Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!

We have some familiar guests this week! The Korth family (Andy, Beth, and Gabe) join us in the clubhouse to talk about the ways they play games together. Are there games that adults and four-year-olds alike can play together and enjoy? Sure! We talk about flexibility, rules, consent, "PBP," and what gamedevs should think about if they want to "toot around in the kid zone." Also, have you heard of a game called Minecraft?  Families in Games Gaming The first time the Korths were on the show was Episode #2! Steam Greenlight The second time the Korths were on the show was about a hundred episodes ago. Code Comment: "Verdant Skies" And the most recent appearance from the Korths was Episode #132. Narrative Design HermitCraft (Minecraft streamer) Roblox Spelunx Into the Breach Robotron Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) for Minnesota Beth Korth Guest Beth Korth is a narrative designer, and the Vice Chair at the Independent Game Developer Association, Twin Cities. External link @BethKorth Verdant Skies Andy Korth Guest Founder and developer for Howling Moon Software. External link Howling Moon Software Verdant Skies

Ellen recently gave an engaging and informative presentation at igdatc's monthly Gamedev Meeting! Plus: audience participation, bad passwords, and (if you stick around) a second dog! Also, please enjoy Mark transposing the letters "G" and "D" in "IGDA" each time he says it. He will never learn. International Game Developers Association, Twin Cities Watch other past igdatc meetings on YouTube Tips for Designing Games for Learning Ellen Burns-Johnson Events Game Design UI / UX igdatc's Gamedev Meeting for November 2020, cued up to the start of Ellen's presentation.

Holly extends her stay for another week to help your nice hosts interview Tiffany Otto, freshly sprung from government-mandated quarantine to bring her "slimy" wisdom and experience into the clubhouse. Tiffany, the Director of Partnerships for IndieCade, is over-indexed in business, but she wants to raise the index for everyone. If preparing pitch decks, scheduling business meetings, and networking with your peers seems daunting, you won't want to miss this one. Just be sure to stick around for Ellen to swoop in at the end to button it all up. Business Speak Events IRL Marketing What It’s Like to Be Quarantined on an Island Over Coronavirus Fears - Isabella Kwai, The New York Times IndieCade's "Playing TogethAR Showcase" Mark talked about his expereince going to IndieCade in the very first episode of the show: "We in this." Seven Touches – A Basic Marketing Principle in Action - LisaMarie Dias, CompuKol Here's how to reduce friction in sales - George Brontén, Membrain Understanding Indie Publishers - Callum Underwood, YouTube How to Pitch to Raw Fury Chunking (psychology) - Wikipedia HomeTeam GameDev From Sage on the Stage to Guide on the Side - Alison King, College Teaching Tiffany Otto Guest IndieCade Director of Partnership. Coffee Addict. Video Game Specialist. Formerly AAA. External link Twitter LinkedIn IndieCade

Holly Harrison is back in the clubhouse as Guest Host for a wide-ranging discussion on new consoles, fail states, and worldbuilding. Stephen gives a weird example, Mark makes a funny noise, and Holly invites us to Join Lobby. Plus, we only mention Star Trek once! Join Lobby - Video Game Culture Feed - Holly Harrison, Twitter Bugsnax is Dale's current game of choice Ubisoft’s toxic culture problems allegedly span more than a decade of abuse - Megan Farokhmanesh, The Verge "My dad gives his initial impressions on the PlayStation 5" - Josh Du, Twitter Why Cheaper Next-Gen Gaming is Key to Growing the Games Industry - Alysia Judge, IGN Mark found a way to hide his PS5 on a bookshelf. Stephen and Charles mentioned they have a "secret Target" for console releases GDC 2017 Special (Part 2) Target reopens E. Lake Street store heavily damaged in riots - Dee DePass, Star Tribune Fail States 32:28 Stephen McGregor Game Design Shadow Complex (2009) - Wikipedia Worldbuilding 57:08 Mark LaCroix Game Design Narrative "Queer identity in Watch Dogs: Legion should be more than flavor text" - Carolyn Petit, Polygon

Your nice host emeritus Martha Megarry returns to the (virtual) clubhouse, along with Dale LaCroix (of Evil Games Club) to celebrate 200 episodes! Each of your nice hosts have picked an episode from the past 4 years and pulled clips to listen to and discuss, expanding on the original topics. We also talk about the past, present, and future of the show, and and and... well, it's a double-length episode, so listen and find out! Did we mention we now have a Patreon? 100th Episode Special (revisit) 0:11:42 Mark LaCroix IRL Meta You heard right, we've got merch! Get your Nice Games Club t-shirt today! Favicon (pronounciation) - Wiktionary Learning Through Games (revisit) 0:52:05 Ellen Burns-Johnson Game Design Meta UI / UX Pointer (computer programming) - Wikipedia Adventures With Anxiety! - Nicky Case Messages and Meanings (revisit) 1:13:45 Stephen McGregor Game Design Meta Portal 2 Finds A Unique Way to Offend - Michael McWhertor, Kotaku No chess at the Olympics anytime soon - André Schulz, ChessBase Game Libraries (revisit) 1:46:04 Martha Megarry Gaming Meta Our favorite games from the Itch.io racial justice bundle - Engadget Lizzy Crossing - Eva Lee

