now-in-development point-and-click game! This, plus the return of Mortho, an uncritical endorsement of capitalism, and Stephen admitting that Uncharted 4 maybe had some good things about it. Links “That Nintendo Labo Robot Game Looks Awfully Familiar” - Chris Kohler, Kotaku The Global Game Jam is this weekend! It’s not too late to sign up! "An Overwatch Women's League isn't the answer" - Ashley Oh, Polygon [0:10:06] Steam “The biggest issues with Steam in 2017, according to 230 developers” - Lars Doucet, PC Gamer Verdant Skies will be out on Steam real soon! We previously talked about Steam Direct in the clubhouse, and had Andy, Beth and Gabe Korth in to discuss Steam Greenlight. A few alternatives to Steam: Itch.io, Good Old Games, Humble Bundle, Robot Cache. “So You Want To Compete With Steam” - Lars Doucet, Gamasutra [0:43:35] Games in Games TV Tropes has a great list of games within games. “The secret world of hidden games” - K. Thor Jensen, Geek Microsoft Excel ‘95 contained Hall of Tortured Souls and Excel ‘97 had a space simulator! “Long Lost Emulation Easter Egg Discovered in GoldenEye” - Kate Cox, Kotaku "Inside the Development of Gaming's Biggest Mystery, 'Frog Fractions 2' " - Patrick Klepek, Waypoint “Uncharted 4 Has The Perfect Video Game Ending” - Luke Plunkett, Kotaku “Wolfenstein 3D returns with a twist in Wolfenstein 2” - Patrick Gill, Polygon One of Martha’s favorite games, Spy Fox in Dry Cereal, contains a small game called Happy Fun Sub.

It's been awhile since your nice hosts recorded in the clubhouse, and they have a lot to talk about, including news about Martha's now-in-development point-and-click game! This, plus the return of Mortho, an uncritical endorsement of capitalism, and Stephen admitting that Uncharted 4 maybe had some good things about it. That Nintendo Labo Robot Game Looks Awfully Familiar - Chris Kohler, Kotaku The Global Game Jam is this weekend! It’s not too late to sign up! An Overwatch Women's League isn't the answer - Ashley Oh, Polygon Steam 0:10:06 Stephen McGregor Hardware Marketing The biggest issues with Steam in 2017, according to 230 developers - Lars Doucet, PC Gamer Verdant Skies will be out on Steam real soon! We previously talked about Steam Direct in the clubhouse... "We joke here." ...and had Andy, Beth and Gabe Korth in to discuss Steam Greenlight. Steam Greenlight A few alternatives to Steam: Itch.io, Good Old Games, Humble Bundle, Robot Cache. So You Want To Compete With Steam - Lars Doucet, Gamasutra Publication Games in Games 0:43:35 Mark LaCroix Game Design Gaming TV Tropes has a great list of games within games. The secret world of hidden games - K. Thor Jensen, Geek Microsoft Excel ‘95 contained Hall of Tortured Souls and Excel ‘97 had a space simulator! Long Lost Emulation Easter Egg Discovered in GoldenEye - Kate Cox, Kotaku Inside the Development of Gaming's Biggest Mystery, 'Frog Fractions 2' - Patrick Klepek, Waypoint Uncharted 4 Has The Perfect Video Game Ending - Luke Plunkett, Kotaku Wolfenstein 3D returns with a twist in Wolfenstein 2 - Patrick Gill, Polygon One of Martha’s favorite games, Spy Fox in Dry Cereal, contains a small game ca…

This week, your nice hosts are introduced by Felix Foster, writer and narrative designer, to talk about character dialogue (or dialog, as was deemed also appropriate during the show). Links Felix Foster on Twitter and Instagram. We’ve also had Felix on in a past episode. Felix mentions The Prophet from The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, who is looking for a hero to complete his quest. Here’s examples of audio logs from Bioshock Infinite. “Fallout 4’s 'Full Dialogue' Mod Makes The Game Way Better” - Kirk Hamilton, Kotaku “Branching Conversation Systems and the Working Writer, Part 1: Introduction” - Alexander Freed, Gamasutra “Clementine Won't Remember That: The False Promises of Telltale's The Walking Dead” - Matthew Byrd, Den of Geek! We talked about character creation and motivations in a previous episode.

