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E92: 5 Principles Game Producers Need with 35-Year Industry Vet Steve Sargent

Building Better Games

Release Date: 07/01/2025

E118: The Truth About “Culture Fit” in Game Dev show art E118: The Truth About “Culture Fit” in Game Dev

Building Better Games

If you’re a leader in game dev who feels stuck, able to spot problems but struggling to make a real difference, there is a path forward that levels up your leadership and accelerates your team, game, and career. Sign up here to learn more: Is your "culture fit" interview actually just a trap for hiring clones? We tackle the paradox of culture in game development. While many studios are abandoning "culture fit" to avoid echo chambers and bias, ignoring it entirely can lead to toxic hires that destroy trust and decision-making. Ben breaks down the two distinct types of culture—Taste vs....

info_outline E117: The Real Reason Estimates Fail In Game Dev show art E117: The Real Reason Estimates Fail In Game Dev

Building Better Games

If you’re a leader in game dev who feels stuck, able to spot problems but struggling to make a real difference, there is a path forward that levels up your leadership and accelerates your team, game, and career. Sign up here to learn more: Stop treating your game dev estimates like a prophecy; you aren't a prophet. If your estimates keep failing, it’s not because your team is bad at math; it’s because you’re using estimation as a fortune-telling machine instead of a decision-making tool. In this episode, Ben breaks down why "perfect" plans are a trap in the high-uncertainty world of...

info_outline E116: The Real Reason Your Game Isn’t Fun (It’s Not Effort) show art E116: The Real Reason Your Game Isn’t Fun (It’s Not Effort)

Building Better Games

If you’re a leader in game dev who feels stuck, able to spot problems but struggling to make a real difference, there is a path forward that levels up your leadership and accelerates your team, game, and career. Sign up here to learn more: If your team keeps promising that the game will be "fun later," you aren't suffering from a lack of effort—you're suffering from a lack of prioritization. Shipping a mountain of features means nothing if you haven't validated the experience with real players. In this episode, we break down why hiding behind a massive backlog or a 100-page GDD is a "red...

info_outline E115: The Culture Mistake Killing Game Development Teams - 4 Leadership Lessons show art E115: The Culture Mistake Killing Game Development Teams - 4 Leadership Lessons

Building Better Games

If you’re a leader in game dev who feels stuck, able to spot problems but struggling to make a real difference, there is a path forward that levels up your leadership and accelerates your team, game, and career. Sign up here to learn more: The game industry is undergoing a massive shift. Between the rise of "black hole games" that consume all player attention and the skyrocketing costs of AAA development, the old playbooks for leadership are breaking. In this episode, Ben is joined by Andrew Brownell, a veteran Game Director at Netflix Games. Andrew brings over 20 years of experience from...

info_outline E114: What Employees Actually Hear When You Say “Raising Expectations” show art E114: What Employees Actually Hear When You Say “Raising Expectations”

Building Better Games

If you’re a leader in game dev who feels stuck, able to spot problems but struggling to make a real difference, there is a path forward that levels up your leadership and accelerates your team, game, and career. Sign up here to learn more: When leaders say they’re “raising expectations,” teams often hear one thing: work more. That gap between intent and impact is why so many game dev organizations feel terrible to work at—and why “raise the bar” messages often land as threat, not motivation. In this solo episode, Ben unpacks the tragedy of perspective between senior leaders who...

info_outline E113: Why More Meetings Won't Fix Your Game Team show art E113: Why More Meetings Won't Fix Your Game Team

Building Better Games

If you’re a leader in game dev who feels stuck, able to spot problems but struggling to make a real difference, there is a path forward that levels up your leadership and accelerates your team, game, and career. Sign up here to learn more: Stop adding meetings to fix your game. In this episode, Ben Carcich sits down with Glenn Paul Gray, Production Director at PeopleFun, to dismantle the "more syncs = more alignment" myth. They explore how piling on well-attended meetings often creates overhead rather than clarity and why your work system must adapt to the specific stage of development...

