GDC 2025 Session Viewer
Production Traps: How Producers and Leaders Get Stuck
Benjamin Carcich (CEO/Founder, Valarin, Inc., Building Better Games)
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass - Get your pass now!
Track: Production & Team Leadership
Format: Lecture
Vault Recording: TBD
Audience Level: All
We are solving the wrong problems in game dev. While our teams struggle with morale, face unrealistic expectations, and have little connection to the vision of the game, too often producers are tweaking the team's process, making sure to send the sprint report on time, and telling experts how to do their job.
In this talk, Ben explores the traps that keep producers from being as effective as they could be. He also talks about how to escape those traps and what producers and leaders should be doing instead to help their teams succeed.
We can have a much larger positive impact. It's time to reframe our role as producers and leaders and start helping our teams build better games.
Takeaway
Attendees learn the three sets of Production Traps they and others can get stuck in. They learn the role of production in game studios, and the core skills they should be developing. Finally, they learn how to escape the traps using those skills.
Intended Audience
This talk is for producers and leaders responsible for helping their teams succeed. Prior experience in production and/or leadership in game dev will be helpful.