Benjamin Carcich

Building Better Games

Leisure EN ↓ 157 episodes

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.

Author

Benjamin Carcich

Episodes

S1 EP6 Incentives: The crucial part of culture you're not considering - Part 1 16.03.2021 51:57

Leadership. That always present topic that helps us realize that just talking about something doesn't make it any better. We take a look at what is so often missed when we think about any leader's role in an organization, and the consequences to feedback, autonomy, and work. This isn't a question of process, it's a question of approach. Ask us questions, give us a piece of your mind, or start a di...

S1 EP5 Death Spiral: Planning the meeting to prep for the discussion at the leadership off-site about why our team's productivity is low. 16.03.2021 1:35:48

Why, oh why are there so many meetings all the time. Meetings. MEETINGS. It's all we do anymore. With remote work it's even worse. It's mind-numbing. We hate it. Why do we keep doing it to ourselves? Let's get into it. (Yes we realize the irony of you spending another hour listening about meetings) Ask us questions, give us a piece of your mind, or start a discussion using the hashtag #ValarinPers...

S1 EP4 Operations Dudes Try Product Management 16.03.2021 1:18:18

The first podcast we ever recorded. Starts slow, but gets rolling about halfway through. We've always loved product management. And we've always known it was hard. Now you get to watch us fumble, grow, and learn our way through managing our own mini-product building the Valarin logo. Fun ensues, enjoy the Orc music! Ask us questions, give us a piece of your mind, or start a discussion using the ha...

S1 EP3 Stop Doing and Start Being 16.03.2021 1:29:20

We're missing something in our approach when it comes to Agility and process. "I'm executing the steps right and it just isn't working." We hear a lot of talk about the difference between "being" and "doing" Agile. Join us as we dig into real world examples that show how behavior and principle are key to guide us to the right results. Ask us questions, give us a piece of your mind, or start a d...

S1 EP2 Explaining the Inexplicable Boss 16.03.2021 1:20:20

What's at the bottom of why we do the things we do? Sure, there's mastery, autonomy, and purpose, but let's take a deeper look at what so many are trying to solve for. Go far enough, and you can often see the counter-intuitive motivations behind your leaders (and your own) choices. Ask us questions, give us a piece of your mind, or start a discussion using the hashtag #ValarinPerspective Find us a...

S1 EP1 He did it all for the Nook-E-Reader 16.03.2021 1:00:40

Aaron takes us on his journey through a year spent at Barnes & Noble, walking through the differences in culture, some system shocks, and the Riot hangover. Ask us questions, give us a piece of your mind, or start a discussion using the hashtag #ValarinPerspective Find us at www.valarinconsulting.com , or at @ValarinInc on Twitter and IG.

EP0 Game dev: Why we're here and what we believe 15.03.2021 4:41

Why are we doing this? What's the point of it all? Start here as we dig into the "why" behind Building Better Games. Spoiler: Great games come from great leaders.