Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Press Start
Leadership.
Hey there, press Starters andwelcome to the Press Start
(00:24):
Leadership Podcast, the podcastabout game-changing leadership,
teaching you how to get the mostout of your product and
development team and become theleader you were meant to be
Leadership coaching and trainingfor the international game
industry professional.
Now let me introduce you toyour host, the man, the myth,
(00:46):
the legend, christopher Mifsud.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Hey there, press
Starters.
Welcome back to another awesomeedition of the Press Start
Leadership Podcast.
On this week's episode, we'llbe discussing Logic 101 for Game
Development Leaders how clearreasoning drives Decisions, a
conversational guide to criticalthinking, decision-making
frameworks and logical problemsolving in Video Game Studios.
(01:11):
If you've ever stared down amountain of conflicting project
priorities or found yourselfjuggling last-minute bug fixes
with creative feature requests,you know that intuition can only
get you so far.
That's where Logic for GameDevelopment Leaders comes in.
In this podcast, we'll chatabout why sharpening your
logical reasoning is just ascrucial as honing your coding
(01:32):
skills or design chops, and howyou can weave critical thinking
and structured decision makinginto your studio's DNA.
So grab a coffee or energydrink, settle in and let's
explore why logic matters ingame development leadership.
As a leader, you're constantlymaking calls that affect art
teams, programmers, qa testersand, ultimately, your players.
(01:55):
A misassumption or uncheckedbias can spiral into sunk costs,
wasted time or a drop in playersatisfaction.
Here's why embracing logic forgame development leaders pays
off.
Clarity amid chaos, complexsystems, netcode, ai behaviors,
rendering pipelines demand clearcause and effect thinking.
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Smart resource allocation,budgets and deadlines are tight.
Logical frameworks.
Help you prioritize what trulymoves the needle, unified teams
when decisions follow.
Transparent reasoning.
Your team understands why.
Boosting buy-in and morale,balance innovation, creative
risks are essential, but logicprovides guardrails ensuring
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experiments stay feasible andaligned to goals.
In other words, logic doesn'tstifle creativity, it
supercharges it by filtering outdead ends faster.
Core concepts of logic, thebuilding blocks Before we put
frameworks to work, let's coverthe essentials.
Think of these as your logicaltoolbox.
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Premises and conclusions Apremise, a starting assumption,
such as players value smoothframe rates.
A conclusion what you deduce,an example being optimizing our
rendering pipeline will increaseretention.
Leaders who mix these up riskbuilding castles on quicksand.
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Deductive versus inductivereasoning.
Deductive reasoning is fromgeneral to specific.
An example of this is allsuccessful FPS games hit 60
frames per second.
Our build runs at 60 frames persecond, therefore it will
succeed.
Inductive reasoning, fromspecifics to general.
Example would be our lastreplay test reported control lag
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.
Likely, input latency is toohigh.
Great leaders blend bothDeduction for consistency and
induction for real-worldadaptability, spotting logical
fallacies.
Even the sharpest mind getstripped up.
So watch out for confirmationbias Only seeking data that
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backs your pet idea.
Sunk cost fallacy, pouring morehours into a feature past its
usefulness, or money Appeal toauthority, going with the
decision simply because thedirector said so.
By calling out these fallaciesearly, you keep your studio on
the rational path.
Decision-making frameworks youcan actually use.
(04:31):
So you're ready for somehands-on tools.
Well, here are three that I'vetested in both indie and AAA
studios Decision trees map youroptions, why it works.
Visualizes each choice, itsoutcome and probabilities so you
can compare apples to apples.
So how to start?
First, define your decision.
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Use game engine A or B, branchoutcomes.
List possible results.
Performance gain, integrationheadaches, license cost.
Assign probabilities.
Estimate likelihood.
So use past data if available.
Calculate expected value.
Multiply outcome value, times,probability and then the sum.
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Pick the branch with thehighest expected value.
Pros and cons matrix Quick,clear comparisons why it works.
It's simple, can be done in aspreadsheet or on a whiteboard.
How to start Options across thetop Expand tutorial.
Add co-op mode Criteria downthe side Cost, dev time, player
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impact, maintenance needs.
Rate 1 through 5 for eachoption versus each criterion.
Total the scores the highestscore wins.
Last example Cost-benefitanalysis, also a CBA, dollars
and cents.
Why it works it puts financialand resource considerations
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front and center.
