The Building Better Games Newsletter

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Hey All! Have you ever watched someone always spot the problem… …and somehow become the person nobody wants in the meeting? From the outside, it can look confusing. They’re not wrong. Sometimes, they've quite accurately spotted an issue. But it doesn't seem to improve anything. It's not helpful....

by Benjamin Carcich — Dec 19, 2025

2 Reframes on AI in Game Dev

So I've been thinking and talking to people about AI and LLMs a ton, and so far I've learned: AI is the savior and satan. It will bring utopia, dystopia, and everything in between. It's a bubble, it's going to be even bigger than we think, and in 4 years we won't even notice it. Very helpful info...

by Benjamin Carcich — Dec 03, 2025 ai gamedev gamedevelopment gameproduction games leadership management process productmanagement projectmanagement videogames

Your Studio in 3 Numbers (Be Brutally Honest)

Hey All! Imagine this:You’re leading a team of devs. Maybe there’s 5 of you. Maybe there’s 200. Everyone’s busy. Jira is full. Slack is on fire. But if you’re honest… the game isn’t really moving. I’ve seen this pattern over and over in game studios. From the outside everything looks funded, st...

by Benjamin Carcich — Nov 19, 2025 agile gamedev gamedevelopment gameindustry gameleadership gameproduction games leadership process software videogames

Why you're misusing QA and how to fix it

Hey All! This week on Building Better Games we look into a blind spot I see across game dev: Using QA to hit numbers, not impact players. Too many studios define “good QA” through the lens of bugs found, features/systems covered, and time spent testing. That’s the objective side of QA. It is ne...

by Benjamin Carcich — Nov 12, 2025 agile gamedev gameindustry gameleadership gameproduction gameqa leadership qa

Are you letting Jira manage you?

Hey there! Jira is not a beloved word in game and software development. It promises clarity, collaboration, visibility, and data. What it often provides is confusion, wasted time, nitpicking, and cynicism. While I do think Jira is partially to blame for this, I also think how we RELATE to Jira (...

Nov 05, 2025 agile gamedev gamedevelopment gameindustry gameproduction games jira leadership production tools worksystems

How Long Should Your Sprints Be?

Everyone runs two week sprints. It's the norm, the standard, the thing we're taught. I also think it's incorrect A LOT in game dev. Sometimes, you shouldn't be running sprints at all. Sometimes, you should be running shorter - occasionally much shorter - sprints. How do you know what the right s...

by Benjamin Carcich — Oct 10, 2025

4 Things Leaders Need To Know To Succeed.

Knowing What To Do Next. Leaders have a serious problem: there is always more to be done than time available to do it. This isn’t new, I think it’s always been this way. The main reason is a leader doesn’t have a clearly defined role at the task level. They are there to lead, to “influence othe...

by Benjamin Carcich — Jun 27, 2025