Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!

All the news that fit to pod! Mark makes a Mario, Martha adds things to her wishlist and Stephen gets mad at his TV. Recent releases Super Mario Maker 2: Building On Success -Kyle Hilliard, Game Informer Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night: The Kotaku Review -Joshua Rivera, Kotaku The making of Samurai Showdown (2019) -Alex Kane, Polygon Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled: No Rust On This Ride -Andrew Reiner, Game Informer Cadence of Hyrule is the best Zelda spinoff ever made -Russ Frushtick, Polygon Harry Potter: Wizards Unite Improves On What Makes Pokemon Go Great -Gita Jackson, Kotaku News Summer Games Done Quick raised over 3 million dollars for Doctors Without Borders Devs hit by Steam promo confusion as games are pulled from Wishlists -Chris Kerr, Gamasutra Dr. Disrespect Doesn’t Seem To Be Taking His Twitch Ban Very Seriously -Nathan Grayson, Kotaku Twitched app removed from Roku -Reddit thread The Human Cost of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 -Jason Schreier, Kotaku Valve Index Review - The Enthusiast’s Choice -Ben Lang, The Road To VR Someone Turned Mario Into A Battle Royale, And It’s The Best Thing -Heather Alexandra, Kotaku Here’s how to save up to $360 on Xbox Game Pass over 3 years -David Carnoy, CNET (The article says the promotion is over but it is still available on Microsoft’s website as of this posting) We might get a Myst movie, TV series, and even a reality show -Susana Polo, Polygon The Mouse Guard Movie Is Officially Dead, But This Demo Reel Shows What Could’ve Been -James Whitbrook, Gizmodo Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony say [the president]’s tariffs on China will hurt the game industry -Charlie Hall, Polygon Epic says it’ll eventually stop pushing for exclusives -Tyler Wilde, PC Gamer

All the news that fit to pod! Mark makes a Mario, Martha adds things to her wishlist and Stephen gets mad at his TV. Bulletin topic (Recent releases) Timecode 0:00:42 Super Mario Maker 2: Building On Success - Kyle Hilliard, Game Informer Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night: The Kotaku Review - Joshua Rivera, Kotaku The making of Samurai Showdown (2019) - Alex Kane, Polygon Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled: No Rust On This Ride - Andrew Reiner, Game Informer Cadence of Hyrule is the best Zelda spinoff ever made - Russ Frushtick, Polygon Harry Potter: "Wizards Unite" Improves On What Makes Pokemon Go Great" - Gita Jackson, Kotaku Bulletin topic (News) Timecode 0:18:01 Summer Games Done Quick raised over 3 million dollars for Doctors Without Borde… Devs hit by Steam promo confusion as games are pulled from Wishlists - Chris Kerr, Game Developer Dr. Disrespect Doesn’t Seem To Be Taking His Twitch Ban Very Seriously - Nathan Grayson, Kotaku Twitched app removed from Roku - Reddit The Human Cost of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 - Jason Schreier, Kotaku Valve Index Review - The Enthusiast’s Choice - Ben Lang, Road to VR Someone Turned Mario Into A Battle Royale, And It’s The Best Thing - Heather Alexandra, Kotaku Here’s how to save up to $360 on Xbox Game Pass over 3 years (The article says … - David Carnoy, CNET We might get a Myst movie, TV series, and even a reality show - Susana Polo, Polygon The Mouse Guard Movie Is Officially Dead, But This Demo Reel Shows What Could’v… - James Whitbrook, Gizmodo Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony say [the president]’s tariffs on China will hurt … - Charlie Hall, Polygon Epic says it’ll eventually stop pushing for exclusives - Tyler Wilde, PC Gamer

This week, we welcome friend of the show Matt Gravelle into the clubhouse to talk about the ups and downs of, and lessons learned from, the decade-plus history of his indie game company, Graveck Interactive. Topics include the early days of Unity, holding the top-selling spot in the iOS App Store for months(!), weird guidelines from film studios on licensed web games, creating VR experiences for medical applications, and more! Get Optica on Android, iOS, or Steam! Get Strata on Android, iOS or Steam!

This week, we welcome friend of the show Matt Gravelle into the clubhouse to talk about the ups and downs of, and lessons learned from, the decade-plus history of his indie game company, Graveck Interactive. Topics include the early days of Unity, holding the top-selling spot in the iOS App Store for months(!), weird guidelines from film studios on licensed web games, creating VR experiences for medical applications, and more! Running An Indie Studio IRL Get Optica on Android, iOS, or Steam! Optica Get Strata on Android, iOS or Steam! Strata Matt Gravelle Guest Matt Gravelle is co-owner and director of production of Gravek Interactive.

