S2 E6 Episode Title: Proactive People Programs for Thriving Game Studios with Amy White
Most game studios start out chasing a game, not a plan to make many games – and that’s where things start to fall down. Right at the moment when success knocks at the door and you start to scale, things fall apart. Why aren’t people working together well? Why did we reboot the game design 18 times? Why is everyone leaving? This week’s guest, Amy White, is a lifelong gamer and Director of People at Fusebox Games here to help dispel the stereotypes about human resources and help us understand what proactive people policies look like. While HR is always going to need to protect the business, what if they could also help you define a thriving culture? What if you could consciously partner with your employees to co-create an environment that makes them excited to come to work? And what about navigating the incredibly fraught world of recruiting in a world of AI-informed candidates and layoff-amplified applicant pools? This conversation between experienced senior leaders in gaming provides unique insights for managers, individual contributors, and entrepreneurs trying to navigate the question: how do I design not just for my game, but for the people making our games? And if you think this conversation doesn’t apply to video gaming, please think again. It’s exactly that mindset that’s gotten us into this industry doldrum. With so many projects spanning years, you can’t afford not to have a people plan in place to help support career growth, provide cultural clarity, and proactively reduce the risk of interpersonal and legal challenges. Treating your studio like it’s a temporary project and not a long-term workplace is the road to eventual reductions in force.
Listen Now: Enduring Play Season 2 Episode 6
Season 2 Episode 6 Transcript
AI disclosure: While no AI is used in the production of this podcast aside from background removal on some guest photos, Otter.ai is used to assist in transcription of these episodes as I have a physical disability that would prevent manual transcription in time for broadcast. I review these transcripts to catch major inaccuracies, but they may still be somewhat inaccurate. Please report major issues to info@ideaplatz.com.
Featured in this Episode: Amy White [she/her]
Director of People, Fusebox Games
Amy White is a senior people leader at Fusebox Games, where she focuses on development, culture, and building environments where people can thrive. With a career spanning retail, recruitment, and talent acquisition, she’s grown into a role where she now supports teams in a fast-paced gaming industry. She is deeply passionate about championing women in gaming, creating inclusive workplaces, and showing that careers don’t have to follow a traditional path to be successful.
Show Notes
Amy’s Links
| Amy White on LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-white-39a48190/ |
| Fusebox Games | https://www.fuseboxgames.com/ |
| Women in Games | https://www.womeningames.org/ |
Reference Material
| Boston Consulting Group: How Platforms Are Colliding and Why This Will Spark the Next Era of Growth | https://www.bcg.com/publications/2025/video-gaming-report-2026-next-era-of-growth |
| Statista: Top Grossing Casual Gaming Titles | https://www.statista.com/statistics/1265335/top-grossing-casual-gaming-titles/ |
| Game Development Strategy Guide Chapter 1: What Makes Us Play (with the Motivators of Play) – free sample | https://rosenfeldmedia.com/sample-chapter-game-development-strategy-guide/ |
| Commodore 64 at the Smithsonian | https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_334636 |
| Muppet Learning Keys Commodore 64 Peripheral | https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/70681/Muppet-Learning-Keys/ |
| Cheryl’s design framework: Opti-Pessimism | https://www.cherylplatz.com/opti-pessimism/ |
| Cheryl’s first book: Design Beyond Devices | https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/design-beyond-devices/ |
| Stanford Social Innovation Review: The Curb Cut Effect | https://ssir.org/articles/entry/the_curb_cut_effect |
| London PRIDE | https://prideinlondon.org/ |
| Women in Games Manifesto | https://www.womeningames.org/the-manifesto/ |
Episode Outline
| Podcast Start | 2:39 | Introductions |
| Host Commentary | 4:52 | Fusebox Games and Mobile / Casual Gaming |
| Level 1 | 6:48 | Growing Up in Gaming |
| Narrative Cutscene | 8:39 | The Commodore 64 |
| Level 2 | 10:00 | Bringing your authentic self to work |
| Level 3 | 12:36 | Comfort and the Motivators of Play |
| Level 4 | 14:19 | The People Partner Skill Tree |
| Level 5 | 17:26 | Proactivity is your People Strategy |
| Tutorial Level | 22:00 | Opti-Pessimism |
| Level 6 | 22:56 | Better Outcomes through Inclusion |
| Narrative Cutscene | 26:33 | Curb Cuts as a disability accomodation |
| Level 7 | 28:13 | Modern people policies |
| Level 8 | 30:53 | AI in the workplace |
| Level 9 | 32:37 | Rising against the machines with behavioral interviews |
| Level 10 | 35:37 | Defining your culture through values and competencies |
| Level 11 | 39:41 | Stability through shared vision |
| Level 12 | 44:14 | Hiring best practices |
| Level 13 | 48:56 | Deconstructing employment referrals |
| Level 14 | 51:18 | The slippery slope of proactive job networking again |
| Level 15 | 54:23 | Out in the Gaming Community |
| Host Commentary | 57:41 | Women in Games UK |
| Boss Level | 1:01:55 | Empowering your Managers |
| Final Level | 1:08:29 | Links and Followup |
The Game Development Strategy Guide
Enduring Play is the companion podcast to The Game Development Strategy Guide: Crafting Modern Video Games that Thrive. Season 1 features the interviews that inspired the book, and Season 2 expands our understanding of how to create sustainable gaming experiences. The book is available at all major online booksellers and at publisher Rosenfeld Media’s website.
Use code ENDURINGPLAYS2 at RosenfeldMedia.com to get 15% off your order – and all physical orders at Rosenfeld Media receive a free ebook. Podcast Season 2 offer expires July 31, 2026.
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