Narrative-Driven Puzzles (with Brian Crick)

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

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 wonders what it would be like to share responsibility on a schedule, and Stephen's clock is 10 minutes fast so we're not going to be as late to the screening of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock as he thinks.Mark on a bike in Dublin.Mark on a bike in Amsterdam.Mark on a bike in Cologne.Mark on a bike in Zurich.Mark on a bike in Paris.Mark feeding the birds underneath the Eiffel Tower.0:20:56Pitch DecksSlides in Mark's pitch deck:Title (with links to contact, build, video, etc)Table of ContentsFact SheetConcept summaryTeamEmbedded videoSlides covering each main topic from summary slide1-3 slides after each topic slideConcept conclusionInspiration sourcesTimelineBudgetWhy support this team?What we want from a publisherTitle (again)1:10:13Rotating Leadership

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 special!The Sega coin that Mark stood in multiple very long lines to get.Junction Jam (Midwest US 2026) - itch.ioSaprolige - LydiaSymchych, HeadlessKhan, Ally, Ice Husky, Martin_Gazelle, itch.ioEscape Rooms 101Lydia's first episode on the program was as a guest, where she talked about:Digital Escape RoomsYears earlier, we spoke with another Escape Room designer, for:Puzzle/Escape Rooms

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 Games Club instead. The group reflects on art and the interpretation of art.Chance MechanicsGame DesignHeather Flowers GamesUnfair Flips - Heather Flowers, Steam500 Finger Fillet - Heather Flowers, SteamUnderstanding Systems Suspense - Cat Manning, Jason Grinblat, Max Kreminski, Graeme Lennon, Alexsei Pepers, Lauren Scott, Polaris Game Design RetreatOther mentionsBuckshot Roulette - WikipediaArchane Kids Manife$toNumber Gotcha - itch.io

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 reality), with a brief divergence to mention a Star Trek anniversary. 0:06:02Replayability0:27:34Blue-skying

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 why players can and should be invested in your game, and how to push back against crunch in the workplace.Junction Jam - Global Game Jam0:06:57Player Investment'Cauldron of bats' and other great collective nounsEmma CownleyJot Jot Boom0:38:05Crunch CultureOccupational Burnout in Games 2024: Causes, Impact, and SolutionsLis Moberly, Tim StoboGame Developer Conference

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!: A Deck-Building Adventure - Board Game GeekClue: The Great Museum Caper - Board Game GeekThe game board for Clue: The Great Museum CaperOur spreadsheet of Flowers, Powers, and Barriers.PromptCreate a game about flowers. The flowers may give you powers (regular or super) or may become animated when they are in full bloom. An example of a regular power is power of attorney or a driver's license and example of a superpower is invisibility.Game typeTabletop gameMaterialsGame boardThief meeplesBarrier cardsFlower tokensFlower combination legendFlower box containersAbility tracker"a one-to-one scale replica of a particularly rare flower completely made of precious metals and gems"SetupLay out the boardPlace the "one-to-one scale replica of a particularly rare flower completely made of precious metals and gems" in the center chamberDistribute flower tokensShuffle flower tokens in a bagAdd flower tokens to flower boxes without looking at them Place the boxes on the marked spaces on the boardDistribute the remaining flower tokens around the flower patches marked on the boardPlace barriersShuffle barrier cardsFor each marked space on the board, draw a barrier card and place it on the spacePlayer setupChoose a thief meepleTake a flower combination legendTake an ability trackerRulesPlayers are thieves after the same jeweled flower in the center of the board  Players must gather different flowers to give them the ability to get through the board/mazeGoal is to get through to the center of the maze-like building firstPlayers navigate to get the different flowers Combinations of flowers give you new abilities (either mundane or super-powered)Players may only have 3 active abilities at a time (if you get a new one, the first one gets pushed out)Could be places or a power that allows you to remove all of your powersPlayers need to get these powers to get through barriers in the game Barriers can be gotten through by various means (2 or 3, minimum 1)On the board there are places where flowers grow (distributed fairly) (tokens of a color/image) Some places have flower boxes, and they’d give you a random flowerMore of the flower boxes in the center of the boardIf someone gets to the center, they win, but the others now want to try and get them caught (so they can now win) Players create new barriers for the winning one to keep them from being able to get out

In this episode, Mark touts the virtues of commenting, Stephen dreads the topic, and Lydia wishes she could talk about marginalia.Code CommentThe Critical Eye Part 2This is part 2 to The Critical Eye in Episode 416"I saw a Beatle."

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 buy-in, and where you even start with a project like this. And if you also are late to playing Myst, you'll learn you are not alone. Just... don't bring Mark the red pages...Narrative-Driven PuzzlesGame DesignNarrativeTinselfly - SteamGorogoa - SteamThe Longest Journey - Steam

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 for an exciting trip and Lydia is hype about trains for a good reason.Junction Jamgamescom0:15:35Geology In GamesNicolas StenoWikipediaThe potential for using video games to teach geoscience: learning about the geo…Edward G. McGowan and Lewis J. AlcottEuropean Geosciences Union0:36:00Shipping Updates