Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!

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"Boo!" Upcoming Games; Release Dates; Win Conditions Nov 01, 2017

Show notes

In our first (and likely only ever) Halloween episode, Martha haunts the clubhouse, Mark delivers some bad Zelda-related news to Stephen, and from Stephen’s topic a thousand flowers bloom.

Mark gave a talk on object-oriented programming at the first annual M+DEV confe…

0:04:41

Upcoming Games

Tech Interview: Destiny 2 and Bungie's return to PC gamingRichard LeadbetterEurogamer18 new Nintendo Switch games are out this week — the most everAllegra FrankPolygonPokemon Stars: all the latest leaks from the confirmed Nintendo Switch gameEmma BoyleTechRadar[Your Name] the HedgehogKnow Your Meme0:20:58

Release Dates

The Dark Night Rises had No Competition at the Box OfficeJim PagelsSlateThe Weird Reason Why Video Games Are Released On Tuesdays Karyne LevyBusiness Insider

We asked folks at r/gamedev about release date strategies. Thanks to those who contributed to this episode!

0:31:07

Win Conditions

Loot Boxes Are Designed To Exploit UsHeather Alexandra,KotakuHow Game Designers Protect Players From ThemselvesGame Maker's ToolkitYouTubeThe long, hard, journey behind the design of Dead Cells’ player builds Alex WiltshireRock Paper ShotgunDesert Bus For Hope

Nice Plays: Thirty Flights of Loving (2012) Oct 10, 2017

Show notes

In this episode (Nice Games Club's 50th!), Martha plays (and finishes!) a game Stephen once recommended to Mark (but Mark forgot about). A first-person narrative, Thirty Flights of Loving is a 5-year old game written in a 10-year old engine, but still holds up, according to your nice hosts, anyway.

Game: Thirty Flights of Loving
Developer/Publisher: Blendo Games
Platform: PC (Windows, Mac)
Year: 2012
Genre: First-person Narrative

Video

Nice Plays: Pajama Sam 2 (1998) Oct 10, 2017

Show notes

In this episode, Mark plays one of Martha's favorites, the classic PC point and click adventure Pajama Sam 2, and learns why she loves and is inspired by this game's development studio so much.

Game: Pajama Sam 2: Thunder and Lightning Aren’t So Frightening
Developer/Publisher: Humongous Entertainment
Platform: PC (Windows, Mac, Linux)
Year: 1998
Genre: Point & Click Adventure

We mentioned, but didn't show, the game's intro cut scene.
As it happens, Pajama Sam was voiced by one of Mark's favorite comic actors, Pamela Adlon, although she's more famous for voicing Bobby on King of the Hill. She is currently starring in the show Better Things, which she created and produces, and for which she was nominated for an Outstanding Lead Actress Emmy in 2017.
This game includes references to other Humongous titles, including Backyard Sports.
Boris Karloff played Frankenstein's monster.

Video

"Right the dang now." Scope Creep; eSports Oct 07, 2017

Show notes

In this episode, Stephen fights his demons, Martha likes sports now, and Mark learns a lot about both.

0:02:41

Scope Creep

Martha took a blacksmithing class! Also, her instructor told her this was a perfect forge weld.

Martha brought up fighting scope creep on our GDC 2017 Special.GDC 2017 Special (Part 1)Project management is a way to combat scope creep that we’ve covered before, in the episode"We joke here."A core concept for your game can help focus ideas as well. We go over this in our Game Design Primer topic in our episode"That makes me retroactively nervous." Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-MakingSam Kaner

Our post on the r/gamedev. Special thanks to SaxPanther, ledat, GravityGamesInt, Bwob, and DustyPixel for their stories.

SaxPanther created a battle royale game out of the Unity Roll-A-Ball tutorial.ledat shared a story on how one person accidentally created banking software after attempting to streamline coffee orders.0:30:53

eSports

League of Legends

League of Legends World Championship is happening RIGHT THE DANG NOW!
Martha will be rooting for her favorite team, C9.

Player Signings, Salaries, and More in the Overwatch League™Blizzard EntertainmentLeague of Legends' ratings top NBA Finals, World Series clinchersPatrick DorseyESPNAn example of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament casting.TwitchThe Story of DOTAPaul DeanEurogamerThe biggest Call of Duty tournament shines light on growth of esportsJordan CrookTechCrunchThe Rise and Fall of StarCraft II as an eSportKevin HovdestadIGN How Intellectual Property Rights Are Hurting Esports TeamsLeonard LangenscheidtThe Esports ObserverThere is, in fact, a Civilization VI eSports scene.Leif JohnsonMotherboard

"I do business." DLC and Expansions; Genre in Games Oct 02, 2017

Show notes

This week, Stephen finally gets a theme song, Mark plays devil's advocate, and Martha gets dangerously close to a topic your nice hosts swore to never talk about on the show.

