SpaceChem is a puzzle game about chemistry with solutions that resemble programming challenges. Playing the game teaches the player things, so developer Zach Barth offered the game to schools as an educational tool. But why do educators use games like Minecraft for education and not games like SpaceChem?

Video games don't exist in a vacuum. They reflect the world around us, and their success—or failure—has a strong effect on the people who make them. When it's an independent video game, one that a small team pours their hearts and souls into, it matters even more.

 

Game Retro takes a retrospective look at independent video games from more than five years ago. We not only talk to one of its creators about how it's impacted their life, but we look at the bigger picture. How do these games interact with society? What can they say about us?