In this Episode Seth Fulkerson joins us in the clubhouse to talk the game engine, GameMaker. Seth is a long time user of GameMaker who's latest project is "Arzette: the Jewel of Faramore." The clubhouse discusses the history of GameMaker, the scripting language GML, and the advantages and disadvantages of the system. And Stephen learns a bunch of the stuff he wished he knew when he actively using GameMaker. GameMaker Programming Tools Seth's body of work: CDi Zelda Titles...

We’re joined this week by Laura Onderwater, friend of the show! Laura is an experienced concept artist currently working with Greensky Games. In this interview, she shares a bit about her workflow and how she thinks about worldbuilding from an artistic perspective. Plus, your hosts learn when to cry into a pillow, and Stephen repeatedly asks for THE limit. Greensky Games SWARM - "The Epic Arcade Shooter Built for VR"  -  Greensky Games Visual Worldbuilding Art Meow Wolf - Immersive...

Your nice hosts conclude their GDC 2024 coverage with a pair of interviews they conducted at the show. Mark catches a post-show cold, Stephen gets over his, and Ellen thought everything sounded great. Midwest Games / Carbon Engine Midwest Games Midwest Games Chris Klimecky  -  LinkedIn Midwest Games - Work with us Carbon Engine Carbon Engine  -  Limited Run Shantae Advance  -  Shantae Wiki Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore Alyssa Walles Guest Alyssa Walles is Midwest Games'...

And now, the conclusion (sorta!), as tour nice hosts recount the back half of the week at this year's GDC. It's a long one, but there's somehow even more on our Patreon. GDC 2024 Special (Part 2) ReSpec: Accountability Support How Nintendo made Super Mario Bros. Wonder so weird Andrew Webster The Verge Jack Foley (sound effects artist) Wikipedia The return of 1ReasonToBe and why we still need it Marie Dealessandri GamesIndustry.biz Panic says two pallets of Playdates worth...

Some of your nice hosts, plus some nice guest hosts, traveled to San Fransisco last week for the 2024 Game Developers Conference. There was so much to see and do and it ended up being too much for just one episode... actually, it was too much for just two episodes! So, how much GDC 2024 content is there exactly? Well, plans changed and it's too complex to summarize here, so be nice and have a listen to find out! (SPOILER: There's 2+ hours of extra GDC content on our Patreon page!) Musée...

It's our first roundtable of the year! And did you know that Minneapolis is "partnered up" with Saint Paul? Stephen's not sure what either of these topics have to do with game development, but don't worry—we get there. Ellen kicks off a conversation about how the people we work with have a huge influence on what we create, and the experience of creating it. Mark tries to explain "control flow" in programming, and pretty much everyone gets it. You probably will, too. Cover image by RF...

The clubhouse is caffeinated and ready to jam, game jam that is. The clubhouse is giving a prompt where air movement is the main mechanism of action and they create a physical game for a tabletop (in the style of 'Hungry Hungry Hippos'). The notoriously unpredictable 'Eddies' of air movement gives this game it's name. The main challenge for the team - a more sanitary air blower mechanism than drinking straws: a tiny bellows, small whoopie cushions, slide whistles, or party...

We're all back in the clubhouse for the first episode of 2024! There's some news about the show up top, but in terms of your nice hosts: Ellen has important job happenings, Mark establishes important business for IGDATC and Stephen remembers he's good at game design, but not much else. What We Did On Our Winter Break (2023) 2024 GDC Public Events Grace Zhou South By Southwest Charles Mingus - Moanin' mohammertime YouTube Project L Boardcubator Board Game Geek Apocalypduck Global...

#319 Getting Things Going Interview 2023.08.24 In this episode your nice hosts welcome Rick Stemm of PikPok to the clubhouse to talk about what happens after a game gets greenlit. Turns out the answer involves building your team and trust. Rick touts the idea of a sh*tty first draft - faster and worse. Coaching feedback givers for what you are looking for, and the importance of building a trust in a team. Rick spouts useful idioms and your host claim points for each time Rick says...

#296 "Metroid is very serious." Roundtable 2023.03.16 In this episode, Mark makes up a reason to take a road trip, Ellen outwits everyone, and Stephen was also there. Zachtronics Solitaire Collection LACMA A Better Route Planner Secrets & Easter Eggs 0:24:43 Ellen Burns-Johnson Game Design The Super Mario 64 Coin that Took 18 Years To Collect  -  Patricia Hernandez ,  Kotaku PC Cheat Codes  -  IGN Reddit on video game Secrets  -  Reddit Secrets That Weren't...

#301 Pothole Run Nice Games Jam 2023.04.21 According to Minnesota Public Radio, it's hot girl sinkhole spring. In other words, we have an insane number of potholes right now in the Twin Cities, and since we can't do anything other than wait for the hardworking folks of road repair to fix them, we made a game about the whole situation. Andy and Beth Korth join for this special Nice Games Jam! GLOM preorder through Miniature Market GLOM preorder through GameNerdz ✨hot girl sinkhole...

#298 "One size bigger and red." Roundtable 2023.04.13 Dale learned a lot while editing this episode. She learned the board game ‘Spirit Island’ is about spirits that protect an island, and she is pretty sure that this is the same premise as hit TV show ‘LOST’.She learns that CSS is not a programming language or a mark-up languageAnd she learns that CSS stands for Cascading Style SheetsShe learns that AAA games are easy (not sure why she struggles with them)That there are either wrong...

