History

We founded Synaptic Sugar in 2023 as a way for us to realize our long-lived vision of creating games that, while remaining stimulating and interesting, could be enjoyed by everyone. It was our experience that shaped this line of thought: working in AAA games and related technology since 2008, in an industry where violent or heavily combat-based games were very popular, we saw ample opportunity for experimentation with more original concepts and innovative gameplay mechanics.

2023 also happened to be a year of massive layoffs in the games industry, something that broadcasted the unsustainability of many AAA business models and made it even clearer that smaller, more personal game experiences were in many cases preferred, and, in some instances, perhaps even the only possible path forward. This further validated our decision to start Synaptic Sugar, and dedicate our efforts to carefully crafted, smaller games.

Philosophy

We believe in more sustainable production processes, ones that favor work/life balance and slow growth, rather than the infinite growth model that investors often demand of many companies in both games and tech.

At the moment we are self-funding and self-publishing, and, while we wouldn’t turn away a promising collaboration opportunity that checked all the right boxes, we are currently comfortable with the way we are operating.

In development

While we have multiple games in various stages of prototyping, our small team size means that we can properly focus on only one game at a time.

The first game we announced was Agents of Groove, a rhythm game for the Playdate console that is still under development. We thought the Playdate, with its friendly character and community, and its retro-but-modern style, was the perfect platform for our first release.

Legal

The work in this website is copyright © 2024 Synaptic Sugar LLC. All rights reserved.

Synaptic Sugar™ and Agents of Groove™ are trademarks of Synaptic Sugar LLC.