This week: Stephen starts out British, Mark gets all the references, and Ellen makes octopus noises. We talk high-level about what it takes to make (and market) games for young children, and Mark shares some insights about comedy in games—can it be more than silly memes? Maybe! COMING SOON! - PATREON?!! - EPISODE 200??!!! WOOOHOOOO!!!!!! Games for Young Children 0:10:42 Ellen Burns-Johnson Game Design Marketing Designing for Youth - Making Games for Players Under 14 - Extra Credits, YouTube Designing Apps and Games for Kids (The Right Way) - Paul Armstrong, Carly Gloge, Jim Nichols, Alex Bowman, GDC Car Wash Game for Kids (gameplay video) - YouTube Zen Koi - Game for iOS and Android - LandShark Games Scratch from MIT "Scratch helps young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively — essential skills for life in the 21st century." Ellen mentioned children's franchises Blues Clues, "Baby Shark" from Pinkfong, and P.J. Masks. Comedy in Games 0:44:16 Mark LaCroix Game Design Narrative We mentioned the following games and game series during this part of the roundtable: Ratchet and Clank Job Simulator Octodad: Dadliest Catch Inflatality Divekick The Stanley Parable

The clubhouse is packed in this episode, as your nice hosts discuss the Kenyan game dev scene with developers Alila Omondi Wekoto, Denis Odero and Shyam Shah! We talk about the importance of community, the value of higher education and also argue about Xbox vs Playstation (vs Switch, slightly)! Alila brings up the episode where we interviewed Chel Wong, award winning composer who recently worked on KINE. Game Audio Tools and Workflows KINE is out on Steam now! Gamedev in Kenya Misc. Game Devs Kenya Website DevsKenya on Twitter GameDevs on Instagram - Instagram Covid Killer - Game Game Devs Kenya is running another boot camp on November 7th! Nairobi Game Development Center Kenya has a co-working space for game developers called Nairobi Game Development Center. Here are some pictures! Mentioned in the episode: Usiku Games is a mobile games studio located in Kenya. Nairobi Garage - annother coworking space Four-part, moderated debate about Xbox vs Playstation! - Game Devs Kenya, SoundCloud Africa Comicade recently held a 3-day Game Jam. Mark Cerny goes over the possibilities of the new hardware within the Playstati… - PlayStation, YouTube Alila Omondi Wekoto Guest Alila Omondi Wekoto is a game developer who runs a boot camp called Game Devs Kenya. External link https://gamedevskenya.co.ke Denis Odero Guest Denis Odero is a game developer who runs a boot camp called Game Devs Kenya. External link https://gamedevskenya.co.ke Shyam Shah Guest Shyam Shah is a game developer who runs a boot camp called Game Devs Kenya. External link https://gamedevskenya.co.ke

Your nice hosts return to Roboston in a first for the program, revisiting and expanding upon on a previous Nice Games Jam game! Ellen conjures some frightening scenarios, Stephen and Mark work the numbers, and everybody loves conditional formatting. See the original rules in the show notes for Roboston! (Live at 2D Con 2020) Check out our cool spreadsheet of game cards and notes! Astral Gunners is available in Early Access, go get it! random.org Weird Alchemy - Board Game Geek Bagger 288 - Wikipedia Prompt Create a game where you are working together to construct a robot, but each player has a secret task they are trying to get the robot to complete along the way. Game type Tabletop game Player count 3 - 8 Materials Deck of Robot Parts Deck of Player Roles Deck of Objectives 6-sided die Rules Patch Notes! New Roles: Turtle: have more DEF than any other value AND complete the objective. Generalist: All stats within 5 points of each other AND complete the objective. Specialist: One stat is 7 points greater than the next highest stat AND complete the objective. New Objectives: GIANT MUTANT TREE ATTACK - It's 'leafing' downtown a total mess! Stats required to beat: Off: 21, Def: 16, Int: 8 ALIEN INVASION - They're slimy and they have the wrong number of eyes. Stats required: Off: 13, Def: 21, Int: 16 BAGGER 288 - This mining robot has gained sentience and is scooping up the suburbs! Stats needed: Off:13, Def: 13, Int: 23 WEAPONIZED WIND TURBINE - Green, scary energy! Stats needed: Off 15, Def 15, Int 15 In this episode we tried for a longer game by increasing the number of robot parts to 2 Body Parts, 2 Head Parts and 8 Limb Parts. To create the part stats, we gave them a random number between -3 and 5 of Offense, Defense and Intelligence. Feel free to make your own!

