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    Games & Hobbies

    Nice Games Club – a gamedev podcast!

    The podcast where nice gamedevs talk gaming and game development. Nice!

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    Latest Episodes:
    GDC 2024 Special (Part 1) Mar 28, 2024
    Show notes

    Some of your nice hosts, plus some nice guest hosts, traveled to San Fransisco last week for the 2024 Game Developers Conference. There was so much to see and do and it ended up being too much for just one episode... actually, it was too much for just two episodes!

    So, how much GDC 2024 content is there exactly? Well, plans changed and it's too complex to summarize here, so be nice and have a listen to find out!

    (SPOILER: There's 2+ hours of extra GDC content on our Patreon page!)

    • Musée Mécanique

    GDC 2024 (Part 1)

    Unity 6 and beyond: A roadmap of Unity Engine and servicesWe discussed the first "Flash Games Postmortem" in:GDC 2017 Special (Part 2)

    "Things just happen, somewhere." Partnering Up; Control Flow Mar 22, 2024
    Show notes

    It's our first roundtable of the year! And did you know that Minneapolis is "partnered up" with Saint Paul? Stephen's not sure what either of these topics have to do with game development, but don't worry—we get there. Ellen kicks off a conversation about how the people we work with have a huge influence on what we create, and the experience of creating it. Mark tries to explain "control flow" in programming, and pretty much everyone gets it. You probably will, too.

    • Cover image by RF Studio - Pexels

    Partnering Up

    Click: The Magic of Instant Connectionby Ori Brafman, Ron BrafmanGoodreads0:41:08

    Control Flow

    Control flowWikipedia

    Nice Games Jam: "Eddies" Mar 11, 2024
    Show notes

    The clubhouse is caffeinated and ready to jam, game jam that is.

    The clubhouse is giving a prompt where air movement is the main mechanism of action and they create a physical game for a tabletop (in the style of 'Hungry Hungry Hippos'). The notoriously unpredictable 'Eddies' of air movement gives this game it's name. The main challenge for the team - a more sanitary air blower mechanism than drinking straws: a tiny bellows, small whoopie cushions, slide whistles, or party noisemakers?

    Prompt"Create a game where the main mechanics are fans and or leaf blowers."Game typeTabletop gamePlayer count2 - 8Materials

    Blowing mechanisms - one per player (drinking straw in playtest)

    A bunch of small peices of junk

    A container for the small peices of junk

    Playing feild (box, 8 sided)

    Rule Card Deck

    Setup

    This is a game about some young teenagers who find some leaf blowers in their (octagonal) cul-du-sac and make a game with them.

    Each player will select a side of the playing field (the box) as their home territory. The goal of the game is to have the least amount of junk (points-wise) fall off of your side of the field.

    Rule Cards:

    • Separate the Rule cards into the three categories: Puff Variants, Point Variants, and Zone Variants. Shuffle the cards from each category, and pull three of each category to start each of the three rounds.Cards rule examples
      • Puff: Each player has 3 puffs per turn
      • Point: Each black item is worth +1 point, all other items are worth -1 point
      • Zone: The windy end of your blowing mechanism may not be placed within zones 1+2 of the playing field
    • Shuffle the remaining rules cards from three categories together.
    • From the combined deck, deal 4 cards to each player.
    • The player may look at their hand of cards

    Place Junk (perform at the start of each round):

    • Gather some junk and place it in a container. Typically dice and pieces from other games will make up the majority of the junk, but this may also be dodads from your junk drawer like golf pencils, nails and screws, magnets etc.
    • At the beginning of each round a different player will grab a handful of junk from the container and place it in the center of the 8-sided playing area.The junk placer may not arrange the junk when placing it down. Any junk that falls off of the playing field will be returned to the container of junk.
    Rules

    After the junk is placed the rule for each category is revealed, by flipping over the top rule card from each of the three piles: Puff, Point, and Zone. The displayed rules are now in effect.

    The player who placed the junk will go first.

    Each player turn has three phases:

    1. The play may put a rule card from their hand into play by stacking it on top of the exsisting rule for the category which it belongs to (puff, point, or zone). That rule is now in effect and the rule that was covered up is no longer in effect.

