Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!

Nice Games Jam: "I’m Holding It for a Friend"

Note: Minor hiccup with the audio recording in the first 2 minutes, so Lydia is off mic briefly but it fixes itself.We invite Joanna May into the clubhouse again in this supersized episode to design a game about stowing illicit goods into spacecraft as it's being built!Tangrams - WikipediaWe mention Dogpile!, a game we made in a previous game jam.Dogpile!PromptDesign a puzzle game about loading passengers and/or cargo into various spacecraft (or other transport).Game typeTabletop gamePlayer count4 or moreRulesThe ship is a pad of paper with outline of ship (legal pad sized)The interior is blank, what you draw is the interior spacesEach turn, the freighter captain draws the modulesFalse walls, freezers, to shape what you can put in thereThey have their own secret goalEach turn, the other players are smuggling things (they don’t know about what others are doing)ContrabandEach turn they can put one thing in there or move a thingMaybe you have to slide it only, you can’t pick it up after it’s been addedEach game has an ending determination and then also a scoring systemEveryone loses if ship gets caughtHidden role game?Freighter CaptainMakes the shipContraband smugglerTries to add the most of contraband as they canHonest workerWants to add the most of the goal as possibleInspectorWants to find the smuggler

"Ain’t nothin’ left." Role-playing; To Rebuild or Not to Rebuild

Joanna May returns to the clubhouse as a guest host! Your four nice hosts chat Tetris, knitting, and CSS, but also have a pair of actual topics to discuss...Mark's game Blippo+ is out NOW! Go buy it on Switch and Steam!0:13:36Role-playingComplete History Of The Soviet Union, Arranged To The Melody Of TetrisPig with the Face of a BoyYouTubeTetris (film) - Historical accuracyWikipedia0:35:27To Rebuild or Not to RebuildJoanna previously joined us as a guest to discussSerializationGodot 4.5 release notes - SDL3 gamepad inputGodotNoble EngineNoble RobotGitHubThe Slow Way Is the Fast WayMark SamplesJoanna and Mark debated a concept called "Utility-first CSS"A Year of Utility Classes (Pro)Michelle BarkerCSS { In Real Life }What is Utility-First CSS? (Anti)Heydon PickeringHeydonWorks

Serious Play Conference 2025

Your nice hosts Lydia and Ellen are on a seriously playful adventure in beautiful Rochester, New York for the Serious Play conference! They discuss game accessibility, D&D therapy, lexical gaps, validation, and more.In addition, Lydia beats the pavement and gets the hot scoop on what attendees learned at the conference and the games that shaped them.Many thanks once more to: Serious Play for Lydia's press pass.Ellen for the cute little lavalier microphones that made interviews possible.Ellen and Nikita for being the best travel buddies ever.Interviewees for sharing their thoughts with our nice listeners.Serious Play ConferenceEllen's previous trip to this conference was recounted in:Serious Play Conference 2023Serious Play ConferenceXbox Adaptive ControllerXbox.comPlayStation Access ControllerPlaystation.comQuadstickAble Gamers

"There's little guys in my screen." Video Content; Use the Dang Potion!

In this episode, Mark and Stephen talk about what they are excited about. Lydia deals with a existential crisis about keeping too much stuff. And nobody talks about the full motion video game that Dale made during a Global Game Jam during the topic on video content, where they talked extensively about FMV games. Don't worry! Dale edited this episode and linked the game in the show notes below. ;)Lydia played some Dutch gamesGeharrewar in de Sushi-bar - Board Game GeekPort Royale - Board Game GeekStephen is very excited about Kirby Air Riders. Is it as good as he anticipated? Past Stephen sure hopes so!Kirby Air Riders Direct 8.19.2025 - Nintendo of America, YouTubeMark went to L.A. for the Blippo+ ExhibitionBlippo+ - SteamPre-order Blippo+ on Switch - NintendoMark's favorite museum: LACMANice Games AllianceNice Games Alliance is the org that supports the local communityBeth Korth was recently on the show in Episode 382 to talk aboutNice Games Alliance WorkshopsWhen the club plugs the Discord, Mark mentions a Discord conversation the podcast's outro in Episode 400"From apocrypha or experience." 400th Episode SpecialVideo ContentBlippo+Telling LiesWikipediaDinosaur Hunter (aka 3D Dino World)WikipediaQuantum BreakWikipediaControl (the game)WikipediaWitnessWikipediaDragon's Dogma 2 Steak videoYouTubeAlan Wake 2The FMV (Full Motion Video) Game that Dale and Beth made for Global Game Jam 2020 is very campy. Enjoy!Global Game JamGlobal Game JamCorporate Espionage (the Game) Use the Dang Potion!The reasons Lydia doesn't use the Potion:1) She might need it (more) later, I don't want to waste it2) Everything could matterAnd more reasons:3) Things are power in a power fantasy game, and it's hard to give up power 4) Potions feel like an assist mode, because you want to be better than that 5) Gambler's funCombatting the natural emotional response for players to keep their stuffMake stuff very abundant, and add use ware (like Zelda Breath of the Wild) Add narrative context that the intention is to sell it for in game money (like in Spirit Farer) Add explicit indicators that an item is required for a quest.Create items that are specific to a single purpose.Discourage gathering more items by making them annoying to collect

Nice Thinking: "Fishing Minigame Collection"

Stephen Business is back! And he’s  attempting to make a meme into a reality. It’s a fishing minigame collection. The clubhouse attempts to answer the questions:How many fishing minigames is too many fishing minigames?What are different ways of fishing?Is it okay to shoot fish with lasers?Who are those teenagers with emo hair in the Bentley?Should Stephen make something on the Playdate?Is button mashing good?Why do people go fishing? Does anyone actually like fishing?You can wishlist 'Blippo+' on Steam! - SteamFishingLydia kicked of this topic with a comment an episode, maybe this one?Revisiting Your GamesFishing Minigame MemeRedditLydia learned about noodling from this youtube channelBon AppetitYouTubeFeeding time at a Fish Hatchery is bonkers!YouTubeLydia's nice list of games with fishing minigamesTales of Arise Pokemon Animal Crossing Stardew ValleyLegend of Zelda (many) SkyrimKirby The Forgotten Land Verdant Skies Spiritfarer Red Dead Redemption 2 Final Fantasy (many) Sonic Frontiers Far Cry 5Hades