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"E for Everybody!" Patches and Add-on Content; International Age Ratings Systems Jun 25, 2019

Show notes

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.

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 DocsUnity0:15:29

International Age Ratings Systems

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)

E3 2019 Special Jun 18, 2019

Show notes

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 at E3 2019

0:16:57

Microsoft E3 2019

E3 2019: ID@Xbox Shines the Spotlight on Amazing Independent GamesLisa TrottXbox WireThe SDK 'Power Mac G5' for the Xbox 360Soutenir le blogjournaldulapinUltra-high-speed SSD is 'the key' to next-gen PS5Anthony GarreffaTweakTown0:22:49

Bethesda at E3 2019

"How to make a perfect E3 press conference (or drinking game)" PolygonYouTube"Deathloop: Everything we know so far" Heather WaldGamesRadar0:34:50

Square Enix at E3 2019

"Marvel's Avengers: Is it Connected to Spider-Man PS4?"Rob LeaneDen of Geek0:38:27

Nintendo at E3 2019

"The Story of Zelda: Link's Awakening" Gaming Historian YouTube"Everything We Noticed From The Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Sequel Teaser" Joseph StanicharGame Informer0:54:37

Others at E3 2019

0:56:03

Stephen’s Travelogue!

That shop in Little Tokyo Stephen visited was Retro Game Camp LA.

When the power went out at E3, Nintendo was preparedMichael McWhertorPolygon

Nice Games Jam: "Rules" Jun 11, 2019

Show notes

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!

PromptMake 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 typeTabletop gamePlayer count2Materials

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

“That wasn’t the angle I was going for.” Extra Modes; Unit Testing Jun 04, 2019

Show notes

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!

0:07:06

Extra Modes

"Assassin's Creed Isn't Necessarily Done With Multiplayer" Jordan RaméeGameSpot"Why City Trial is the most memorable part of Kirby Air Ride" Chris HovermaleDestructoid"Fortnite Battle Royale Took Two Months to Develop and Launch" Derek NicholsGameRant"Riot got rid of League of Legends’ URF mode because it made people stop playin…Ali JonesPCGamesN"Threading the Needle: The Making of Quake Team Fortress" David CraddockShacknews"The making of Gwent" Phil SavagePC Gamer"Where Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker came from" Michael McWhertorPolygon0:41:31

Unit Testing

"Unit testing with Jasmine: The very basics" Aurel Kurtuladev.toTesting Unity Projects ilkinulasGitHubNUnit framework "Unit Testing Tutorial: What is, Types, Tools, EXAMPLE" Guru99Guru99.com"What is Unit Testing, Why We Use It, and Sample Test Cases" Lets Build That AppYouTubeTesting Computer Software, 2nd edition Cem Kanerbook"The 100% code coverage problem"Jeroen Mols

Beth's notes on Naming Verdant Skies — **Narrative Design (with Beth Korth)** May 28, 2019
Show notes

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 gameDesigning 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 Kartragehttps://www.kartridge.com/games/HowlingMoonSW/verdant-skiesSteam GreenlightVerdant Skies Code CommentCode Comment: "Verdant Skies"Martha plays Verdant SkiesNice Plays: "Verdant Skies" (2018)

Beth's notes on — **Narrative Design (with Beth Korth)** May 28, 2019
Show notes

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 gameDesigning 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 Kartragehttps://www.kartridge.com/games/HowlingMoonSW/verdant-skiesSteam GreenlightVerdant Skies Code CommentCode Comment: "Verdant Skies"Martha plays Verdant SkiesNice Plays: "Verdant Skies" (2018)

Boji at Playtest — **“A secret room with secret stuff!” Game Length; Saving and Loading Systems** May 21, 2019
Show notes

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!).
Our pal Abdiwak Yohannes is making Boji:
Boji theme song on Soundcloud! - Abdiwak Yohannes
Boji in action! - @heyglitch, Twitter
Boji Animated! - @heyglitch, Twitter
Regular news
"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.Nice Plays: Super Mario Bros. 2 [Japan] (1986)
0:13:08
Game Length
"Assassin’s Creed Odyssey really picks up after the first 15 hours" Ben KucheraPolygon"Length Matters" Ben LindberghThe Ringer0:44:41
Saving and Loading Systems
"Saved, But Not Forgotten: The evolution of saving in video games" Mark ChristianTedium"In Dishonored, You're Either a Cheater or a Serial Killer" Chris Kohler and Chris BakerWiredLOVE, a “challenging but fair platformer.”Nintendo.com"How to Hack Your Game Saves: A Basic Guide to Hex Editing" Alex WongNull ByteWe 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.Code Comment: "Verdant Skies"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.Code Comment: "Verdant Skies"

“Once more with feeling!” Scoring Systems; Lives and Continues May 13, 2019

Show notes

This week on Nice Games Club we rack up a ridiculous number of points while discussing scoring systems, lives and continues! We debate whether these systems are relics from the arcade past or are still relevant game mechanics. Martha makes up numbers, Mark quantifies the Star Trek Universe and Stephen gets the high score.