This episode bops! Our guest on the show this week is Chel Wong, an award-winning game composer who has worked on several published and early-access titles, like Watch This Space and Kine. Her work on Kine earned the game the award for Best Audio at Reboot Develop Red 2019. From composing to mastering, we ask Chel to describe her preferred tools and workflows for creating music for games. Also, there is a tense debate—Galaxy or Sunshine? Meta Reboot Developed Red Conference Game Audio Network Guild (GANG) Awards Mark mentioned that once upon a time in a previous episode, he also talked about using Reaper. "She also cheats a lot." Game Audio Tools and Workflows Audio Games Kine - Steam Lab Rats (a satirical puzzler by Gwen Bond, formerly Gwen Frey) - Steam Audio Software Tools Reaper Reason FL Studio (stand for Fruit Loops) Helm Audio TAL Noisemaker Musescore - Software for Written Music Instrument Synthizers Komplete - Native Instruments Kontact - Native Instruments Audio Hardware Focusrite -Scarlett Series Microphones Shure SM57 Shure SM58 Shure SM7b Audio-Technica AT2035 Other Mentions Game Sound Con Chel and her friend Tiffany Otto are going for 120 stars on Super Mario 64!  - ChelWongAudio, Twitch Chel Wong Guest Chel Wong (or Mitchel) is a freelance composer specializing in video games. She's also co-organizer of Game Audio Boston and Head Curator of Audio for BostonFIG. Chel has conducted orchestras and is also a musician, collecting all sorts of instruments to record for her work. You'll regularly find her in the recording studios at Berklee College of Music. External link Chel's website Chel on Bandcamp Chel on Twitter Chel on Twitch Chel on Spotify Chel on Soundcloud

In a heavy start to a very fun episode, your nice hosts check in on each other as the COVID-19 pandemic stretches into the fall. Ellen unknowingly makes a timely West Wing reference, and Stephen only allows Mark to tell three Star Trek stories. You can watch Mark's mini-talk at PAX Online 2020, called "People, too" It was part of a panel on animals in games called "Lovely or Lethal: Will these animals cuddle me or kill me?" If you are looking to stay informed on the latest about the pandemic, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and other news websites are providing extensive daily COVID-19 coverage for free to non-subscribers. Games in Other Media 0:15:25 Ellen Burns-Johnson Game Design Gaming Narrative Why I’m not buying the Harry Potter game - Stacey Henley, Polygon Any news on the IRL, playable version of Nine Kings? - Reddit ‘The West Wing’ Cast To Perform 2002 Episode On HBO Max To Benefit Michelle Oba… - Greg Evans, Deadline Why 'Edge of Tomorrow' Got Retitled 'Live Die Repeat' - Jack Giroux, /Film List of games in Star Trek - Wikipedia 'Black Mirror: Bandersnatch' Review: Interactive Movie Falls Short - Daniel D'Addario, Variety Kimmy Schmidt vs. the Reverend Is What Interactive TV Was Made For - Jen Chaney, Vulture Mark talked about the two Star Trek "interactive movies" that were produced in the 90s in a previous episode: "A mean secret that stays in this room." The "horror movie where the seats had creepy touch" that Stephen was talking about might have been the infamous 1950s camp classic The Tingler. Minnesota Fringe The 49 Original Whose Line Is It Anyway? Games, Ranked - Luke Winkie, Vulture It makes more sense in context... Online Play 0:52:57 Stephen McGregor Game Design Programming Tools Explaining how fighting games use delay-based and rollback netcode - Ricky Pusch, Ars Technica Most people who play video games online experience 'severe' harassment, new stu… - Dave Smith, Business Insider Backend Tools Unity Multiplay Steam Multiplayer Overview Photon PlayFab

