"He's scientific methoding you." Characterization Through Mechanics; Tutorials vs. Instructions

About this episode

The hosts discuss characterization through mechanics and the differences between tutorials and instructions in game design.

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 Hosts have another set of roundtable topics to break up your week and retune the time dilation. Stephen tries hard not to talk about fighting games, Lydia ponders the nature of instructions, and everyone talks a lot more about Mario than they thought they would. 0:01:41 Characterization Through Mechanics We talked about characterization in Smash on a previous episode. "I’m intrigued by big door." Lewis Chessmen Wikipedia 0:29:24 Tutorials vs. Instructions The "tutorial" Lydia encountered at work that inspired this topic.

People in this episode

Hosts: Stephen, Lydia, Mark

Topics covered

• characterization
• game mechanics
• tutorials
• instructions
• fighting games
• Mario

Keywords

• game development
• characterization
• mechanics
• tutorials
• instructions
• fighting games
• Mario

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Wikipedia

Books & works: Lewis Chessmen, Smash

Places: April

More episodes of Nice Games Club - a gamedev podcast!

• Vehicle Design (with Kris Roberts) · June 11, 2026
• "I need less squidgy." Part-time Work; Hint · June 4, 2026
• Dark Patterns (with Sam Liberty) · May 28, 2026
• Working with Voice Actors (with Yuri Lowenthal) · May 21, 2026
• Interactive Fiction Communities (with Andrew Plotkin) · May 14, 2026
• "Look who's old now!" Exhibiting Your Game; Design Investigations · May 7, 2026