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The Seed Growers Podcast with Dan Brisebois of Tourne-Sol Co-operative Farm. Every episode I’m going to bring you a conversation with a grower who has integrated Saving Seeds into their own farm systems. Some grow seed crops to sell commercially and some do it just for their own farm use. I’m hoping their stories will make you want to save seed on your own farm... and if you already save seed on your farm, I hope it makes you want to save more!
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#349 Dialogue Through Goals Nice Thinking 2024.05.29 Stephen brings a half-baked thought into the clubhouse for this Nice Thinking episode: how can we improve dialogue systems? He's got some opinions, which Mark and Ellen immediately debunk, but it leads to some engaging conversation. Dialogue Through Goals Stephen McGregor Game Design Narrative…
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#361 "The lensing effect of the window." Roundtable 2024.08.22 It’s hot in the clubhouse and hot in Ellen’s greenhouse this week, so your hosts are eager to crunch through some discussion. Ellen introduces the concept of the MDA framework, and the differences between Theming and Aesthetics, and Stephen comes to a major conclusion about parrying. Th…
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#371 Tutorialization with Puzzles Interview 2024.11.01 "Tutorials shouldn’t feel like tutorials!" Like most aspects of game design, it's an easy concept to summarize but a difficult one to pull off. Luke Spierewka and the team at Afterburn Games have mastered it, using their charming approach in successful titles like Golf Peaks and Railbound. Come…
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Jared Zystro is a research and education director at the Organic Seed Alliance. Jared is based in Arcada, California. I invited Jared onto this episode so he can tell you about the Organic Seed Growers Conference in Corvallis, Oregon that is taking place from February 26th to March 1st, 2025. I first went to this conference in 2008 and it was the s…
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#347 "A slow meat computer" Roundtable 2024.05.16 In the episode, Mark, Ellen, and Stephen talk local events, including (don’t worry everyone’s fine) a fire in the clubhouse’s building, construction, and the games they are playing, so if you are just here for the topics, go ahead and skip to minute 23. Ellen learns about King Making, Stephen humble…
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#338 Eddies Nice Games Jam 2024.03.11 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'…
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#354 The Intersection of Puzzle and Story Interview 2024.07.05 Narrative designer and pal of the program Beth Korth fills in for Ellen as guest host this week and next! Your nice hosts welcome famed designer Ron Gilbert (Monkey Island, Thimbleweed Park) into the clubhouse to discuss the virtues of inexperience, friction for its own sake, how it's a…
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#353 "The super-powerful beam or whatever." Roundtable 2024.06.27 This week, your nice hosts talk about code that isn't yours and ask about the natural conclusion of the narrative. Mark is handy, Ellen kinda wants to add a note, and Stephen is grounded. It looked so easy in the brochure, but the brochure lied - Antony Ingram , Hagerty Code Librarie…
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It's a cheery and bright episode to get you through the dark cold days of winter! ☃️ Your hosts (plus guest Joanna May) wrap up 2024 with a readout of their nicest things from the year—nicest games, nicest accomplishments, and nicest procrastinations. Plus, plans and projects for 2025, some soft resolutions, and a review of some exciting upcoming t…
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Léa and Ferdinand are two of the twenty-two members of Buzuruna Juzuruna, a 2 ha seed farm and school farm in Lebanon. In this episode, Léa and Ferdinand define the terms “peasant seeds” and “balady seeds” and the challenges of finding local seeds in Lebanon. They also discuss the role of international seed banks in preserving seeds and the importa…
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We invite Joanna May into the clubhouse to discuss serialization. We get ever so slightly closer to discovering what serialization even is with Joanna's help! We also have a little time to throw a little shade at Stephen's commenting style and brackets on their own line. Chickensoft Tibo, artist of the Chickensoft mascot. Eating your own dog food (…
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In this episode Lydia is back in the clubhouse to discuss her first job, and to help make a game about said job. But, because your nice hosts couldn't choose just one, it is also about Ellen's job at her parents' pet store, and Stephen's first job. Mark's also. When introducing Lydia to the concept of a nice games jam, the stages of the nice game j…
