The Art of Listening to Those Who’ve Built Games: Lessons from Adam Boyes
Podcasts
•
August 12, 2025
In an industry obsessed with what’s next, we often overlook the people who’ve already shaped gaming’s past and present. But if we really want to build a better future — one with smarter tools, stronger studios, and more sustainable practices — we need to start listening to the folks who’ve actually built the games we love. That’s exactly why we sat down with Adam Boyes, founder of Vivrato, and former exec at EA, Midway, Capcom, Sony, and Iron Galaxy. His journey spans decades of hands-on development and leadership — from debugging NBA Live 98 with a floppy disk to greenlighting No Man’s Sky at Sony. Here’s what we learned when we let the conversation flow.
🧠 Key Insights from the Conversation
🎙️ Meet Adam Boyes: From QA to Co-CEO to Vivrato
With nearly three decades of experience, Adam’s career is a masterclass in the evolution of game development. He’s worked across genres and platforms, but what sets him apart is how he carries every lesson forward.
At Vivrato, he’s now building a braintrust of seasoned operators to help studios tackle today’s industry-wide turbulence, from discoverability and LiveOps to long-term business planning.
“There’s an art to talking to people who’ve made games before. Those are the stories we need to share and learn from.” — Adam Boyes
🛠️ 1. QA in the 90s Was Organized Chaos
Back in the NBA Live 98 days, there were no PCs for QA testers. Adam logged bugs on a scratchpad, saved them to floppy disks, and typed them up on a single shared terminal.
Now, thanks to AI and real-time capture tools, QA workflows are becoming exponentially more efficient, but the mindset of “find the crash, tell the story” still holds up.
Visual idea: A side-by-side graphic of 90s QA vs. modern AI-enabled QA workflow.
🤖 2. AI is a Tool, Not a Threat (When Used Right)
Adam likens AI to an Iron Man suit, a powerful amplifier, not a replacement. Used wisely, it can help testers, producers, and developers move faster, communicate better, and solve problems more effectively.
“We should approach AI with curiosity. It’s about using tools to be more effective, not replacing people.” — Adam Boyes
🕹️ 3. The Punk Rock Era of Midway Shaped Modern Game Feel
Midway operated like a creative dojo, where legends like Ed Boon and George Gomez tuned arcade cabinets by hand in real-time. Their obsession with controller feedback, timing, and flow created the blueprints for what we now call “game feel.”
“They’d sneak into arcades, swap out boards with a few tweaks, and just watch how people played. That’s how they learned.” — Adam Boyes
Related Visual: Pull quote with Midway legends and a photo grid of Blitz, Mortal Kombat, and NBA Jam.
🧩 4. Not Every Game Gets a Second Chance… But No Man’s Sky Did
When Adam championed Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky at Sony, no one could predict the rollercoaster of hype, backlash, and eventual redemption it would face. But it’s now a case study in long-term LiveOps and trust.
“They kept their promise. It just didn’t happen on day one.” — Adam Boyes
This speaks to a larger trend: great games need time, community support, and a team willing to keep showing up.
🧠 5. Why Studios Struggle to Ask for Help
One of Vivrato’s most important missions? Helping studios realize when they need help, and creating a safe space to actually ask for it.
“None of us know exactly what we’re doing. Life is just improv. But the industry is stronger when we help each other.” — Adam Boyes
Common problems Vivrato hears from studios:
Funding uncertainty
Discoverability and community building
Knowing when and how to engage with publishers
Burnout from trying to do everything alone
💡 Actionable Takeaways for Game Makers
Whether you’re an indie dev, AA studio, or platform lead:
Play your builds daily. Like the Midway team, use player behavior (not just KPIs) to tune your experience.
Build your community early. Waiting until launch is too late.
Don’t wait to ask for help. Whether it’s consulting, mentorship, or just a sanity check, outside perspective is gold.
Balance nostalgia with innovation. Adam brought Capcom classics like Street Fighter II to a new generation — because great games never really die, they just need the right delivery.
