S2:E20 - Designing for Play: Building Games That Bring People Together

In this episode of Practical Product Management, we sit down with Sunny Lee, Experience Design Director at EA’s Full Circle Studio, to talk about the power of play, empathy, and connection in design.

Sunny’s journey has taken her from the games industry to health tech and back again — leading design for Skate, EA’s open-world game that brings people together through creativity and community. We explore what it means to design for humans rather than systems, how diversity shapes better products, and why making failure fun is such a vital part of learning and growth.

From conversations about dark patterns and agency to the ethics of monetization and the joy of self-expression, this episode reminds us that great design — and great product management — starts with empathy, collaboration, and play.

Key Takeaways

1. Design Is More Than Pixels — It’s About Human Connection.

   Great design balances usability, emotion, and purpose. Sunny emphasizes that creating for humans means understanding both what they say and how they actually behave.

2. Make Failure Fun.

   From learning new tricks in Skate to building new products, progress comes through iteration. Embrace experimentation and treat failure as part of play, not proof of defeat.

3. Diversity Makes Better Products — and Communities.

   “Games look like the people who make them.” Diverse creators lead to richer, more inclusive experiences. Representation isn’t just ethical — it’s essential for designing products that truly connect.

Questions for Product Managers

1. How can you design your product — or your team culture — to encourage more play, creativity, and experimentation?

2. Where might you unintentionally be limiting user agency or self-expression, and how could you give that power back?

3. What’s one way you can make failure fun for your team — turning mistakes into learning and momentum instead of fear?