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Stephen Silverbear McComber is a seedkeeper and a recently elected chief on the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke whose portfolio is sustainable development. Silverbear tells us about the seeds that different people shared with him while visiting different First Nations communities within the Confederacy. He tells us how he has taken care of these seeds…
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All of your hosts are together in the Clubhouse for a special interview! Lydia Symchych is an impact game designer who has been working with Ellen over the last year. Today, she shares her experience of making an escape room that needed to be rendered in both "physical" and and digital environments. Also, sound effects and pillows. In the USA, Nove…
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Heron Breen is this episode's guest. Heron grows seed on six acres at Fruits of Our Labors in St. Albans, Maine. In this episode, Heron and I discussed the nature of seed work as a plant-based meditation that encompasses sculpture, art, science, and quantum physics, and the generational connection that seed provides across time and space. And then …
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Releasing 2019's "Baba is You" after more than a decade of making puzzle games was a milestone for this week's guest, but it was also just the beginning of his design journey. Arvi "Hempuli" Teikari talks to your nice hosts about the balance between giving players freedom and constraining their expression, the pacing and sequencing of individual pu…
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In this episode Ellen usurps the normal process for a nice game jam prompt to explore her own idea on tabletop mechanics. Who would have thought the scoring system for this game would be 'Points for the Future War'? Stephen's One-Minute Movie - Stephen McGregor's Group , YouTube Discussion during development Subbuteo Soapboxderby.org Bullet Bill So…
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Katie Kulla is the author of Farm-Raised Kids. A brand new book from Storey Publishing. Katie is also an illustrator, one of the hosts of the Growing For Market Podcast and farms with her husband at Oakhill Organics on Grand Island in rural Dayton, Oregon. In this episode, we do discuss Katie’s brand new book but we also talk a lot about Katie’s ex…
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"Tutorials shouldn’t feel like tutorials!" Like most aspects of game design, it's an easy concept to summarize but a difficult one to pull off. Luke Spierewka and the team at Afterburn Games have mastered it, using their charming approach in successful titles like Golf Peaks and Railbound. Come learn the arcane secrets of the puzzle game tutorial! …
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This week, your nice hosts talk a little bit about our civic duty before getting into two very on-brand topics. Make a plan to vote on (or before!) November 5th. Information at https://vote.org/ Everything You Need to Vote - Vote.org What States Allow Same Day Voter Registration and When? - Rock the Vote The Only Patriotic Choice for President - Th…
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We welcome Timothy Staton-Davis into the clubhouse to talk both the broad strokes and the nitty-gritty of combat design. Melanated Game Kitchen - itch.io Combat Design Art Game Design We talked about "juice" in game design way back! You can find links related to the topic here as well. "I am a Juice Journeyman!" Pacing - Robert Yang, Andrew Yoder ,…
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Ellen Rignell has many years experience growing seed from her time at Trill Farms and as a program coordinator for the Gaia Foundation seed sovereignty program. But in this interview we catch Ellen at a new part of her seed journey as she’s finishing the first growing season of her Winnow Farm Seeds, her very own seed company based in Dorset in the…
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This week, Ellen kicks things off with a chat about how games tell players, “This might be tough!” and how to make that fun and fair. Stephen and Mark jump in with their takes on what makes difficulty settings shine. Then, Mark thinks about the practice taking familiar game mechanics and twisting them into something fresh. Think pacifist runs or li…
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This week, learn about what Ellen was like as a student. Stephen wonders if he’s made a huge mistake, Ellen does some work research, and Mark insists that there is no such thing as magic. Stephen started a new class: Film making Ellen forced her parents to play another game! Parks Board Game Mark saw the Badger Badger Mushroom song for the first ti…