0:02:40

DLC and Expansions

When Mark was young, he bought unofficial Quake mods on CD-ROM.

Turns out, Electronics Boutique and EB Games are the same thing.

Day-One DLC Isn’t Always Evil, Says Borderlands 2 GuyTina AminiKotakuPatch The ProcessRami IshmailStreet Fighter V is a Barebones Game That’s a Sign of the TimesPaul TamburroCraveCode analysis of No Man's Sky praises engine, criticises "unfinished" game Andy ChalkPC GamerIt turns out Sony won’t be charging PS4 Pro players for 4K upgrade patchesDanny CowanDigital TrendsMario Party 2: Luigi wins by doing absolutely nothingKlydeStromYouTube

Turns out, Dungeons & Dragons does use software-style versioning for their “patch notes.”

After recording this episode, Mark had an idea for how to price DLC in Metro Nexus.

Nier Automata Lets Players Buy PSN Trophies With In-Game MoneyHeather AlexandraKotakuPayday 2 rolls back microtransactions after fan outrageKyle OrlandArs Technica5G - Press START to PlayMake Hack RepeatYouTubeI Am Rich: The Story of the World's Strangest Mobile AppAntoni Zolciak In’saneLab0:38:34

Genre in Games

Wikipedia says “Genres are not usually defined by the actual content of the game.”

“List of accolades received by Grand Theft Auto V” - WikipediaWikipedia

Turns out, Call of Duty games have been nominated for a lot of BAFTAs over the years.

What makes an RPG an RPG: a universal definition Craig SternSinister DesignMass Effect - Don’t Touch ThatsvaalbardYouTubeMass Effect - Blasto! (hilarious)Generic GamingYouTubeLudonarrative Dissonance in BioshockClint HawkingClick NothingNaughy Dog Doesn’t Get Ludonarrative DissonanceAlessio Palumbowccftech

A good critical review of Jason Schreier’s book “Blood, Sweat, And Pixels,” which Mark read recently and really liked.

Evil Games Club 2! Sep 26, 2017

Show notes

Uh oh… they're back… it's EVIL GAMES CLUB!

Snide laugh! Malicious gafaw! In this, our second evil episode, your evil hosts revisit some of the dumb topics Nice Games Club covered in previous episodes, and correct the record where required. We're at it again, being evil, that is!

0:02:46

Crafting Systems

This topic is a followup to the episode "It's against the law to stop."5 Approaches to Crafting Systems in Games (and Where to Use Them)Alexander KingEnvato Tuts+The absolute best video game crafting systemsTy ArthurGame SkinnyHow The Witcher 3 succeeds where Mass Effect: Andromeda falls shortJody MacgregorPC GamerMass Effect: Andromeda's Menus Are A MessAlex WalkerKotaku AustraliaGames like Fallout 4 take crafting too far for the average playerBlackTideTVGameSkinnyFallout 4 Has A Ton Of Junk, And It's Stressing Me Out”Patricia HernandezKotaku0:26:23

Game Jams

This is a followup to the episodes"Bananas, from here to eternity."and this episode which talks about Dylan on the Train JamGDC 2017 Special (Part 1)Global Game Jam 2018 starts Jan 26th.“Echoes of Kai Anders” (Adia and Stephen’s GGJ 2017 game).Adia Alderson and Stephen McGregor et al.GGJ“Listen Up, Four Eyes” (Dylan, Martha, and Mark’s GGJ 2017 game).Dylan Skerbitz, Martha Megarry, Mark LaCroix et al.GGJ

A list of upcoming Game Jams

Game jams on itch.io indiegamejams.com GameJolt Jams Ludum Dare 40 takes place Dec 1st-4th, 2017 Your evil hosts praised the organizer of Train Jam 2017, Adriel Wallick.@MsMinotaurTwitter

(off topic!)

A Musical Character Customization Trick For Everyone To CopyKirk HamiltonKotaku0:52:39

Bad Gamedev Habits

This topic is a followup to the episode"Can I tweet about this?"

While this topic was mostly evil talk directed at Nice Game Club, it also included some uncharacteristically sage advice from your evil hosts. Take heed, or suffer!

