Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!

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Nice Plays: Ludum Dare 40 games (2017) Dec 25, 2017

Show notes

(Watch this and other Nice Plays on YouTube for HD-quality.)

It's an Xmas miracle! In this jumbo-sized edition, your nice hosts play 36 (!!!) games in less than 50 minutes! Each of these games were created during the 40th Ludum Dare online game jam, which took place December 1st - 4th, 2017.

Stephen and Mark participated in this jam with friends of the show Sara Ferret and Lane Davis, and to cap off this episode, Martha plays their game, Widget Satchel.

Video

Releasing a Game (with Ben Burnes) Dec 19, 2017

Show notes

Your nice hosts interview Ben Burnes, sole developer of recently released Color Jumper, to discuss the process of finally releasing a game, and the lessons learned along the way.

Releasing a Game

Marketing Production

Color Jumper is available on Steam right now! You can try it out on the itch.io page

The 20/60/20 Rule of Leadership” - Derrick Strand, LinkedIn Ben had mixed results with Keymailer.Ben shared two years(!!) of in-development GIFs of Color Jumper.Facepunch.Steamworks is a C# Library for Steamworks.Will Tice was a previous guest who we talked to about solo development.Solo Development

Ben talked about how every last 10% of work is another 90% of work, and so on. But don’t worry, because 0.999... is equal to 1!

The Agile Composer: Project Management for Game Audio - Dan Hulsman, Video Game Music Academy

"Schrödinger’s Animal Crossing." Influences; Repetition Dec 12, 2017

Show notes

This week is Stephen's first turn as roundtable host, Mark teaches us about film and Martha sells her soul for three Destiny 2 faction tokens.

Mark and Stephen and friends made it through Ludum Dare! Check out their game called Widget Satchel.

0:02:49

Influences

What Is Blackout Poetry? These Fascinating Poems Are Created From Existing Art E. Ce MillerBustle

That action/puzzle game Stephen was trying to remember was Meteos.

We talked about Star Wars Episode 1 Racing in our episode on racing games."We joke here."The Secret of Mario's Jump (and other Versatile Verbs)Game Maker's ToolkitYouTubeThe Norwood Suite Is A Very Different Kind Of Music Game EThan GachKotaku0:46:44

Repetition

The Unexpected Joy Of Repetition In Video GamesHeather AlexanderKotakuDesert Bus comes to VR at long lastOwen S. GoodPolygonStuck on repeat: why we love repetition in musicTom Service The GuardianSaying the same word over again until it means nothing is called semantic satia…WikipediaLoops EpisodeRadiolabPodcast

Nice Plays: Borderlands 2 (2012) Dec 09, 2017

Show notes

(Watch this and other Nice Plays on YouTube for HD-quality.)

In this episode, Mark plays the opening chapter of one of Martha's very favorite games, Borderlands 2, and then Martha takes over to show off her badassitude. Your nice hosts talk about narrative in FPS games, generous loot systems, and how wonderful/terrible Claptrap is.

Game: Borderlands 2
Developer: Gearbox Software
Publisher: 2K Games
Platform: PC
Year: 2012
Genre: First-person shooter

Video

Nice Plays: Inflatality (2017) Dec 09, 2017

Show notes

(Watch this and other Nice Plays on YouTube for HD-quality.)

In this episode, your nice hosts battle each other in a brand new indie fighting game. The overall win-loss record isn't important... the main takeaway is that Martha and Mark both beat Stephen.

Game: Inflatality
Developer: Hojo Studio
Publisher: Hojo Studio
Platform: PC
Release date: Oct. 26, 2017
Genre: Fighting

Video

"Shaniqua Shepard sounds cool." Fighting Games; Character Roleplaying Nov 28, 2017

Show notes

This week, Martha hosts her first roundtable episode, Mark starts another argument, and Stephen gets sassy about his favorite game genre.

Stephen did regret promising to have his talk notes up. They’ll be up ASAP!

Martha had a blast at the My Brother, My Brother and Me show!

