Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!

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Nice Games Jam: "Roboston! (part 2)" Oct 23, 2020

Show notes

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 forRoboston! (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

PromptCreate 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 typeTabletop gamePlayer count3 - 8Materials

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!

Game Audio Tools and Workflows (with Chel Wong) Oct 14, 2020

Show notes

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

"Human, play Dom-jot?" Games in Other Media; Online Play Oct 07, 2020

Show notes

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.

0:15:25

Games in Other Media

Why I’m not buying the Harry Potter gameStacey HenleyPolygonAny 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 EvansDeadlineWhy 'Edge of Tomorrow' Got Retitled 'Live Die Repeat'Jack Giroux/FilmList of games in Star TrekWikipedia'Black Mirror: Bandersnatch' Review: Interactive Movie Falls ShortDaniel D'AddarioVarietyKimmy Schmidt vs. the Reverend Is What Interactive TV Was Made ForJen ChaneyVultureMark 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, RankedLuke WinkieVultureIt makes more sense in context...0:52:57

Online Play

Explaining how fighting games use delay-based and rollback netcodeRicky PuschArs TechnicaMost people who play video games online experience 'severe' harassment, new stu…Dave SmithBusiness Insider

Backend Tools

Unity Multiplay Steam Multiplayer Overview Photon PlayFab

Impostor Syndrome (with Heather Gartner) Oct 02, 2020

Show notes

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

Media Influences (with Xalavier Nelson Jr.) Sep 23, 2020

Show notes

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

Nice Games Jam: "Roboston! (Live at 2D Con 2020)" Sep 17, 2020

Show notes

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!

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!

"Claps in the chat." Online Events; Documentation Sep 10, 2020

Show notes

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

0:10:15

Online Events

The 2021 Game Developers Conference will try to go physical again - but now in …Sean HollisterThe VergeThe ESA sets dates for E3 2021Rebekah ValentineGamesIndustry.bizSummer Games Done Quick 2020 Raises $2.3 MillionAdam BankhurstIGN We referred to our recent episode featuring Jamaican developer Glen Henry: Indiedev During the PandemicWe 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 reckoningMark Serrels CNET0:36:05

Documentation

Putting comments in code: the good, the bad, and the uglyBill SourourfreeCodeCampWhat Is Performance Support And Why Should You Use Performance Support Tools? Asha PandeyeLearning IndustryThe perfect client brief: Does it exist?Oliver McAteerCampaign US

Programming VR Games (with Jonathan Jennings) Sep 02, 2020

Show notes

Your nice hosts are joined by another nice guest! Jonathan Jennings is a games and XR engineer out of California. In this episode, the Clubhouse hears from Jonathan on the state of VR—programming and design challenges, industry updates, and what we might expect from VR experiences in the near future. Also, we discuss how VR fighting games make us tired, our favorite Ninja Turtles, and who really invented the internet.

Programming VR Games

Programming VR / AR / XR

Here's a full list of topics and relevant links from this week's episode. Additional articles and such are below. Enjoy!

Magic Leap
Galactic Bar Fight (in development, by our nice guest)
Locomotion options in VR (for players, for devs)
Weapons systems and physics in GORN (probably NSFW because it’s a “ludicrously violent VR gladiator simulator”)
Oculus Connect 4 - Accessibility in Games conference session
VR development on macOS
ADB for macOS
Matt Gravelle episode (137)
GearVR/Daydream end of life
Pokemon Go
VR Chat
Facebook Horizon
GORN - No Weapons Run (again, probably NSFW)
Tumble VR on PlayStation VR
Drunken Bar Fight (Steam, PlayStation, Oculus)
PS5 DualSense controller haptics
The Thrill of the Fight (boxing simulation game)