Nice Thinking: "Ladder Game"

Attention Sega nerds! This Nice Bonus episode is for you!During our episode on 90's consoles Mark found out there were so many obscure Sega accessories that they couldn't fit in the episode and deserved their very own spotlight. Please enjoy this Nice Bonus short episode all about them!Sega Consoles

Mark DeLoura's decades-long career in games includes roles ranging from Nintendo engineer to White House senior advisor. A longtime and passionate developer advocate, this year he's been tapped to help reinvent the industry's largest annual gathering, GDC.DeLoura outlines the changes coming to this year's conference, defines what "festival" means in the context of GDC, and previews the ambitious goals for its future. But your nice hosts also raise concerns about the elimination of the lowest-priced passes, the accessibility of new programming, and the critical issue of attendee safety now that more official GDC events serve alcohol.Whether you have or are planning to attend GDC, are one of its critics, or just want to know more about how the industry creates and manages its community, this episode is a must-listen.Your nice hosts will be at GDC 2026, March 9th - 13th, 2026 in San Francisco. Look for our annual GDC special episode(s) then.Mark DeLoura on BlueskyMark DeLoura on LinkedInHITLab - Human Interface Technology Lab - University of WashingtonGame Programming Gems - Mark DeLouraDr. Miguel Luengo-Oroz (MalariaSpot) - Online game & crowdsourcing & malaria - The International Society for Neglected Tropical Diseases, YouTubeAbout FoldItVideo games owe a lot to President Obama's administration - Brian Crecente, PolygonMark DeLoura also co-hosts a podcast! His weekly gaming news/discussion show, Boss Rush, is available on YouTube!After the discussion, DeLoura turned the tables on your nice hosts and asked a few questions of his own. It didn't fit into the episode, but we saved it and put it up as a Patreon exclusive bonus segment!Reinventing GDCThe annual Game Developers Conference is changing - Michael McWhertor, PolygonCannes Lions International Festival of Creativity - WikipediaBlack Hat - Upcoming EventsGDC Passes & Pricing - Game Developer ConferenceSeattle Indies SLICECalling partners for GDC 2026! - Game DeveloperGames Industry GatheringFemale Game Devs Open Up About Harassment And Drink Spiking At GDC - Ahmad Hassan, RespawnFirstAmir Satvat's Games Jobs Resources

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 frustrated that finding his critical eye makes for a different movie watching experience, and Mark was frustrated by the acoustics at a football stadium.In other news, it's time to make your GDC Plans! Mark and Dale will be there, and probably some other nice hosts, too.GDC Festival of Gaming 2026: The Industry's Bold New Era Begins - Beth Elderkin, GDCSymphony of SeasonsPaul McCartney "Got Back" tourU.S. Bank Stadium Officials Addressing Sound Concerns For Concerts - CBS Minnesota0:16:06Being Honest With Your WorkLydia went to Chicago to run a escape style game at the Chest Medicine Conference about Eosinophilic Asthma. That was set in the 1920s prohibition chicago.CHEST ConferenceCHEST Medicine ConferenceEosinophilic and Noneosinophilic AsthmaCHEST Journal Podcast(Yes, Dale included that last link because its host is named Dr. Pepper.)Escape room gamesLydia's first apperance on the show was as a guest to discuss last year's project, inDigital Escape RoomsLater on as a host, Lydia talked a little about this year's project, which was upcoming at the time, in"It's about trust."0:56:30The Critical EyeStephen has previously talked about his filmmaking class in:Episode 367"Numbers go up."Episode 393"I’m intrigued by big door."