How to start here?
List costs dev hours,middleware fees, marketing spend
.
Estimate the benefits.
Projected revenue.
Lift Player lifetime valueincreases.
Compute net player value or NPV.
Discount future benefits topresent value Decision rule if
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NPV is greater than zero, it's ago.
Using these frameworksconsistently embeds logical
problem solving in game studios,making every major choice more
defensible, applying logic toreal-world challenges.
Okay, so you know the tools.
Now let's see them in action.
Bug triage Scenario A nasty bugpops up right before your
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planned patch.
First step Assess the severityBlocker versus minor visual flaw
.
Decision tree Deploy full patch, delay or hotfix critical bugs.
Only CBA Patch delay costsplayer goodwill.
Hotfix carries risk disabilityOutcome.
Hotfix critical issues.
Now Schedule minor bug fixesfor next sprint.
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Feature prioritization ScenarioDo you invest in an extended
campaign or multiplayer mode?
Matrix time Compare dev costpotential sales boost alignment
with studio brand Induction.
Check Historical data showsmultiplayer titles.
Extend player retention by 20%.
Decision Prioritize multiplayerschedule campaign as DLC
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Production.
Crisis Scenario A middlewareupgrade breaks multiple
pipelines.
Hypothesis testing Is it theupgrade or integration scripts?
Pilot experiment One teamreverts to old middleware,
another uses new.
In sandbox Data gathering,track, build success rates and
performance metrics.
(07:53):
Root cause Scripts areincompatible.
Patch scripts.
Then roll out.
Upgrade Actual steps Buildingyour logical muscle it's one
thing to know frameworks, it'sanother to make them a habit.
Here's how leaders can cultivatelogic for game development
leaders every day.
Step one Weekly logic workshops.
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Step 1.
Weekly logic workshops60-minute deep dives on a logic
topic such as how to spotconfirmation bias.
Walk through a recent flaweddecision and rebuild it using a
decision tree.
Reinforce logical tools andfoster shared language across
the teams.
Step 2.
Daily critical thinking drills.
Morning puzzle prompts relatedto game scenarios.
(08:36):
Share a quick logic puzzle inSlack, discuss best reasoning
and next stand-up.
The micro-practice solidifiesskills and keeps logic top of
mind.
Sprint-level logic integrationAt a sprint kickoff.
Map potential failure pointsusing a simple fault tree.
When new challenges arise.
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Pull out your pros and consmatrix right away.
Always include a section onlogical lessons learned
alongside technical data duringpostmortems.
Provide ready-made toolkits.
Pre-built decision treegraphics in your wiki and matrix
spreadsheets in your GoogleDrive as templates is a good
start.
A shared doc listing logicalterms, premise, fallacy,
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inductive versus deductiveglossary also helps.
Simple Slack bots remindingteams to run daily drills or
schedule retrospectives asautomatations also is a great
solution.
Overcoming cognitive bias nomatter how disciplined leaders
can slip into bias, and here'show to keep it in check
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Confirmation bias.
Here's the fix.
Assign a devil's advocate eachmeeting to challenge assumptions
and surface counter evidence.
Sunk cost fallacy At projectmilestones.
Evaluate features on currentviability and ignore hours
already spent Anchoring bias.
Gather independent estimatesbefore revealing any initial
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numbers, preventing first-figurefixation.
Measuring your progress youcan't improve what you don't
measure.
So track these simple metricsDecision accuracy.
Quarterly review of predictedversus actual outcomes.
Cycle time Average days fromprototype to validated features.
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Aim to cut about 20%Experimental throughput.
Number of experiments that turninto ship features.
Team confidence, regularsurveys on comfort with logic
tools and frameworks.
Bug reopen rates Declineindicates stronger root cause
analysis.
(10:43):
Scaling logical practices acrossyour studio.
Building a foundation in logicfor game development leaders is
just the beginning.
Truly elevate your studio'sdecision-making prowess.
You'll want to scale thesepractices so that every team,
from engineering to art to QA,applies the same rigorous
reasoning.
Appoint logic champions.
Identify and empower logicchampions in each department.
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People passionate aboutstructured reasoning these
responsibilities include Peoplepassionate about structured
reasoning.
These responsibilities includehost brown bag lunches to teach
decision tree usage or run quickbias spotting exercises.
Review major project decisionsfor logical coherence and
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ensures documentation is clearand complete.