    2. The player uses their "leaf blower" to puff the objects in on the playing field the number of times indicated by the Puff rule. They must follow any Zone rules in effect.

    3. The player's turn is scored according to the rule cards in effect. The player draws back up to 4 cards in their hand.

    The round ends when each player has had 5 turns.

    New junk is placed in the center of the playing field, new rule cards are revealed and the next round starts.

    The object of the game is to have the least scoring junk blown off your edge of the playing field. Highest scoring player (usually player closest to 0 wins), as most junk is worth negative points.


    "Hundreds of questions like that." What We Did On Our Winter Break (2023-24) Mar 07, 2024
    Show notes

    We're all back in the clubhouse for the first episode of 2024! There's some news about the show up top, but in terms of your nice hosts: Ellen has important job happenings, Mark establishes important business for IGDATC and Stephen remembers he's good at game design, but not much else.

    What We Did On Our Winter Break (2023-24)

    2024 GDC Public EventsGrace ZhouSouth By SouthwestCharles Mingus - Moanin'mohammertimeYouTubeProject LBoardcubatorBoard Game GeekApocalypduckGlobal Game JamIGDATC MerchigdatcHave a video game concept? Twin Cities group will help you make it a realityLouis KraussStar TribuneShift HappensMarcin WicharyAreslunaMeet the robot guitarist with 78 fingers and coolest cable hair you’ve ever seenSheena McKenzieCNN Business

    Getting Things Going (with Rick Stemm) [Nice Replay] Feb 29, 2024
    Show notes #319Getting Things GoingInterview2023.08.24

    In this episode your nice hosts welcome Rick Stemm of PikPok to the clubhouse to talk about what happens after a game gets greenlit.

    Turns out the answer involves building your team and trust.
    Rick touts the idea of a sh*tty first draft - faster and worse. Coaching feedback givers for what you are looking for, and the importance of building a trust in a team. Rick spouts useful idioms and your host claim points for each time Rick says ‘cohesive’ or ‘holistic.’

    Who scored the most points? Turns out Stephen declared that the points don’t matter, good thing I never bothered tabulating them.

    Getting Things Going

    IRL

    "Metroid is very serious." Secrets & Easter Eggs; Player Trust [Nice Replay] Feb 22, 2024
    Show notes #296"Metroid is very serious."Roundtable2023.03.16

    In this episode, Mark makes up a reason to take a road trip, Ellen outwits everyone, and Stephen was also there.

    Zachtronics Solitaire CollectionLACMAA Better Route Planner

    Secrets & Easter Eggs

    0:24:43Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignThe Super Mario 64 Coin that Took 18 Years To Collect - Patricia Hernandez, KotakuPC Cheat Codes - IGN Reddit on video game Secrets - RedditSecrets That Weren't Discovered in Games For Years - Jordan Baranowski, SVG

    Player Trust

    0:48:39Stephen McGregorGame DesignWe touched on this idea back in our roundtable on 'The Ethics of Engagement'"Shiny rocks get me every time."

    Nice Games Jam: "Pothole Run" [Nice Replay] Feb 15, 2024
    Show notes #301Pothole RunNice Games Jam2023.04.21

    According to Minnesota Public Radio, it's hot girl sinkhole spring. In other words, we have an insane number of potholes right now in the Twin Cities, and since we can't do anything other than wait for the hardworking folks of road repair to fix them, we made a game about the whole situation. Andy and Beth Korth join for this special Nice Games Jam!

