Shows / Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
The podcast where nice gamedevs talk gaming and game development. Nice!
Episodes
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Nice Thinking: "Nice Puzzle Room, Part 1"
This is an aspirational part 1 of your Nice Hosts designing their own puzzle room. Lydia guides Mark and Stephen from zero to a basic outline of a Widget…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
"I almost said 'I'm Lydia Symchych.'" Textures; Frustration
Ellen is in the clubhouse for another week while returning guest Sam Baeseman fills in for Lydia in an episode that's a bit punchy, mostly empathetic, and a…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Nice Games Jam: "Excited About Triangles"
We welcome returning host Ellen Burns-Johnson back into the clubhouse today for a Nice Games Jam! Lydia provides the other three veteran podcasters with a…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Nice Games Jam: "Mummies from the Graveyard"
It’s spooky month, so before diving into the game jam the clubhouse talks about a couple scary things. Dinosaurs (briefly) and breast cancer awareness month…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Researching Inspiration (with Bernie Mattson)
Bernie Mattson enters the Clubhouse to talk about researching inspiration as part of the game development process and along the way the Nice Hosts learn a…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
"More soda thoughts." Pitch Decks; Rotating Leadership
In this episode, Mark has some general notes on Europe, and walks though how he assembled the pitch deck that he brought with him to Gamescom. Meanwhile, Lydia…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Escape Rooms 101
Mark returns with gifts from Europe! Then Lydia teaches her nice boys how to make a puzzle room: the ins and outs, the dos and don'ts, it’s an escape room…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
"It’s annoying because, like, I’m annoying." Replayability; Blue-skying
Your nice hosts discuss a previously talked about topic, and also engage in something completely new (though both are an excuse to discuss work issues in…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Chance Mechanics (with Heather Flowers)
In this episode, your nice hosts welcome Heather Flowers into the clubhouse to talk about math and probability, while Heather insists they should be on Evil…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
"Praise be to the bureaucrats." Player Investment; Crunch Culture
Two of your nice hosts are prepping to go to Junction Jam (which already happened, you'll hear about it soon!), but before then the discussion goes over the…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Nice Games Jam: "The Great Floral Heist"
From a floral prompt, a daring caper blossoms. This week your Nice Hosts answer the question: How many flowers to you have to eat to pull off a heist? Clank!…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
"Your second draft." Code Comment; The Critical Eye Part 2
In this episode, Mark touts the virtues of commenting, Stephen dreads the topic, and Lydia wishes she could talk about marginalia. Code Comment The Critical…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Narrative-Driven Puzzles (with Brian Crick)
Brian Crick is in the clubhouse to talk about how he intertwines narrative and puzzles in his game Tinselfly. We talk about character motivation, player…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
“That’s not how Lutherans work” Geology In Games; Shipping Updates
Stephen is still away so Ian Peters uses that as an excuse to talk about rocks and how that relates to storytelling. Also in this episode, Mark is preparing…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Nice Games Jam: "Triage Simulator"
This week, Ian emerges from the clubhouse vents to fill-in for Stephen as Dale gives us a bare minimum prompt with maximum implications. Prompt "Make a game…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
"Level designing your own home." Story Players Won't See; Polish Priorities
In this episode Mark talks about an awesome Game Jam he is planning in association with Global Game Jam - Listeners in the Midwest or the UK (or have the…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Nice Thinking: "Who That Pocket Monster?"
