Tracy Rosenthal-Newsom
The power of playtesting and customer empathy
Tracy Rosenthal-Newsom is an award-winning game producer and product leader who brought you hits like Rock Band and Dance Central. I worked with Tracy in the early days of bringing Rock Band to life – and learned so much from her. In many ways, we’ve traveled parallel paths – moving through the worlds of gaming, digital healthcare and humanistic product design. The common thread is a deep, abiding interest in creating experiences that connect with people in a deep and positive way. And I’ll tell you – Tracy knows how to do that. Join us and discover the key practices that led this innovative creative powerhouse towards success.
About this episode
Tracy Newsom has had such an interesting career in both the entertainment and gaming industries. Here are a few highlights from out remarkable conversation:
- A day in the life of Tracy Newsom (2:45)
- How Tracy got started in Design and Tech and her journey (7:05)
- What Tracy knows about successful innovation now that she wishes she knew 10 years ago (22:12)
- Understanding play testing (24:45)
- The effect that Tracy’s background in dance had on her work with Dance Central (28:30)
- Common mistakes companies make in the early stages of bringing their ideas to life (33:00)
- Bringing the entertainment and healthcare industries together (40:40)
- What gets Tracy excited about a project (42:15)
- Tracy’s opinion on Harmonix Music Systems (49:51)