    GLOM preorder through Miniature MarketGLOM preorder through GameNerdz✨hot girl sinkhole spring✨ - Minnesota Public RadioUptown washout leaves 8-foot-deep sinkhole in Minneapolis intersection - Tim Nelson and Kerem Yücel, Minnesota Public RadioThe Korths are back! They were first on episode #002Steam GreenlightEpisode #102 with Beth & AndyCode Comment: "Verdant Skies"Episode #204 with Beth & AndyFamilies in GamesEpisode #132 with Beth Narrative Design A terrifying sinkhole in the middle of a city street, presumably revealed by a school bus driving over it. The front tire of the school bus is stuck in the sinkhole.An example of the pothole + sinkhole situation we're dealing with this spring.A deep sinkhole in the middle of a city street. The sinkhole has been circled by safety cones and caution tape.Another view of the school bus sinkhole.PromptEllen gave us a prompt: "Create a game about patching potholes that Gabe would have fun playing"Game typeTabletop gameMaterials

    Marbles

    Play-Doh or alternative squishyness

    A very complicated custom game board

    Road tiles of various sizes and configurations

    Setup
    • Set up the custom game board
    • Distribute marbles to all players
    • Distribute Play-Doh to all players
    • Distribute road / terrain tiles to all players
    • Determine who will be the first player per the rules below
    Rules

    In a nutshell, the game challenges players to roll marbles down a hill. The hill is made of road tiles, but some of the tiles are pitted with potholes. Players can use Playdoh to patch potholes in the road so the marbles will make it to the finish.

    The board is a grid laid over a raised pyramid where players put down terrain. Everything starts in the center (city hall); that’s where you put the marbles so they roll down the hill. Each quadrant is a side of the pyramid, there’s some method of tiling for the player to put pieces down to determine how the marbles will travel in that area.

    Turn order

    • Play starts with the player who most recently hit a pothole with their car or their bike. In case of a tie (as might happen if multiple players were in a car together), the younger player goes first.
    • Play then proceeds clockwise.

    Players can take 3 actions on their turn. You can do the same action more than once. The actions are:

    • Rotate the board
    • Place or swap a tile
    • Patch a pothole
    • Drop a marble

    Tiles

    • Each tile is worth 1, 2 or 3 victory points when marbles pass through. The rougher the tile, the more victory points it's worth.
    • Players also get a bit of Play-Doh to fill up potholes in the terrain.
    • Players have 5 tiles in their hand at any given time; as an action, they can play one, then draw back up to 5 tiles.

    Rotating the board

    • Rotating the board happens towards the left (counterclockwise), the opposite of play order, which goes to the right (clockwise). Each rotation turns the board 90 degrees.

    Scoring & dropping marbles

    • If a marble reaches the bottom of the hill in front of you, you get the victory points that it acquired from each tile it moved through on its journey from the top of the hill to the bottom.
    • You ONLY get the victory points if the marble reaches the bottom of the hill. If you drop a marble as an action, and the marble gets stuck on the way, you don't get any points from the tiles it passed through.

    Winning the game

    • Play proceeds in 12 rounds. Each player gets one turn per round.
    • Play ends when the turn counter reaches zero (game starts at the start of winter, ends at the start of the next winter)
    • Whoever has acquired the most victory points by the end of the "year" is the winner of Pothole Run

    Fun stuff to think about for the future

    • We have to create an extractor to get the playdoh out.
    • Cooperative play mode? Roles for each player? Someone who’s better at filling potholes, someone who can put more marbles down, etc. Maybe two teams?

    "One size bigger and red." CSS; Skill Trees [Nice Replay] Feb 08, 2024
    Show notes #298"One size bigger and red."Roundtable2023.04.13

    Dale learned a lot while editing this episode.

    • She learned the board game ‘Spirit Island’ is about spirits that protect an island, and she is pretty sure that this is the same premise as hit TV show ‘LOST’.
    • She learns that CSS is not a programming language or a mark-up language
    • And she learns that CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets
    • She learns that AAA games are easy (not sure why she struggles with them)
    • That there are either wrong choices in skill trees OR it never really mattered
    • And that Stephen wants to fight everyone on Discord

    Good luck anyone who isn’t a McGregor!

    Stephen is playing Spirit Island - Board Game GeekRa Ra Boom Trailer (from Max who schedules our interviewsTwin Cities Playtest is the 3rd Wednesday of the Month - EventbriteTwin Cities Playtest is also on YouTube - IGDA Twin Cities, YouTube

    CSS

    9:47Mark LaCroixProgramming

    In this discussion Ellen mentioned accessibility standards for web content

    WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) - Wikipedia

    Mark asked if there is an ISO Standard for this, and there is! ISO 40500:2012

    There is also one for UI: ISO 30071-1

    Mark mentions that you should look up the 'Blink' tag, but Dale already did it for you, here.