info_outline E112: The Game Producer Trap: Busy, Helpful, Useless show art E112: The Game Producer Trap: Busy, Helpful, Useless

Building Better Games

If you’re a leader in game dev who feels stuck, able to spot problems but struggling to make a real difference, there is a path forward that levels up your leadership and accelerates your team, game, and career. Sign up here to learn more: If you disappeared for a week, would your team lose their momentum—or just their note-taker? Most game producers are stuck in a "checklist trap"—spending their days managing tickets, booking meetings, and taking notes without ever understanding the actual goal. In this episode, Ben breaks down why production is fundamentally a leadership role...

info_outline E111: Why Western Game Dev Is Breaking — What Leaders Do Next show art E111: Why Western Game Dev Is Breaking — What Leaders Do Next

Building Better Games

If you’re a leader in game dev who feels stuck, there is a path forward that levels up your leadership and accelerates your team, game, and career. Sign up here to learn more: 30,000 Layoffs. Solid prototypes can’t get funding. Western Game Dev Is Breaking. In this episode, Rich Vogel explains why Western game development isn’t in a downturn, it’s in a reset. Fresh off fundraising conversations in 2025-2026, Rich breaks down why funding for large-budget games has nearly disappeared, why publishers and VCs are pulling back from North American teams, and how leadership decisions, not...

info_outline E110: The Truth About Game Studio Politics (And How to Win Without Becoming a Monster) show art E110: The Truth About Game Studio Politics (And How to Win Without Becoming a Monster)

Building Better Games

If you’re a leader in game dev who feels stuck, there is a path forward that levels up your leadership and accelerates your team, game, and career. Sign up here to learn more: You're doing the work, fighting for your team, but your ideas stall in meetings and people with less context somehow have more influence than you. It can feel like the only way to win is to become the political operator you hate. In this episode, Ben breaks down the simple, three-part system for influence—the Influence Trifecta—so you can drive change for your team and career without selling your soul....

info_outline E109: Is Ethical AI in Game Dev Even Possible? show art E109: Is Ethical AI in Game Dev Even Possible?

Building Better Games

If you’re a leader in game dev who feels stuck, there is a path forward that levels up your leadership and accelerates your team, game, and career. Sign up here to learn more: Leadership in game dev is hard, but choosing to ignore the biggest technological shift of our generation is a high-stakes gamble. In this episode, we talk with Benjamin Chevalier, Chief AI Officer at Mighty Bear Games, who has a uniquely informed perspective as an Art Director turned tech leader who has spent two decades building games for Ubisoft, Disney, LucasArts, and King. Ben Chevalier outlines his pragmatic,...

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What does it truly take to deliver a great game consistently in an industry known for its challenges and complexities? Join us for a conversation with Steve Sargent, Head of Production at Blind Squirrel Games, a veteran with over 35 years of experience in the game industry, including work on iconic titles like BioShock: The Collection and Mass Effect Legendary Edition. Steve dives deep into the art and science of game production, sharing the things to do, and also what to avoid, from his extensive career.

You'll learn:

  • The core role of production
  • Why reporting can actually add value - if it’s done right!
  • The five key behaviors that drive trust and success in game development
  • Why pursuing "efficiency at all costs" can actually be detrimental to creating a great game
  • The importance of understanding "the why" behind your processes, rather than just following rituals
  • How to foster an environment where team members feel empowered to take ownership and solve problems
  • Why planning is essential for alignment, even when the details change

Whether you're an aspiring producer, an indie developer, or a seasoned leader, Steve's hard-earned wisdom offers actionable takeaways to help you build better games and stronger teams. 

Learn more about Steven Sargent:

Resources:

Connect with us: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/building-better-games/ 

Twitter: https://x.com/BBG_Podcast 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildingbettergames/# 

Website: https://www.buildingbettergames.gg 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZpMT-dUwQR-R4Mb4uub6Sw

 

#GameProduction #GameDev #AgileDevelopment #TeamLeadership #BlindSquirrelGames