Building Better Games

Benjamin Carcich
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  • Video Games
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Leadership in game dev is hard. I can't make it easy, but I can make it a heck of a lot better. My name is Benjamin Carcich, and this podcast helps leaders in game dev who feel stuck, ignored, and out of options find their path to success. I've spent the last several decades studying and leading in environments ranging from the U.S. Army through to game development. I want to share what I've learned. Better leadership is a huge opportunity in the games industry. Let's make it better together. Better leaders build better games.

  1. 1 day ago

    E141: Why Talented Game Teams Still Ship Boring Games

    Level up your leadership: https://forms.gle/nqRTUvgFrtdYuCbr6 Every great game you have ever played relies on a hidden shape underneath its experience, and most game dev leaders can't name it. When you can't name a design pattern, you can't use it on purpose. That's how talented teams spend years pouring sweat into content, only to release a game that just doesn't engage its players. In this episode, Benjamin Carcich breaks down "interest curves," a game design lens from Jesse Schell that dictates how player engagement actually works. Drawing from juggling acts, Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings score, and nested loops in League of Legends, Ben demonstrates why player interest has very little to do with mechanical difficulty or content cost—and how you can map engagement to keep players coming back. What You'll Learn in This Episode: What an interest curve is—and why it determines whether players stay engaged or lose interest The four stages of every great interest curve: the hook, rising peaks, strategic valleys, and the climax Why developers often mistake development effort for player value, leading to weak pacing and player drop-off How to design moments that maximize player engagement instead of just increasing production cost A practical way to map your game's interest curve with your team and align everyone around the player experience How playtests can reveal the exact moments where players become bored, confused, or disengaged Why the same principles behind great games also apply to movies, presentations, and even business meetings If you're a leader in game dev who wants your team aligned on what actually keeps players engaged—rather than just making games harder or more expensive to build—this episode is for you. 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/@buildingbettergames 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 #GameDesign #GameDevelopment #BuildingBetterGames #ProductionLeadership

    E141: Why Talented Game Teams Still Ship Boring Games

  2. 29 Jul

    E140: Why Bad Ideas Beat Good Ones in Game Dev

    Level up your leadership: https://forms.gle/nqRTUvgFrtdYuCbr6 Have you ever walked through a building and assumed you knew enough to be a civil engineer? When game dev leaders look at design, narrative, or engineering problems and think, "I could do a better job than that," they often mistake surface-level observation for actual craft expertise. In this episode, Benjamin Carcich breaks down why smart leaders fall into the trap of second-guessing specialized disciplines—from game design to AI-assisted engineering—and how "swooping in" with uninformed solutions damages your game and your team's trust. What You'll Learn in This Episode What "armchair quarterbacking" actually costs your studio and why leaders easily fall into the trap of oversimplifying complex disciplines. Why every game development decision is a series of trade-offs (pros vs. cons), and why untested ideas always look pristine in your head. How to apply Chesterton's Fence to understand why a system exists before trying to tear it down. How to give feedback as a leader by focusing on root problems and asking curious questions rather than mandating solutions. If you're a leader in game dev who wants to stop accidentally undermining your experts and start giving feedback that actually elevates your team, this episode is for you. 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/@buildingbettergames 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 #GameDesign #GameDevelopment #Leadership #StudioManagement

    E140: Why Bad Ideas Beat Good Ones in Game Dev

  3. 21 Jul

    E139: Why an Ad-Tech Insider Says Ads Will Help Game Devs

    Level up your leadership: https://forms.gle/nqRTUvgFrtdYuCbr6 Is the video game industry being kept afloat by tech giants willingly lighting billions of dollars on fire—and what happens to your studio when the subsidy stops? In this episode, Ben sits down with Colan Neese, SVP of Gaming at Screen Engine/ASI and author of the Patch Notes newsletter, to deconstruct the shifting macroeconomic tectonic plates of gaming. They dive into the reality of platform economics, why Microsoft is losing an estimated 64 cents on every dollar invested in gaming, the likely rise of ad-supported models in the PC/console ecosystem, and the terrifying market realities of the Grand Theft Auto VI release timeline. What You'll Learn in This Episode: What the true data reveals about the current collapse of platform economics, Microsoft's aggressive studio layoffs, and why the "rounding error" era of gaming budgets is officially over Why the industry's current reliance on wishlist momentum and renting creator attention is fundamentally broken, and why ad-tech algorithms might be a viable solution to solve game discovery How GTA 6 is creating an unprecedented industry black hole that is actively deflating competitor mindshare, shrinking long-tail revenues, and forcing studios to aggressively alter their release calendars If you're a leader in game dev who is trying to forecast your studio's launch window, build a sustainable monetization strategy, and survive the impending GTA 6 market consolidation, this episode is for you. Learn more about Colan Neese: Connect with Colan on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/colanneese/ and subscribe to his newsletters: Mind Game Patch Notes: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/mindgame-patch-notes-7336099537939255300/ LinkedIn Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7336099537939255300/ 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/@buildingbettergames 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 #GamingIndustry #PlatformEconomics #Xbox #GTA6

    E139: Why an Ad-Tech Insider Says Ads Will Help Game Devs

  4. 14 Jul

    E138: He Gambled His Last $500K on a Roblox Game!

