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While I was at university in Lincoln, I loved playing
Burnout 3: Takedown [1]. It is unadulterated,
arcade-y joy and has got a kick-ass soundtrack
that introduced me to loads of great bands and fits
the game so well. The Takedown slow-mos and
Crash Mode were awesome additions, too. I was
thinking about What Remains Of Edith Finch [2] for
days after finishing its short and powerful narrative,
as it is a perfect example of games doing more
than people realise possible, and demonstrating
that they have the capacity to be one of the
premier artistic mediums of today. In a similar
vein, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice [3] did something
different and showed how games can be more than
entertainment by examining the topic of psychosis
through working with the Wellcome Trust, but was
first and foremost an excellent game, and therefore
cleaned up at the awards, winning five BAFTAs.
I still love playing Halo 3 [4] at my friend Gary’s
Capture The Flag tournament that he holds for
his birthday every year. It has an incredibly well-
designed multiplayer mode, which is great fun. And
so is the tournament - Gary even makes trophies
and spoof commercials featuring the competitors!
Ori And The Blind Forest [5] has a special place
in my heart for being a great Metroidvania with
such phenomenally high production values and
an amazing soundtrack. The game has set a really
high benchmark for other developers to aspire to.Mark Backler
Founder of
Sketchbook Games
Mark has worked at
EA, Lionhead, Kuju,
Marmalade and Sony.
Most recently, he
created the award-
winning platformer
Lost Words: Beyond
The Page, where
players use words
to solve puzzles
inside a diary.[1][2][3][5]114 THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE
OXM OUT
the disc slot
They make the games we love, but what do they play
for fun? We ask developers to pick their faves from
Xbox history. This month: Mark Backler
[4]