Introduction – Exploring the Lands Between
I have played video games for thirty years. With two kids and a busy job, I don’t get as much time to play as I would like, but I pick up my Xbox controller whenever I get a chance. Over the last few months, this has meant playing Elden Ring, a role-playing game where you explore and adventure in a fantastical realm called the Lands Between.
I am terrible at Elden Ring, yet I have spent hours playing it over the last six months. I am in awe of the game’s scale, beauty, and challenge.
When not playing video games, I support software development teams. Over the last ten years, I have worked as an Engineering Manager and, more recently, as a CTO at early-stage startups.
Managing and supporting teams is hard. You have to balance competing priorities and make decisions under conditions of ambiguity. Periods of stability can be interrupted by crises. It’s not that different from playing a game like Elden Ring!
As I reflected on why I enjoyed playing some video games more than others, I realized there are parallels between excellent video game design and supporting high-performance teams.
In this post, I explore what makes a video game great and what lessons we can apply from video game design to become better managers.
What Makes a Good Video Game?
Video game design is a vast and evolving topic. However, there are three critical elements to a good video game.
The Story: What is this video game about, and why should I bother playing it?
A good video game story makes players want to invest their time in learning more about the world and the story. Games like Elden Ring, Horizon Zero Dawn, and God of War have stories that push players to do all sorts of side quests and missions. Exploring the world helps fill out the story, and each task moves the character and the story forward.
The Setting: Where am I going to be spending my time?
Seasoned gamers are familiar with the “one more turn” phenomenon. You want to keep playing because the game world is so darn fun. Dungeons filled with loot (and traps), exciting side missions, and beautiful scenery make the game’s exploration and progression fun. Games like the Mass Effect series make you care not just about the characters but also the broader game world and lore.
Gameplay Loop: How do I play the game?
Elden Ring is brutally difficult, yet I keep returning to the game. The reason is that while challenging, the gameplay is fair and predictable. And I get a real sense of accomplishment after clearing a particularly tricky dungeon or boss encounter. Hades is another game that has wonderfully compelling gameplay. Great video games have a simple yet addictive core gameplay loop. These are the actions that a player is expected to perform most often to make progress in the game. These must be balanced to avoid tedium while presenting fun and challenging experience.
From Video Games to High-Performance Teams
What do video games have to teach us about supporting high-performance teams?
We will approach this by looking at the same attributes that we explored for successful video games:
- Story → Vision
- Setting → Workplace
- Gameplay → The Day-to-Day Work
Vision: Why am I being asked to do this?
A compelling narrative is about selling a vision – what will the player gain at the end of this quest line, boss battle, or challenging project? An honest, well-articulated vision helps give direction to a team. In his viral talk, “Start with Why,” Simon Sinek talks in detail about this “inside out” approach.
Having a vision contradictory or inconsistent with the day-to-day work could lead to frustration and a lack of trust.
The narrative must be straightforward and backed up with action aligned with the company’s stated values.
Workplace: Where do I spend my time?
A leader must create a workplace that maximizes productivity while allowing creativity, serendipity, and exploration. This is true both for in-person and remote work. Encouraging (reasonable) risk-taking and exploration enable more engaged and motivated teams.
A video game with a predictable and tired setting (post-apocalyptic zombie infestations, for example..) is boring. Similarly, an environment that is dull or unpleasant is a drag on motivation and productivity.
Psychological safety is also essential. As any player of online games knows, dealing with abuse and cheating makes for a miserable experience. A workplace perceived as hostile and a leader unwilling to support and protect their team will lead to people walking out of the door.
The Day to Day: How I do my work…
A manager must focus on the “gameplay” loop for their team. What are the challenges that stop them from doing their work? For software engineering teams, this could be the ease of making changes, getting pull requests approved, and getting changes into production.
I have rage-quit lots of games because “life is too short.” Online games where I keep getting taken out by snarky teenagers with fast twitch reflexes are a particular bug-bear. Elden Ring can also veer into frustrating territory until I realized I could avoid most difficult encounters until I was leveled up and ready.
When supporting a team, you need to consider what can be done to remove obstacles for your team. It may mean picking the right battles and knowing when to compromise.
Making the workday loop engaging for your team is a critical leadership skill.
Conclusion – Gaming and Learning
Video games are the dominant entertainment and artistic form of our time. Oscar Wilde opined, “Life Imitates Art far more often than Art Imitates Life.” I agree.
Video games have been around far longer than modern software engineering tools such as Agile, DevOps, and other current paradigms. The art of video game design has been refined through decades of experimentation and many, many failures.
Indeed, as managers, most of us will be supporting teams that grew up playing video games. As a medium, video games create interactive, compelling worlds where people enjoy spending their time.
Taking cues from how video games are designed could help us become more effective supporters and advocates for our teams.