Gather successful examples oflogical problem solving and
distills them into brief casestudies for the wider team.
By decentralizing ownership,you transform logic for game
development leaders from atop-down mandate to a grassroots
movement.
Cross-functional logic forums,rather than silo logic training
within individual teams, bringeveryone together.
Have monthly roundtables.
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Representatives from design,programming, art, production and
QA share a recent decision, itscontext, premises and reasoning
, steps and outcomes.
Have rotating facilitation.
Each department takes turnsleading the forum, offering
fresh perspectives on how logicintersects with different
disciplines.
Have an action tracker,document key takeaways and
(12:11):
assign studio-wide action items,such as revising a decision
template or adjusting meetingformats to maintain continuous
momentum.
This collective approach buildsempathy across roles and
reinforces that logical problemsolving in game studios is
everyone's responsibility,embedding a culture of logical
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inquiry.
Logical decision-making thrivesin environments that encourage
curiosity and question-drivenwork, and here are strategies to
foster such a culture.
Daily question of the day Posta brief scenario or reasoning
puzzle each morning, perhaps anambiguous playtest result or a
hypothetical productionconstraint.
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Team members submit theirlogical breakdowns by lunchtime.
The next stand-up highlightstop approaches and uncovers new
thinking patterns.
Offer small rewards, coffeevouchers, shoutouts or logic
star badges to stimulateengagement.
This practice keeps logic forgame development leaders front
of mind and makes structuredreasoning a daily habit.
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Recognition and Rewards LogicExcellence Awards, quarterly
awards for teams or individualswhose explicitly logical
decisions led to notablesuccesses, like a feature pivot
that boosted engagement or atechnical fix that cleared a
major bottleneck.
Celebration Feature winners inyour studio's newsletter and
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all-hands meetings, underliningthat curiosity and rigor are
core studio values.
Such recognition cements logicas a celebrated, aspirational
skill rather than a dry checkbox.
Continuous improvement Neverstop refining logic.
Even established practices needperiodic recalibration To
ensure logic for gamedevelopment leaders remains
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sharp.
Do the following Feedback anditeration on frameworks After
each major release or milestone.
Review the decision-makingprocess itself what worked?
Which steps were skipped?
Update your decision treetemplates, matrix criteria or
post-mortem questions based onthese reviews, tailoring tools
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to your studio's evolving needs.
Ongoing education Share booksand articles such as Thinking
Fast and Slow or the Art ofReasoning in an accessible
knowledge base.
Encourage team members toattend critical thinking and
logic seminars.
Then bring back learningsthrough internal presentations.
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Measuring long-term impact Toimprove the value of your logic
initiatives.
Go beyond antidote and trackthese studio-wide metrics
Decision accuracy rate.
Compare forecasted outcomes toactual results over rolling
quarters.
Aim for continuous improvement.
Cycle time reductions.
Monitor average days fromconcept to validate prototype.
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Target a 20% to 30% decreasewithin six months.
Experiment to feature ratio.
Track how many smallexperiments evolve into full
features, indicating anefficient innovation funnel.
Team confidence surveys Gaugecomfort from logical frameworks
and tools.
Biannually.
Look for rising familiarity andwillingness to apply logic in
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heated situations.
Operational KPIs Lower bugreopen rates and reduced rework
hours signal more effective rootcause analysis and upfront
reasoning.
Some final thoughts Logic isn'tjust for philosophers.
It's the backbone of every soundgame development decision.
By weaving logic for gamedevelopment leaders into your
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studio's culture through coreconcepts, decision-making
frameworks, bias mitigation andcontinuous training, you empower
your teams to innovate boldly,yet judiciously.
And here's your next move Holda studio-wide logic kickoff.
Introduce your updated decisiontree and matrix templates in a
dedicated all-hand session.
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Appoint your first logicchampions.
Identify one advocate in eachdepartment to lead workshops and
peer coaching.
Launch a logic roundtable.
Schedule the inauguralcross-functional forum to
dissect a recent criticaldecision.
Start today and watch as yourstudio transforms failures into
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learning opportunities, complexdilemmas into clear choices and
ambitious ideas into successfulreleases, powered by the
enduring strength of logicalreasoning.
All right, and that's thisweek's episode of the Press
Start Leadership Podcast.
Thanks for listening and, asalways, thanks for being awesome
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you.