Another dose of Zach Barth, this time focused on MOLEK-SYNTEZ, a Zachtronics game that plays a bit like Opus Magnum but was made more in the spirit of TIS-100—which is to say quickly, with extreme focus, and driven by Zach's primordial need to make games, games forever, games all the time. (Also, like TIS-100 before it, it's presented in purest, starkest black and white, to the confusion of some and the delight of me).We talk about the thematic connections between drug-making and game development, the slippery-as-hell nature of defining success, and the complexities of creating a Zachtronics game that's closer than ever to real science (though as Zach says, "it's still pretty fake").You can get MOLEK-SYNTEZ on Steam, GOG, and Itch.You can get ZACH-LIKE on Steam, replete with links to the educational games.The MOLEK-SYNTEZ OST is on Bandcamp.You can also follow Zach and/or Zachtronics (the distinction gets blurry) on Twitter. ———• Thanks to The Mysterious Ian K. for the MOLEK-SYNTEZ solution gif. I found it a little cooler-looking than any of mine, and asked to use it, and he was a stand-up cat as per always.• I thought about linking to Antifragile, but honestly Zach's summary probably has you covered. If you really want more, watch this weird ramble.• My crack about Fortnite was definitely influenced by/ripped off from this Dan Olson video (which was also recently referenced in this Oliver Thorn video).———"All The People Say (Season 3)" by Holly Hyperion.The MOLEK-SYNTEZ OST by Matthew Seiji Burns.Logo by Aaron Perry-Zucker, using Icons by by Llisole, Dávid Gladiš, Atif Arshad, Daniel Nochta, Mike Rowe, Jakub Čaja, Raji Purcell and IconsGhost from the Noun Project.