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The Nightmare Cooperative is a distinctive and challenging puzzler that drops players right in the thick of things and forces them to adapt. We've prepared a few tips and hints to prepare you for the countless trips you'll be taking through the dungeons.

Top of the Class

Utilizing and familiarizing yourself with the perks of the class system is an extremely important part of The Nightmare Cooperative, as it can dictate who is worth saving and who is worth leaving behind. Below is a list by order of personal preference, starting with the most valued member of my team.

• The Ninja uses his stealth to slip past enemies unnoticed, covering a great distance in one bound. Being able to traverse the entire board can mean the Ninja has often been the only one in my team to escape a level unscathed, making him my greatest asset. Pick him up.

• The Priest has the power to fully heal the closest member of his team, so the selfless sap can sacrifice his own well-being in the hope that a teammate will live on, which when having to fight your way out is often a lifesaver (literally).

• The Warrior is the most prolific fighter, as you would hope, and can dish out a double-dose of pain per attack - which is particularly useful when being stalked by an enemy or backed into a corner. However, it does mean having to get close to an enemy and risk taking a hit, so try to draw them closer beforehand.

• The Archer is particularly useful for dispatching enemies at range (though not over over walls), as long as they are directly in-line with her. Particularly useful when wanting to clear a path from a safe position.

• The Astral Walker has the ability to walk through walls (though not through enemies). However, use up his last move before passing all of the way through one and suffer instant death. Not a good way to go.

• The Barbarian knocks enemies flying in the opposite direction with his special attack. Think of him like a human battering ram, but with awesome mutton chops.

• The Mage can also attack at range, though only diagonally, which is a slightly more difficult attacking position to take up.

Survival Tips

• Don't open chests if possible, since it multiplies the amount of enemies on the map. Collect scattered gold or go for the chest with the lowest number on top, representing the amount of enemies it spawns.

• If you are a bit of a hoarder, try sending the last member back before they exit the level, if the path is safe enough. Get the others through first and leave the one remaining lonesome soul to pilfer gold, potions and health vats for the team.

• When an enemy shell appears - whether it's due to the opening of a chest or reaching the step counter limit - use allies with long-range attacks to take them out in one hit.

• Most enemies can only attack on their second move (i.e. if you move alongside them, they cannot attack straight away), so move away from them once they are in striking distance. For enemies that like to follow you around, attacking is the best way out, so hit them from a safe distance with the Archer/Mage and lure them into striking range where you can get the first strike. Either way, always be careful not to put the others in jeopardy in the process, since when one team member moves, all members move. And no one wants a quick dip in the acid pit.

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In the end, The Nightmare Cooperative is a game of sacrifices. Sacrificing a heart, gold, or even a teammate's life for the chance to escape is often a necessity. There's no "I" in team, but there's one in "winner". Think about that.

Lucky Frame has been quite the success story since the developer was founded by Yann Seznec five years ago. In that time, it has garnered plenty of success with software on other formats, won a Scottish BAFTA for Best Game and, surely more importantly, gained a prestigious 148App's Editor's Choice award for Wave Trip. Not bad, eh?

With the recent release of the studio's latest title, Gentlemen!, we took the time to have a chat with founder, Yann Seznec, and learn a little more about Scotland's hottest iOS focused property.

"I founded Lucky Frame 5 years ago, after I made a piece of music software for Wii remotes as a university project [The Wii Loop Machine]. The software got a lot of attention online and I managed to turn some of that attention into a little company! I even ended up on Dragons' Den in the UK," explained Yann, "...[it] was kind of hilarious (I didn't get the money...)."

That didn't deter Yann, though: "Jonathan [Lucky Frame's developer] and I spent a few years working on projects whenever we could, mostly music software and things like Mujik. Eventually we managed to go full time and hire [artist and designer] Sean, to turn us into the three-person studio we are today."

Provided with funding by numerous creative agencies, Yann acknowledged how helpful it has been to have such support: "We have been really lucky to get support from a number of agencies and companies, notably [Scotland's national arts development agency] Creative Scotland, The University of Edinburgh, [UK based TV broadcaster] Channel 4, The University of Abertay Dundee, [innovation focused UK charity] NESTA, and many others." Location is also important as Yann discussed, "Scotland is quite a good place to start a company, partially because of the support you can get if you really dedicate yourself to it. Without a doubt that support is what let us become a full time company, and allow us to focus on creating totally original work."

While previous Lucky Frame titles have been focused on the single player experience, Gentlemen! is, essentially, a head to head beat-em-up, with two players able to participate across the one iPad screen. What inspired the team to pursue such an alternative route? Passion, as Yann explains. "All three of us are really passionate about local multiplayer games," he said. "Some of our greatest gaming experiences come from sitting in a room with friends playing a game on a single screen. I think that on some level the rise of the tablet/phone as the primary gaming device could lead to that experience being lost."

It wasn't a new plan by the team, either. "We've wanted to try and approach that problem for a while," he said. "We even did some experiments like Pyoing which turned out pretty well! Trying to make a local multiplayer game for touch screen raises a whole pile of challenges, which were really fun for us, and the Victorian-era theming really drove the whole design process."

Gentlemen! is also set to be Lucky Frame's first Android release, with Yann explaining that he was initially attracted to iOS thanks to the "accessibility" and "standardisation" that the format brings with it.

With perhaps the best attitude to any walk of life, not just iOS development, Yann wisely acknowledged that the most important thing for the team, in terms of getting noticed, has been to "keep working on projects that we want to produce, and make sure that everything we release is something we can be proud of." Take note, aspiring iOS developers, that's a great way to feel good about future developments.

Thanks to Yann for taking the time to answer our questions. Gentlemen! is out now for the iPad, priced at $4.99. This is also the ideal time to get to know Lucky Frame's back catalogue, comprising of Bad Hotel, Pugs Luv Beats, Wave Trip and more.