E85: Why Your Game Vision Sucks (And Why You're Not Alone!) with Graham McAllister

Building Better Games

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2M ago 1:31:13

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In this episode, we welcome back organizational psychologist Graham McAllister for part 3 of our deep dive into one of the most critical challenges in game development—game vision. If you're a game developer, leader, or aspiring leader, this is an essential conversation that exposes why studios struggle to align on vision and how that misalignment contributes to failed games, frustrated teams, and organizational friction.

Graham shares exclusive insights from his groundbreaking research, revealing why even seasoned studios misfire on creating shared mental models and what happens when product vision and creative vision pull teams in opposite directions. We break down how team psychology, leadership gaps, and missing frameworks are silently derailing your projects—and what you can do to change that.

Whether you're leading a game team, working in production, design, or aiming for studio leadership, this episode will reshape how you approach collaboration, alignment, and success.

Key Topics:

The missing link in game vision no one talks about
Why teams consistently fail to align on player experience
The hidden rift between creative and product vision
The psychological traps even veteran leaders fall into
How to bridge the communication gap between departments
Actionable insights for game makers to improve alignment & culture

Resources & Next Steps:

Connect with Graham McAllister: https://grahammcallister.com/

Read Graham’s research and updates on the upcoming Game Vision book: https://grahammcallister.com/books

Check out Graham’s player psychology book (free online or via Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/Usability-Playtesting-Games-Friction-Points-ebook/dp/B0DXV6PYLZ

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We want to hear from YOU! What struggles have you faced with game vision on your projects? Drop your experiences in the comments.

108 episodes