**Playtesting (with Dale LaCroix)** Sep 20, 2017
Show notes

Well, it finally happened. Dale LaCroix, (aka: "#1 Playtester," one-third of Evil Games Club, and Mark's wife) joins your nice hosts in the clubhouse to talk about playtesting!
Stephen writes down everything Dale says about what it takes to be a good playtester, Martha laughs at all of Dale's jokes, and Mark deals with the fact that his wife doesn't really like his game.
We also talked about the recent solar eclipse. Check out Martha's photo, taken at the moment of totality
Playtesting
ProductionThis isn't the first time we've talked about playtesting on the show. We talked about it on the Interview with Nic VanMeertenGames User Research and Analytics This is what Martha looks like when she is demoing Claw BreakerStephen's playtesting notebook

Martha's claw dance — **Playtesting (with Dale LaCroix)** Sep 20, 2017
Show notes

Well, it finally happened. Dale LaCroix, (aka: "#1 Playtester," one-third of Evil Games Club, and Mark's wife) joins your nice hosts in the clubhouse to talk about playtesting!
Stephen writes down everything Dale says about what it takes to be a good playtester, Martha laughs at all of Dale's jokes, and Mark deals with the fact that his wife doesn't really like his game.
We also talked about the recent solar eclipse. Check out Martha's photo, taken at the moment of totality
Playtesting
ProductionThis isn't the first time we've talked about playtesting on the show. We talked about it on the Interview with Nic VanMeertenGames User Research and Analytics This is what Martha looks like when she is demoing Claw BreakerStephen's playtesting notebook

"Qapla'!" Intro to Linguistics for Game Developers; Making Your Own Tools Sep 12, 2017

Show notes

This week, Martha has so much to talk about that she runs out of time, Stephen espouses the virtues of building your own gamedev tools, and Mark names the episode after a Star Trek thing because it's his birthday today so he gets to.

Discuss this episode on Reddit using this thread in r/gamedev.

0:03:31

Intro to Linguistics for Game Developers

The Legend of Zelda’s Hylian LanguageFandomThe Language Creation Society A list of constructed languages in video games.WikipediaMyst’s created language, D’ni.FandomUK Professors Go Primal With 'Far Cry'Gail HairstonUniversity of KentuckySIL’s Glossary of Linguistics article on sonority scaleSILSkyrim’s Dragon ShoutsMatt MillerGame InformerOmniglot is an encyclopedia of writing systems and languagesOmniglotThe Conlangers Library game listConlangers LibraryNo Man’s Sky guide: alien races, languages and Monolith puzzlesJeffrey ParkinPolygonThe Rosetta Stone in Fez (Pretty obvious clue in hindsight.)mykwudYouTubeTwitter Blowup Leads to Sudden Cancellation of Fez II Owen GoodKotakuPlaying the Birth and Death of Language in 'Dialect'Alex RobertsWaypointScientology’s enturbulating lingo Britt PetersonThe Boston GlobeKathryn Hymes on Twitter@chiclashawTwitterThe Language Construction Kit, a book Martha recommended, is available for free…bookDescribing Morphosyntax: A Guide For Field Linguists is the other book Martha r…bookSpeaking ‘Star Trek’: Meet the Man Who Made Up the Klingon LanguageMatt BlitzPopular MechanicsThe Klingon Language Institute is a thing that exists.International Phonetic AlphabetWikipediaMass Effect: Meeting the Elcor AmbassadorThieving HIppoYouTubeGaming’s favorite VR mouse uses sign language in the cutest wayAllegra FrankPolygonCantonese vs. MandarinOff the Great WallYouTubeFeast Your Eyes on This Beautiful Linguistic Family TreeArika OkrentMental FlossThe Conlangery Podcast is a neat podcast about linguistics and conlang.Podcast0:44:57

Making Your Own Tools

We referenced a few of our episodes during the show: "75% sure.""The Stevechievement."GDC 2017 Special (Part 1)GDC 2017 Special (Part 2)Stephen’s tool he recently made for Fingeance.Stephen McGregorTwitterTech Toolbox microtalks at GDC 2017GDCOur friends at Howling Moon made Super Fast Soft Shadow.Unity

Nice Plays: Boor (2017) Sep 05, 2017

Show notes

"Nice Plays" are video episodes where your nice hosts play and talk about a game, and after 17 minutes, our egg timer goes off and we give our final thoughts. In this episode, Mark plays the recent indie game Boor, and your nice hosts all find a lot to like about it!

Game: Boor (http://www.dazlog.com/boor/)

Developer: DazlogStudio
Publisher: Badland Games
Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux
Release date: February 14th, 2017
Genre: 2D Puzzle-Platformer

Summary: "Eden is a human colony far from Earth. To develop a better society, settlers made an artificial intelligence, BOOR, to help them, but this machine turned against them. When a little girl accidentally lands on the planet of Eden, she discovers BOOR has taken over and there are only a few survivors left. With her special ability to multiply herself, she'll help them destroy BOOR and reclaim the world."