In this week's episode, the Nice Hosts want to make this year's IDGATC summer picnic the very best, like no picnic ever was. Lydia brings to the table a game…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
"That’s basically numbers." Discussing Scope; Inspiration Though Research
In addition to the topics of this episode, we also revisit Lydia's bachelorette party game made in a previous episode! Listen to find out how it went, as well…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
The Job Market (with Amir Satvat)
This week's guest has good advice, harsh truths, hard numbers, and a big smile. Amir Satvat, tireless advocate and resource-provider for game developers…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Nice Thinking: "Bachelorette Weekend Dinner Quest"
In this episode Lydia discusses how best to make all her friends hangry by making them do puzzles before releasing food. By which I mean, she got Stephen and…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Vehicle Design (with Kris Roberts)
Seatbelts, everyone! This week the Nice Hosts talk vehicles, which apparently means more than just cars. That's good news because none of them know much about…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
"I need less squidgy." Part-time Work; Hint
After the supersized meta of this episode, your nice hosts discover (or rediscover in some cases) the joy of part-time work, and contemplate the intricacies of…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Dark Patterns (with Sam Liberty)
Your nice hosts have talked a lot over the years about exploitative game design, and this week we brought in an expert on gamification to lay out some of the…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Working with Voice Actors (with Yuri Lowenthal)
In this episode, Yuri Lowenthal, prolific actor and Insomniac's Spider-Man, web-crawls into the clubhouse and does whatever a spider can, assuming a spider can…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Interactive Fiction Communities (with Andrew Plotkin)
Warm weather is on the way and you need to stay hydrated. As a start, take a sip of water every time you hear the phrase "in the 90's." This week we're…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
"Look who's old now!" Exhibiting Your Game; Design Investigations
We talk of the old and the new in this episode, where we sort of revisit a long ago discussed topic and bring in a new topic for our (and your) perusal. Lydia…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Healthy Criticism (with August Brown)
We welcome August Brown back into the clubhouse once more to discuss healthy criticism in the workplace, and how to foster that environment in your spaces…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
"He's scientific methoding you." Characterization Through Mechanics; Tutorials vs. Instructions
How is it April? The episodes have been so long lately it feels like it should be more than two months since the hiatus ended. As a countermeasure, the Nice…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
"That's fixin’ to get ready." 3D Lighting; Menus vs Parkour
All of your regular hosts finally make it into the clubhouse again to present to you a roundtable! After a fairly lengthy meta (it's been a long time y'all…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
GDC 2026 Special (Part 2)
WARNING: This episode is even longer than last week's! Settle into the back half of GDC 2026 with tales from your nice hosts about interesting talks, the "new"…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
GDC 2026 Special (Part 1)
This year's GDC Special is a big one. So big that this episode is over 2 hours long... and it's only part 1 (but your nice hosts don't know that yet)! 0:15:49…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
"First Person Schlorper" Cozy Games; Fast Travel
In this Episode, Ian once again joins the clubhouse as Dale and Mark are off on a nerdy vacation. Lydia wrestles with the term "cozy," and Stephen does some…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Nice Games Jam: "Evil Games Jam 2: Cat Comms"
Watch out, Clubhouse! Evil Games Club is out of the air vents and back in orbit to interrupt your regularly scheduled Nice Programming. Five years in the…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Tabletop Special
While Mark is off on a Star Trek cruise, the rest of your nice hosts invite Lydia's husband Ian Peters to discuss tabletop games, specifically RPGs! We've…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
"We need more train service in this country." What We Did On Our Winter Break (2025-26)
Your nice hosts had an eventful time off from new episodes, but now they're back! So yeah, this is a long one... What The Show Did on Winter Break (2025-26)…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Reinventing GDC (with Mark DeLoura) [Nice Replay]
#417 Reinventing GDC Interview 2025.11.27 After the discussion, DeLoura turned the tables on your nice hosts and asked a question of his own. It didn't fit…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
"I’m intrigued by big door." Emotional Effects of Music; A New Foe Has Appeared! [Nice Replay]
#393 "I’m intrigued by big door." Roundtable 2025.06.12 Mark rushes through the introduction to talk about his two rush projects, one of which, Blippo+, was…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Nice Games Jam: "Dinosaurs of North Dakota" [Nice Replay]
