In an industry where development costs have skyrocketed, and market success has become increasingly challenging, understanding the true drivers of successful game development has never been more crucial.

In this discussion with Ben Carcich from Building Better Games, we highlight the counter-intuitive patterns of success and practical frameworks for modern game development leadership.Key Focus Areas:

🔑 Why the most successful games often emerge from the most visibly challenging development processes

🔑 How premature scaling and uncertainty avoidance doom projects before launch

🔑 Critical success patterns observed across AAA and indie studios

🔑 Practical approaches to balancing creative vision, technical execution, and business reality

Listen to this episode for actionable insights that challenge conventional wisdom about building successful games in 2024.OUTLINE:0:00 Intro1:45 How costs impact game success6:05 Other major problems with game success10:30 Zero sum time problem and the rise of live operated games11:40 Success from China and small devs12:30 Importance of delivering on a player experience14:35 The Alignment problem15:24 Fighting to expand the percentage of new game time18:25 How bigger production cost impacts decision making20:15 Major production problems - comfort with uncertainty24:35 Fear and pride25:55 Game projects with big problems succeed more often29:40 Pride and Insecurity31:52 The rush to production39:45 Obsession with planning42:20 Importance of development speed44:25 What derails planning: the wrong person and bad decisions47:09 The problem with the creative auteur49:52 Decision analysis vs. prioritization54:15 Scope creep: The ooh ooh ooh idea problem1:00:50 Taking lessons from the military and football1:04:52 Why do great lessons come from military and sports1:13:42 The problem with big plans1:14:37 Why you shouldn’t “always have an answer”1:19:00 The #1 rule: common sense rules1:22:34 How to find time to think deeply1:24:43 You don’t need to solve every problem1:30:02 How to think about long-term issues1:37:12 What are characteristics from successful game studios1:58:12 You should push when you’re young2:01:01 More about Building Better Games consultancy👇 EPISODE LINKS: - Building Better Games: https://www.buildingbettergames.gg/- Ben Carcich: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-carcich/SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.com/😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! — • MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1• TWITTER → @jokim1• LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/

Join gaming industry veterans as they break down the unprecedented transformation of mobile 4X games. Featuring insights from Joseph Kim (Lila Games), Justin Yau (Wharton MBA), UA specialist Matej Lancaric (2.5 Gamers) and game design specialist Jakub Remiar (2.5 Gamers) on how Chinese gaming companies are achieving $8M+ daily revenue through innovative UA strategies and product design.

Key Topics:

🔑 Evolution of 4X game design

🔑 UA innovation and AI creative production

🔑 Server economics and monetization strategies

🔑 Future industry predictions

⏰ Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction and Speaker Backgrounds

3:09 First Fun/River Game Partnership History

8:05 Modern 4X Game Economics

15:20 UA Strategy Evolution

23:45 Creative Production at Scale

31:30 AI's Role in UA Innovation

38:15 Product Design Integration

45:40 Server Management Strategies

52:30 Future of 4X Gaming

57:15 Non-Consensus Predictions

🔍 Featured Experts:

Joseph Kim (CEO, Lila Games)

Justin Yau (Industry Analyst, Wharton)

Matej Lancaric (UA Specialist)

Jakub Remiar (Game Design Consultant)

💡 Additional Resources:

Previous Matej +: JK Collaboration Podcast on 4X UA Strategy: https://youtu.be/IvRjmGvWhdQ

Dissecting Best-Selling Mobile 4X Game Metrics by Ning Wang: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dissecting-best-selling-mobile-4x-game-metrics-ning-wang-vk1pc/

Join the GameMakers newsletter for more industry insights and discussions: Newsletter: www.gamemakers.com

#MobileGaming #GameDev #UserAcquisition #4XGames #GameStrategy

Learn the insider strategies from industry legends Frank Yan (Brawl Stars), Dafna Ben Onn (SciPlay), and Ivan Trancik (Superscale) on mastering mobile game operations!

📍 Timestamps:

🔑 Key Insights:

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