The Game Production Academy
The Game Production Academy
Podcast Description
Where we discuss game production, leadership and all related topics, deep diving into project/program/portfolio, methodologies and the hard stuff that other podcasts tend to ignore. Want to find out more about the difficult stuff? Stick around!Website:https://www.game-production.com/Please sign up to the newsletter from the website!Udemy Course:https://www.udemy.com/course/risk-management-in-video-game-development/?referralCode=D6412142A30B4794B550
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The show delves into themes such as risk management, staffing challenges, and industry diversity, with episode examples including in-depth discussions about production recruitment, product management in gaming, and personal experiences of women in the games industry.
About Game Production Academy
I’m Liam Wickham. Game Production Academy provides practical insight, training and support for game producers, production leaders and studios.
Here I explore how teams plan work, manage risk, lead people and make delivery decisions. The focus is on real production problems, practical examples and tools you can use with your team.
Game Production Academy also offers professional courses, studio workshops, consulting and advisory support to help teams improve their production practices.
I’m the author of Risk Management for Video Game Professionals (CRC Press, 2026).
Links
Newsletter — Practical insights into game production
https://www.game-production.com/newsletter/
Free resources — Articles, podcasts, templates and tools
https://www.game-production.com/resources/
Professional courses
https://www.game-production.com/courses/
Studio training and workshops
https://www.game-production.com/studios/
Consulting and advisory
https://www.game-production.com/consulting/
Risk Management for Video Game Professionals — The book
https://www.game-production.com/riskmanagementbook/
What makes a good game producer – and why do we keep expecting them to hold everything together?
In this episode, Liam Wickham shifts the focus from individual producers to the systems in which they work. Resourcefulness, leadership and problem-solving matter. But when producers spend their time chasing decisions, bridging communication gaps and unblocking work, we should also ask what keeps creating those problems.
Drawing on experience across games and other industries, Liam explores how production systems must adapt as games, teams and studios change. His argument: we need more than people who can cope with the chaos. We need the knowledge, skills and working conditions to reduce it.
00:00 What Makes a Good Producer?
00:58 From Producers to Production Systems
03:02 How Studios Build Teams
07:47 Lessons from the Military
10:11 Lessons from Sports
11:33 Why Game Making Is Unique
13:33 The Film Industry Parallel
16:41 The Kitchen Parallel
19:46 The Pharmaceutical Parallel
27:08 Software Development vs. Game Making
33:46 Better Systems, Not Better Producers
42:07 Fixing the Way We Make Games
46:42 The Game Production Academy
About Game Production Academy
I'm Liam Wickham. Game Production Academy provides practical insight, training and support for game producers, production leaders and studios.
Here I explore how teams plan work, manage risk, lead people and make delivery decisions. The focus is on real production problems, practical examples and tools you can use with your team.
Game Production Academy also offers professional courses, studio workshops, consulting and advisory support to help teams improve their production practices.
I'm the author of Risk Management for Video Game Professionals (CRC Press, 2026).
Links
Disclaimer
This podcast’s information is provided for general reference and was obtained from publicly accessible sources. The Podcast Collaborative neither produces nor verifies the content, accuracy, or suitability of this podcast. Views and opinions belong solely to the podcast creators and guests.
For a complete disclaimer, please see our Full Disclaimer on the archive page. The Podcast Collaborative bears no responsibility for the podcast’s themes, language, or overall content. Listener discretion is advised. Read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy for more details.