The Game Production Academy

Liam Wickham

About Game Production Academy I'm Liam Wickham. Game Production Academy provides practical insight, training and support for game producers, production leaders and studios. Here I explore how teams plan work, manage risk, lead people and make delivery decisions. The focus is on real production problems, practical examples and tools you can use with your team. Game Production Academy also offers professional courses, studio workshops, consulting and advisory support to help teams improve their production practices. I'm the author of Risk Management for Video Game Professionals (CRC Press, 2026). Links Newsletter — Practical insights into game productionhttps://www.game-production.com/newsletter/ Free resources — Articles, podcasts, templates and toolshttps://www.game-production.com/resources/ Professional courseshttps://www.game-production.com/courses/ Studio training and workshopshttps://www.game-production.com/studios/ Consulting and advisoryhttps://www.game-production.com/consulting/ Risk Management for Video Game Professionals — The bookhttps://www.game-production.com/riskmanagementbook/

  1. Episode 1 Bonus

    Widen Your Job Search: Games Skills to Tech Roles

    Hello! I’ve put a free download on Game Production Academy. I made it for anyone who has been job-hunting in games for months and needs more options quickly. I have worked inside and outside the games industry, and I have had to translate my own CV between games roles and non-games roles regularly. I have also worked across nearly all of the role types covered in this toolkit, so the guidance here is grounded in how these jobs operate day to day. This episode is actually an audio only version of my YouTube video but I reckon it's ok to listen to! I talk you through what's in the guide. https://youtu.be/822DXdbyGrs?si=tgHJVXGxzTyNuDZS This 30 page toolkit, written by me, helps you:  Identify role targets that match what you already do Translate your CV and LinkedIn profile into language employers outside games recognise Understand which gaps matter and which do not Apply more widely without pretending to be someone you are not  Download here: https://game-production.thinkific.com/products/digital_downloads/unlock-potential-outside-gaming  If you know someone who’s out of work, please share it with them. (You can still apply for games roles. This is about widening the net, not “leaving games”.)  About Game Production Academy I'm Liam Wickham. Game Production Academy provides practical insight, training and support for game producers, production leaders and studios. Here I explore how teams plan work, manage risk, lead people and make delivery decisions. The focus is on real production problems, practical examples and tools you can use with your team. Game Production Academy also offers professional courses, studio workshops, consulting and advisory support to help teams improve their production practices. I'm the author of Risk Management for Video Game Professionals (CRC Press, 2026). Links Newsletter — Practical insights into game productionFree resources — Articles, podcasts, templates and toolsStudio training and workshopsConsulting and advisoryRisk Management for Video Game Professionals — The book

  2. Episode 2

    9 Critical Game Development Risks (Market Fit, Scope, QA, Launch, Trust)

    In this webinar-to-podcast episode, Liam Wickham breaks down nine critical risks that repeatedly derail game projects, with early warning signals and practical mitigations you can apply immediately. You will hear: Why risk management gives teams a shared language to spot problems early and act before delivery becomes unstableThe nine critical risk patterns, including:Market misalignment (building a game nobody wants) and vision driftPre-production shortcuts that create expensive late surprisesScope churn (scope creep and feature creep) as a predictable crunch and delay engineCommunication gaps (silos, undocumented decisions, delayed propagation)QA underinvestment, where defects compound until stability and delivery collapsesLaunch failures, negative reception and the public trust spiral after release - plus what credible recovery looks likeThis is designed for producers, studio leads and discipline leads who want fewer late surprises, less rework and more predictable delivery. Free companion PDF (board export): https://game-production.thinkific.com/products/digital_downloads/criticalrisks Original webinar recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp-Sfj9rVqc About Game Production Academy I'm Liam Wickham. Game Production Academy provides practical insight, training and support for game producers, production leaders and studios. Here I explore how teams plan work, manage risk, lead people and make delivery decisions. The focus is on real production problems, practical examples and tools you can use with your team. Game Production Academy also offers professional courses, studio workshops, consulting and advisory support to help teams improve their production practices. I'm the author of Risk Management for Video Game Professionals (CRC Press, 2026). Links Newsletter — Practical insights into game productionFree resources — Articles, podcasts, templates and toolsStudio training and workshopsConsulting and advisoryRisk Management for Video Game Professionals — The book

