Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!

The clubhouse A/C broke, and it got so hot during the recording of this episode that your nice hosts started to get a little delirious. But before they completely melted down, Mark talked about how Enemy AI can be a great tool for both level design and narrative design, Stephen collaborated on a discussion about co-op games, and Martha shared her excitement about the recently held Summer Games Don...

In a previous episode, we mentioned that Mark's game, Metro Nexus , recently underwent a usability study, so for this episode, we brought in the Games User Researcher who conducted it, Hannah Murphy! Hannah talks about her work, explains the value of UX research for indie developers, and discusses the study she did for Metro Nexus. Discuss this episode on Reddit using this thread in r/gamedev! Gam...

Martha brags about her computer, Mark finds yet another excuse to talk about Star Trek, and Stephen is still holding out hope for a Smash Bros. announcement. Discuss this week’s episode on Reddit using this thread in r/gamedev! Glitch Community Events Calendar We talked about Mark’s VR Night as if it happened already, but after we recorde… Ice Cold Games 0:05:08 Building a PC Project Scorpio Xbox...

Mwa ha ha! For our first villainous episode, your evil hosts discuss what their deal is, do a deep dive into Quantic Foundry's Gamer Motivation Profile, and rail against Mario Kart battle mode. Enjoy! Or don't! We don't care! We're evil! Discuss this evil episode on Reddit using this thread in r/gamedev! 0:01:44 An Evil Introduction Play every game from this year's Train Jam Charlie Hall Polygon W...

In this episode, you nice hosts discuss some current events and engage in some future prognostications. Plus: more puns than reasonable. Apologies for the slightly odd audio quality on this one. The band playing at the bar downstairs was a bit louder and started a bit earlier than we expected. Much sound modeling. So noise reduction. Discuss this episode on Reddit using this thread on r/gamedev! 0...

Nic VanMeerten is a Games User Researcher and one of the co-founders of Glitch. He talks to your nice hosts about how meeting with researchers working on League of Legends at Riot Games jump-started his career in Games User Research, the different research methods used in GUR, the benefits of qualitative versus quantitative approaches, working with Unity Analytics, and more! Discuss this week’s ep...

In our second-longest ever, Mark explains the difference between an API and an SDK (and why it's important to know), Martha got her phone mugged and lost all her mobile game saves, and Stephen leads a discussion about designing for difficulty in your games (but mainly as an excuse to talk about fighting games again). All this, plus your nice hosts celebrate 30 episodes, and Mark doesn't edit out s...

A roundtable episode in disguise! Game designer/developer and friend of the show, Lane Davis, enters the clubhouse to guest host an episode where the topics are all his! Lane brings some friendly debate (and shockingly accurate calendar math) to the show, in his continuing quest to make Nice Games Club just a little bit less nice. Yet he somehow manages to say some of the nicest things anyone has...

In this roundtable episode, your nice hosts settle back into the clubhouse, still exhausted a few days after the excitement of GlitchCon 2017. Martha conducts a debrief on the weekend's festivities, Stephen gives his presentation on game design (for both new and experienced gamedevs), and Mark leads a discussion on multitasking in game development workflows. 0:02:26 GlitchCon 2017 Debrief We talke...

This week's roundtable episode features a (mostly) silent co-host: Ikaros the official Glitch HQ office doge! While not distracted by adorableness, Martha gives a primer on Git and version control best practices, Stephen leads a discussion on art direction, and Mark tries to understand PC gamers. Feedback Form GLITCHCON Celebrates A Weekend Of Gaming  -  Troy Strand ,  Tech {dot} MN 0:03:58 Versio...

This week's interview episode features Dev Jana, one half of the team behind Newt One , a non-violent music-infused 3D platformer. We talk with Dev about how Newt One transformed (through continuous iteration) from a "Mario 64" clone into a game where "there are no bad guys" and nothing you do can hurt anything. We also discuss the purpose and use of violence in video games, including the games we...

For our first ever LIVE episode, we took the main stage at GlitchCon 2017 along with our guests Rebekah and Adam Saltsman, co-founders of Finji, publisher of "Night in the Woods" and developer of "Overland" and "Canabalt," to talk about talking about games! Plus your nice hosts and their guests each recount moments where they "leveled up" as game developers. LIVE from GlitchCon 2017 Events IRL [0:...

