Summary: <p>We're back! This week, your nice hosts talk about what they did over their winter break, from taking up residence in a new clubhouse, to developing a new logo and website, and more! But in the end, everything is still nice.</p> <p>Highlights of this extra-long special episode:</p> <ul> <li>Martha proposes a Nice Games Club IDE color theme...</li> <li>...Dale joins the show to point out that making a logo for a podcast is harder than making a logo for a game...</li> <li>...and after all the redesign work, Stephen makes a late pitch to rename the show "Hot Takes Games Club."</li> </ul> <p>Plus, the entire clubhouse goes back and forth making promises (setting expectations) on the new website. It's an iterative process, people!</p> What We Did On Our Winter Break (2020) <a href="/topics/irl" hreflang="en">IRL</a> <a href="/topics/meta" hreflang="en">Meta</a> <p>Nice Games Club Logo Development</p> <a href="http://nicegames.club/sites/default/files/2020-02/163%20NGC%20Nice%20Games%20Bug.png"><img src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2020-02/163%20NGC%20Nice%20Games%20Bug.png?itok=vipbpRPU" width="480" height="247" alt="Nice Games Club Bug Logo Concept" class="img-responsive"> </a> Here's a Nice Game Club "Bug" concept that was rejected <a href="http://nicegames.club/sites/default/files/2020-02/163%20NGC%20Logo%20Stars.png"><img src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2020-02/163%20NGC%20Logo%20Stars.png?itok=dASAN0uA" width="438" height="480" alt="Logo Stars" class="img-responsive"> </a> Logo Option #1: Stars <a href="http://nicegames.club/sites/default/files/2020-02/163%20NGC%20Logo%20GIt%20tree.png"><img src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2020-02/163%20NGC%20Logo%20GIt%20tree.png?itok=_qkrNamS" width="427" height="480" alt="Logo Git Tree" class="img-responsive"> </a> Logo Option #2: Git Tree <a href="http://nicegames.club/sites/default/files/2020-02/162%20NGC%20code%20logo%20A.png"><img src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2020-02/162%20NGC%20code%20logo%20A.png?itok=DA67t8da" width="429" height="480" alt="Logo Brackets" class="img-responsive"> </a> Logo Option #3: Coding Brackets Stephen and the Fingeance team talk about their love of "choice #3" in one of our "Code Comment" episodes: <a href="/episode/99" hreflang="en">Code Comment: "Fingeance"</a> <a href="http://nicegames.club/sites/default/files/2020-02/163%20NGC%20Logo%20iteration.png"><img src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2020-02/163%20NGC%20Logo%20iteration.png?itok=Cdwu0vAv" width="390" height="480" alt="Bracket Logo Iteration" class="img-responsive"> </a> Iteration on Logo #3 (brackets) <a href="http://nicegames.club/sites/default/files/2020-02/162%20logo%20in%20multiple%20color%20themes.png"><img src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2020-02/162%20logo%20in%20multiple%20color%20themes.png?itok=EfZhTiMq" width="480" height="179" alt="New logo in multiple colors" class="img-responsive"> </a> Logo in multiple color contexts, including the "Valentine" theme <a href="http://nicegames.club/sites/default/files/2020-02/NGCCartConcepts.png"><img src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2020-02/NGCCartConcepts.png?itok=zHqB869c" width="480" height="262" alt="Two concept images showing the new Nice Games Club logotype on a stylized video game cartridge." class="img-responsive"> </a> Variations on the "logo on a cartridge" concept <a href="https://www.drupal.org/about" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">We made our new site using Drupal, a VERY open source web development tool.</a> <p>December 2019</p> <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/o/igda-twin-cities-chapter-751587541" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">IGDATC's monthly meetings</a> Dale talked about developing Reravel, which was first developed during a Nice Games Jam episode: <a href="/episode/157" hreflang="en">Reravel: A Backwards Storytelling Game</a> <p>January 2020</p> <a href="http://protospiel-mn.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Protospiel</a> <p><a href="https://hyperdotgame.com/">Hyperdot</a>, a game by Stephen's brother Charles McGregor was released this month on January 31st. It is available on <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/hyperdot/9nvvj8tbd7kp?activetab=pivot:overviewtab">Xbox</a>, <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/876500/HyperDot/">Steam</a>, <a href="https://glitch-creative.itch.io/hyperdot?utm_source=website&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=hyperdot_press">itch.io</a> and Windows PC. You can buy it now.</p> <p>Global Game Jam 2020</p> The Global Game Jam 2019 keynote (aka: the best keynote ever) starts at 04:00 The Global Game Jam 2020 keynote We mentioned Rachel, the head of GLITCH's Discord, who we have had on a previous episode: <a href="/episode/16" hreflang="en">Games Education </a> Mark worked with Scott Lembke for GGJ 2020. We interviewed Scott on a previous GGJ episode: <a href="/episode/115" hreflang="en">"Steal this episode."</a> <a href="http://nicegames.club/sites/default/files/2020-02/Cart.jpg"><img src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2020-02/Cart.jpg?itok=hdTI1vJR" width="480" height="270" alt="Super City Mayor" class="img-responsive"> </a> Mark's logo for his team's GGJ 2020, with character art by teammate Kissi <a href="https://globalgamejam.org/users/kirstinetheartist" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Kissi worked on a few games during the jam!</a> <a href="http://nicegames.club/sites/default/files/2020-02/screenshot_from_2020-02-02_15-24-55_0.png"><img src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2020-02/screenshot_from_2020-02-02_15-24-55_0.png?itok=5DJlljMx" width="480" height="341" alt="A picture from the game jam game Super City Mayor." class="img-responsive"> </a> Screenshot from "Super City Mayor," Mark's GGJ game <a href="http://dalelynnlacroix.heywetried.com/corporate-espionage/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">You can play Dale and Beth's GGJ game, "Corporate Espionage" right in your brow…</a> <p>February 2020</p> <a href="https://americanutopiabroadway.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mark and Dale saw David Byrne's American Utopia!</a> American Utopia on Broadway <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/71tl4k4k63o0gHt6mDj0IR" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">American Utopia: Full Cast Album</a> - <a href="/publication/spotify" hreflang="en">Spotify</a> <a href="https://www.nytransitmuseum.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">New York Transit Museum</a> <a href="http://nicegames.club/sites/default/files/2020-02/162%20Transit%20Museum%202.png"><img src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2020-02/162%20Transit%20Museum%202.png?itok=PDvgPfk1" width="480" height="293" alt="In a very old subway car at the NY Transit Museum" class="img-responsive"> </a> Dale in a very old subway car at the transit museum <a href="http://nicegames.club/sites/default/files/2020-02/162%20Transit%20Museum.png"><img src="/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2020-02/162%20Transit%20Museum.png?itok=ckh8cA2p" width="480" height="406" alt="In a moderately old subway car" class="img-responsive"> </a> Dale in a moderately old subway car at the transit museum <a href="https://gamecenter.nyu.edu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">NYU Games Center has playtest events every Thursday</a>