#381 Dinosaurs of North Dakota Nice Games Jam 2025.03.13 The clubhouse gets Cretaceous this week; your nice hosts have been challenged to create a game about…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Nice Thinking: "Fishing Minigame Collection" [Nice Replay]
#405 Fishing Minigame Collection Nice Thinking 2025.09.04 Stephen Business is back! And he’s attempting to make a meme into a reality. The clubhouse attempts…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
3D Workflows for Indie Devs (with Freya Holmér) [Nice Replay]
#396 3D Workflows for Indie Devs Interview 2025.07.03 We welcome Freya Holmér back into the clubhouse to talk about 3D game development for independent game…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
"The things that create the geometry." What Happened With Future Club; Design Surface Area [Nice Replay]
#391 "The things that create the geometry." Roundtable 2025.05.29 Your nice hosts all secured a Switch 2 pre-order... from a certain point of view. Then…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Nice Games Jam: "Time Traveler Estate Sale" [Nice Replay]
#384 Time Traveler Estate Sale Nice Games Jam 2025.04.10 Roles reverse as Dale joins Stephen and Lydia for a Nice Game Jam prompted by Mark. The results are an…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Video Game IP Law (with Haley MacLeon) [Nice Replay]
#388 Video Game IP Law Interview 2025.05.08 Your nice hosts get a crash course on video game IP law from lawyer and MinnMax cohort, Haley MacLeon. We learn…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
"Half trash compactor, half empty." Composting; Overdesigning [Nice Replay]
#399 "Half trash compactor, half empty." Roundtable 2025.07.24 Ellen's back for a serendipitously in-sync pair of metacognition-rich roundtable topics. In this…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Digital Escape Rooms (with Lydia Symchych) [Nice Replay]
#375 Digital Escape Rooms Interview 2024.11.28 All of your hosts are together in the Clubhouse for a special interview! Lydia Symchych is an impact game…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Nicest of 2025
In this end-of-year tradition, your nice hosts talk about the games they played and the things that they accomplished in 2025, as well as the games they're…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
“Well, what do you art?” Lydia is an Artist; Platforms and Ecosystems
Part 3 of what your nice hosts are calling "Giving Lydia Therapy," we get into Lydia's thoughts on calling herself an artist and what it may mean to think of…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
"Argue with me, I guess." Interactivity vs. Play; Fail States in Art
Lots of thinking about thinking in this episode as the Nice Hosts attempt to define some core concepts to gameplay. What even is a game? Interactivity? Play? A…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Reinventing GDC (with Mark DeLoura)
Mark DeLoura's decades-long career in games includes roles ranging from Nintendo engineer to White House senior advisor. A longtime and passionate developer…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
"I saw a Beatle." Being Honest With Your Work; The Critical Eye
This week the clubhouse is filled with emotions. Lydia was frustrated that she did not recapture the magic of her first escape room game, Stephen was…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Nice Games Jam: "Grog"
This week, Lydia provides all the fun facts about living on a boat while your nice hosts develop a card game based around scurvy management! Hoyle's Official…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
"That's an interesting example." Naming Files; Unity Security Vulnerability (2025)
This week features a timeless topic followed by a timely one, both of them pretty important. Lydia prepares for Chicago, Mark shares his slides, and Stephen…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Nice Thinking: "Noble Tools"
In this episode, Lydia and Stephen are rubber ducks for Mark as he talks through his ideas for a suite of Unity plugin tools. Buckle up, there's a lot! They…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
"This is the earliest we’ve been this unhinged." Health; Developing for Speed Runners
Sam! returns to the clubhouse to help your nice hosts decide that Lakitu is no longer a savoir that comes down from the clouds, but since he has a job as a…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Creative Peer Communities (with Sam Baeseman)
Your nice hosts welcome 3D artist and Nice Games Alliance board member Sam Baeseman into the clubhouse to talk about how online Discord communities become…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Nice Thinking: "Ladder Game"
It's been awhile, but it's time for another video episode! This week, Mark's colleague Mike Lasch enters the clubhouse to build a digital prototype live…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
Nice Games Jam: "I’m Holding It for a Friend"
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!…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
"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…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
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…
- Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!
"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…