Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!

Latest Episodes:

Picture of Lydia, Mark, Dale and friends beating a puzzle room. — **"Look who's old now!" Exhibiting Your Game; Design Investigations** May 07, 2026
Show notes

We talk of the old and the new in this episode, where we sort of revisit a long ago discussed topic and bring in a new topic for our (and your) perusal.
Lydia, Mark and Dale (not Stephen) finishing Video Game Mayhem...
... and Wizard's Tower in record time!
Trapped Puzzle Rooms
MPS Community Education
Lydia's family sewing machine!
0:09:39
Exhibiting Your Game
0:39:39
Design Investigations
Reading backwards: Reading against the grainKatherine FirthResearch Degree Insiders

A picture of Lydia, Mark, Dale and friends after finishing a puzzle room. — **"Look who's old now!" Exhibiting Your Game; Design Investigations** May 07, 2026
Show notes

We talk of the old and the new in this episode, where we sort of revisit a long ago discussed topic and bring in a new topic for our (and your) perusal.
Lydia, Mark and Dale (not Stephen) finishing Video Game Mayhem...
... and Wizard's Tower in record time!
Trapped Puzzle Rooms
MPS Community Education
Lydia's family sewing machine!
0:09:39
Exhibiting Your Game
0:39:39
Design Investigations
Reading backwards: Reading against the grainKatherine FirthResearch Degree Insiders

Healthy Criticism (with August Brown) Apr 30, 2026

Show notes

We welcome August Brown back into the clubhouse once more to discuss healthy criticism in the workplace, and how to foster that environment in your spaces.

Healthy Criticism

Production Hotel Infinity - Studio Chyr No Hard Feelings - Liz Fosslien & Mollie West Duffy, Portfolio

Five step instructions to play a game. Notably, NOT a tutorial. — **"He's scientific methoding you." Characterization Through Mechanics; Tutorials vs. Instructions** Apr 23, 2026
Show notes

How is it April? The episodes have been so long lately it feels like it should be more than two months since the hiatus ended. As a countermeasure, the Nice Hosts have another set of roundtable topics to break up your week and retune the time dilation. Stephen tries hard not to talk about fighting games, Lydia ponders the nature of instructions, and everyone talks a lot more about Mario than they thought they would.
0:01:41
Characterization Through Mechanics
We talked about characterization in Smash on a previous episode."I’m intrigued by big door."Lewis ChessmenWikipedia0:29:24
Tutorials vs. Instructions
The "tutorial" Lydia encountered at work that inspired this topic.

"That's fixin’ to get ready." 3D Lighting; Menus vs Parkour Apr 16, 2026

Show notes

All of your regular hosts finally make it into the clubhouse again to present to you a roundtable! After a fairly lengthy meta (it's been a long time y'all, but all interesting stuff!), we expose elements of 3D lighting and discuss an internet meme that's maybe relevant for game development.

0:26.12

3D Lighting

We previously had Mark's friend and colleague Mike on to workshop Ladder Game.Ladder Game Universal Render Pipeline documentationUnitySG Series Part 1: A Brief (and Incomplete) History of Baked Lighting Representa…MJPThe Danger ZoneReflectors: Your Secret Weapon for Amazing Portrait PhotographyOded WagensteinDigital Photography School0:58.43

Menus vs Parkour

menus and parkourimGhostKittyRedditSave Room - Organization PuzzleFractal ProjectsSteam

GDC 2026 Special (Part 2) Apr 09, 2026

Show notes

WARNING: This episode is even longer than last week's! Settle into the back half of GDC 2026 with tales from your nice hosts about interesting talks, the "new" Festival Hall, what it feels like to be up for multiple major industry awards, running into people you know for the first time, and flying home to a impending snowstorm.

In this Patreon-exclusive video, Lydia thought to mark her first GDC by capturing her first impressions of the conference's Festival Hall. Sign up at any level for instant access or, if you're not ready to enter a financial relationship with the program, you can purchase it à la carte!

