EFWSOT with Marjorie Martin

The Secret Sauce of EA’s Culture: Marjorie Martin on the Early Days of Gaming | EFWSOT Welcome back to another exciting episode of Everything's Fine, We're Shipping on Time with Ric and Gary! Today, we are honored to sit down with Marjorie Martin. Joining Electronic Arts in October 1983 as one of its first 25 employees, Marjorie wore every hat imaginable—from purchasing hardware and QA testing on Commodore and Apple II systems, to eventually founding EA’s very first HR department. In this episode, Marjorie takes us behind the scenes of the early Silicon Valley gaming boom. We dive deep into how she helped engineer EA’s famous intentional culture through initiatives like the "Doers Profile" and Action Values. She also shares hilarious stories about pitching ideas to Trip Hawkins, the famously unhinged Friday meetings with Bing Gordon and Larry Probst, and why every major studio she joined—from Park Place and Sony to Take-Two and Bungie—saw massive success during her tenure. Whether you’re a retro gaming historian, a culture-building enthusiast, or just want to hear legendary stories from the trenches of game development, you won't want to miss this one! 🔔 Be sure to LIKE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE for more stories from the veterans of the video game industry!