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Manish Kushwaha is a fourth generation seed farmer who had no intention of following the family tradition, but after a period working as a software engineer and thinking about what was meaningful to him, Manish decided to start working with seeds and ultimately start his own seed company, Gaia Organic Seeds in Ottawa, Ontario. In this episode, Mani…
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Entering the clubhouse this week is our the third Owl (employee of Owlchemy Labs) and first Peabody Award winner (as lead developer for We Are OFK), to talk about the "dos," "don'ts," and "good enoughs" of optimization. Cleveland video game designer Jarryd Huntley wins Peabody Award for ‘We Are OFK’ - Joey Morona , cleveland.com We are OFK - Peabod…
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There are now episodes of Nice Games Club for each new day of the year! When you get to the last day of that year, you'll hear about Audio Middleware and Psychic Distance from us in the clubhouse. About the Fair - Minnesota State Fair 0:17:06 Audio Middleware An example of audio tech conversations we've had in the past. Game Audio Tools and Workflo…
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Gabriel Bravo is one of the founders of the company Semillas Plantae and farms with Mima Picado at El Tablazo Farm in Costa Rica. In this episode, Gabriel talks about how Semillas Plantae is structured with 4 partners who operate the seed company and how they distribute their seeds. Gabriel explains how they source seeds from outside of Costa Rica …
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In this episode the boys are back in Minneapolis, but they are still thinking about their time with Ellen in Duluth, or Roboluth ;) s So they are using this episode to talk about instructions, again, but this time though the lens of the different types of "user personas" who will be reading it. Instructions What is Roboston? Roboston is a tabletop …
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Once again from hilly Duluth, Minnesota! On Day 2 of a game design weekend retreat, your nice hosts tackled rules—writing rules, rewriting rules, and playtesting them. It was a long day, culminating with a family playtest of Roboston, featuring a newly written rulebook. How did it go? Well, there's more work to be done, but we learned a lot. Your h…
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In almost every interview on The Seed Farmer, my guests and I wind up talking about tools. And one tool that podcast guests have mentioned more than any other tool is the Winnow Wizard. We use the Winnow Wizard at Torne-Sol Farm to clean seeds, so I understand the love that folks have for this machine. But I really wasn't expecting it for it to jus…
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It's a nice sleepover as this (and next) week's episode is recorded from Ellen's basement in Duluth. Mark has an angle, Ellen shares her topic, and Stephen manages. The view from the rotating resturant that Mark took Stephen to - Ragnar Eythorsson , YouTube Karen Puzzles - Karen Kavett , YouTube 178 (TNG) + 176 (DS9) + 7 (TOS movies, including "Gen…
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It’s hot in the clubhouse and hot in Ellen’s greenhouse this week, so your hosts are eager to crunch through some discussion. Ellen introduces the concept of the MDA framework, and the differences between Theming and Aesthetics, and Stephen comes to a major conclusion about parrying. 0:06:40 Theming vs. Aesthetics The MDA Framework Wikipedia Ellen …
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Kim Delaney farms with Aaron Lyons and Stephen Surgenessie at Hawthorn Farm Organic Seeds in Mount Forest, Ontario. They grow certified organic seeds on two farm sites for their online store and to distribute through Seedy Saturdays and through their wholesale seed rack program. In this episode, Kim discusses how she began her seed journey working …
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We invite music producer and sound designer Dave McKee into the clubhouse to talk about accessibility in games this week. Accessibility Accessibility Game Design Control Accessibility Report - "Vivek Gohil, Ben Kendall" , Family Gaming Database Inclusive Gaming: How Game Developers Can Make Video Games More Inclusive And A… - Accessibility.com Visu…
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Dan Brisebois here, seed grower at Tourne-Sol Co-operative Farm, spreadsheet crop-planning enthusiast, and also host of The Seed Farmer Podcast. Wait... The Seed Farmer Podcast? Isn’t this The Seed Growers Podcast feed? Well, you are right - but let me tell you why there is going to be a name change... Mentioned in the show... The Farmer Spreadshee…