0:08:08

Fighting Games

Games N’ Go in Roseville, MN often has Friday fighting game nights.The Moon Fields, a Wisconsin fighting game by Lunar Signals.Terminology and glossary guide for fighting gamesEvent HubsThe White Belts Facebook group is helpful for those looking to start fighting g…In case you’re curious who the top characters are in Super Smash Bros. games, h…Sonic hurricane dot com is a great guide about footsies and the role it plays i…0:40:09

Character Roleplaying

The Uncharted 2 commercial Mark references. It is pretty terrible.We reference a few of the future games talked about in the past episode,"We joke here."Seems some other people agree with Mark’s stance on Shepard’s first name.

"This misinformation vortex." One year of Nice Games Club! Imposter Syndrome (revisited); Conferences / Gaming Events (revisited); VR Development (revisited); Prototyping (revisited); Messages and Meanings (revisited); Strategy Guides (revisited); The Fu Nov 21, 2017

Show notes

It’s a very special episode, as your nice hosts celebrate one year(!!!) of Nice Games Club by revising their favorite topics from the show’s first 50+ episodes. Also: Mark complains about Las Vegas, Martha repeatedly gets the last laugh, and Stephen doesn’t like talking about his problems.

0:03:06

Imposter Syndrome (revisited)

Impostor Syndrome Is Not Just a Confidence ProblemAlicia LiuMedium0:14:20

Conferences / Gaming Events (revisited)

Adobe’s prototype AI tools let you instantly edit photos and videos James VincentThe VergeSo Adobe XD CC is out, what now? Alexander DimitrovPrototypr0:24:50

VR Development (revisited)

We never miss an opportunity to plug Beach Ball Valley.SteamGoogle Blocks Logitech made a VR keyboard kit so you can type in the ViveAdi RobertsonThe VergeEVE developers CCP pulling out of VR Adam SmithRock Paper ShotgunOculus is closing its VR film studio Adi RobertsonThe VergeGoogle acquires Owlchemy Labs VR game studioLucas Matney TechCrunchWindows Mixed Reality Headsets Gain SteamVR Support, a Library of VR GamesAnton ShilovAnandTech0:40:08

Prototyping (revisited)

This topic revisits our episode"Pick up all the things."15 Top Prototyping Tools Go Head-to-HeadDave Kearney and Daniel SchwarzSitepointYouthprise0:48:44

Messages and Meanings (revisited)

This topic revisits our episode"We are artists and we should be artists."1:06:04

Strategy Guides (revisited)

This topic revisits our episode"We are artists and we should be artists."1:13:57

The Future of Nice Games Club

Puzzle/Escape Rooms (with Art Allen) Nov 14, 2017

Show notes

A special episode, with a unique guest, who is also a fan of the show! Minneapolis-based Riddle Room creator and owner Art Allen enters the clubhouse to talk about making, designing, and operating puzzle/escape room games, and the ways in which its similar and different from creating digital games.

Puzzle/Escape Rooms

Physical Games Peeking Behind the Locked Door: A Survey of Escape Room Facilities - Scott Nicholson The 10 Best VR Puzzle and Escape Room Games - Andy O'Donnell, Lifewire The Stagecoach-themed children’s book we talked about is Nine for California, b…Escape Room Enthusiast Facebook group Escape Room Owners Facebook group

Nice Plays: Color Jumper (2017) Nov 07, 2017

Show notes

In this episode, Mark plays a new indie release by a Twin Cities developer. He dies a lot, and it's only partially the controller's fault.

Game: Color Jumper
Developer/Publisher: Tall Beard Studios
Platform: Windows / Mac / Linux
Year: 2017
Genre: Precision Platformer

Video

Nice Plays: Super Mario Bros. 2 [Japan] (1986) Nov 07, 2017

Show notes

In this episode, Martha (and then Stephen) are tortured by bad level design and user-hostile game mechanics in the original Japanese version of Super Mario Bros. 2, while Mark praises the oft-misunderstood American version of the game.

NOTE: Mark was wrong. There *were* mid-level checkpoints in the original Super Mario Bros.

Game: Super Mario Bros. 2 (Japan)
Developer/Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Famicom Disk System
Year: 1986
Genre: Platformer