Stephen has been working on patches for Treasure Stack and Mark has been busy getting age ratings around the world for Widget Satchel so this episode is jam packed with knowledge! Mark tricks his parents, Martha hides from E.T. and Stephen balances the game. Meta Game Devs of Color “Black Mirror’s ‘Striking Vipers’ uses fighting games to flirt with the theme of queer desire” Gretchen Felker-Martin, Polygon The Black Mirror Fighting Game Episode was Out of Control Gita Jackson, Kotaku [0:15:29] Patches and Add-on Content Treasure Stack on Steam (check out the patch notes to see an example of the patches Stephen has been working on) Asset Bundles Unity Docs [0:39:45] International Age Ratings Systems PEGI Ratings (Europe + Israel) ESRB Ratings (USA + Canada) IARC Ratings  translates to many different international rating systems (like PEGI and ESRB) through surveys in digital storefront submission processes. Notable rating boards that do not participate in IARC are JERO (Japan) and GRB (Korea)

Stephen has been working on patches for Treasure Stack and Mark has been busy getting age ratings around the world for Widget Satchel so this episode is jam packed with knowledge! Mark tricks his parents, Martha hides from E.T. and Stephen balances the game. Game Devs of Color Black Mirror’s ‘Striking Vipers’ uses fighting games to flirt with the theme of… - Gretchen Felker-Martin, Polygon The Black Mirror Fighting Game Episode was Out of Control - Gita Jackson, Kotaku Patches and Add-on Content 0:15:29 Stephen McGregor Programming Treasure Stack on Steam (check out the patch notes to see an example of the patches Stephen has been working on) Asset Bundles Unity Docs - Unity International Age Ratings Systems 0:15:29 Mark LaCroix Marketing PEGI Ratings (Europe + Israel) ESRB Ratings (USA + Canada) IARC Ratings   The IARC Rating system translates to many different international rating systems (like PEGI and ESRB) through surveys in digital storefront submission processes. Notable rating boards that do not participate in IARC are JERO (Japan) and GRB (Korea)

Stephen's back from E3, and brought back tales of standing in line, going out at night, and staying in on Thursday. But before hearing about all the unreleased games Stephen played while in Los Angeles, your nice hosts discuss all the news and announcements from the show. [0:05:28] Google Stadia [0:16:57] Microsoft "E3 2019: ID@Xbox Shines the Spotlight on Amazing Independent Games" - Lisa Trott, Xbox Wire "The SDK 'Power Mac G5' for the Xbox 360" - Soutenir le blog "Ultra-high-speed SSD is 'the key' to next-gen PS5" - Anthony Garreffa, TweakTown [0:22:49] Bethesda "How to make a perfect E3 press conference (or drinking game)" - Polygon (YouTube) "Deathloop: Everything we know so far" - Heather Wald, GamesRadar [0:28:50] Ubisoft "Here’s Why Ubisoft is Releasing a Game on Nintendo Wii" - Jasmine Henry, Game Rant "LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga Gonk Droid Run" - Dalton (YouTube) [0:34:50] Square Enix "Marvel's Avengers: Is it Connected to Spider-Man PS4?" - Rob Leane, Den of Geek [0:38:27] Nintendo "The Story of Zelda: Link's Awakening" - Gaming Historian (YouTube) "Everything We Noticed From The Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Sequel Teaser" - Joseph Stanichar, Game Informer [0:54:37] Others! [0:56:03] Stephen’s Travelogue! That shop in Little Toyko Stephen visited was Retro Game Camp LA "When the power went out at E3, Nintendo was prepared" - Michael McWhertor, Polygon

Stephen's back from E3, and brought back tales of standing in line, going out at night, and staying in on Thursday. But before hearing about all the unreleased games Stephen played while in Los Angeles, your nice hosts discuss all the news and announcements from the show. Google Stadia at E3 2019 0:05:28 Hardware News Microsoft E3 2019 0:16:57 News E3 2019: ID@Xbox Shines the Spotlight on Amazing Independent Games - Lisa Trott, Xbox Wire The SDK 'Power Mac G5' for the Xbox 360 - Soutenir le blog, journaldulapin Ultra-high-speed SSD is 'the key' to next-gen PS5 - Anthony Garreffa, TweakTown Bethesda at E3 2019 0:22:49 News "How to make a perfect E3 press conference (or drinking game)"  - Polygon, YouTube "Deathloop: Everything we know so far"  - Heather Wald, GamesRadar Square Enix at E3 2019 0:34:50 News "Marvel's Avengers: Is it Connected to Spider-Man PS4?" - Rob Leane, Den of Geek Nintendo at E3 2019 0:38:27 News "The Story of Zelda: Link's Awakening"  - Gaming Historian , YouTube "Everything We Noticed From The Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Sequel Teaser"  - Joseph Stanichar, Game Informer Others at E3 2019 0:54:37 News Stephen’s Travelogue! 0:56:03 Stephen McGregor Events That shop in Little Tokyo Stephen visited was Retro Game Camp LA. When the power went out at E3, Nintendo was prepared - Michael McWhertor, Polygon

