No matter how big or small your team is, as soon as you need to organize more than two people to a task the management challenges begin. But the very thing most game developers are confident with, designing a good game, turns out to be a useful foundation for them to deal with management challenges, when you choose to see management as just another game design problem. This GDC Online 2012 lecture presented a number of examples of how approaching management as a game design can lead to happier and more productive teams, whether you are a manager or not. The lecture offers practical examples of how game design can be applied to management, understanding of why 'people are players' and not 'pieces', and how management is a game that can be non-zero sum. Even non-game designers will understand the power of game design as a management approach.

1. Management as Game Design
People are Players not Pieces
Joshua Howard
Executive Producer, Microsoft

2. Guiding
Framework
Several
Examples
Audience
Participation
Closing
Notes
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

3. Management as Game Design
Management as Game Design
is NOT this – a manager
moving faceless pieces around
a board
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

4. Management as Game Design
The still above is from “ET the
Extra-Terrestrial”, during a scene This is from
where the kids are playing D&D, XKCD, and the
and the circled one is the DM. circled character
is playing a DM.
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

5. Management
is the
Game Master
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

6. Management is the Game Master
• People are players not pieces
• Alignment around a single purpose
• Non zero sum game
• We want people to want to play
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

7. Management is the Game Master
• You scrum or waterfall the way you choose
what roleplaying system to use
• You plan a campaign the way you build a
development plan
• You define the goal, but your
players/employees have tremendous say in how
that goal will be met
• You challenge your players/employees, but are
completely committed to their success
Management/GM are both
Service Through Leadership roles
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

8. Structure
• Look at a management challenge
• Re-frame it as a game design challenge
• Explore what game design can teach us
• Compare that to what management
theory would say
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

9. Challenge: Providing Feedback
• Without feedback you can’t improve
• Unless there is feedback its hard to know
if you are doing a good job
• Without feedback the manager and the
employee may or may not be on the
same page
• But giving good feedback can be
difficult…
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

10. What do games tell us about
providing feedback?
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

11. Effective Feedback: Game
• Timely
Immediate feedback
better than delayed
feedback
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

12. Effective Feedback: Game
• Timely
• ‘Mappable’ Player should know
what they did that
resulted in the given
feedback
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

13. Effective Feedback: Game
• Timely
• ‘Mappable’ Know when someone is
• Nudge towards stuck and provide clues
progress about what they might
do next
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

14. Effective Feedback: Game
• Timely
• ‘Mappable’ The impact of the
feedback should be
• Nudge towards appropriate, as
progress compared to the action
• Proportional and other feedback
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

15. Effective Feedback: Game
• Timely
• ‘Mappable’
• Nudge towards Let people show-off
progress to others
• Proportional
• Celebrate in
Public
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

16. Lets look at what Management tells us
about providing feedback
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

17. Effective Feedback: Management
• Timely
The closer to the
event the feedback
can be given
the better
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

18. Effective Feedback: Management
• Timely
Behavior is something we
• About Specific can change, but only if the
Behavior feedback is precise about
what behavior the feedback
is about, so the right
lesson is learned
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

19. Effective Feedback: Management
• Timely
• About Specific The tone/significance of
the feedback should
Behavior
match that of the
• Proportional behavior the feedback
is about
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

20. Effective Feedback: Management
• Timely
• About Specific
Let everyone know
Behavior
when something is
• Proportional done well
• Praise in public
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

21. Effective Feedback: Management
• Timely
• About Specific
Ensure there is no
Behavior
shame in being
• Proportional coached
• Praise in public
• Coach in private
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

22. Effective Feedback: Management
• Timely
• About Specific
Corrective feedback
Behavior
more likely to lead
• Proportional to success
• Praise in public
• Coach in private
• Provide a path
to improvement
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

23. Side by Side
Feedback: Game Feedback: Management
• Timely • Timely
• ‘Mappable’ • About Specific
Behavior
• Nudge towards
• Proportional
progress
• Praise in public
• Proportional
• Coach in private
• Celebrate in Public • Provide a path to
improvement
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

