Authenticity Over Convention: Lessons from 16 Years of Solo Game Development

Authenticity Over Convention: Lessons from 16 Years of Solo Game Development

Author: InfoQ November 28, 2025 Duration: 29:21
This is the Engineering Culture Podcast, from the people behind InfoQ.com and the QCon conferences. In this podcast, Shane Hastie, Lead Editor for Culture & Methods, spoke to Joe Cassavaugh about building a sustainable solopreneur game development business, the importance of authenticity over conventional wisdom, and learning from both successes and failures in the digital content marketplace. Read a transcript of this interview: http://bit.ly/3KtvGy1 Subscribe to the Software Architects’ Newsletter for your monthly guide to the essential news and experience from industry peers on emerging patterns and technologies: https://www.infoq.com/software-architects-newsletter Upcoming Events: QCon AI New York 2025 (December 16-17, 2025) https://ai.qconferences.com/ QCon London 2026 (March 16-19, 2026) QCon London equips senior engineers, architects, and technical leaders with trusted, practical insights to lead the change in software development. Get real-world solutions and leadership strategies from senior software practitioners defining current trends and solving today's toughest software challenges. https://qconlondon.com/ QCon AI Boston 2026 (June 1-2, 2026) Learn how real teams are accelerating the entire software lifecycle with AI. https://boston.qcon.ai The InfoQ Podcasts: Weekly inspiration to drive innovation and build great teams from senior software leaders. Listen to all our podcasts and read interview transcripts: - The InfoQ Podcast https://www.infoq.com/podcasts/ - Engineering Culture Podcast by InfoQ https://www.infoq.com/podcasts/#engineering_culture - Generally AI: https://www.infoq.com/generally-ai-podcast/ Follow InfoQ: - Mastodon: https://techhub.social/@infoq - X: https://x.com/InfoQ?from=@ - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/infoq/ - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InfoQdotcom# - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/infoqdotcom/?hl=en - Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/infoq - Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/infoq.com Write for InfoQ: Learn and share the changes and innovations in professional software development. - Join a community of experts. - Increase your visibility. - Grow your career. https://www.infoq.com/write-for-infoq

For anyone who's ever wondered how the best tech teams actually work, Engineering Culture by InfoQ offers a rare look behind the curtain. This isn't about abstract theories; it's a weekly conversation grounded in the real-world challenges of building and sustaining effective engineering environments. Each episode features candid discussions with the people shaping these cultures-CTOs from Netflix, engineering directors from Uber, and other seasoned leaders from across the industry. They share their hard-won insights on what truly fosters high performance, collaboration, and innovation beyond just code. The focus is on the human systems, the processes that succeed or fail, and the leadership philosophies that turn a group of talented individuals into a cohesive, impactful unit. With over half a million listens, this podcast has become a trusted resource for engineers, architects, and team leads seeking practical inspiration. You'll hear specific stories about navigating technical debt, scaling teams without losing quality, and creating spaces where great work can happen. Tune in to move beyond the technical tutorial and into the nuanced art of building something that lasts.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Engineering Culture by InfoQ
Podcast Episodes
Elisabeth Hendrickson on Systems Thinking for Quality Engineering [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:50
This is the Engineering Culture Podcast, from the people behind InfoQ.com and the QCon conferences. In this podcast, Shane Hastie, Lead Editor for Culture & Methods, spoke to Elisabeth Hendrickson about using systems thi…
Building a Product-First Engineering Culture in the Age of AI [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:26
This is the Engineering Culture Podcast, from the people behind InfoQ.com and the QCon conferences. In this podcast Shane Hastie, Lead Editor for Culture & Methods spoke to Zach Lloyd about building a product-first engin…
GitHub Next: how their research and prototyping team operates [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:04
This is the Engineering Culture Podcast, from the people behind InfoQ.com and the QCon conferences. In this podcast, Shane Hastie, Lead Editor for Culture & Methods, spoke to Idan Gazit and Eddie Aftandilian from GitHub…
Trust-first Leadership and Building Great Teams [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:49
This is the Engineering Culture Podcast, from the people behind InfoQ.com and the QCon conferences. In this podcast, Shane Hastie, Lead Editor for Culture & Methods, spoke to Natan Žabkar Nordberg about how effective lea…
Technology Radar and the Reality of AI in Software Development [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:17
This is the Engineering Culture Podcast, from the people behind InfoQ.com and the QCon conferences. In this podcast, Shane Hastie, Lead Editor for Culture & Methods spoke to Rachel Laycock, Global CTO of Thoughtworks, ab…