How Zachtronics makes its games so GIFable

Studio founder Zach Barth discusses the beauty of seamless loops, and why screenshots are more important for indies than trailers

For many, a lot of the appeal of creative problem-solving games like those made by Zachtronics comes from being able to share solutions within the community. If packaged well, this can also be an excellent source of grassroots marketing for a game. Given that, it’s surprising that Zachtonics basically stumbled accidentally into letting players export GIFs of their creations.

Zach Barth also notes here how screenshots are often more useful than trailers for actually showing off a game or learning about one, due to less pressure to be cinematic and increasing willingness to show UI, which conveys a lot about what you actually do in a game.