24. Lessons Learned
• Significant overlap between good game
design and good management theory
• Even if you never read a management
theory book, you already know a lot
about how to give good feedback
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

25. Challenge: What is the best
management style?
• ‘You mean I can’t just order people
around?’
• Should I be hands off?
• When do I get involved?
• ‘Its not working, what do I do now?’
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

26. What can games tell us about
management styles?
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

27. Management Styles: Game
What is the best
kind of GM? It depends on your
players and the
game
Can anything in
games tell us
about different Yes, there are
kinds of players? many models of
player or game
types
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

28. MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

29. Lets look at what Management tells us
about management styles
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

30. Management Styles: Management
• Not all employees are the same
• Different employees need different things from
management
• Models exist to understand this
Progression of Needs Model
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

31. Side by Side
Management Styles: Game Managements Styles: Management
• Different kinds of players • Different kinds of
want different kinds of employees need different
game experiences things from their
• Models exist to better management
understand this • Models exist to better
• Designers decide which understand this
model works for their • Managers decide which
game and their players model works for their
game and their employees
Even the models have
strong parallels
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

32. Even just using
Bartle’s model as
a manager would
be a good start
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

33. Lessons Learned
• Significant overlap between good game
design and good management theory
• Even if you never read a management
theory book, you already know a lot
about why different management styles
are important, and what they are
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

34. All Together Now
• Wherein the audience now participates
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

35. Challenge: Motivating a Team
• Work can be hard
• How do we keep people engaged and
committed to doing their best?
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

36. Effective Motivation: Game
At this point the audience was asked to
contribute what they knew about how to
motivate players
Effective Motivation: Management
Then a quick summary of what modern
management theory says about motivation
was presented from D. Pink’s book “Drive”
Side by Side
The audience list and the core principles
from “Drive” were compared, and turned
out to be very similar
Lessons Learned Motivating players can teach us a
lot about motivating employees
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

37. Closing Notes
• Though similar, there are Recommended Books
important differences
• Laws govern how people are • “It's Your Ship: Management
treated at work, but not Techniques from the Best
how we treat players Damn Ship in the Navy” by
• The stakes can be higher at Michael Abrashoff
work
• Its easier to decide to • “Freakonomics” by Levitt and
change games than to Dubner
change jobs
• http://freakonomicsbook.com
• Management as Game Design
at the micro level as well • “The Five Dysfunctions of a
• Every process can be Team” by Patrick Lencioni
designed as if it were a • http://www.tablegroup.com/book
game s/dysfunctions/
• But like a game, people
should walk away if its not
working out
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

38. Guiding Manager
Framework as GM
Feedback/
Several
Manager
Examples
Styles
Audience
Motivation
Participation
Closing More
Notes resources
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

39. Conclusion
We can deliver positive employee experiences
using what we know about delivering good
player experiences.
Be the best GM for your team you can be.
“Being a true DM requires cleverness
and imagination which no set of rules
or books can bestow.”
 Gary Gygax, The Dungeon
Masters Guide, 1979
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD

40. Questions?
More Resources Contact Information
• Situational Leadership • More from Joshua Howard
• http://www.kenblanchard.com/Effective_L http://thereisnothem.wordpress.com
eadership_Solutions/One_to_One_Talent_
Management/Management_Situational_Le • Email Joshua@bonegames.com
adership_Training/
• http://www.situational.com/
• All material © 2012 Joshua
Howard or their respective
• “Drive” by Daniel H. Pink
owners
• http://www.danpink.com/drive
• Bartle’s MMO Player Model
• http://www.mud.co.uk/richard/hcds.htm
• The 4 Fun Keys by XEO Design
• http://www.xeodesign.com
MANAGEMENT AS GAME DESIGN: PEOPLE ARE PLAYERS NOT PIECES JOSHUA HOWARD