🎧 Listen, Learn, and Level Up
Adam’s stories remind us: there’s real wisdom in the trenches of game development. When we learn from those who’ve actually built games; the wins, the losses, the bugs, the brilliance, we all get better.
🎙️ Listen to the full episode of Player Driven featuring Adam Boyes
👉 Available on your favorite podcast platform or at playerdriven.io
📣 Got a story from your own dev journey? DM us. Let’s keep the conversation going.
🧠 Key Insights from the Conversation
🎙️ Meet Adam Boyes: From QA to Co-CEO to Vivrato
With nearly three decades of experience, Adam’s career is a masterclass in the evolution of game development. He’s worked across genres and platforms, but what sets him apart is how he carries every lesson forward.
At Vivrato, he’s now building a braintrust of seasoned operators to help studios tackle today’s industry-wide turbulence, from discoverability and LiveOps to long-term business planning.
“There’s an art to talking to people who’ve made games before. Those are the stories we need to share and learn from.” — Adam Boyes
🛠️ 1. QA in the 90s Was Organized Chaos
Back in the NBA Live 98 days, there were no PCs for QA testers. Adam logged bugs on a scratchpad, saved them to floppy disks, and typed them up on a single shared terminal.
Now, thanks to AI and real-time capture tools, QA workflows are becoming exponentially more efficient, but the mindset of “find the crash, tell the story” still holds up.
Visual idea: A side-by-side graphic of 90s QA vs. modern AI-enabled QA workflow.
🤖 2. AI is a Tool, Not a Threat (When Used Right)
Adam likens AI to an Iron Man suit, a powerful amplifier, not a replacement. Used wisely, it can help testers, producers, and developers move faster, communicate better, and solve problems more effectively.
“We should approach AI with curiosity. It’s about using tools to be more effective, not replacing people.” — Adam Boyes
🕹️ 3. The Punk Rock Era of Midway Shaped Modern Game Feel
Midway operated like a creative dojo, where legends like Ed Boon and George Gomez tuned arcade cabinets by hand in real-time. Their obsession with controller feedback, timing, and flow created the blueprints for what we now call “game feel.”
“They’d sneak into arcades, swap out boards with a few tweaks, and just watch how people played. That’s how they learned.” — Adam Boyes
Related Visual: Pull quote with Midway legends and a photo grid of Blitz, Mortal Kombat, and NBA Jam.
🧩 4. Not Every Game Gets a Second Chance… But No Man’s Sky Did
When Adam championed Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky at Sony, no one could predict the rollercoaster of hype, backlash, and eventual redemption it would face. But it’s now a case study in long-term LiveOps and trust.
“They kept their promise. It just didn’t happen on day one.” — Adam Boyes
This speaks to a larger trend: great games need time, community support, and a team willing to keep showing up.
🧠 5. Why Studios Struggle to Ask for Help
One of Vivrato’s most important missions? Helping studios realize when they need help, and creating a safe space to actually ask for it.
“None of us know exactly what we’re doing. Life is just improv. But the industry is stronger when we help each other.” — Adam Boyes
Common problems Vivrato hears from studios:
Funding uncertainty
Discoverability and community building
Knowing when and how to engage with publishers
Burnout from trying to do everything alone
💡 Actionable Takeaways for Game Makers
Whether you’re an indie dev, AA studio, or platform lead:
Play your builds daily. Like the Midway team, use player behavior (not just KPIs) to tune your experience.
Build your community early. Waiting until launch is too late.
Don’t wait to ask for help. Whether it’s consulting, mentorship, or just a sanity check, outside perspective is gold.
Balance nostalgia with innovation. Adam brought Capcom classics like Street Fighter II to a new generation — because great games never really die, they just need the right delivery.
🎧 Listen, Learn, and Level Up
Adam’s stories remind us: there’s real wisdom in the trenches of game development. When we learn from those who’ve actually built games; the wins, the losses, the bugs, the brilliance, we all get better.
