In this episode, Ellen does some work research. Everyone else gets to learn about what Ellen was like as a student. Stephen wonders if he’s made a huge mistake. And Mark insists that there is no such thing as magic. Stephen started a new class: Film making Ellen forced her parents to play another game! Parks Board Game Mark saw the Badger Badger Mushroom song for the first time and was underwhelmed. Consequently, Dale was editing and then also got to see it for the first time, and found that this was the correct response. This video is over 20 years old (2003). Badger Badger Mushroo ..read more

Entering the clubhouse this week is our the third Owl (employee of Owlchemy Labs) and first Peabody Award winner (as lead developer for We Are OFK), to talk about the "dos," "don'ts," and "good enoughs" of optimization. Cleveland video game designer Jarryd Huntley wins Peabody Award for ‘We Are OFK’  -  Joey Morona ,  cleveland.com We are OFK  -  Peabody Awards Cleveland Game Developers  -  Linktree Optimization Hardware Production Programming Is Using LINQ in C# Bad for Performance?  -  James Vickers ,  The Startup For V ..read more

In this episode the boys are back in Minneapolis, but they are still thinking about their time with Ellen in Duluth, or Roboluth ;), so they are using this episode to talk about how to write a good set of instructions and a rule book for tabletop games in general and more specifically for Robston. Instructions What is Roboston? Roboston is a tabletop game that the the Nice Games Club came up with during an podcast Game Jam Episode. For anyone new to the podcast, we recommend starting two episodes back (at 362), for some background on the game. For those of you who wish for a full memory r ..read more

Once again from hilly Duluth, Minnesota! On Day 2 of a game design weekend retreat, your nice hosts tackled rules—writing rules, rewriting rules, and playtesting them. It was a long day, culminating with a family playtest of Roboston, featuring a newly written rulebook. How did it go? Well, there's more work to be done, but we learned a lot. Your hosts discuss this and more in today's episode, recorded on Day 3 of Mark's and Stephen's trip to Duluth.  Minnesotan Phrases  -  Wanderlust In Real Life Dante is the adorable troublemaker who barked MULTIPLE TIMES during t ..read more

It’s hot in the clubhouse and hot in Ellen’s greenhouse this week, so your hosts are eager to crunch through some discussion. Ellen introduces the concept of the MDA framework, and the differences between Theming and Aesthetics, and Stephen comes to a major conclusion about parrying. 0:06:40 Theming vs. Aesthetics The MDA Framework Wikipedia Ellen promised Dictionary.com definitions, so here you go: Aesthetics Dictionary.com Theme Dictionary.com We talked about theming and aesthetics for a GameJam Game from a previous episode The Bike Boom Alien Isolation Themes explored n : Demy ..read more

We invite music producer and sound designer Dave McKee into the clubhouse to talk about accessibility in games this week. Accessibility Accessibility Game Design Control Accessibility Report  -  "Vivek Gohil, Ben Kendall" ,  Family Gaming Database Inclusive Gaming: How Game Developers Can Make Video Games More Inclusive And A…  -  Accessibility.com Visual impairment accessibility musts: High Contrast User-set color schemes Big Icons! (more important even than large text, which is also important) Leverage Haptics (HD Rumble) paired with visual cues Tonin ..read more

We face complexity head-on this episode with two topics that will get your neurons firing. Mark walks through considerations involved with publishing a game to multiple platforms. It's not easy, but it's a lot easier if you plan for it from the start! If you've listened to recent episodes, you'll know that Stephen has been obsessed with the tabletop game Spirit Island. Today, he shares some of the work he's done in creating a new, customized spirit for the game. Also, Mark experiences glitches, and the hosts plan a visit. Twin Cities Playtest from IGDA-TC  -  Eventbrite ..read more

"Pillar of the community" and creator of Chipmunk2D Scott Lembcke visits the clubhouse to talk velocity, constraints, and rigidbodies. Ellen gets the music in her head, Stephen didn’t learn the opposite lesson, and Mark makes a pretty good joke about friction. Physics 101 Programming Chipmunk2D  -  Scott Lembcke ,  GitHub Gopher (protocol) Building Excalibur.js  -  Erik Onarheim ,  YouTube I'm pretty sure this was the song stuck in Ellen's head. What is an AABB?  -  Michael Rubloff ,  Radiance Fields Veridian Expanse  -  Howli ..read more

In this episode, Stephen gets excited about Summer Games Done Quick, reveals some Doctor Who spoilers,and then is shocked that Flappy Dragon has more dragons.Ellen ponders rituals, and why she comes back to some games and not others. And finally Mark wonders if it is okay to get lost in a super-fun mini-game. 0:12:21 Familiarity Ellen asks the internet: What are "casual Games"? https://www.perplexity.ai/search/What-are-casual-lDsnct7cTKiv.pJMXYef6w Ellen asks the internet: What are "Cozy Games"? https://www.perplexity.ai/search/What-are-cozy-9nReq70iRU6wRyzD1TTSEA 0:34:34 Pacing Mecha ..read more

Time is money, friend! Okay, not always. Sometimes time is a puzzle involving many interlocking responsibilities. That’s Beth’s situation, and she asks Mark and Stephen for advice on time management in the second half of this roundtable episode. During the first half, Stephen shares some BIG NEWS that will soon place some additional responsibilities on his shoulders. Beth and Mark offer suggestions. Narrative Nuance Verdant Skies 0:4:40 Creative Direction A previous episode relating to Stephen's big news! Nice Thinking: "Sledgehammer Bride" 0:31:35 Time Management Pomodoro T ..read more