Hello friends,

Greetings from Utrecht!

I'm working on a neat little something that should be useful to indie game devs. I plan to release this for free soon, but there's one issue. Thinking about the best way to distribute it has been like pulling on a never-ending thread that is unravelling most of the elements of how I've set up my one-person business.

It goes a little something like this:

Since I'm releasing it for free, I should really set up some kind of landing page that's connected to my newsletter. Hmm, I should really make a better landing page for my newsletter anyway, and link to that on my Linkedin page instead of the Linkedin newsletter over which I have less control. Actually, I should really come up with a visual design that is more consistent across both newsletters since, after all, it's THE SAME newsletter, and I don't want to confuse people. But if I'm going to change the design, I should probably also change the title, since 1) I don't want to be tied to the bi-weekly schedule forever, and 2) if I keep the name now I'll have to make more changes later, which can also be confusing. But if I'm going to put a lot of work into making my newsletter more visually consistent and recognizable, I should really update my overall visual identity to match it... oh god.... do I need to hire a branding specialist?

And on and on.

I know the way out of this madness, which is to simply do the next most obvious thing. Now I just have to find out what that is.

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Today at a glance:

• Essay: A Videogame MBA in 12 books
• Nervous system operating manual
• Psychonauts 2 documentary series
• Famous game design documents

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A Videogame MBA in 12 Books

When I was 31, I enrolled in an MBA program at one of the Netherlands top business schools to learn more about executive level management. It was an incredibly rewarding experience in more ways than one, which I will eventually share more about.

But if I'm honest, I would say that about 90% of the knowledge I gained there you could also get from reading books.

So, I've put together a list of books comprising a 12-month personal MBA, tailored to executives in the videogames industry.

You'll read one book per month for a year, but fast readers should feel free to double-time it and finish the list in 6 months. Around 30 minutes of reading a day should get you there.

Here are the subjects you'll cover:

• Entrepreneurship
• Strategy
• Leadership
• Production
• Organizational health
• Operations
• Company performance
• Finance
• Marketing
• Conscious leadership
• Negotiation
• Communication

Let's get into it!

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Zero to One by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters

Subject: Entrepreneurship

To succeed as an entrepreneur, you need to create a unique and valuable product that fills a gap in the market. This also goes for entertainment products like games: don't just copy what's already been done; aim to create something new and innovative.

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Understanding Michael Porter by Joan Magretta

Subject: Strategy

Porter is the OG strategy guru. His Five Forces Model will help you understand the competitive landscape of any industry, and the concept of competitive advantage is fundamental to running a business.

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Turn The Ship Around! by L. David Marquet

Subject: Leadership

A great leader empowers their team to take ownership and make decisions. By giving clear guidance and fostering a culture of initiative, you can create a high-performing team.

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The Game Production Toolbox by Heather Maxwell Chandler

Subject: Production management

Managing game development requires a unique set of tools and processes, and anyone in an executive role should know at least the basics. This book covers the full game development life cycle, from concept to post-launch support.

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The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni

Subject: Organizational health

Building a healthy company should be your top priority. Do so by building a cohesive leadership team, creating clarity around the organization's values and strategy, communicating that clarity throughout the organization, and reinforcing it through performance management systems.

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The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt

Subject: Operations management

Written as a novel, The Goal nevertheless contains key insights on the core concepts of operations management, like bottlenecks and the Theory of Constraints. Mandatory reading for any manager.

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Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs by Karen Berman and Joe Knight

Subject: Finance

Every executive should have at least a fundamental understanding of finance, and be able to read a P&L statement and balance sheet. This book'll get you there.

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Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

Subject: Marketing

This book explores the elements that make messages stick better in our minds. To create a memorable and effective marketing message, use the SUCCESs framework: Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, and Stories.

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The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman, and Kaley Klemp

Subject: Conscious leadership

Conscious leadership means being aware of your own thoughts, feelings, and actions, as well as those of your team. By practicing mindfulness, curiosity, and vulnerability, you can create a culture of trust and growth.

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Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher and William Ury

Subject: Negotiation

Many elements of business require some form of negotiation: getting investors, signing a publisher, hiring new employees. Negotiation is about finding a solution that meets the needs of all parties. This book gives you the tools to do so.

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Good to Great by Jim Collins

Subject: Company performance

To take your company from good to great, you need to focus on building a strong foundation with disciplined people, disciplined thought, and disciplined action. This book provides a framework for achieving long-term success.

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Radical Candor by Kim Scott

Subject: Communication

Effective communication requires a balance between caring personally and challenging directly. By giving honest feedback in a constructive way, you can build stronger relationships and achieve better results.

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BONUS: When shit goes wrong...

Realize you're not the first to experience this, and you won't be the last. The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz details many of the painful situations you can and will run into as an entrepreneur, with helpful suggestions for how to manage them.

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The Best Bits

​Nervous system operating manual: I’m increasingly interested in breath work and breath repatterning, and Jonny Miller is the leading authority on the topic. In this article, he has shared some helpful pointers for using breath patterns to shift your internal state.

​Psychonauts 2 dev documentary: I completely missed this when it launched, but thanks to Jason Schreier I learned that Double Fine released a 32-episode, 22-hour documentary detailing the development of Psychonauts 2

​Famous game design documents: Found through Nathan Brown, this Twitter thread links to the original game design documents of some famous games, including Diablo, Prince of Persia, and GTA.

See you in two weeks!

Martijn

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