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!

• ibcglm1.html">GLOM preorder through Miniature Market
• GLOM preorder through GameNerdz
• ✨hot girl sinkhole spring✨ - Minnesota Public Radio
• Uptown washout leaves 8-foot-deep sinkhole in Minneapolis intersection - Tim Nelson and Kerem Yücel, Minnesota Public Radio
• The Korths are back! They were first on episode #002 Steam Greenlight
• Episode #102 with Beth & Andy Code Comment: "Verdant Skies"
• Episode #204 with Beth & Andy Families in Games
• Episode #132 with Beth Narrative Design
• An example of the pothole + sinkhole situation we're dealing with this spring.
• Another view of the school bus sinkhole.

Prompt Ellen gave us a prompt: "Create a game about patching potholes that Gabe would have fun playing" Game type Tabletop game Materials

Marbles

Play-Doh or alternative squishyness

A very complicated custom game board

Road tiles of various sizes and configurations

Setup

• Set up the custom game board
• Distribute marbles to all players
• Distribute Play-Doh to all players
• Distribute road / terrain tiles to all players
• Determine who will be the first player per the rules below

Rules

In a nutshell, the game challenges players to roll marbles down a hill. The hill is made of road tiles, but some of the tiles are pitted with potholes. Players can use Playdoh to patch potholes in the road so the marbles will make it to the finish.

The board is a grid laid over a raised pyramid where players put down terrain. Everything starts in the center (city hall); that’s where you put the marbles so they roll down the hill. Each quadrant is a side of the pyramid, there’s some method of tiling for the player to put pieces down to determine how the marbles will travel in that area.

Turn order

• Play starts with the player who most recently hit a pothole with their car or their bike. In case of a tie (as might happen if multiple players were in a car together), the younger player goes first.
• Play then proceeds clockwise.

Players can take 3 actions on their turn. You can do the same action more than once. The actions are:

• Rotate the board
• Place or swap a tile
• Patch a pothole
• Drop a marble

Tiles

• Each tile is worth 1, 2 or 3 victory points when marbles pass through. The rougher the tile, the more victory points it's worth.
• Players also get a bit of Play-Doh to fill up potholes in the terrain.
• Players have 5 tiles in their hand at any given time; as an action, they can play one, then draw back up to 5 tiles.

Rotating the board

• Rotating the board happens towards the left (counterclockwise), the opposite of play order, which goes to the right (clockwise). Each rotation turns the board 90 degrees.

Scoring & dropping marbles

• If a marble reaches the bottom of the hill in front of you, you get the victory points that it acquired from each tile it moved through on its journey from the top of the hill to the bottom.
• You ONLY get the victory points if the marble reaches the bottom of the hill. If you drop a marble as an action, and the marble gets stuck on the way, you don't get any points from the tiles it passed through.

Winning the game

• Play proceeds in 12 rounds. Each player gets one turn per round.
• Play ends when the turn counter reaches zero (game starts at the start of winter, ends at the start of the next winter)
• Whoever has acquired the most victory points by the end of the "year" is the winner of Pothole Run

Fun stuff to think about for the future

• We have to create an extractor to get the playdoh out.
• Cooperative play mode? Roles for each player? Someone who’s better at filling potholes, someone who can put more marbles down, etc. Maybe two teams?

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 language
• And she learns that CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets
• She learns that AAA games are easy (not sure why she struggles with them)
• That there are either wrong choices in skill trees OR it never really mattered
• And that Stephen wants to fight everyone on Discord

Good luck anyone who isn’t a McGregor!

• Stephen is playing Spirit Island - Board Game Geek
• Ra Ra Boom Trailer (from Max who schedules our interviews
• Twin Cities Playtest is the 3rd Wednesday of the Month - Eventbrite
• Twin Cities Playtest is also on YouTube - IGDA Twin Cities, YouTube

CSS 9:47 Mark LaCroixProgramming

In this discussion Ellen mentioned accessibility standards for web content

WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) - Wikipedia

Mark asked if there is an ISO Standard for this, and there is! ISO 40500:2012

There is also one for UI: ISO 30071-1

Mark mentions that you should look up the 'Blink' tag, but Dale already did it for you, here.

