In this episode, Patrick Rose, a product strategy, retention, and monetization expert, shares insights on game development, industry entry, and the four pillars of game success: user acquisition, accessibility, monetization, and engagement. He also discusses the impact of autonomy, relatedness, and competence on player motivation, and provides examples from popular games like No Man's Sky, Dark Souls, and Candy Crush Saga.

The conversation covers a wide range of topics including game design, monetization, narrative design, and the psychology of player engagement. It delves into the principles of game development, the impact of external rewards on intrinsic motivation, and the importance of narrative design in creating engaging experiences. The conversation also explores the concept of virality in games and the role of AI in narrative design.

Takeaways

• Understanding the four pillars of game success: user acquisition, accessibility, monetization, and engagement.
• The impact of autonomy, relatedness, and competence on player motivation.
• Examples of successful game design and player engagement from popular games like No Man's Sky, Dark Souls, and Candy Crush Saga. Competence and flow theory are closely connected, influencing player engagement and game design.
• External rewards can diminish intrinsic motivation, impacting player engagement and long-term retention.
• Effective monetization involves creating a 'money sponge' system with multiple opportunities for spending, avoiding direct pay-to-win models.
• Narrative design with AI empowers developers to focus on the bigger picture, creating engaging and interactive experiences.
• The 80/20 rule in game design emphasizes benchmarking 80% of the design and innovating on the remaining 20%, aligning with the Pareto principle.

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to Game Development and Industry Entry
• 39:23 Understanding Autonomy, Relatedness, and Competence in Player Motivation
• 50:24 Competence and Flow Theory
• 55:35 Effective Monetization Strategies
• 01:23:04 The 80/20 Rule in Game Design

If you’d like to support the show, you can find us on Patreon at patreon.com/gamedevepicfails

If you’re building a game and you want to make sure players will love it before you go all in, pitch your game at pitch.ludolaunchpad.com

If you want a job in the game development industry, there's only one thing you should do: create games! In our conversation, Global Game Jam founder Susan Gold discusses what it really takes to start a career in game development. We also talked about that was going on behind the scenes during the first Global Game Jam, we also dived into the reality of failures and how to learn from them.

The full episode is coming out this January 31! Don't miss it!

Here's a very short snippet of my incredible conversation with The Global Game Jam founder, Susan Gold! This clip is from the pilot episode of Game Dev Epic Fails airing on 31 January, 2026!

You can listen to the episode on Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and Spotify.

Who else is joining the Global Game Jam this week?

#globalgamejam #indiegames #gamedev

Here's a snippet of my conversation with Global Game Jam founder Susan Gold!

This pilot episode of Game Dev Epic Fails is airing on 31 January, 2026! You can listen to it on Amazon Music, Youtube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. If you love this snippet, there's much more to unpack when you listen to our full conversation at the podcast.

If you’d like to support the show, please subscribe to our Patreon!
If you’re building a game and you want to validate it before you commit, pitch your game at pitch.ludolaunchpad.com

The pilot episode of Game Dev Epic Fails features Susan Gold, the founder of the Global Game Jam. The conversation delves into the challenges and lessons of game development, the messy failure of game development, defining success, the skepticism and challenges of the Global Game Jam, behind-the-scenes of the first Global Game Jam, cultural and translation challenges, and adapting to the pandemic and virtual game jams.

The conversation with Susan Gold covers a behind-the-scenes look at the Global Game Jam, the 48-hour game jam experience, diversifiers and creativity in game jams, failure patterns and team dynamics, learning and growth in game jams, the impact of game jams on the industry, the future of Global Game Jam, advice for handling the chaos, and game recommendations and genres.

If you found Susan's insights very helpful, please also subscribe and listen to the Global Game Jam Podcast at the Official GGJ Youtube Channel.

Takeaways

• The importance of embracing failure in game development
• Defining success in game development The 48-hour game jam experience fosters creativity and learning in a safe environment.
• Game jams have a significant impact on the industry, fostering new ideas and stimulating creativity.

Chapters

• 00:00 Introducing Susan Gold and the Global Game Jam
• 07:34 The Messy Failure of Game Development
• 17:12 Challenges and Skepticism of the Global Game Jam
• 25:35 Cultural and Translation Challenges
• 33:01 The Role of the Board in Global Game Jam
• 43:34 The 48-Hour Game Jam Experience
• 50:30 Learning and Growth in Game Jams
• 55:44 Impact of Game Jams on the Industry
• 01:04:02 Advice for Handling the Chaos
  

If you’d like to support the show, you can find us on Patreon at patreon.com/gamedevepicfails

If you’re building a game and you want to validate it before you commit, pitch your game at pitch.ludolaunchpad.com