This week is another Nice Games Jam! We got a prompt from Martha's Boyfriend Dylan to "make a puzzle game that includes a written document that updates as you play." You can play the game we came up with in the episode using the rules in the show notes below! Rules for "Rules" Two players Some set of blocks (we used 10 cubes), different colors The Codemaker comes up with sequence of blocks They create a list of four rules to help the Codebreaker player guess the sequence Rules cannot specifically place a cube in a place in the sequence Rules can only involve one relationship between two sets of cubes Read first rule, and the Codebreaker creates a pattern based on rule If the sequence is not correct, read the next rule and have the Codebreaker make a new pattern based on the revealed set of rules Repeat until the player has created the correct pattern If the Codebreaker needs more than the four rules, the code maker then makes a new rule immediately, and the Codebreaker makes a new sequence with these rules. The Codemaker can call for a mulligan up to 3 times total in the game so the player can make a new pattern with the same sets of rules Scored based how many rules are needed before the code breaker solves the sequence Some example rules: 1. No same colors touching 2. If a sequence of colors appears in the line, it must appear again in reverse 3. Green cubes appear before yellow cubes 4. Pink cubes appear in-between red cubes 5. Any brown cube must touch a dark green cube 6. A brown cube may not touch a red cube or a yellow cube 7. Light versions of colors come before dark versions of colors

This week is another Nice Games Jam! We got a prompt from Martha's Boyfriend Dylan to "make a puzzle game that includes a written document that updates as you play." You can play the game we came up with in the episode using the rules in the show notes below! Prompt Make a puzzle game that requires a text/readme file or some other sort of text thing that you have to use as a guide to figure out the game. Then as the level progresses, the guide changes, to be harder to understand, or to tell a story, or to taunt. Game type Tabletop game Player count 2 Materials Some set of blocks (we used 10 cubes), different colors Pencil/Pen Paper Setup The Codemaker comes up with sequence of blocks Rules The Codemaker creates a list of four rules to help the Codebreaker player guess the sequence Rules cannot specifically place a cube in a place in the sequence Rules can only involve one relationship between two sets of cubes Read first rule, and the Codebreaker creates a pattern based on rule If the sequence is not correct, read the next rule and have the Codebreaker make a new pattern based on the revealed set of rules Repeat until the player has created the correct pattern If the Codebreaker needs more than the four rules, the code maker then makes a new rule immediately, and the Codebreaker makes a new sequence with these rules. The Codemaker can call for a mulligan up to 3 times total in the game so the player can make a new pattern with the same sets of rules Scored based how many rules are needed before the code breaker solves the sequence Some example rules: 1. No same colors touching 2. If a sequence of colors appears in the line, it must appear again in reverse 3. Green cubes appear before yellow cubes 4. Pink cubes appear in-between red cubes 5. Any brown cube must touch a dark green cube 6. A brown cube may not touch a red cube or a yellow cube 7. Light versions of colors come before dark versions of colors

This week in the clubhouse, Stephen wants do more with less, Mark wants to do more with more, and Martha wants to do less to more. Meta "Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language" - Gretchen McCulloch "Your conference is too damn big" - John Pavlus, Fast Company "The Game Design Studio on a Boat" - Clinton Nguyen, Vice Evil Games Club co-host Dale is now tweeting for us! Follow us for behind-the-microphone goodness: @nicegamesclub We're always trying to get feedback, but it's hard! So Dale is encouraging gamedevs to start using #FeedbackFriday on Twitter as a way for to get opinions from their peers on things they're working on. Try it out this Friday! [0:07:06] Extra Modes "Assassin's Creed Isn't Necessarily Done With Multiplayer" - Jordan Ramée, GameSpot "Why City Trial is the most memorable part of Kirby Air Ride" - Chris Hovermale "Fortnite Battle Royale Took Two Months to Develop and Launch" - Derek Nichols, GameRant "Riot got rid of League of Legends’ URF mode because it made people stop playing" - Ali Jones, PCGamesN "Threading the Needle: The Making of Quake Team Fortress" - David Craddock, Shacknews "The making of Gwent" - Phil Savage, PC Gamer "Where Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker came from" - Michael McWhertor, Polygon [0:41:31] Unit Testing "Unit testing with Jasmine: The very basics" - Aurel Kurtula, dev.to Testing Unity Projects - ilkinulas, GitHub NUnit framework "Unit Testing Tutorial: What is, Types, Tools, EXAMPLE" - Guru99 "What is Unit Testing, Why We Use It, and Sample Test Cases" - Lets Build That App, YouTube Testing Computer Software, 2nd edition - Cem Kaner "The 100% code coverage problem" - Jeroen Mols