    Unity Style Sheet (USS) - UnityThere is a USS Unity in Star Trek

    And Stephen mentions the Div-Div Crow, based on this webcomic.

    Skill Trees

    46:38Stephen McGregorGame Design

    "Shiny rocks get me every time." Branding & Iconography; The Ethics of Engagement [Nice Replay] Feb 01, 2024
    Show notes #284"Shiny rocks get me every time."Roundtable2022.10.28

    It's spooky season! Stephen is SO over it, but he can't escape all the scary stuff happening in this week's episode. We start with a lesson on the necromantic arts of branding and iconography, guided by Mark, a master of these dark magics. After the break, Ellen raises a past topic from the dead in order to explore the ethics of manipulating players' brainnnsssss. Also mentioned: candy corn, houseplants, and—you guessed it—Star Trek.

    Photo of a complex board game (Star Trek: Ascendancy) spread out across a tabletop. The game has many different pieces, cards, and connecting pathways made of cardboard.Star Trek: Ascendancy

    Branding & Iconography

    0:10:10Mark LaCroixMarketingSmash TV - WikipediaThomas Was Alone - Bithell Games

    The Ethics of Engagement

    0:36:22Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame DesignEgg, Inc. - Auxbrain, Inc.Idle Acorns - Aleros LLCBeReal social media

    A little learning is a dangerous thing

    Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.

    This is a line from Alexander Pope's Essay on Criticism (1711). The Pierian spring is a fountain in Pieria, a district round Mount Olympus and the native country of the Muses. You can read the full text for free here on Project Gutenberg.


    Nice Games Jam: "Cat Time" [Nice Replay] Jan 25, 2024
    Show notes #321Cat TimeNice Games Jam2023.09.07

    It's been a while but your nice hosts come up with a game in roughly an hour, this one for the cat owners out there! After a fairly long meta, we get into the mind of a cat and design a competitive game for them to play.

    Toronto International Film FestivalRenew an adult passport - USA.govBloor–Yonge station - WikipediaPromptCreate a game my mother can (and wants to) play with her cats, with the supply list below. Bonus points if this can be played a single cat or multiple cats at the same time, for optimum usefulness in listener households with single catsGame typeDesign documentPlayer count2Materials

    At least two cats

    A cat toy shaped like a die with a treat inside

    List of activities the die points to

    Setup

    Pick an end date for when the game stops (can be arbitrary).

    Rules

    Give the cats the cat toy shaped like a die, they will roll the die and leave it eventually, and this determines the next activity for the human to set up. Once the die decides what the next activity is, the human sets it up based on a chart. Once the task is completed and cats are awarded points, repeat the die roll and do the next activity until the end date (since remember, you're on Cat Time so the amount of activities you do depends on your cats). The winner is the cat with the most points by the end!

    Examples of tasks (there would be at least 20):

    1. Cat task: One cat at a time for this challenge. Put something on top of the cat’s head and start the stopwatch. Whichever cat keeps the object on their head the longest gets X points.
    2. Cat task: Make a loud meowing sound. Whichever cat looks at you first gets X points.
    3. Human task: Award the cat who has been the best sport X points.
    4. Cat task: Hold both cats in your hands. Whichever cat jumps off first LOSES. Winner gets X points.
    5. Cat task: Place a ring of non-breakable objects (probably cat toys) around the edge of a table so that the tabletop is fully circled by objects. Place both cats, the task ends when both cats are off the table. Each cat gets a number of points equal to a multiplier of the number of objects that were knocked off the table.
    6. Cat task: Put the same number of treats in each hand. Call both cats over for them to snack from your hands. Whichever cat finishes their treats first is the winner and gets X points.
    7. Human task: Pick the cat that you feel the most sorry for and award them X points.
    8. Human task: Pick the cat that currently looks the sleepiest and sit them out for the next challenge.

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