Adam the Artist

I love Batman. My last 3 hours playing it haven’t even been on the main story, but the side missions all feel really important. As a result, I do constantly feel un-Batman, because I’m letting people down left and right. But it’s not my fault. I can’t fly three feet without someone screaming, “HELP ME BATMAN, MY PROBLEM IS TIME SENSITIVE.” I can only Batman one of you guys at a time.

On iOS, I really enjoyed Nyx Quest (<- lite version) recently. It’s a platformer with touch interactions; probably the most relaxing platformer I’ve ever played. The music is very zen, and the environments are these bright, beautiful desert ruins. Even the enemies are relaxing, especially after you get the “zap anything you touch” power. It’s not challenging at all, but it’s a pleasant way to spend a few hours. Made me want to make a platformer.

Alex the Codesmith

I recently picked up Frozen Synapse from the Humble Frozen Bundle. I’ve been halfheartedly following it since beta, but never took the time to play it. I’ve apparently been missing out. The game is awesome! Admittedly, I’m not fanatical about turn-based strategy games (and yet here I am making one, hah), but what Mode 7 did with Frozen Synapse is mix turn-based strategy with some interesting tactical action elements reminiscent of an over-head view of a Counter-Strike match. That’s about the best I can explain it on a high level. The multiplayer games are short, satisfying, and intense. I haven’t given single player a try yet, but you should know by now that’s not what draws me in. And the great thing about it is there’s very little time commitment. You start a few games, do a few turns, then leave and come back the next day. It’s got the feel of a well-designed asynchronous mobile game, but on the PC, yet it feels very right. The graphics are clean, but very spartan. The design of Frozen Synapse is the kind of thing that gets me excited about designing games. It’s a very raw “game”, with almost no fluff or padding. Strip away all audio and graphics and you lose almost nothing to the core ‘experience’ of playing this game. Just game rules, 2 players, and a fun game “system” to explore the nuances of.

Editor’s note: Adam has chosen to disregard Alex’s blatant disrespect for his vocation.