Jordan sits down with Bruce Harlick, a seasoned game designer who primarily worked on role-playing games. Bruce has worked with some of the industry's biggest names, including Zynga, LucasArts, NCSoft, and Hangar 13, and is now Systems Design Director at Ripple Effect Studios. He shares deep insights into game design, live ops, and the creative challenges of balancing business demands with game development.
[03:04] Bruce’s journey from tabletop games to live ops
[06:15] Lessons from managing content on tabletop role-playing games like Champions
[10:12] Transition from physical to digital games, and joining Monolith to work on The Matrix Online
[13:00] Learning from The Matrix Online and the rise of live game operations
[17:14] The importance of designing for live operations early on
[21:00] How live games differ from launching a one-time game product
[25:32] Creating evergreen systems and scalable content for live games
[28:52] Managing tech debt and the challenges of balancing performance with content expansion
[32:33] The value of collaborating with your community for live content
[36:15] Designing a quarterly calendar for content updates
[40:52] Balancing creativity and risk in game updates
[44:43] Bruce’s thoughts on live ops and creating long-lasting games
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