0:02:44

GDC 2026 - (Dale's) Monday/Tuesday

Weaponized Play: How Extremist Networks are Targeting Children in Online GamesKatia Potapov, Rita Fabi, Jang Kim, Jessa MelleaGame Developer ConferencePage to Booth: Table-Reading and Performance Recording Live DemoAlexa Ray Corriea, Sam Maggs, Ben Starr, Jennifer Hale, Khris Brown, Amanda Rose SmithGame Developer Conference0:09:34

GDC 2026 - Wednesday

Rules of the Game 2026: Revealing Techniques from Resourceful DesignersGame Developer ConferenceImprov Games for Game DevelopersRez GrahamGame Developer ConferenceDecolonizing Play and the Rise of African Game Development (2013-2026)Eyram TawiaGame Developer ConferenceSerious Games RoundtableMatthew Lee, Kathleen YinGame Developer Conference'SILENT HILL f': The Challenges of Creating a Melee-Only Horror GameAl YangGame Developer ConferenceTest Like the Top Studios: Actionable Player Insights in 60 MinutesHeather De BernardiGame Developer ConferenceThe IGF 2026 Winners Are An Exceptional Selection Of Indie Games You’re Going T…John WalkerKotakuTrump administration's "cruel and unnecessary" acts called out by Titanium Cour…Mark WarrenRock Paper Shotgun0:56:54

GDC 2026 - Thursday

Building a Critically Acclaimed Licensed Game in 18 MonthsAmanda FaroughGame Developer ConferenceXbox Gaming for Everyone Community Networking Lounge Returns to GDC 2026MIcrosoftNobody Reads Anything: How Narrative Can Communicate So Other Disciplines Actua…Mark Slutsky, Laura Michet, Kevin SnowGame Developer ConferenceVeterans Q&A for New Writers and Narrative DesignersGame Developer ConferenceGaming the System: Creating Your Own Path to a Narrative Design CareerZoe Calamar, Luca Azenaro-AceroGame Developer Conference Worst.Game.Ever. Fixing Diabetes Management with a Video GameSam GlassenbergGame Developer Conference1:33:03

GDC 2026 - Friday

Digital Folklore: Crafting Playable Memory Through Photogrammetry and Animation…Verda MunirGame Developer ConferenceSan Francisco Railway Museum & Gift Shop The Dialogue Design Panel: A Role with a Million NamesCharles Pateman, Kareem Shuman, Monet Gardiner, Heather Plunkard-SergeGame Developer ConferenceTop 10 Ways to Get Your Game Ready For SuccessShawn Alexander AllenGame Developer ConferenceLive Sky Sound Bath and MeditationthatgamecompanyInstagramEssential Debugging Skills for Every DeveloperRez GrahamGame Developer ConferenceExperimental Games ShowcaseGame Developer ConferenceExperimental Games Showcase DemosGame Developer Conference

GDC 2026 Special (Part 1) Apr 02, 2026

Show notes

This year's GDC Special is a big one. So big that this episode is over 2 hours long... and it's only part 1 (but your nice hosts don't know that yet)!

0:15:49

GDC 2026 - Monday

GDC 2026 - Tuesday

Since we recorded this episode, a major South Korean gaming website wrote up a very detailed recap of Mark's roundtable. [English Machine Translation]

MAR10 Day returns with festivities for fans of all ages in honor of the Super M…NintendoWhy Good Games Fail: The Startup Audit Every Studio NeedsLucien ParsonsGame Developer Conference'despelote': Capturing the Feeling of 2001 Quito, EcuadorJulian CorderoGame Developer Conference

"First Person Schlorper" Cozy Games; Fast Travel Mar 26, 2026

Show notes

In this Episode, Ian once again joins the clubhouse as Dale and Mark are off on a nerdy vacation. Lydia wrestles with the term "cozy," and Stephen does some self exploration to determine why so-called cozy games make him more stressed out. Then, he creates a whole topic just to talk about the fast travel system in Dragon’s Dogma 2.

Stephen pitched Sledgehammer Bride to Melanated Games Kitchen.
Melanated Game Kitchen
The clubhouse hosted a Nice Thinking episode about Sledgehammer bride back in episode 240 Nice Thinking: "Sledgehammer Bride"
Lydia and Ian went to Con of the North
Con of the North
Lydia and Ian are playing Blippo+
Mark was a developer on the PC version of Blippo+ which is a 2026 IGF award finalist.
Blippo+

0:09:15

Cozy Games

0:38:26

Fast Travel

Dragon's Dogma 2

A sketch of the controls for the game. The left column is labeled — **Nice Games Jam: "Evil Games Jam 2: Cat Comms"** Mar 19, 2026
Show notes