Welcome Heather Gartner, Art Director for Team Toadhouse studio, art streamer and huge D&D fan. Heather (she/they) has been an illustrator for 10+ years. We were so happy to have them in the virtual clubhouse and talk about impostor syndrome—what it is, where it comes from, and how to live with it...or maybe even overcome it. If you've had a tough week, or if you ever feel like your artistry is fighting you, give this one a listen. And check out Heather's art at the links below. :) Meta Perkins or Denny's for late-night breakfast fare? Impostor Syndrome Art Mentioned during the interview: Team Toadhouse: Call Me Cera The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci and is displayed at The Louvre i… Lightbox Conference & Expo Further materials on teamwork and impostor syndrome: What is impostor syndrome and how can you combat it? - Elizabeth Cox , TED-Ed Ep. 3: "The problem with all-stars" - WorkLife Podcast with Adam Grant, TED How to Overcome ‘Impostor Syndrome’ - Jessica Bennett, The New York Times Heather Gartner Guest Heather is Art Director for Team Toadhouse studio, an art streamer and huge D&D fan. Heather (she/they) has been an illustrator for 10+ years. They do game art, illustrations, character art, various commissions, fan art, and more. External link Heather's website, Thunderbird Paints ...on Twitter @TbirdPaints ...on Twitch: ThunderbirdPaints ...on Instagram: thunderbirdpaints

Narrative designer Xalavier Nelson Jr. enters the clubhouse to discuss the need for game designers to curate influences outside of games, the Half-Life 2s that weren't, the XCOM that wasn't quite, and some things that were! Also, advice for criminals. Game Devs of Color Expo Media Influences Game Design IRL Narrative Frog Fractions Has Done It Again--Here's How To Access A New Sequel - James O'Connor, GameSpot Destiny 2: Forsaken Brings Back Paul McCartney's Very Bad Song From the Origina… - Caty McCarthy, USgamer Paul McCartney Announces ‘Hope for the Future’ Vinyl Release With ‘Thrash’ Remi… - Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone Development of Half-Life 2 - Combine OverWiki The death and rebirth of Duke Nukem Forever: a history - Ben Kuchera, Ars Technica That XCOM FPS Isn't Dead. And It Isn't an FPS Anymore - Evan Narcisse, Kotaku Reuse Everything - Xalavier Nelson Jr., GDoC Expo Xalavier Nelson Jr. Guest Narrative designer with credits on Hypnospace Outlaw, Can Androids Pray, SkateBIRD, and more. Currently making An Airport for Aliens Currently Run By Dogs, aka "Dog Airport Game", and writing comics. External link Twitter Patreon

Your nice hosts recorded a live Nice Games Jam episode at 2D Con 2020! You can listen to the edited audio of the recording here! You can find the video of the live recording right here! Prompt Create a game where you are working together to construct a robot, but each player has a secret task they are trying to get the robot to complete along the way. Game type Tabletop game Player count 3-8 Materials 1 Deck of Robot Parts 1 Deck of Player Roles 1 Deck of Objectives 1 Die Setup Deal out an even number of Robot Parts to each player, and one Player Role. Then draw the first card in the Objectives deck for the team's objective. Rules Each player has a Player Role, this is their victory condition. Example roles: Warmonger: have more offensive value than any other value AND complete the objective Scientist: have more intelligence value than any other value AND complete the objective Saboteur: cause robot to fail the objective On each turn, each player places a Robot Part of any type face down. There are limits to how many of each type of Robot Part will fit on a robot (in the episode we went with one body part, one processor and four limbs) Each part is simultaneously revealed once everyone has chosen their card. If each part can be placed with no conflict, start the next turn. If their are some parts in conflict, roll a die to determine who's Robot Part is used. Continue until there are no more available parts to place on the robot. Whoever has completed their victory condition wins!

This week, Mark becomes a game publisher and a PAX speaker, Ellen builds a desk and reads a book, and Stephen learns his lesson (almost). Color Jumper is available on Switch NOW! Our live episode for 2D Con is up on YouTube! The audio will be in the regular feed next week. Mark will be part of the PAX Online panel "Lovely or Lethal: Will these animals cuddle me or kill me?" on Thursday, September 17th at 6:30pm CT. PAX Online is free for all on Twitch. Actionable Gamification: Beyond Points, Badges, and Leaderboards - Yu-kai Chou Online Events 0:10:15 Mark LaCroix Events IRL The 2021 Game Developers Conference will try to go physical again - but now in … - Sean Hollister, The Verge The ESA sets dates for E3 2021 - Rebekah Valentine, GamesIndustry.biz Summer Games Done Quick 2020 Raises $2.3 Million - Adam Bankhurst, IGN We referred to our recent episode featuring Jamaican developer Glen Henry: Indiedev During the Pandemic We also mentioned Filipino developer Ryan Sumo, who we spoke with in: Gamedev in the Philippines As sexual abuse allegations flood in, the world of video games faces a reckoning - Mark Serrels , CNET Documentation 0:36:05 Stephen McGregor Game Design Production Tools Putting comments in code: the good, the bad, and the ugly - Bill Sourour, freeCodeCamp What Is Performance Support And Why Should You Use Performance Support Tools?  - Asha Pandey, eLearning Industry The perfect client brief: Does it exist? - Oliver McAteer, Campaign US