    Level up your leadership: https://forms.gle/nqRTUvgFrtdYuCbr6 Does hyper-scaling your game studio actually destroy the soul of your product? When outside capital flooded into WonderWorks Studio following Roblox's IPO, founder Zach Letter did what every investor screamed for: he scaled his three-person team to nearly 100 employees, built a massive physical studio, and hired a traditional AAA C-suite. The result was a toxic corporate culture, a mountain of high-maintenance work-for-hire contracts, and the near-death of their original IP. In this episode, Ben sits down with Zach Letter to deconstruct the grueling reality behind those decisions. Zach shares the timeline of cutting his studio back down to a core group of 12 people, bootstrapping a high-stakes licensing deal with Paramount on raw grit, and shipping a chart-topping SpongeBob Tower Defense game on their final weeks of runway. What You'll Learn in This Episode: What structural traps await small, agile teams when transitioning to high-overhead venture capital models. Why relying on traditional AAA corporate leadership frameworks can severely decouple your studio from fast-moving UGC algorithms and audiences. How to leverage hyper-focused community feedback and competitive gap analysis to disrupt saturated game genres. How to design high-stimulus, free-to-play reward loops that prioritize long-term player commitment over short-term FOMO mechanics. If you're a leader in game dev who is struggling to balance studio growth with creative control, or considering a high-risk pivot into licensed IP and UGC platforms, this episode is for you. Learn more about our guest: 🔗LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachary-letter-0769b893/ 🔗Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aviatorgaming/?hl=en 🔗YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@AviatorGaming 🔗Wikitubia: https://youtube.fandom.com/wiki/AviatorGaming 🔗 Wonder Works Studio: https://wonderworks.gg/ 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/@buildingbettergames 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 #RobloxStudio #StudioScaling #LiveOps #IndieGameDev

    E138: He Gambled His Last $500K on a Roblox Game!

  5. 7 Jul

    E137: Why AAA's $200M Games Keep Failing

    Which of the 7 AAA mistakes are you struggling with? Find out here: https://www.buildingbettergames.gg/aaa-diagnostic Game budgets are skyrocketing to $200M+ while hit rates are actively going down. The games industry is spending more money than ever, on the biggest teams it has ever had, over the longest timelines in history, using a playbook that was out of date a decade ago. In this episode of Building Better Games, Benjamin Carcich breaks down the systemic flaws currently sinking AAA studios. You'll discover how shifting portfolio math has fundamentally changed the business and why relying on rigid project management over true human leadership is driving massive projects straight off a cliff. What You'll Learn in This Episode: What the exponential shift in game development economics looks like, and why a single mega-hit can no longer easily subsidize a publisher's failures Why prioritizing "stuff" (features, systems, and assets) over a cohesive, engaging player experience is wasting time and money How to transition your studio from a plan-driven milestone trap to a value-driven culture that handles failure early, accepts uncertainty, and scales safely If you're a leader in game dev who is tired of hitting every single milestone on paper while feeling like the core game still isn't coming together, this episode is for you. Level up your leadership: https://forms.gle/nqRTUvgFrtdYuCbr6 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/@buildingbettergames 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 #AAAStudios #GameLeadership #GamingIndustry #BuildingBetterGames

    E137: Why AAA's $200M Games Keep Failing

  6. 30 Jun

    E136: AI Won't Save Your Game, Here's What It Actually Does.

