From Table Tops to Live Ops, with Bruce Harlick

Playmakers - The Game Industry Podcast

In this episode:

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.

Topics covered:

• How to determine the right amount of content to launch with
• Designing games to avoid a never-ending content treadmill for your team
• The benefits of live ops for creativity in comparison to launching new games
• How to design effective content tools
• The impact of tech and procedural debt on a game’s future
• Balancing between retention and revenue in LiveOps games
• How to put together a quarterly calendar of content releases in a way that balances the key KPI
• How to balance out risky new features with reliable features
• The importance of working closely with the game’s community to design content players love
• Why passion and empathy are critical to successful game design

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• Visit www.playmakerspodcast.com for the full blog post and more!

Timestamps:

[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

Resources & media mentioned in this episode:

Connect with Bruce Harlick:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram

Games, movies, & companies mentioned:

• The Matrix Online (Monolith)
• City of Heroes (NCSoft)
• FarmVille (Zynga)
• CastleVille (Zynga)
• Spiral Knights (Three Rings/Sega)
• Puzzle Pirates (Three Rings)
• Crimson Skies (Microsoft)
• Champions RPG (Hero Games)