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 Book of Games - WikipediaPromptCreate a pirate themed game about food and scurvy management.Game typeCard gamePlayer count2-4MaterialsEvent deckResource DeckSetupShuffle the event deck and the resource deck separately. Deal 5 cards from the resource deck to each player.RulesCard gameSet makingNeed to create as many sets as you can to create grog, while preventing vermin from being in your handThese resources will keep you going in phase 2 when pulling from port of call / event cardsWhoever is able to travel farthest (successfully draw the most port of call / event cards) winsBeneficial foodGrog (face cards)Rum - JackSugar - QueenWater - KingLimes - AceSalt meat/fish Pork or Cod (Hearts)Salt (Diamonds)Hard tack (Clubs)Suet (Spades) (added to meat or hard tack to enhance it)Vermin (clogs your hand and could cause problems in events)Weevil MaggotsRatsRulesEach turn you have one action. You can either:Draw a cardPlay a complete setAfter a certain number of cards (10 as default), you all go to sail and have ports of call eventsDraw an event card each turnPorts of call / Events? - you get a point for every port you successfully make it to. Certain cards when “won” enter your stack and give you extra points or mechanical advantage Windfall of resources Everyone draws 5 cards and makes stacksShip catThe cat joins the most rat-infested ship (removes all rats from hand)OR spend the most salt meat to attract it to your shipTrade with each otherDraw 3 cards and give 1 card from hand to the player on your left. Make stacksInjured shipmateSpend water and salt from your handSpend maggots from your handThreat of scurvySpend grogWeevil infestation! Lose a hard tack for every weevil in your hand. Discard those cards from your hand and stacks(?)

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 gonna chill.CHEST 2025 - American College of Chest PhysiciansSome of Lydia's escape room props!0:05:26Naming FilesMuseum Accessioning: Numbering SystemsOklahoma Museums AssociationRice County Historical SocietyMontshire Museum of Science0:43:13Unity Security Vulnerability (2025)"Unity Security Update, What Do?" presentation slidesMark LaCroixUnity Platform Protection - Security AdvisoryUnityUnity Platform Protection - Developer Remediation GuideUnityUnity Platform Protection - Patcher ToolUnityCVE-2025-59489: Arbitrary Code Execution in Unity RuntimeRyotaKGMO Flatt Security Inc.CVE-2025-59489CVE

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 also discuss whether to bundle or not to bundle tools, considerations of scope and price, and the deep appreciation for easy-to-use interfaces. Will Mark complete these tools by Christmas?Will Stephen get a reprieve from the nagging about his fishing mini game collection?Will Lydia ever get over that one client project?Stay tuned to find out!Star Trek: Starfleet Academy | Official Trailer - Paramount+, YouTube0:13:22Noble ToolsRewiredUnity Asset StoreNoble EngineNoble RobotLydia really needs to listen to the episode where Stephen and Mark talk about the localization of Widget Satchel."I definitely thought of that ahead of time."Noble Menuitch.io

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 referee, should therefore be wearing a little ref shirt.Sam Baeseman is a member of the IDGATC board, the Nice Games Alliance board, and founding member of JAMA Jam.Nice Games AllianceIDGATCJAMA JamSam! joined us last week to talk about:Creative Peer CommunitiesBlippo+ (Mark's game) released, and you can buy it:Blippo+ on SteamBlippo+ on SwitchBlippo+ on itch.ioLydia:Why Learning Is So Hard for Adults (And How Games Can Help) - ELB Learning, YouTubeBefore becoming a host, Lydia joined the clubhouse as a guest to talk about:Digital Escape RoomsStephen is:not going to talk about his fishing gamedoing a game jam, Ludem Dare0:15:30HealthCalculate your pet's HPPolygonYouTubeYour nice hosts talked about these health systems:Subnautica - oxygen/food/waterDave the Diver - oxygenPEAK - staminaGauntlet - timeSuper Smash Bros. - percentagesStar Trek Adventures (TTRPG) - stressDoom (1993) - health packsDoom (2016) - enemy damageSuper Mario Bros. - mushrooms (2D) / coins (3D)Bloodborne - dignitySonic the Hedgehog - ringsCall of Duty - regenerating healthBlades in the Dark - "harm"42:31Developing for Speed RunnersWe talked about normal players vs. speedrunners in:Ladder Game

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 available and how to become a part of or lead such communities.Blippo+ (Out now!) - PanicCreative Peer CommunitiesIRLMisc.Sam's Social Links - skrimbus, LinktreeJAMA Jam - itch.ioInternational Game Developers Association, Twin Cities ChapterGrape Juice City -  Splashworks Studio, Steam

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 on-air!Ladder GamePlayable "Ladder Game" prototypeMichael LaschConstruct 3Kuru Kuru KuruinWikipediaRoundaboutNo GoblinSteamSokobanWikipedia

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!(Note: Minor hiccup with the audio recording in the first 2 minutes, so Lydia is off mic briefly but it fixes itself.)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