EFWSOT with Barry Dorf

EFWSOT with Barry Dorf

John Madden Called Me a Nerd!Barry Dorf on the Early Days of EA Sports | EFWSOTWelcome to another exciting episode of Everything's Fine We're Shipping on Time with Ric and Gary! This week, we are joined by our good friend and gaming industry Biz Dev icon, Barry Dorf. Barry takes us on a hilarious and insightful journey through his career, starting from the trenches of Electronic Arts (EA) Customer Support to becoming a powerhouse in business development. Listen in as Barry shares legendary behind-the-scenes stories, including the time he wrote voiceover scripts for John Madden (and exactly how Madden reacted to his specific stat-tracking!). We also dive into the creation of the EA Sports Edge for early fantasy football, his entrepreneurial leap founding Game Strata, and his time leading negotiations for massive gaming companies. Whether you're a fan of classic 90s gaming history or looking for a masterclass on how to build a career in the games industry, Barry drops some incredible advice—including his famous "Plus One" philosophy for career advancement. 🔔 Don't forget to LIKE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE for more amazing stories from the veterans of the video game industry!⏱️ Chapters / Timestamps:00:00 - Intro: Welcome Barry Dorf!4:04 - The legendary John Madden recording booth story09:04 - Creating EA Sports Edge & the early days of fantasy football18:22 - The "Plus One" Philosophy: How to get promoted in gaming20:04 - Transitioning into Business Development without a law degree23:06 - Mobile gaming economics, LTV, and knowing when to walk away from a deal30:18 - Barry's advice for breaking into the games industry today

EFWSOT with Barry Dorf

John Madden Called Me a Nerd!Barry Dorf on the Early Days of EA Sports | EFWSOTWelcome to another exciting episode of Everything's Fine We're Shipping on Time with Ric and Gary! This week, we are joined by our good friend and gaming industry Biz Dev icon, Barry Dorf. Barry takes us on a hilarious and insightful journey through his career, starting from the trenches of Electronic Arts (EA) Customer Support to becoming a powerhouse in business development. Listen in as Barry shares legendary behind-the-scenes stories, including the time he wrote voiceover scripts for John Madden (and exactly how Madden reacted to his specific stat-tracking!). We also dive into the creation of the EA Sports Edge for early fantasy football, his entrepreneurial leap founding Game Strata, and his time leading negotiations for massive gaming companies. Whether you're a fan of classic 90s gaming history or looking for a masterclass on how to build a career in the games industry, Barry drops some incredible advice—including his famous "Plus One" philosophy for career advancement. 🔔 Don't forget to LIKE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE for more amazing stories from the veterans of the video game industry!⏱️ Chapters / Timestamps:00:00 - Intro: Welcome Barry Dorf!4:04 - The legendary John Madden recording booth story09:04 - Creating EA Sports Edge & the early days of fantasy football18:22 - The "Plus One" Philosophy: How to get promoted in gaming20:04 - Transitioning into Business Development without a law degree23:06 - Mobile gaming economics, LTV, and knowing when to walk away from a deal30:18 - Barry's advice for breaking into the games industry today