🎙️ Listen to the full episode of Player Driven featuring Adam Boyes
👉 Available on your favorite podcast platform or at playerdriven.io
📣 Got a story from your own dev journey? DM us. Let’s keep the conversation going.
🧠 Key Insights from the Conversation
🎙️ Meet Adam Boyes: From QA to Co-CEO to Vivrato
With nearly three decades of experience, Adam’s career is a masterclass in the evolution of game development. He’s worked across genres and platforms, but what sets him apart is how he carries every lesson forward.
At Vivrato, he’s now building a braintrust of seasoned operators to help studios tackle today’s industry-wide turbulence, from discoverability and LiveOps to long-term business planning.
“There’s an art to talking to people who’ve made games before. Those are the stories we need to share and learn from.” — Adam Boyes
🛠️ 1. QA in the 90s Was Organized Chaos
Back in the NBA Live 98 days, there were no PCs for QA testers. Adam logged bugs on a scratchpad, saved them to floppy disks, and typed them up on a single shared terminal.
Now, thanks to AI and real-time capture tools, QA workflows are becoming exponentially more efficient, but the mindset of “find the crash, tell the story” still holds up.
Visual idea: A side-by-side graphic of 90s QA vs. modern AI-enabled QA workflow.
🤖 2. AI is a Tool, Not a Threat (When Used Right)
Adam likens AI to an Iron Man suit, a powerful amplifier, not a replacement. Used wisely, it can help testers, producers, and developers move faster, communicate better, and solve problems more effectively.
“We should approach AI with curiosity. It’s about using tools to be more effective, not replacing people.” — Adam Boyes
🕹️ 3. The Punk Rock Era of Midway Shaped Modern Game Feel
Midway operated like a creative dojo, where legends like Ed Boon and George Gomez tuned arcade cabinets by hand in real-time. Their obsession with controller feedback, timing, and flow created the blueprints for what we now call “game feel.”
“They’d sneak into arcades, swap out boards with a few tweaks, and just watch how people played. That’s how they learned.” — Adam Boyes
Related Visual: Pull quote with Midway legends and a photo grid of Blitz, Mortal Kombat, and NBA Jam.
🧩 4. Not Every Game Gets a Second Chance… But No Man’s Sky Did
When Adam championed Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky at Sony, no one could predict the rollercoaster of hype, backlash, and eventual redemption it would face. But it’s now a case study in long-term LiveOps and trust.
“They kept their promise. It just didn’t happen on day one.” — Adam Boyes
This speaks to a larger trend: great games need time, community support, and a team willing to keep showing up.
🧠 5. Why Studios Struggle to Ask for Help
One of Vivrato’s most important missions? Helping studios realize when they need help, and creating a safe space to actually ask for it.
“None of us know exactly what we’re doing. Life is just improv. But the industry is stronger when we help each other.” — Adam Boyes
Common problems Vivrato hears from studios:
Funding uncertainty
Discoverability and community building
Knowing when and how to engage with publishers
Burnout from trying to do everything alone
💡 Actionable Takeaways for Game Makers
Whether you’re an indie dev, AA studio, or platform lead:
Play your builds daily. Like the Midway team, use player behavior (not just KPIs) to tune your experience.
Build your community early. Waiting until launch is too late.
Don’t wait to ask for help. Whether it’s consulting, mentorship, or just a sanity check, outside perspective is gold.
Balance nostalgia with innovation. Adam brought Capcom classics like Street Fighter II to a new generation — because great games never really die, they just need the right delivery.
🎧 Listen, Learn, and Level Up
Adam’s stories remind us: there’s real wisdom in the trenches of game development. When we learn from those who’ve actually built games; the wins, the losses, the bugs, the brilliance, we all get better.
🎙️ Listen to the full episode of Player Driven featuring Adam Boyes
👉 Available on your favorite podcast platform or at playerdriven.io
📣 Got a story from your own dev journey? DM us. Let’s keep the conversation going.
Share
Copy link
Share
Copy link
Share
Copy link