Watch out, Clubhouse! Evil Games Club is out of the air vents and back in orbit to interrupt your regularly scheduled Nice Programming.
Five years in the vacuum of space haven't dulled their ne're-do-well nature one bit. In fact, they just intercepted a game jam prompt from one of the Nice Hosts. Will Dale, Ian, and Sam prove once and for all that Evil trumps Nice?
Well, *duh,* of *course* they do! >:)
The last appearance of the Evil Hosts.Evil Games Jam: Casino Go Fish
Junction Jam Interest Form
Mewgenics - Steam
Axios Twin Cities, the folks who are cataloguing the Twin Cities' store cats - Audrey Kennedy
PromptMake a game about what actually happens when "the Cat Distribution System is at work." Matchmaking can be a secondary mechanic, but it should not be the focus.Game typeDesign documentPlayer count1Setup Rules
**Notes:**
Working title: Cat Comms
What is the goal?
Cats on a journey through an environment to find owners
Different cats have different movement behaviors
Torties need to meet twice
Orange ones ignore herder but follow food
Black cats are shy
Single player - one person “herding” multiple cats
Herding through an urban environment
People (NPCs) have routes and different behaviors
Grandma moves slow
Jogger moves fast
People going back and forth - work, library, grocery store, home
Mechanics
One-time use items
Food for bait (burger, canned sardines from grocery store)
Fire truck to block street
Dogs
More cats than people, some people may want more than one cat
“End of level” time runs out or cats just kinda leave?
More cats than people
Cats get more chaotic/mischievous
How to herd?
Real-time movement, but you can select a cat to tell it its next move, but it keeps moving after that
Map is a small town, each level introduces new cat types
Iterations
Ragdoll cat - doesn’t move much
People who can’t be tracked
Bonus points for people getting their perfect cat
No upgrades to your skills, just adding more challenges
Matchmaking is secondary
Any cat could match with any person, but they have a perfect match somewhere
Dogs are a no cat zone
Grocery store could match with a cat (bodega cat)

The map the Evil Game Hosts made during their jam. It is a hand-drawn grid of buildings in a city done in colored pencils. There are symbols denoting the type of building (eg. a book on the library, etc.). — **Nice Games Jam: "Evil Games Jam 2: Cat Comms"** Mar 19, 2026
Show notes

Watch out, Clubhouse! Evil Games Club is out of the air vents and back in orbit to interrupt your regularly scheduled Nice Programming.
Five years in the vacuum of space haven't dulled their ne're-do-well nature one bit. In fact, they just intercepted a game jam prompt from one of the Nice Hosts. Will Dale, Ian, and Sam prove once and for all that Evil trumps Nice?
Well, *duh,* of *course* they do! >:)
The last appearance of the Evil Hosts.Evil Games Jam: Casino Go Fish
Junction Jam Interest Form
Mewgenics - Steam
Axios Twin Cities, the folks who are cataloguing the Twin Cities' store cats - Audrey Kennedy
PromptMake a game about what actually happens when "the Cat Distribution System is at work." Matchmaking can be a secondary mechanic, but it should not be the focus.Game typeDesign documentPlayer count1Setup Rules
**Notes:**
Working title: Cat Comms
What is the goal?
Cats on a journey through an environment to find owners
Different cats have different movement behaviors
Torties need to meet twice
Orange ones ignore herder but follow food
Black cats are shy
Single player - one person “herding” multiple cats
Herding through an urban environment
People (NPCs) have routes and different behaviors
Grandma moves slow
Jogger moves fast
People going back and forth - work, library, grocery store, home
Mechanics
One-time use items
Food for bait (burger, canned sardines from grocery store)
Fire truck to block street
Dogs
More cats than people, some people may want more than one cat
“End of level” time runs out or cats just kinda leave?
More cats than people
Cats get more chaotic/mischievous
How to herd?
Real-time movement, but you can select a cat to tell it its next move, but it keeps moving after that
Map is a small town, each level introduces new cat types
Iterations
Ragdoll cat - doesn’t move much
People who can’t be tracked
Bonus points for people getting their perfect cat
No upgrades to your skills, just adding more challenges
Matchmaking is secondary
Any cat could match with any person, but they have a perfect match somewhere
Dogs are a no cat zone
Grocery store could match with a cat (bodega cat)

Tabletop Special Mar 12, 2026

Show notes

While Mark is off on a Star Trek cruise, the rest of your nice hosts invite Lydia's husband Ian Peters to discuss tabletop games, specifically RPGs! We've split this supersized episode and topic into three different acts for your listening pleasure.

0:01:58

Holistic Connection of Theme and Mechanic

Blades in the DarkEvil Hat ProductionsGURPS: Generic Universal RolePlaying SystemSteve Jackson GamesThirsty Sword LesbiansEvil Hat ProductionsDialect: A Game About Language and How It DiesThorny Games0:33:41

Dice

Call of Cthulhu RPGChaosium Inc.Does a crit always mean success?MolaschiRedditDread the RPGThe Impossible DreamKids on BikesHunters Entertainment1:00:28

Flexibility

Lydia had talked about tabletop mechanics in her Untitled Memory Mechanic Nice Thinking episodeUntitled Memory Mechanic Citizen SleeperJump Over The AgeSteam