This week's roundtable provides practical knowledge on three of today's most important life topics: Starting a business, being a good competitor, and playing Nintendo. 0:01:51 Taxes and Business Indie Developer tax issues: Is game development your hobby or your business Zachary Strebeck Game Developer How LLC Members Are Taxed NOLO Starting a Business - MN Department of Employment and Economic Dev...

Hype is alive in the clubhouse as your nice hosts preview all the sessions at Glitch Connect 2017 , taking place at the Soap Factory in Minneapolis, May 5-7th!

In this interview episode, we talk to Glitch's "Official Zookeeper" Alex Chang, who is the producer of this year's Glitch Connect digital games festival , coming up May 5-7th, 2017. He talks with us about what it's like to put on a show, and gives some great advice on how to put on your own. We recorded this episode before the sessions for GlitchCon were announced. Check out the full listing here...

This week's roundtable episode has it all: Confusion, technobabble, randomness... and shoot, a whole lot more besides! We're still looking for feedback from our listeners! Be nice and visit our feedback form . It will only take a minute and it will help make the show better! 0:02:54 Getting Out of a Rut Tim Schafer on Productivity Stephen's motivation week 0:19:44 Bots! Bots! Bots! Tech the Tech T...

On this Co-Op Recap episode, we welcome musician and 3D artist Sara Ferret along with game designer Ajuawak Kapashesit to talk about March's Glitch Co-Op Talk topic, Problematic Games . Problematic Games Gaming "7 Ridiculously Sexualized Moments in the Metal Gear Solid Games"  -  Dorkly ,  YouTube "Assassin’s Creed and the straight-white-male default"  -  Duane de Four ,  How Manly

In this super-sized episode, your nice hosts get into the gritty details of game design with a trio of terrific topics. Martha lays out the concept for her next game, Stephen complains about Smash Bros. (!), and Mark takes a lot of notes. Plus, maybe the best topic transitions to ever come out of the clubhouse! We're still looking for feedback from our listeners! Be nice and visit our feedback for...

In this interview episode, we talk with Lord President of the Game Design Club at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Rachel Peterson Reese Valentine, to talk about how to go about getting an education in games. Your nice hosts also recount their own gamedev educational origin stories, and the episode closes out with a quick run though of all the advice ! Games Education Art IRL Because Lea...

A day late but worth the wait! In this high signal-to-noise roundtable episode, each member of the club picks a topic that they are particularly passionate about: Stephen shares his wisdom and guidance about playtesting your work early and often, Martha helps you get your act together in a practical discussion about project management, and Mark tries to explain the obligation he feels as an artist...

It's the finale of our double-sized GDC 2017 special, recorded on the final day of the Game Developers Conference. Martha and Mark were joined once again in San Fransisco by "Special Reporter" Dylan Skerbitz to talk about the back half of the conference, while Stephen joins in remotely from Glitch HQ to talk all about the Nintendo Switch! 0:02:40 GDC 2017 Sessions Sid Meier tells Civilization’s or...

Martha and Mark were in San Fransisco for the Game Developers Conference, and there was so much to say we had to split it into two episodes! While Stephen was holding down the fort back home, we were joined in San Fransisco by Nice Games Club's in-house "special reporter" Dylan Skerbitz. 0:00:58 Train Jam Train Jam Train Jam participants heading to GDC 2017 anxious about ‘Muslim ban’ Charlie Hall...

On this Co-Op Recap episode, we welcome developer Lane Davis and writer Felix Foster, who were the co-facilitators of the Glitch Co-Op Talk about Transmedia and Intellectual Property . Also, friend of the show Adia Alderson returns to fill in for Martha, who we all missed very dearly, but you wouldn't know it by how lively our conversation was. We really get into it! Transmedia IRL I Have No Mouth...

Two-thirds of the Nice Games Club are in San Fransisco this week for the Game Developers Conference, and we're recording some segments for a special episode while we're here. Let Mark tell you all about it...

Developer, pixel artist, and YouTube vlogger Will Tice joins the club to talk about building his own game engine, and what it's like to go solo. Solo Development IRL Libgdx "It's official: XNA is dead"  -  IndieGames.com unTied Games devlog unTied Games - Speed Sprinting video