#284 "Shiny rocks get me every time." Roundtable 2022.10.28 It's spooky season! Stephen is SO over it, but he can't escape all the scary stuff happening in this week's episode. We start with a lesson on the necromantic arts of branding and iconography, guided by Mark, a master of these dark magics. After the break, Ellen raises a past topic from the dead in order to explore the ethics of manipulating players' brainnnsssss. Also mentioned: candy corn, houseplants, and—you guessed it—Star...

#321 Cat Time Nice Games Jam 2023.09.07 It's been a while but your nice hosts come up with a game in roughly an hour, this one for the cat owners out there! After a fairly long meta, we get into the mind of a cat and design a competitive game for them to play. Toronto International Film Festival Renew an adult passport  -  USA.gov Bloor–Yonge station  -  Wikipedia Prompt Create a game my mother can (and wants to) play with her cats, with the supply list below. Bonus points if...

#324 Much Ado About Unity (with Freya Holmér) Special 2023.09.22 Earlier today, Unity issued an update to their controversial "runtime fee" policy introduced last week. What changed? What didn't? How could this have even happened? What does it mean going forward? Can we ever trust Unity again? We get into all of it, from the original announcement on September 12th, to the "open letter" update and "fireside chat" on September 22nd. Your nice hosts are joined by special guest and "Unity...

#282 "Today’s the day that I screw things up." Roundtable 2022.10.13 Your nice hosts start off strong with an excellently performed intro, and it just gets better from there!  The Game Agency  -  The Game Agency Pre-production 0:06:24 Stephen McGregor Production Idle Games 0:31:45 Mark LaCroix Game Design Gaming Star Trek Lower Decks: The Badgey Directive Review: The Final Fun-tier?  -  Steven Shaw ,  Droid Gamers How to make an idle game: Everything you need to know about...

#293 The Logistics of Moving On Interview 2023.02.22 Your nice hosts invite Zachtronics founder Zach Barth to discuss the closing of the studio and the logistics of moving on from that. In this episode, you'll also hear about ruminations on what success means as a game dev, a theory about how great walking is and exclusive news about Zach's future plans. The Logistics of Moving On IRL Production Zachtronics website Last Call BBS Why Zachtronics is shutting down for good this...

This year, Ellen thought a lot about cheating in games. So your nice hosts kept doing episodes about it. Three in total over this last summer. So, to kick off this year's run of Nice Replays, we’ve stitched all three topics together into one SUPER MEGA NICE NEW YEAR’S OMNIBUS EPISODE! Cheating (omnibus edition) Part 1: "What's a little grand larceny?" Part 2: Cheating, Part 2 Part 3: "Sad or fascinating?"

The clubhouse continues the annual tradition of reviewing the past year. But first they need to talk about Doctor Who and new Minnesota state flag. Ellen makes her first programming joke, and Dale learns to add comments from the editing booth. Finally, everyone shares which games they have been playing the bees out of in 2023. But, wait... there's more: your nice hosts also talk about what they are anticipating for 2024.  Doctor Who Donna Noble is the best...

Will went to school for illustration. After many plot twists—including a bike accident, leading a team of animators, and climbing mountains in Alaska—he ended up working in games. Now, he's a design director and creative consultant, working on games that aim to make the world a better place. This week, Will joins us in the clubhouse to discuss how he's made decisions about his creative career and where those decisions have taken him. New gamedevs and creative folks, you might find inspiration...

This week, the clubhouse becomes the birdhouse; we're talking pigeons! Dale created a prompt inspired by Ellen's activities as a child and she bombards your nice hosts with a TON of pigeon facts! We somehow designed a game out of it! As a note, Ellen's was still recording remotely but the first 5 minutes she was recording on the wrong mic! We corrected it after those 5 minutes.  Breeds of Pigeons across the Globe.  -  Layne Gardner ,  The American Pigeon Museum and Library Racing Pigeon...

Your nice hosts start this episode with some personal updates, and (spoiler) it does not "go quick" as planned, then take on two really fascinating production topics. Ellen puts both drawings on the fridge, Mark recommends a modern Polish masterpiece, and Stephen is a changed man. BONUS: This week's outtakes were much too long to include at the end of the show, so we put them on Patreon! It's 10+ minutes of behind-the-scenes outtakes that go a littler further than usual in revealing how your...

In this episode the brothers Rob and John Donkin of BadViking join the hosts in the clubhouse for a frank discussion on goals and expectations, scoping, and setting milestone timelines, and making feedback useful. Scoping for your Project Production Bad Viking talks about Strange Horticulture, their most recent game Best Best review for Strange Horticulture  -  Alice Bell ,  Rock Paper Shotgun PC Gamer Review  -  Christopher Livingston ,  PC Gamer John Donkin Guest John Donkin does...

Ellen spoke with this week's guest, Filament Games' chief partnerships officer Jennifer Javornik, at the 2023 Serious Play Conference in Toronto, Canada about game-based learning, but also about commercializing serious games, growing the game development industry in the midwest US, and a whole lot more. Game-based Learning Events Game Design Production Serious Play Conference Wisconsin Games Alliance Filament Games Jennifer Javornik Guest Chief Partnerships Officer at Filament...