0:15:10

Scoring Systems

Clicker HeroesWikipedia0:38:52

Lives and Continues

Felix Drags Dale through the Marvel Universe — **“It’s time for Gex.” Nice Games Bulletin** May 07, 2019
Show notes

It's another dispatch of the Nice Games Bulletin! Your nice hosts talk E3, Star Trek, and weaponized nostalgia, then eventually get around to discussing the latest news and releases in video games, including important developments in workers rights, console certification mishaps, and the live-action debut of more than one ugly rodent.
The Deep Space Nine Anniversary Documentary Is Hitting Theaters for One Day Onl… - James Whitbrook, IO9
Bulletin topic (Recent releases)
Timecode0:06:24Ronda Rousey Being In Mortal Kombat 11 Is Bullshit - Heather Alexandra, Kotaku Labo VR: how Mario and Zelda look and play in virtual reality - Thomas Morgan, Eurogamer Bubsy: Paws On Fire! Comes To Switch In May Whether You Want It To Or Not - Ryan Craddock, NintendoLife F. Gary Gray Is Working on a Saints Row Movie Adaptation - Julie Muncy, Wired
Bulletin topic (News)
Timecode0:28:15
Just saw Avengers: Endgame and want to talk about America's Ass? Subscribe to "Felix Drags Dale Through the Marvel Universe" (available wherever you get your podcasts)!
Felix and Dale PodcastOver 150 Riot Employees Walk Out To Protest Forced Arbitration And Sexist Cultu… - Cecilia D'Anastasio and Nathan Grayson, Kotaku As Riot Games employees walk out, discontent swirls among video game industry w… - Matthew Smith and Nicole Karlis, Salon Epic buys Rocket League developer Psyonix, strongly hints it will stop selling … - Nick Statt, The Verge Nintendo Removes Game From Switch Shop After Developer Reveals Secret Code Edit… - Nathan Grayson, Kotaku Play the web version of "A Dark Room" for free here.
VR News!
Valve Index reveal: The best of VR’s first generation—but is it worth $999? - Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica Oculus Quest review: 2019’s best new gaming system is wireless, affordable VR - Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica Hands-on with the new $399 Oculus Rift S: More pixels, zero webcams, better fit - Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica
More News!
Pitchford promises no “free-to-play junk” for Borderlands 3 - Kyle Orland, Ars Technica Speedrunner Smashes A Computer-Assisted Super Mario Bros. Record By A Single Fr… - Natalie Degraffinried, Kotaku Xbox Has New Guidelines on How to Talk Trash Without Getting Banned - Nicole Carpenter, Motherboard God of War Director Weighs In On Sonic the Hedgehog Design Changes - Tyler Fischer, Comicbook.com

Nice Games Jam: "Blob Ball" Apr 30, 2019

Show notes

This week on the program is another Nice Games Jam, where we are given a prompt from Martha’s boyfriend (and Evil Games Club co-host) Dylan, which we have to use to create a playable game prototype by the end of the episode.

The prompt was to create a paper prototype of a game that combines "hilarious movement" like in games like Gang Beasts or Octodad with a card game.

You can play the prototype of our creation "Blob Ball" at home using the rules below. Maybe we'll actually make the video game version sometime!

Promptcreate a paper prototype of a game that combines "hilarious movement" like in games like Gang Beasts or Octodad with a card game.Game typePaper prototypePlayer count3Materials

3 decks of cards

1 joker to be the blob ball

Setup

2 decks of cards for the two players ( 1 Deck each)

Separate out the face cards
Place on the starting line for each player
Put all other cards aside

1 deck of card for the for AI physics

Sort into suits
Pull out Ace-4 and the face cards from the Hearts suit to make the blob movement Heart deck and set all other hearts aside
Give one suite deck other than hearts to each player and keep one for physics. These suit decks will be used to play war to determine who has control of the ball.

1 Joker to be the blob ball placed in the center of the field

Rules

Goal
- Move blob past opponent’s starting line
Characters
- Jack, moves 3 spaces without the ball, 1 space with the ball
- Queen, moves 2 spaces with or without ball (ball can only move as fast as the slowest character on it)
- King, moves 1 space with or without the ball
Each player has three actions to do things on their turn
- Move a character (only can move an individual character once per turn)
- Lift blob (auto chance to lift blob if the player ends turn with three cards on it)
- Move blob (only once per turn- ball can only move as fast as the slowest character on it)
When picking up blob:
- Need at least 3 cards on blob to pick it up.
- Play “war” with AI physics player using the physics suit decks- higher card (plus any player bonus points) wins
  - Numbers worth their number (Ace is worth 1)
  - Jack = 11, Queen = 12, King = 13
- Bonus for each card on blob: King +2, Queen +1, Jack +0
- If opponent is also on the blob, they get to play in the war hand as well to defend with their bonuses and prevent blob movement
If blob falls out by Physics winning in “war”:
- Throw ace of hearts to determine direction. The end point of the heart is the direction it moves
- Draw from the Heart deck of Jack (worth 1), Queen (worth 1), King (worth 1), Ace (worth 1), 2, 3, and 4 to determine amount of movement.