EFWSOT with Andrea Benavides

The Art of Game Production: Empathy, Chaos, & Delivering on Deadline with Andrea Benavides | Everything's Fine We're Shipping on Time with Ric and GaryIn this episode, Ric and Gary sit down with the incredible Andrea Benavides—an expert games producer whose impressive career spans major studios like EA, Amazon Games, Google Stadia, and Skydance. If you are interested in game development, production, or team leadership, this episode is an absolute masterclass. Andrea breaks down what it really takes to be the "glue" that holds a massive game development team together. Viewers will get an inside look at the high-stakes reality of triple-A game production and learn why true production skills go far beyond just managing spreadsheets. In this episode, you will learn:How to Manage Impossible Deadlines: Andrea shares the wild story behind producing The Grand Tour game at Amazon, where her team had to build and deliver 14 weekly episodes day-and-date with the TV show—all on a brand-new engine. The Producer's Superpower: Discover why Andrea’s boss calls "empathy" her ultimate superpower. She explains how deeply understanding the "whys" of different disciplines—from engineering to art and UI—allows a great producer to translate tension into actionable momentum. Why AI Can't Replace Producers: While AI can solve complex math problems, Andrea and the hosts discuss why the empathy, forward-thinking, and pattern-recognition required to motivate a team of humans makes a great producer irreplaceable. Breaking Into the Industry: Hear Andrea's journey from taking a game design elective at Georgia Tech to landing an engineering internship at EA, and the invaluable career advice she received from industry legends like Scott Cronce and Rich Hilleman. Embracing Mistakes: A hilarious and relatable story about the time she accidentally deleted the Perforce repo during her second week at EA—and why making mistakes is a crucial part of the process. Whether you are a seasoned developer, an aspiring producer, or just a fan of how video games are made, Andrea’s insights into navigating dependencies, motivating teams, and communicating across disciplines will change the way you look at game development. Don't forget to Like, Comment, and Subscribe for more industry stories and insights from the trenches of game development!#GameDevelopment [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/gamedevelopment] #GameProducer [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/gameproducer] #EFWSOT [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/efwsot] #VideoGames [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/videogames] #TechCareers [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/techcareers] #GameDesign [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/gamedesign] #AmazonGames [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/amazongames] #EA [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/ea]

EFWSOT with Andrea Benavides

The Art of Game Production: Empathy, Chaos, & Delivering on Deadline with Andrea Benavides | Everything's Fine We're Shipping on Time with Ric and GaryIn this episode, Ric and Gary sit down with the incredible Andrea Benavides—an expert games producer whose impressive career spans major studios like EA, Amazon Games, Google Stadia, and Skydance. If you are interested in game development, production, or team leadership, this episode is an absolute masterclass. Andrea breaks down what it really takes to be the "glue" that holds a massive game development team together. Viewers will get an inside look at the high-stakes reality of triple-A game production and learn why true production skills go far beyond just managing spreadsheets. In this episode, you will learn:How to Manage Impossible Deadlines: Andrea shares the wild story behind producing The Grand Tour game at Amazon, where her team had to build and deliver 14 weekly episodes day-and-date with the TV show—all on a brand-new engine. The Producer's Superpower: Discover why Andrea’s boss calls "empathy" her ultimate superpower. She explains how deeply understanding the "whys" of different disciplines—from engineering to art and UI—allows a great producer to translate tension into actionable momentum. Why AI Can't Replace Producers: While AI can solve complex math problems, Andrea and the hosts discuss why the empathy, forward-thinking, and pattern-recognition required to motivate a team of humans makes a great producer irreplaceable. Breaking Into the Industry: Hear Andrea's journey from taking a game design elective at Georgia Tech to landing an engineering internship at EA, and the invaluable career advice she received from industry legends like Scott Cronce and Rich Hilleman. Embracing Mistakes: A hilarious and relatable story about the time she accidentally deleted the Perforce repo during her second week at EA—and why making mistakes is a crucial part of the process. Whether you are a seasoned developer, an aspiring producer, or just a fan of how video games are made, Andrea’s insights into navigating dependencies, motivating teams, and communicating across disciplines will change the way you look at game development. Don't forget to Like, Comment, and Subscribe for more industry stories and insights from the trenches of game development!#GameDevelopment [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/gamedevelopment] #GameProducer [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/gameproducer] #EFWSOT [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/efwsot] #VideoGames [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/videogames] #TechCareers [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/techcareers] #GameDesign [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/gamedesign] #AmazonGames [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/amazongames] #EA [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/ea]

EFWSOT with Matt Scibilia

40 Years of Game Dev & Why AI Empowers Indie CreatorsGame dev veteran Matt Scibilia has survived 40 years in the industry, from the MicroProse days to EA acquisitions. His secret? Thriving on chaos and adapting to new tools. We had an incredibly inspiring chat about why AI is fueling the next massive indie renaissance.If you need a reminder of why we make video games, you need to hear this latest conversation!