USS.html">Unity Style Sheet (USS) - Unitybeta.fandom.com/wiki/USS_Unity_(Sovereign_class)">There is a USS Unity in Star Trek

And Stephen mentions the Div-Div Crow, based on this webcomic.

Skill Trees 46:38 Stephen McGregorGame Design

Ellen and Stephen get spooked discussing small and/or novel horror games and experiences with Online Simulator developer Rosalie Vile. Ellen works backwards from the punchline, Stephen doesn't know about 80%, and Mark is still in California (thanks, calendar math).

Tiny Horrors Game DesignNarrativeOnline Simulator - Rosalie Vile, itch.ioSunday - EZBake Games, itch.ioSkinamarinkA Normal Lost Phone - Dear VillagersThis House Has People in It  - Adult Swim, YouTubeHaunted PS1 Demo Disc 2021 - The Haunted PS1, itch.ioRosalie VileGuest External link Rosalie Vile's Itch page

We hear from "California Business Mark" who spent the week on-location at GDC 2023. Mark summarizes some of the best talks and events he attended at the conference, featuring Kirby, the Playdate console, secrets in Tunic, Max, and more! 

• Support Final Strike  - Lane Davis, Gamefound
• Current COVID guidelines from the CDC - Centers for Disease Control
• Super Nintendo World - Universal Studios

(News) GDC 2023 Timecode 8:54.00 GDC 2023

Here are the time codes for individual topics:

• 10:23 Publishing agreements talk
• 19:32 Porting talk
• 20:58 Playdate developer lunch
• 28:24 Dinner with Max!
• 29:27 Games Industry Gathering (GiG)
• 30:50 The Many Dimensions of Kirby
• 47:40 Immortality talk
• 48:25 IGDA general meeting
• 51:50 Secrets in Tunic
• 58:45 Experimental Gameplay Games Workshop

Your nice hosts welcome Andrew Kenady, also know as Nintendrew on YouTube, to the show this week! He brings a postmortem about his recently released action platformer C.A.R.L.

Postmortem: "C.A.R.L." Game DesignMarketingProductionC.A.R.L. - Andrew Kenady and Morningstar Game StudioC.A.R.L. on Steam - Andrew Kenady and Morningstar Game Studio, SteamNintendrew - YouTubeMorningstar Game StudioMatt Bitner - Barry Carenza, Premium Edition GamesThe Controversy of Super Paper Mario - Nintendrew, YouTubeNovy UnlimitedEverything is a Remix[SPOILERS] Undertale reference in new indie game, Pony Island - PxlSqrl, RedditAndrew KenadyGuest Andrew Kenady is also known as Nintendrew on YouTube, where he talks about his current and retro game collections. He is also a creator of a platformer C.A.R.L. External link C.A.R.L.Nintendrew YouTube Page

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-JohnsonGame DesignThe Super Mario 64 Coin that Took 18 Years To Collect - Patricia Hernandez, KotakuPC Cheat Codes - IGNReddit on video game Secrets - RedditSecrets That Weren't Discovered in Games For Years - Jordan Baranowski, SVG Player Trust 0:48:39 Stephen McGregorGame Design We touched on this idea back in our roundtable on 'The Ethics of Engagement' "Shiny rocks get me every time."

Ellen's nephews have charged her with the task of making a board game about pizza. Making a clone of Hasbro's Candy Land is more difficult than it sounds, especially since these young stakeholders have requested some "creative deviations" from the design of the original board game. Stephen and Mark step in to help out. Can your nice hosts realize the wild, cheesy dream that is Pizza Land?

• Candy Land, a classic board game for kids - Hasbro
• That meme from The Office - Giphy
• Gharial, a weird-looking endangered crocodilian - Animalogic, YouTube

Nice Thinking Notes Ellen Burns-JohnsonGame Design Children's drawings

The art is here on Google Drive for you all to enjoy. 