This week, your nice hosts are introduced by Felix Foster, writer and narrative designer, to talk about character dialogue (or dialog, as was deemed also appropriate during the show). Character Dialogue Game Design Production Felix mentions The Prophet from The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, who is looking for… - xenmordoc, YouTube Here’s examples of audio logs from Bioshock Infinite. - YouTube Fallout 4’s 'Full Dialogue' Mod Makes The Game Way Better  - Kirk Hamilton, Kotaku Branching Conversation Systems and the Working Writer, Part 1: Introduction - Alexander Freed, Gamasutra 2 Clementine Won't Remember That: The False Promises of Telltale's The Walking De… - Matthew Byrd, , Den of Geek! We talked about character creation and motivations in a previous episode, "Shaniqua Shepard sounds cool." Felix Foster Guest Felix Foster is a writer and narrative designer. He is on the board of Twin Cities Pride. External link @felixxx244 Felix is on Instagram @felixxx244

Another year of great games! All "four" of your hosts gather in the freezing clubhouse to talk about some of the nicest games of 2017. They decided that they couldn't ALL talk about Zelda and Mario for the whole episode so each of them picked exactly two games to highlight. Mark is on brand, Stephen makes some ambitious resolutions and Martha totally didn't cheat the system. Meta: Listen to Sara’s Widget Satchel Soundtrack here! Play the jam version of Widget Satchel [0:08:19]Martha’s/Mortho’s Nicest: Thimbleweed Park by Terrible Toybox, Inc Slime Rancher by Monomi Park Destiny 2 by Bungie Blocks by Google Check out #madewithblocks on Twitter to see/share amazing things made with Blocks! We talk a lot about Destiny 2 in our Repetition episode [0:22:09]Mark’s Nicest: Star Trek: Bridge Crew by Ubisoft Gorogoa by Buried Signal & Annapurna Interactive The old school Star Trek game we reminisced about is probably Star Trek: The Next Generation – A Final Unity by Spectrum Holobyte We talked about VR immersion in a past episode If you are local stop by Glitch’s VR Night run by Mark! The Puzzle Of A Lifetime by Chris Kohler on Kotaku [0:32:33]Stephen’s Nicest: Arms by Nintendo Neurovoider by Flying Oak Games Hear more about Stephen’s love for fighting games on our Fighting game episode [0:38:35]Most Anticipated 2018 Stephen’s: Soul Calibur 6 Kirby 2018 Super Smash on the Switch (NINTENDO PLEASE) Martha’s/Mortho’s: Mineko’s Night Market by Meowza Games Ooblets by Glumberland [0:43:00]Game Dev Resolutions

Another year of great games! All "four" of your hosts gather in the freezing clubhouse to talk about some of the nicest games of 2017. They decided that they couldn't ALL talk about Zelda and Mario for the whole episode so each of them picked exactly two games to highlight. Mark is on brand, Stephen makes some ambitious resolutions and Martha totally didn't cheat the system. Listen to Sara’s Widget Satchel Soundtrack here! - Sara Ferrart Play the jam version of Widget Satchel - Ludem Dare Game Jam Martha’s/Mortho’s Nicest (2017) 0:08:19 Martha Megarry Nicest Thimbleweed Park - Terrible Toybox, Inc Slime Rancher - Monomi Park Destiny 2 - Bungie Check out #madewithblocks on Twitter to see/share amazing things made with Bloc… We talk a lot about Destiny 2 in our topic, Repetition, in our episode "Schrödinger’s Animal Crossing." Mark’s Nicest (2017) 0:22:09 Mark LaCroix Nicest Star Trek: Bridge Crew - Ubisoft Gorogoa - Buried Signal & Annapurna Interactive The old school Star Trek game we reminisced about is probably Star Trek: The Ne… - Spectrum Holobyte We talked about VR immersion in a past episode "You can see the cabbage in it." If you are local stop by Glitch’s VR Night run by Mark! The Puzzle Of A Lifetime  - Chris Kohler , Kotaku Stephen’s Nicest (2017) 0:32:33 Stephen McGregor Nicest Arms - Nintendo Neurovoider - Flying Oak Games Hear more about Stephen’s love for fighting games on our Fighting game topci in episode, "Shaniqua Shepard sounds cool." Stephen's Most Anticipated (for 2018) 0:38:35 Stephen McGregor Nicest Soul Calibur 6 - Michael McWhertor, Polygon Kirby 2018 - Nintendo, YouTube Smash on the Switch (NINTENDO PLEASE) Martha's/Mortho's Most Anticipated (for 2018) Martha Megarry Nicest Mineko’s Night Market - Meowza Games Ooblets - Glumberland

