Every designer needs to take time off, and in my experience one of the best ways to do this is through game play. I am sure that someday, in the not too distant future, a company that spends millions of pounds developing platforms for games will manage to create games that are more entertaining and interesting than those little flash games you find on websites; but as of yet they have not done it. Yes the new regions such as X-Box Arcade do allow small flash-like games to emerge, but the viral gaming market still rests on the internet.
Why am I talking about this? Well, as a gamer, I enjoy spending my time playing well developed and challenging games such as the Halo series, but occasionally there is nothing better than sitting down and having a go at a flash-based game. The past few weeks there has been one game that has kept amused through all of my lunch breaks; Contraption.