    9 Critical Game Development Risks (Market Fit, Scope, QA, Launch, Trust)

  3. Episode 3

    Art Production in Mobile Games vs. Console Games: Key Differences and Challenges

    In this episode, Purva Garg, experienced senior game producer, dives deep into the intricacies of art production in mobile games compared to console games. We discuss the differences in volume, pace, and complexity of assets, and how these factors impact production timelines.  The conversation reveals the unique pressures and mindsets in mobile game development, highlighting the constant need for content due to the live and free-to-play nature of mobile games.  We also explore the impact of user acquisition costs, the role of LiveOps, and the crucial balance producers need to maintain between planned and reactive work.  Tune in to understand the complexities and strategies involved in managing art production in the fast-paced world of mobile gaming. 00:00 Introduction to Art Production in Games 00:08 Differences in Output Volume and Speed 00:43 Challenges in Mobile Game Art Production 02:59 Live Games and Continuous Content Generation 03:56 Prototyping and Agile Development in Mobile Games 05:18 Importance of Visuals in Mobile Games 06:49 Marketing's Impact on Game Development 09:18 User Acquisition and Retention Strategies 13:10 Prioritization and Team Management 25:46 Balancing Tech Debt and Content Creation Original YouTube recording: https://youtu.be/sl1Vy6s96UU About Game Production Academy I'm Liam Wickham. Game Production Academy provides practical insight, training and support for game producers, production leaders and studios. Here I explore how teams plan work, manage risk, lead people and make delivery decisions. The focus is on real production problems, practical examples and tools you can use with your team. Game Production Academy also offers professional courses, studio workshops, consulting and advisory support to help teams improve their production practices. I'm the author of Risk Management for Video Game Professionals (CRC Press, 2026). Links Newsletter — Practical insights into game productionFree resources — Articles, podcasts, templates and toolsStudio training and workshopsConsulting and advisoryRisk Management for Video Game Professionals — The book

  4. Episode 4

    Why Game Studios Need Better Production Systems, Not Just Better Producers

    What makes a good game producer - and why do we keep expecting them to hold everything together? In this episode, Liam Wickham shifts the focus from individual producers to the systems in which they work. Resourcefulness, leadership and problem-solving matter. But when producers spend their time chasing decisions, bridging communication gaps and unblocking work, we should also ask what keeps creating those problems. Drawing on experience across games and other industries, Liam explores how production systems must adapt as games, teams and studios change. His argument: we need more than people who can cope with the chaos. We need the knowledge, skills and working conditions to reduce it. 00:00 What Makes a Good Producer? 00:58 From Producers to Production Systems 03:02 How Studios Build Teams 07:47 Lessons from the Military 10:11 Lessons from Sports 11:33 Why Game Making Is Unique 13:33 The Film Industry Parallel 16:41 The Kitchen Parallel 19:46 The Pharmaceutical Parallel 27:08 Software Development vs. Game Making 33:46 Better Systems, Not Better Producers 42:07 Fixing the Way We Make Games 46:42 The Game Production Academy About Game Production Academy I'm Liam Wickham. Game Production Academy provides practical insight, training and support for game producers, production leaders and studios. Here I explore how teams plan work, manage risk, lead people and make delivery decisions. The focus is on real production problems, practical examples and tools you can use with your team. Game Production Academy also offers professional courses, studio workshops, consulting and advisory support to help teams improve their production practices. I'm the author of Risk Management for Video Game Professionals (CRC Press, 2026). Links Newsletter — Practical insights into game productionFree resources — Articles, podcasts, templates and toolsStudio training and workshopsConsulting and advisoryRisk Management for Video Game Professionals — The book

    Why Game Studios Need Better Production Systems, Not Just Better Producers
See All Season 3 (4)

About

About Game Production Academy I'm Liam Wickham. Game Production Academy provides practical insight, training and support for game producers, production leaders and studios. Here I explore how teams plan work, manage risk, lead people and make delivery decisions. The focus is on real production problems, practical examples and tools you can use with your team. Game Production Academy also offers professional courses, studio workshops, consulting and advisory support to help teams improve their production practices. I'm the author of Risk Management for Video Game Professionals (CRC Press, 2026). Links Newsletter — Practical insights into game productionhttps://www.game-production.com/newsletter/ Free resources — Articles, podcasts, templates and toolshttps://www.game-production.com/resources/ Professional courseshttps://www.game-production.com/courses/ Studio training and workshopshttps://www.game-production.com/studios/ Consulting and advisoryhttps://www.game-production.com/consulting/ Risk Management for Video Game Professionals — The bookhttps://www.game-production.com/riskmanagementbook/

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