If you're a leader in game dev who feels stuck, able to spot problems but struggling to make a real difference, there is a path forward that levels up your leadership and accelerates your team, game, and career. Sign up here to learn more: https://forms.gle/nqRTUvgFrtdYuCbr6

If you disappeared for a week, would your team lose their momentum—or just their note-taker?

Most game producers are stuck in a "checklist trap"—spending their days managing tickets, booking meetings, and taking notes without ever understanding the actual goal.

In this episode, Ben breaks down why production is fundamentally a leadership role based on influence, not just project management software. If you feel like your team is "drifting" despite hitting every milestone, you might be failing at the one thing that actually matters: moving the organization towards a valuable goal.

What You'll Learn:

• The importance of shifting from a "task-doer" to a big-picture leader who influences the entire studio
• Why specific tools like Jira and sticky notes aren't the "point" of your job
• Why shipping a "good enough" game to pass a milestone is a dangerous trap that can break your team
• How prioritizing towards the goal outperforms doing what worked last time

Connect with us:

🔗Ben's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-carcich/

🔗BBG's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/building-better-games/

🔗Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildingbettergames/#

🔗Website: https://www.buildingbettergames.gg

🔗YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZpMT-dUwQR-R4Mb4uub6Sw

If you want me to help producers or studios build better games through effective systems and leadership, you can reach me at: info@valarinconsulting.com

#GameDev #GameProduction #GameLeadership #BuildingBetter Games #ProjectManagement

If you're a leader in game dev who feels stuck, there is a path forward that levels up your leadership and accelerates your team, game, and career. Sign up here to learn more: https://forms.gle/nqRTUvgFrtdYuCbr6

30,000 Layoffs. Solid prototypes can't get funding. Western Game Dev Is Breaking.

In this episode, Rich Vogel explains why Western game development isn't in a downturn, it's in a reset.

Fresh off fundraising conversations in 2025-2026, Rich breaks down why funding for large-budget games has nearly disappeared, why publishers and VCs are pulling back from North American teams, and how leadership decisions, not creativity, are sinking studios.

Rich is a 30-year industry veteran who's founded and led four major studios, including BioWare Austin and Sony Online Entertainment Austin, which have generated over $3B in revenue. As producer on Ultima Online, Star Wars Galaxies, and Star Wars: The Old Republic, he's seen every cycle, and knows exactly why this one is different.

We cover:

• Why investors see Western studios as high-risk
• How salary inflation and entitlement narratives are reshaping where games get made
• Why unproven big bets are no longer survivable
• How small, shippable wins are the new path to scale

This episode is a wake-up call for studio heads, producers, and game leaders still playing by outdated rules.

Learn more about our guest:

🔗LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rich-vogel-093425/

🔗T-Minus Zero Entertainment LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/t-minus-zero-entertainment/

🔗Website: https://www.t-minuszero-relaunch.com/

If you want me to help producers or studios build better games through effective systems and leadership, you can reach me at: info@valarinconsulting.com

Connect with us:

🔗Ben's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-carcich/

🔗BBG's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/building-better-games/

🔗Newsletter Signup: The Building Better Games Newsletter

🔗YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZpMT-dUwQR-R4Mb4uub6Sw

🔗Website: https://www.buildingbettergames.gg

#GameDev #GameIndustry #Leadership #VideoGameDevelopment #BuildingBetterGames

If you're a leader in game dev who feels stuck, there is a path forward that levels up your leadership and accelerates your team, game, and career. Sign up here to learn more: https://forms.gle/nqRTUvgFrtdYuCbr6

You're doing the work, fighting for your team, but your ideas stall in meetings and people with less context somehow have more influence than you. It can feel like the only way to win is to become the political operator you hate.

In this episode, Ben breaks down the simple, three-part system for influence—the Influence Trifecta—so you can drive change for your team and career without selling your soul. Organizational influence is not just about who's right or what's logical; it's about understanding the social fabric of your organization.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• What influence without authority looks like
• Why trust is so important to your long-term success
• Why being "right but not helpful" stalls careers
• What to watch for so you don't become the "political animal"

You're always playing politics. If you choose not to play, you cap your influence and allow others to set the direction. Learn how to deliberately build influence for the benefit of your game, your team, and your own advancement in an ethical way.

Connect with us:

🔗Ben's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-carcich/

🔗BBG's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/building-better-games/

🔗Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildingbettergames/#

🔗Website: https://www.buildingbettergames.gg

🔗YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZpMT-dUwQR-R4Mb4uub6Sw

#GameDevLeadership #GameStudioPolitics #InfluenceTrifecta #GameDevCareers #BuildingBetterGames