This week, your nice hosts get into it. Stephen is split on everything, Mark is the bad guy, and it's all Martha's fault. Stephen and Mark talked about their Ludum Dare 40 game, Widget Satchel, which Martha played on last week’s Nice Plays episode! [0:03:58] Loot Systems “Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Players Are Tricking Amiibos To Grind For Rare Loot” - Ethan Gach, Kotaku “Nioh's latest patch fixes its most annoying flaw” - Jeffrey Matulef, Eurogamer Stephen brought up our recent episode on repetition in games. “NeuroVoider Chock-Full of Rogue-Like KillBot Twin-Stick Shooting” -  James Cunningham, Hardcore Gamer Mark alluded to a few of Bungie’s recent public apologies. [0:29:30] Loot Boxes “Loot boxes in video games will soon get a review flag from OpenCritic” - Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica ”What You Need To Know About Shadow of War's Controversial Loot Boxes” - Patricia Hernandez, Kotaku “A Guide To The Endless, Confusing Star Wars Battlefront II Controversy” - Gita Jackson, Kotaku “Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford is ‘very much against predatory monetization schemes’” - Dustin Bailey, PCGamesN “An inconvenient truth: game prices have come down with time” - Ben Kuchera, Ars Technica “I Just Got A Bunch Of Overwatch Gift Cards, And I'm Terrified To Use Them” - Nathan Grayson, Kotaku “How Luis Von Ahn Turned Countless Hours Of Mindless Activity Into Something Valuable” - Alison Griswold, Business Insider Game Designer Damion Schubert posted a thread on Twitter about how to do loot boxes ethically. Mark was not convinced.

This week, your nice hosts get into it. Stephen is split on everything, Mark is the bad guy, and it's all Martha's fault. Stephen and Mark talked about their Ludum Dare 40 game, Widget Satchel, which Martha played on last week’s Nice Plays episode! Loot Systems 0:03:58 Stephen McGregor Game Design Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Players Are Tricking Amiibos To Grind For Rare Loot - Ethan Gach , Kotaku Nioh's latest patch fixes its most annoying flaw -  Jeffrey Matulef, Eurogamer Stephen brought up our recent episode on repetition in games, "Schrödinger’s Animal Crossing." NeuroVoider Chock-Full of Rogue-Like KillBot Twin-Stick Shooting - James Cunningham, Hardcore Gamer Bungie says it " betrayed" Destiny 2 fans over transparency - YouTube Loot Boxes 0:29:30 Martha Megarry Gaming Marketing Loot boxes in video games will soon get a review flag from OpenCritic - Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica What You Need To Know About Shadow of War's Controversial Loot Boxes - Patricia Hernandez, Kotaku A Guide To The Endless, Confusing Star Wars Battlefront II Controversy - Gita Jackson, Kotaku Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford is ‘very much against predatory monetization schem… -  Dustin Bailey, PCGamesN An inconvenient truth: game prices have come down with time - Ben Kuchera, Ars Technica I Just Got A Bunch Of Overwatch Gift Cards, And I'm Terrified To Use Them - Nathan Grayson, Kotaku How Luis Von Ahn Turned Countless Hours Of Mindless Activity Into Something Val… - Alison Griswold, Business Insider Game Designer Damion Schubert posted a thread on Twitter about how to do loot boxes ethically. Mark was not convinced.

"Nice Plays" are video episodes where your nice hosts play and talk about a game for a limited time before an egg timer goes off! (Watch this and other Nice Plays on YouTube for HD-quality.) It's an Xmas miracle! In this jumbo-sized edition, your nice hosts play 36 (!!!) games in less than 50 minutes! Each of these games were created during the 40th Ludum Dare online game jam, which took place December 1st - 4th, 2017. Stephen and Mark participated in this jam with friends of the show Sara Ferret and Lane Davis, and to cap off this episode, Martha plays their game, Widget Satchel. Games * AntiBucket * Avoidance * Babies with Guns * Between Stations * Brick Racer * Claustrophobia * Coinminator 2000 * Critters Inc. * Crosstalk * Dangle Copter * Apparently I'm a Detective * The Fabulous Orchestra of Mister Vincent * Games Games Games * Green Chefs and Pancakes * Heartless Jump * Heavy Hearts * HUDdled * I'm Not Here * Just Another Day * Ketchup Quest * Kiwi is the Key * Too Many Rules * Fit In * Mini Mystery * Moths * No Coins Allowed * NoteBoy * Office Escape * Synapse * Tail * The Adequate Shepard * The Gravedigger *