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We face complexity head-on this episode with two topics that will get your neurons firing. Mark walks through considerations involved with publishing a game to multiple platforms. It's not easy, but it's a lot easier if you plan for it from the start! If you've listened to recent episodes, you'll know that Stephen has been obsessed with the tableto…
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"Pillar of the community" and creator of Chipmunk2D Scott Lembcke visits the clubhouse to talk velocity, constraints, and rigidbodies. Ellen gets the music in her head, Stephen didn’t learn the opposite lesson, and Mark makes a pretty good joke about friction. Physics 101 Programming Chipmunk2D - Scott Lembcke , GitHub Gopher (protocol) Building Ex…
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In this episode, Stephen gets excited about Summer Games Done Quick, reveals some Doctor Who spoilers, and then is shocked that Flappy Dragon has more dragons. Ellen ponders rituals, and why she comes back to some games and not others. And finally, Mark wonders if it is okay to get lost in a super-fun mini-game. 0:12:21 Familiarity Ellen asks the i…
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In the first Nice Games Jam in a few months (and we made it a long one!), your nice hosts explore the history of bicycles to develop a racing board game. Our last Nice Games Club episode: Eddies Two Wheels Good - Jody Rosen Safety Bicycle - Wikipedia Prompt Design a racing game in a historical setting. Game type Tabletop game Player count 2 - 4 Mat…
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Time is money, friend! Okay, not always. Sometimes time is a puzzle involving many interlocking responsibilities. That’s Beth’s situation, and she asks Mark and Stephen for advice on time management in the second half of this roundtable episode. During the first half, Stephen shares some BIG NEWS that will soon place some additional responsibilitie…
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Your nice hosts welcome famed designer Ron Gilbert (Monkey Island, Thimbleweed Park) into the clubhouse to discuss the virtues of inexperience, friction for its own sake, how it's all about story, and it's puzzles all the way down. The Intersection of Puzzle and Story Game Design Narrative Production Return to Monkey Island will have a hint system …
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This week, your nice hosts talk about code that isn't yours and ask about the natural conclusion of the narrative. Mark is handy, Ellen kinda wants to add a note, and Stephen is grounded. It looked so easy in the brochure, but the brochure lied - Antony Ingram , Hagerty 0:07:41 Code Libraries Best practices for writing code comments Ellen Spertus S…
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This week we invite Ryan Adams, of Corgi Art House fame, to discuss his expertise in game production. Ryan shows us how production is more than just moving tickets around, and how valuable it is to have someone on the team organizing tasks for everyone. But also, there's plenty of moving tickets around! Game Production Production Corgi Art House Bl…
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This episode recounts each guests' recent project - Stephen is developing a new spirit for Spirit Island, Ellen is getting into music, and Mark talks at length about his car. The club helps Ellen process a recent pivot her company had to make. And Mark reveals some simple insights from his life: urgent vs. high priority, he has an irritating existe…
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As MEMODEMO, Kobe Anthony creates music for video games and inspired by video games. In this episode, we learn about Kobe's creative process for composing music. He also shares a bit about how he uses his DAW (digital audio workstation) to capture sounds and convert them into melody and beats. Also featured in this episode: memes, rhythm games, and…
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Last month, Mark gave a talk at the IGDATC Gamedev Meeting about what it might mean to take game development seriously as an artistic practice, theorizing that video games are still a very young and immature medium by that standard. It's "sorta-Socratic" seminar, a set of three case studies, and a string of stone cold bummers that ends on a hopeful…
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In the episode, Mark, Ellen, and Stephen talk local events, including (don’t worry everyone’s fine) a fire in the clubhouse’s building, construction, and the games they are playing, so if you are just here for the topics, go ahead and skip to minute 23. Ellen learns about King Making, Stephen humble brags about being good at Smash Brothers, and Dal…
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