How to Build Better Games - Game Production

Feb 18, 2025

Ben Carcich, a game industry consultant with a military background and experience at Riot Games, shares valuable insights on game production. He discusses why successful games often come from challenging development processes and the dangers of premature scaling. Ben emphasizes the importance of balancing creative vision with technical execution and addresses the critical role of leadership in navigating uncertainties. He also highlights lessons from military training that can enhance adaptability and decision-making in the high-pressure world of game development.

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Intro

00:00 • 2min

Financial Dynamics in Game Development

01:55 • 21min

Understanding Human Motivation: The Impact of Fear and Anxiety

22:51 • 2min

Navigating Development Challenges

24:37 • 30min

Taming Creative Chaos in Game Development

54:19 • 7min

Leadership Lessons from Military and Sports for Game Development

01:00:57 • 13min

Navigating Leadership Challenges in Game Development

01:14:08 • 23min

Cultivating Success in Game Development

01:37:10 • 18min

The Balance of Productivity and Meaningful Work

01:55:07 • 3min

Embracing Challenges for Future Success

01:57:53 • 2min

Navigating Leadership in Game Development

01:59:33 • 7min

In an industry where development costs have skyrocketed, and market success has become increasingly challenging, understanding the true drivers of successful game development has never been more crucial.

In this discussion with Ben Carcich from Building Better Games, we highlight the counter-intuitive patterns of success and practical frameworks for modern game development leadership.Key Focus Areas:

🔑 Why the most successful games often emerge from the most visibly challenging development processes

🔑 How premature scaling and uncertainty avoidance doom projects before launch

🔑 Critical success patterns observed across AAA and indie studios

🔑 Practical approaches to balancing creative vision, technical execution, and business reality

Listen to this episode for actionable insights that challenge conventional wisdom about building successful games in 2024.OUTLINE:0:00 Intro1:45 How costs impact game success6:05 Other major problems with game success10:30 Zero sum time problem and the rise of live operated games11:40 Success from China and small devs12:30 Importance of delivering on a player experience14:35 The Alignment problem15:24 Fighting to expand the percentage of new game time18:25 How bigger production cost impacts decision making20:15 Major production problems - comfort with uncertainty24:35 Fear and pride25:55 Game projects with big problems succeed more often29:40 Pride and Insecurity31:52 The rush to production39:45 Obsession with planning42:20 Importance of development speed44:25 What derails planning: the wrong person and bad decisions47:09 The problem with the creative auteur49:52 Decision analysis vs. prioritization54:15 Scope creep: The ooh ooh ooh idea problem1:00:50 Taking lessons from the military and football1:04:52 Why do great lessons come from military and sports1:13:42 The problem with big plans1:14:37 Why you shouldn’t “always have an answer”1:19:00 The #1 rule: common sense rules1:22:34 How to find time to think deeply1:24:43 You don’t need to solve every problem1:30:02 How to think about long-term issues1:37:12 What are characteristics from successful game studios1:58:12 You should push when you’re young2:01:01 More about Building Better Games consultancy👇 EPISODE LINKS: - Building Better Games: https://www.buildingbettergames.gg/- Ben Carcich: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-carcich/SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.com/😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! — • MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1• TWITTER → @jokim1• LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/