This week in the clubhouse, Stephen wants do more with less, Mark wants to do more with more, and Martha wants to do less to more. "Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language"  - Gretchen McCulloch, book "Your conference is too damn big"  - John Pavlus, Fast Company "The Game Design Studio on a Boat"  - Clinton Nguyen, Vice Evil Games Club co-host Dale is now tweeting for us! Follow us for behind-the-microphone goodness: @nicegamesclub. We're always trying to get feedback, but it's hard! So Dale is encouraging gamedevs to start using #FeedbackFriday on Twitter as a way for to get opinions from their peers on things they're working on. Try it out this Friday! Extra Modes 0:07:06 Mark LaCroix Production "Assassin's Creed Isn't Necessarily Done With Multiplayer"  - Jordan Ramée, GameSpot "Why City Trial is the most memorable part of Kirby Air Ride"  - Chris Hovermale, Destructoid "Fortnite Battle Royale Took Two Months to Develop and Launch"  - Derek Nichols, GameRant "Riot got rid of League of Legends’ URF mode because it made people stop playin… - Ali Jones, PCGamesN "Threading the Needle: The Making of Quake Team Fortress"  - David Craddock, Shacknews "The making of Gwent"  - Phil Savage, PC Gamer "Where Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker came from"  - Michael McWhertor, Polygon Unit Testing 0:41:31 Martha Megarry Programming "Unit testing with Jasmine: The very basics"  - Aurel Kurtula, dev.to Testing Unity Projects  - ilkinulas, GitHub NUnit framework "Unit Testing Tutorial: What is, Types, Tools, EXAMPLE"  - Guru99, Guru99.com "What is Unit Testing, Why We Use It, and Sample Test Cases"  -  Lets Build That App, YouTube Testing Computer Software, 2nd edition  - Cem Kaner, book "The 100% code coverage problem" - Jeroen Mols

This week we have Beth Korth of Howling Moon Software back to talk about Narrative Design and her process for designing and writing Verdant Skies! We talk all about the creative process from creating ideas in her head to writing in a markup language Andy created so she could control the game as she wrote dialogue and cut scenes. Beth's Notebook: Naming the game: Designing Heart Events: Our Nice Guest! Verdant Skies on Steam, Itch.io, Humble Store, Kartridge Verdant Skies Steam Green Light Episode Verdant Skies Code Comment Beth on Twitter

This week we have Beth Korth of Howling Moon Software back to talk about Narrative Design and her process for designing and writing Verdant Skies! We talk all about the creative process from creating ideas in her head to writing in a markup language Andy created so she could control the game as she wrote dialogue and cut scenes. Narrative Design Narrative Beth's Notebook Naming the game Designing Heart Events: More on "Verdant Skies" Verdant Skies Website Verdance Skies on Steam Verdance Skies on Itch.io Verdance Skies on Humble Store Verdance Skies on Kartrage https://www.kartridge.com/games/HowlingMoonSW/verdant-skies Steam Greenlight Verdant Skies Code Comment Code Comment: "Verdant Skies" Martha plays Verdant Skies Nice Plays: "Verdant Skies" (2018) 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

This week in the clubhouse, Stephen breaks the ice, Martha dreams of writing passwords, and Mark makes a Jurassic Park reference (@ us if you recognize it!). Meta Our pal Abdiwak Yohannes is making Boji: Boji at Play/Test! Boji theme song on Soundcloud! Boji in action! Boji animation test! "Super Mario Maker 2 news dump" - Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica Mark "invented" the Semi-Automatic Mario level genre for the original Super Mario Maker! It did not catch on... We played the Japanese version of Super Mario Bros. 2 for one of our Nice Plays video episodes. Martha hated it. [0:13:08] Game Length "Assassin’s Creed Odyssey really picks up after the first 15 hours" - Ben Kuchera, Polygon "Length Matters" - Ben Lindbergh, The Ringer [0:44:41] Saving and Loading Systems "Saved, But Not Forgotten: The evolution of saving in video games" - Mark Christian, Tedium "In Dishonored, You're Either a Cheater or a Serial Killer" - Chris Kohler and Chris Baker, Wired LOVE, a “challenging but fair platformer.” "How to Hack Your Game Saves: A Basic Guide to Hex Editing" - Alex Wong, Null Byte We talked with Andy Korth about how he developed forward compatibility for the save system in Verdant Skies (among other topics) on an episode of Code Comment.