    Level up your leadership: https://forms.gle/nqRTUvgFrtdYuCbr6 What if the secret to leveraging AI in game development isn't about just writing code faster, but getting your team to be more rigorous before a single line is even written? In this episode of Building Better Games, Ben talks with Landon (CTO) and Jean-Eric (Product Lead/Producer/Tech Artist) from Believer. Together, they pull back the curtain on how agentic coding tools and custom internal bridges like Claireon didn't just accelerate their systems development from months to a single week—they completely flipped their production pipeline on its head. They dive deep into why AI forces game dev teams back into a structured setup at the start, how it alters the role of engineering leaders, and why the ultimate bottleneck has officially shifted back to human creativity and polish. What You'll Learn in This Episode: What shifted when a veteran studio integrated agentic coding directly into the Unreal Engine editor, reducing a three-to-six-month development cycle to one week Why relying on AI to "one-shot" solutions fails, and why true velocity requires human experts to break down tasks into strict decision-making frameworks How to build customized, dynamic production dashboards that match your personal mental model rather than getting bottlenecked by the default constraints of Jira and tools like it Why the traditional middle-of-the-pipe engineering grind is disappearing, forcing studio leaders to double down on upfront alignment and end-of-pipe playtest validation If you're a leader in game dev who is skeptical of the generative AI hype but drowning in backlog management and long engineering cycles, this episode is for you. Learn more about our guests: 🔗Jean-Eirc Khalife's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeaneric/ 🔗Landon McDowell's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/landonmcdowell/ Learn about Believer: 🔗LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-believer-company/ 🔗 Website: https://believer.gg/ 🔗 About Claireon: https://believer.gg/introducing-claireon-our-open-source-unreal-plugin-for-agentic-workflows/ 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/@buildingbettergames 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 #UnrealEngine #AIEngineering #StudioLeadership

    E136: AI Won't Save Your Game, Here's What It Actually Does.

  7. 23 Jun

    E135: Why Big Game Dev Plans Never Succeed

    Access the Calibration Test: https://www.buildingbettergames.gg/calibration-test When every team in your studio tells you they're 80% confident in their timeline, why does the final project almost always miss its deadline? In this episode of Building Better Games, Benjamin Carcich exposes the mathematical trap that undermines and then wrecks well-planned game development projects. When multiple teams average their confidence instead of multiplying it, a studio's actual probability of shipping on time can plummet from a perceived 80% down to a brutal 1%. Ben breaks down why humans are naturally overconfident estimators, how dependencies cascade into developmental bottlenecks, and the two critical production pivots leaders must make to protect their ship dates. What You'll Learn in This Episode: What the "Confidence Trap" is and how standard multi-team tracking accidentally almost guarantees project delays due to compounding probability Why even highly experienced leads give optimistically incorrect estimates, and why uncalibrated data forces reactive management loops How to train your team in calibrated estimation and shift your development strategy toward strict value-prioritization so you always ship the most critical player experiences If you're a leader in game dev who is tired of watching meticulously planned schedules fall apart the moment reality hits, this episode is for you. Level up your leadership: https://forms.gle/nqRTUvgFrtdYuCbr6 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/@buildingbettergames 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 #GameDevLeadership #ProjectManagement #GameProduction #StudioPredictability #AgileGameDev

    E135: Why Big Game Dev Plans Never Succeed

  8. 16 Jun

    E134: Why "Don't Rock the Boat" Fails Game Dev Teams

    Level up your leadership: https://forms.gle/nqRTUvgFrtdYuCbr6 Is keeping your head down killing your game? Many game dev leads survive by following a simple, unwritten rule: don't rock the boat. But staying silent when you see a broken system isn't "playing it smart," it's dodging your responsibility. True leadership isn't about having a perfect record or a flawless game plan; it's about having the courage to stand in the public square, plant a flag, and risk being wrong for the sake of your team. In this episode, Benjamin Carcich breaks down the uncomfortable reality of what it actually means to lead in an agency-based industry like game dev. He exposes the two primary traps leaders fall into when trying to avoid vulnerability - hiding in plain sight or forcing absolute compliance - and shares a personal story of failure that forced him to choose between self-preservation and the work. What You'll Learn in This Episode: What genuine leadership looks like when the deck is stacked in your favor, and why it demands courage rather than structural power Why game development inherently requires an "agency-based" framework instead of a "compliance-based" model to thrive A simple question to check if you're acting out of fear and failing to lead What the two extreme survival traps look like and how both destroy team trust How to build comfort with the unknown so you can confidently tell your team, "I don't know, let's figure it out." If you're a leader in game dev who is tired of fighting change resistance, feels caught between the demands of senior stakeholders and the needs of your developers, or is endlessly worried that your next big decision might miss the mark and make you look dumb, this episode is for you. 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/@buildingbettergames 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 #GameDevLeadership #GameIndustry #ProducerLife #GamingStudio #BuildingBetterGames

    E134: Why "Don't Rock the Boat" Fails Game Dev Teams
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About

Leadership in game dev is hard. I can't make it easy, but I can make it a heck of a lot better. My name is Benjamin Carcich, and this podcast helps leaders in game dev who feel stuck, ignored, and out of options find their path to success. I've spent the last several decades studying and leading in environments ranging from the U.S. Army through to game development. I want to share what I've learned. Better leadership is a huge opportunity in the games industry. Let's make it better together. Better leaders build better games.

Information

  • Creator
    Benjamin Carcich
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    161
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    Building Better Games ©2024
  • Show Website
    Building Better Games

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