While some people enjoy the pace of a turn-based game, others find that it makes a game feel too slow. But in the new strategic tactics game Atlas Reactor, players take turns at the same time, and with a quickness not normally associated with such a polite mechanic.

With Atlas Reactor in closed beta at the moment, but available now on Steam, we quickly but politely asked Executive Producer Peter Ju to explain how this unique mechanic works, why they implemented it, and why they didn't just go for real-time combat instead.

GameCrate: Before we get into what makes this game unique, what kind of game is Atlas Reactor, how do you play it?

Peter Ju: Atlas Reactor is a team-based PvP strategy/tactics game that uses simultaneous turns to create tense, fast-paced matches. During Decision Mode, you and your team have twenty seconds to choose your actions, while your opponents are doing the exact same thing. Then Resolution Mode kicks in, and you watch the explosive results of all these actions.

GC: What other games do you think it's similar to, and what do you think makes Atlas Reactor different, or even better?

PJ: Atlas Reactor definitely occupies its own gameplay space, but people have described it as "D.O.T.A. meets X-Com" or "speed chess with guns." What makes Atlas Reactor great is the constant, fast-paced team decision making. You are given enough time to make smart decisions every round, but not enough time to analyze all possible scenarios. The twenty second decision timer, plus simultaneous turns, help create a great game that rewards fast thinking, reading your opponents, and higher order strategy.

GC: Atlas Reactor is not the only game with simultaneous turn-based combat; Transistor and Frozen Synapse come to mind. What makes the system in Atlas Reactor work differently from these other titles?

PJ: Simultaneous turns really bring the mind games to the forefront of a game. Making decisions without full knowledge of what your opponent will do and trying to out-think or out-play them is a really exciting, rewarding experience. Atlas Reactor brings this experience into a team PvP setting.

I would not categorize Transistor as simultaneous turn-based, since it is more a great blend of turn-based and real-time gameplay. But compared to Frozen Synapse, Atlas Reactor plays much faster, with fewer inputs required during each discrete decisions and resolutions since you control only one member of the team. Additionally, due to the growing pool of characters to choose from, Atlas Reactor has a larger pool of potential action types you can take...and anticipate from your enemies.

GC: When you were figuring out how Atlas Reactor would work, did you always have this turn-based system in mind? Did you originally have a simultaneous turn system like the one in Frozen Synapse, or did you have a more traditional system like you see in most turn-based games?

PJ: When we were first figuring out how Atlas Reactor would work, we wanted to make a multiplayer turn-based game, and we started off with a more traditional turn system where one team would make all their decisions and then the other team would. But even with timed turns, it wasn't fun waiting for the enemy team to discuss and execute their plan. We started experimenting with simultaneous turns to solve the issue of waiting for the other players, but found that it also helped the game in other significant ways.

For one, the action immediately became more exciting because of the added element of prediction and anticipation. You never quite know what's going to happen because you don't know what the enemy team is planning.

Another big problem it solved was the issue of focus fire. Before completely simultaneous turns, we had attempted to speed up the game by making the actions of a team simultaneous. However, this quickly led to teams using all their actions to focus down one target at a time. The switch to simultaneous turns meant players were now acting at the same time, so we could introduce the concept of a dodge. These "Dashes" allow players to change their position before normal attacks can hit them. Now, if a team decides to concentrate all their attacks at an enemy, they are risking a lot if that player has a dash action at their disposal.

GC: Having such a fast-paced system in Atlas Reactor does beg one big question, though: Why not just go with real-time combat?

PJ: We wanted to make a game that rewards quick thinking but doesn't require twitch skills to excel at.

Or, to put it another way, there are games that are played at the sub second level and then there are games that are played at the minutes level. Atlas Reactor is a game that is played at the level of "tens-of-seconds."

GC: Obviously, people who've played pre-release versions of the game like this system, otherwise you would've scrapped it, but what has been the biggest complaint about it, and how have you addressed this issue?

PJ: I think the biggest complaint from people who enjoy the game is that it has a learning curve due to its unique gameplay. It is a bit different than other games out there, so you don't really know what to expect when getting into this game. We have been working on improving how we teach people about the game. We implemented our first tutorial a while back, and while it does do a good job teaching the basic controls, we have some plans in the works to help teach players more of the initial tactics and strategies.

GC: Atlas Reactor is currently only coming to PC. Are there any plans to bring it to consoles or mobile?

PJ: We have been concentrating on PC right now because it is the fastest way to iterate on features and balance. We have been exploring other platforms but are not ready to release any information about that at this time. But I think Atlas Reactor would be great on a console or tablet.

GC: Finally, if you could adapt any game, movie, book, comic, or TV series into an Atlas Reactor-esque game, with its unique approach to turn-based combat, what would you want to do and why?

PJ: There are a ton that would work well. I'd love to see a Marvel version. However, I think the best fit thematically would be an early Naruto game. Early Naruto was all about having teams of different characters fighting one another, and the fights always came down not to who was strongest but who was smartest and had more tricks up their sleeves.

Atlas Reactor will be available for PC later this year.