• Whale, may or may not be pizza-related
• T-rex sort of on fire, facing us
• Brontosaurus amoeba
• Cat and soulless dog 
• [Pizza] donut
• Pizza Knight with an axe, maybe
• Ice cream leaking out of the cone
• Pizza t-rex
• Pizza crocodile
• Pizza shark
• Pizza rock, since upgraded to pizza geode
• Pizza pyramid
• Man made of pizzas x 2

Ellen's drawings

• Ellen's drawings
• Sea of Sauce
• Garlic Bread Grove
• Pizza Dough Desert
• Calzone Quarry (not pictured)
• and here's a link to the spreadsheet mentioned in the episode

Game design conclusions

• Players start out with a random collection of ingredients
• They collect ingredients as they go through the game
• Everyone’s delivering a pizza and they start with a crust
• The Pizza Knight has specific interests & tastes in each game, so different ingredients are more important in each playthrough
• If a monster catches you it eats a certain number of ingredients (0, 1, 2, or 3)
• A grading scale for the team; the pizza knight filling out stars on the app

Movement with d6s. When players move, they can roll 2 dice and choose the result, moving forwards or backwards.

Unspoken, but maybe good ideas?

• Monsters all move on the same die roll, and they only move forward.
• Players have to be on the same tile to give an object to another person.  

This week, your nice hosts talk about last week and next week. Mark wants you to frame things, Stephen wants a definition, and Ellen wants you to start a fight with her on Discord.

• Ellen's team made a gross game for Global Game Jam 2023!

• Star Trek: Picard, Final Season Premiere (full free episode) - Paramount+, YouTube

Visual Composition 0:17:12 Mark LaCroixArtGame DesignUI / UXComposition for Noobs -  Flow Studio, YouTubeComposition in Level Design - Mateusz Piaskiewicz, Game DeveloperDesign Principles: Compositional, Symmetrical And Asymmetrical Balance - Steven Bradley, Smashing Magazine Minigames 0:39:45 Ellen Burns-JohnsonGamingMario Party Games That Are Just Part-Time Jobs - Abigail Kwak, The Gamer

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 IRLProductionZachtronics websiteLast Call BBSWhy Zachtronics is shutting down for good this time - Alex Calvin, gameindustry.bizLegal Systems Very Different From Ours - David Friedman, Peter Leeson, David SkarbekWhy Walking Helps Us Think - Ferris Jabr, The New YorkerCoincidenceZach BarthGuest Zach Barth was the founder of Zachtronics and is currently working on unannounced projects. External link Zachtronics on Twitter

The year 2022 in review! Yes, it's now halfway through February, but being a few weeks late is part of the annual "Nicest Of" tradition. Your hosts (plus guest Holly Harrison) revisit their notable games and goals from 2022, and make some plans for 2023.

• • Holly is here in the clubhouse for this recording!
  • Things that happened in 2022:
    • We sold GLOM! It's coming out in 2023.
    • Mark announced a game (Dreamsettler) and released Noble Engine for the Playdate
    • Stephen became a co-owner of Future Club
    • Ellen got a new job as a game designer with The Game Agency
    • Holly moved into a new place—one without unwanted insects and thieving neighbors

Nicest of 2022 0:04:56 Mark LaCroixStephen McGregorEllen Burns-JohnsonHolly HarrisonGaming

Ellen's Nicest:

• Metroid: Dread
• Flappy Dragon
• Banner Saga 1
• Endling: Extinction is Forever

Mark's Nicest:

• Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope
• Stray
• Last Call BBS

Stephen's Nicest:

• Kirby and the Forgotten Land
• Splatoon 3
• Rumbleverse
• Spirit Island

Holly's Nicest:

• Ooblets
• Splatoon 3
• Bear and Breakfast
• Cult of the Lamb
• Slime Rancher II

Most Anticipated of 2023 0:49:28 Mark LaCroixStephen McGregorEllen Burns-JohnsonHolly HarrisonGaming

Ellen's picks:

• Mars First Logistics
• Banner Saga II and III
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps
• Slime Rancher II
• Cyberpunk 2077

Mark's picks:

• Horizon: Call of the Mountain on Playstation VR 2
• Assassin's Creed: Mirage
• Season: A Letter to the Future
• Dreamsettler

Stephen's picks:

• Dragon's Dogma II
• Street Fighter 6

Holly's picks:

• Mineko's Night Market
• Thirsty Suitors
• Hades II
• Sea of Stars

Picked by everyone:

• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom