Machinarium
Encyclopedia
Machinarium is a puzzle point-and-click adventure game developed by Amanita Design
. It was released on October 16, 2009 for Microsoft Windows
, Mac OS X
, Linux
, on September 8, 2011 for iPad 2
on App Store (iOS) and on November 21, 2011 for BlackBerry PlayBook
. Demos were made available on September 30, 2009. It was also being scheduled for a future release for the Nintendo Wii's WiiWare
service, but as of November 2011, it has been cancelled due to WiiWare's 40MB limit. In March 2011, Amanita Design announced that Machinarium will be headed to PlayStation 3's PSN. Amanita Design are also preparing a port for Android.
s and brain teaser
s. The puzzles are linked together by an overworld
consisting of a traditional "point and click" adventure story. The overworld's most radical departure is that only objects within the player character's reach can be clicked on.
Machinarium is notable in that it contains no dialogue
, spoken or written, and apart from a few tutorial prompts on the first screen, is devoid of understandable language entirely. The game instead uses a system of animated thought bubbles. Easter egg
back story scenes in the same format can only be revealed by idling in certain areas.
The game employs a two-tier hint system. Once per level, the player can receive a hint, which becomes increasingly vague as the game progresses. Machinarium also comes with a walkthrough
, that can be accessed at any time by playing a minigame
. As with dialogue, the walkthrough is not in written or spoken form, but instead a series of sketches describing the puzzle at hand and its solution. However, the walkthrough only reveals what must be done in that area, and not how that puzzle relates to the game chronology.
called Josef (named after Josef Čapek
, the creator of the word "robot" and brother to Karel Čapek
) is dumped on a scrapheap
, where he re-assembles himself and sets off for the city. Entering the city, he discovers a plot by the Black Cap Brotherhood, his three thuggish antagonist
s, to blow up the city's tower. Unfortunately, he is himself discovered and locked up. After breaking out of prison, Josef aids the citizens of the city, as he discovers the mischief which the Brotherhood has been working. Shortly after flooding the bad guys' room (leaving them helpless), Josef locates his girlfriend, who has been locked up and forced to cook. Unable to free her, he works his way to the top of the tower. He foils the Black Cap Brotherhood's plot by disarming the bomb taped to the tower. After preventing destruction, Josef climbs to the top of the tower where he finds the room where the story began. A huge-headed robot sits in the middle of the room, incapacitated and gibbering. Josef recalls how the three of them lived happily until the Black Cap Brotherhood zapped this friend, leaving him disabled, and kidnapped the girl. When a garbage sucker arrived to dispose of the Black cap thug, it gets Josef instead. After this revelation, Josef restores his friend to sanity, dumps the Brotherhood down a drain, and frees his girlfriend. The two of them climb back to the tower, wave goodbye to their friend, and fly off into the sunset. In the final closing scene, their vehicle suffers a collision and falls, and they are seen being carried away separately by two fliers.
developers, who financed the project with their own savings. The marketing budget for the game was a scant $1,000.
The game was in development for the Xbox 360
platform for a period of six months; however, Microsoft, whom the developers had approached to publish the title on Xbox Live Arcade
, ultimately decided not to do so. Microsoft
does not allow games to be released on Xbox Live Arcade without a publisher attached to the title, and the developers were reluctant to approach a third party to publish the game, as this would mean that profits for the developers from sales over Xbox Live Arcade would be greatly reduced. Subsequently, Amanita Design approached Sony
, whose policies do allow for self-publishing on the PlayStation Network platform, and have submitted the game to them for approval, in order to release the game on the PlayStation Network.
and Metacritic
, the game has an average score of 84.78% and 85%, respectively.
It won the Excellence in Visual Art award at the 12th Annual Independent Games Festival
and the Best Soundtrack award from PC Gamer
in 2009. It was nominated for an Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction award by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
and a Milthon award in the 'Best Indie Game
' category at the Paris Game Festival
.
Gaming site Kotaku
named it a runner-up for "PC Game of the Year 2009" alongside Torchlight
, losing to winner Empire: Total War
. Gamasutra
, Gamerview and the Turkish
site of Tom's Hardware all selected Machinarium as the 'Best Indie Game' of 2009. AceGamez named Machinarium the 'Best Traditional Adventure Game' of 2009.
, and makes a cameo in the puzzle game ilomilo
.
Josef was also included in the Video Game Character alphabet, created by Fabian Gonzalez.
Amanita Design
Amanita Design is an independent Czech video game developing company that was founded in 2003 by Jakub Dvorský. The company has made several Webby Award-winning games, as well as educational and advertising minigames and animations, all using Adobe Flash. Clients include BBC, Nike and The...
. It was released on October 16, 2009 for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
, Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, on September 8, 2011 for iPad 2
IPad 2
The iPad 2 is the second and current generation of the iPad, a tablet computer designed, developed and marketed by Apple. It serves primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, presentations and web content, and is available in black or white...
on App Store (iOS) and on November 21, 2011 for BlackBerry PlayBook
BlackBerry PlayBook
The BlackBerry PlayBook is a tablet computer by Research In Motion , best known for the BlackBerry smartphone. It competes against Apple's iPad and a slew of Android-powered tablets....
. Demos were made available on September 30, 2009. It was also being scheduled for a future release for the Nintendo Wii's WiiWare
WiiWare
WiiWare is a service that allows Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications can only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel under the WiiWare section...
service, but as of November 2011, it has been cancelled due to WiiWare's 40MB limit. In March 2011, Amanita Design announced that Machinarium will be headed to PlayStation 3's PSN. Amanita Design are also preparing a port for Android.
Gameplay
The goal of Machinarium is to solve a series of puzzlePuzzle
A puzzle is a problem or enigma that tests the ingenuity of the solver. In a basic puzzle, one is intended to put together pieces in a logical way in order to come up with the desired solution...
s and brain teaser
Brain teaser
A brain teaser is a form of puzzle that requires thought to solve. It often requires thinking in unconventional ways with given constraints in mind; sometimes it also involves lateral thinking. Logic puzzles and riddles are specific types of brain teasers....
s. The puzzles are linked together by an overworld
Overworld
An overworld is, in a broad sense, an area within a video game that interconnects all its levels or locations. They are mostly common in role-playing games, though this does not exclude other video game genres....
consisting of a traditional "point and click" adventure story. The overworld's most radical departure is that only objects within the player character's reach can be clicked on.
Machinarium is notable in that it contains no dialogue
Dialogue
Dialogue is a literary and theatrical form consisting of a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people....
, spoken or written, and apart from a few tutorial prompts on the first screen, is devoid of understandable language entirely. The game instead uses a system of animated thought bubbles. Easter egg
Easter egg (media)
Image:Carl Oswald Rostosky - Zwei Kaninchen und ein Igel 1861.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Example of Easter egg hidden within imagerect 467 383 539 434 desc none...
back story scenes in the same format can only be revealed by idling in certain areas.
The game employs a two-tier hint system. Once per level, the player can receive a hint, which becomes increasingly vague as the game progresses. Machinarium also comes with a walkthrough
Strategy guide
Strategy guides are instruction books that contain hints or complete solutions to specific video games. The line between strategy guides and walkthroughs is somewhat blurred, with the former often containing or being written around the latter. Strategy guides are often published in print, both in...
, that can be accessed at any time by playing a minigame
Minigame
A minigame is a short video game often contained within another video game. A minigame is always smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained. Minigames are sometimes also offered separately for free to promote the main game...
. As with dialogue, the walkthrough is not in written or spoken form, but instead a series of sketches describing the puzzle at hand and its solution. However, the walkthrough only reveals what must be done in that area, and not how that puzzle relates to the game chronology.
Plot summary
Machinarium opens with an overview of the eponymous city as a disposal flier launches from its highest tower. The player character, a robotRobot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
called Josef (named after Josef Čapek
Josef Capek
Josef Čapek was a Czech artist who was best known as a painter, but who was also noted as a writer and a poet. He invented the word robot, which was introduced into literature by his brother, Karel Čapek.- Biography :...
, the creator of the word "robot" and brother to Karel Čapek
Karel Capek
Karel Čapek was Czech writer of the 20th century.-Biography:Born in 1890 in the Bohemian mountain village of Malé Svatoňovice to an overbearing, emotional mother and a distant yet adored father, Čapek was the youngest of three siblings...
) is dumped on a scrapheap
Wrecking yard
A scrapyard or junkyard is the location of a dismantling business where wrecked or decommissioned vehicles are brought, their usable parts are sold for use in operating vehicles, while the unusable metal parts, known as scrap metal parts, are sold to metal-recycling companies...
, where he re-assembles himself and sets off for the city. Entering the city, he discovers a plot by the Black Cap Brotherhood, his three thuggish antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
s, to blow up the city's tower. Unfortunately, he is himself discovered and locked up. After breaking out of prison, Josef aids the citizens of the city, as he discovers the mischief which the Brotherhood has been working. Shortly after flooding the bad guys' room (leaving them helpless), Josef locates his girlfriend, who has been locked up and forced to cook. Unable to free her, he works his way to the top of the tower. He foils the Black Cap Brotherhood's plot by disarming the bomb taped to the tower. After preventing destruction, Josef climbs to the top of the tower where he finds the room where the story began. A huge-headed robot sits in the middle of the room, incapacitated and gibbering. Josef recalls how the three of them lived happily until the Black Cap Brotherhood zapped this friend, leaving him disabled, and kidnapped the girl. When a garbage sucker arrived to dispose of the Black cap thug, it gets Josef instead. After this revelation, Josef restores his friend to sanity, dumps the Brotherhood down a drain, and frees his girlfriend. The two of them climb back to the tower, wave goodbye to their friend, and fly off into the sunset. In the final closing scene, their vehicle suffers a collision and falls, and they are seen being carried away separately by two fliers.
Development
Machinarium was developed over a period of three years, by seven CzechCzech people
Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...
developers, who financed the project with their own savings. The marketing budget for the game was a scant $1,000.
The game was in development for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
platform for a period of six months; however, Microsoft, whom the developers had approached to publish the title on Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
, ultimately decided not to do so. Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
does not allow games to be released on Xbox Live Arcade without a publisher attached to the title, and the developers were reluctant to approach a third party to publish the game, as this would mean that profits for the developers from sales over Xbox Live Arcade would be greatly reduced. Subsequently, Amanita Design approached Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, whose policies do allow for self-publishing on the PlayStation Network platform, and have submitted the game to them for approval, in order to release the game on the PlayStation Network.
Reception
Critical response
Machinarium was well-received on release; on the critic aggregate sites Game RankingsGame Rankings
GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
and Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, the game has an average score of 84.78% and 85%, respectively.
It won the Excellence in Visual Art award at the 12th Annual Independent Games Festival
Independent Games Festival
The Independent Games Festival is an annual festival at the Game Developers Conference, the largest annual gathering of the indie video game industry. It was founded in 1998 to assist and inspire innovation in video game development and to recognize the best independent video game developers...
and the Best Soundtrack award from PC Gamer
PC Gamer
PC Gamer is a magazine founded in Britain in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future Publishing. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games magazines in their respective countries...
in 2009. It was nominated for an Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction award by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences , founded in 1996, is a non-profit organization that promotes computer and video game entertainment with the annual D.I.C.E. Summit event, where its Interactive Achievement Awards ceremony has been held annually since 1998...
and a Milthon award in the 'Best Indie Game
Independent video game development
Independent video game development is the process of creating video games without the financial support of a video game publisher. While large firms can create independent games, they are usually designed by an individual or a small team of as many as ten people, depending on the complexity of the...
' category at the Paris Game Festival
Paris Game Festival
The Paris Game Festival is a 3 days event of animations, competitions and conferences. In 2010, the Paris Game Festival reached 69 000 visitors. The event also hosts the Game Business Summit, a strategic meeting for professionals and investors.-History:...
.
Gaming site Kotaku
Kotaku
Kotaku is a video games-focused blog. It is part of Gawker Media's "Gawker" network of sites, which also includes Gizmodo, Deadspin, Lifehacker, io9 and Jezebel. Named to CNET News' Blog 100, Kotaku is consistently listed in the top 40 of Technorati's Top 100...
named it a runner-up for "PC Game of the Year 2009" alongside Torchlight
Torchlight
Torchlight is an action role-playing game developed by Runic Games and published by Perfect World, released for Windows in October 2009. The fantasy-themed game is set in the fictional town of Torchlight and the expansive caverns and dungeons nearby, which adventurers explore to collect valuable...
, losing to winner Empire: Total War
Empire: Total War
Empire: Total War is a turn-based strategy and real-time tactics computer game developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Sega. The fifth instalment in the Total War series, the game was released in North America on 3 March 2009, and in the rest of the world the following day...
. Gamasutra
Gamasutra
Gamasutra is a website founded in 1997 for video game developers. It is owned and operated by UBM TechWeb , a division of United Business Media, and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine Game Developer...
, Gamerview and the Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
site of Tom's Hardware all selected Machinarium as the 'Best Indie Game' of 2009. AceGamez named Machinarium the 'Best Traditional Adventure Game' of 2009.
Pirate amnesty
On August 5, 2010, Amanita Design announced that according to their estimates, only 5-15% of Machinarium players had actually paid for the game. In an effort to increase sales, the game's price was lowered from the regular $20 to $5 until August 12 so that pirates could redeem themselves, though the offer was also available to those who hadn't illegally downloaded the game. The campaign was later extended until August 16, resulting in 20,000 game copies sold over the whole amnesty period.Editions
The Machinarium was released in several physical and digital formats.- Physical:
- Machinarium Collector's Edition (United Kingdom) - includes dvd with game, soundtrack in digital format, cd with soundtrack, printed walkthrough, A3 poster and concept art. Systems: Windows, Mac (no Linux).
- Machinarium (Mашинариум) (Russian Edition) - includes dvd with game and cd with soundtrack. Systems: Windows, Mac (no Linux).
- Machinarium (German Edition) - includes game disc, cd with soundtrack, Samorost 2Samorost 2Samorost 2 is a puzzle point-and-click adventure game developed by Amanita Design. Released for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux on December 8, 2005, the game is the second video game title in the Samorost series and the sequel to Samorost....
and poster. Systems: Windows, Mac (no Linux). - Machinarium (French Edition) - includes game disc, cd with soundtrack, Samorost 2 and poster. Systems: Windows, Mac (no Linux).
- Machinarium (Italian Edition) - includes game disc. Systems: Windows (no Mac, no Linux).
- Machinarium (Czech Edition) - includes game disc and mp3 soundtrack. Systems: Windows, Mac (no Linux).
- Machinarium (Slovak Edition) - includes game disc and mp3 soundtrack. Systems: Windows, Mac (no Linux).
- Digital:
- Amanita Design Store - includes Win, Mac and Linux versions of the game and soundtrack in flac/mp3 format. Was released on October 16, 2009.
- Steam - includes Win and Mac versions of the game. Was released on October 16, 2009.
- ImpulseImpulse (software)Impulse is a digital distribution and multiplayer platform. Originally developed by Stardock to succeed Stardock Central, it was purchased by GameStop in March 2011.Impulse facilitates the purchase, download and updating of software...
- includes Win version of the game. - Direct2DriveDirect2DriveDirect2Drive is an online game store offering PC videogames via direct download. On May 25, 2011, Gamefly acquired Direct2Drive from IGN Entertainment Group .- Competition with Steam :...
- includes Win version of the game. - GamersGateGamersGateGamersGate AB is a Sweden-based online video game store offering PC games, Mac games and electronic guides via direct download. It is a competitor to online video game services such as Valve's Steam, Direct2Drive and Impulse....
- includes Win and Mac versions of the game. - Mac App StoreMac App StoreThe Mac App Store is a digital distribution platform for Mac OS X applications developed by Apple Inc.. The platform was announced on October 20, 2010 at Apple's "Back to the Mac" event. Apple began accepting app submissions from registered developers on November 3, 2010 in preparation for its launch...
- includes Mac version of the game. Was released on March 18, 2011. - Playism (Japan) - includes Win and Mac versions of the game. Was released on May 11, 2011.
- Consoles:
- PlayStation 3PlayStation 3The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
(PSN) (as Ultimate Version) - set to be released on February, 2012.
- Cancelled:
- Xbox 360Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
(XBLA) - the game was in development for the Xbox 360Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
platform for a period of six months; however, Microsoft, whom the developers had approached to publish the title on Xbox Live ArcadeXbox Live ArcadeXbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
, ultimately decided not to do so. - WiiWiiThe Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
(WiiWareWiiWareWiiWare is a service that allows Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications can only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel under the WiiWare section...
) - the game was being scheduled for a release for the Nintendo Wii's WiiWareWiiWareWiiWare is a service that allows Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications can only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel under the WiiWare section...
service, but as of November 2011, it has been cancelled due to WiiWare's 40MB limit.
- Tablets:
- iPad 2IPad 2The iPad 2 is the second and current generation of the iPad, a tablet computer designed, developed and marketed by Apple. It serves primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, presentations and web content, and is available in black or white...
- released on September 8, 2011. - BlackBerry PlayBookBlackBerry PlayBookThe BlackBerry PlayBook is a tablet computer by Research In Motion , best known for the BlackBerry smartphone. It competes against Apple's iPad and a slew of Android-powered tablets....
- released on November 21, 2011. - Android - set to be released in December, 2011.
- Natively runs on another platforms:
- HP TouchPadHP TouchPadThe HP TouchPad is a tablet computer which was developed and designed by Hewlett-Packard. The HP TouchPad was launched on July 1, 2011, in the United States; July 15 in Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany; and August 15 in Australia....
- natively runs Flash-based PC version.
Other media
Josef has been featured as a playable character in a platform game Super Meat BoySuper Meat Boy
Super Meat Boy is an independent video game designed by Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes and developed by Team Meat. It is the successor to McMillen and Jonathan McEntee's October 2008 flash game Meat Boy. Super Meat Boy was released on the Xbox 360 through Xbox Live Arcade in October 2010, on...
, and makes a cameo in the puzzle game ilomilo
Ilomilo
ilomilo is a puzzle game developed by SouthEnd Interactive and Microsoft Game Studios. It was released on Windows Phone 7 on November 8, 2010 for AT&T customers...
.
Josef was also included in the Video Game Character alphabet, created by Fabian Gonzalez.
Sequel
It was mentioned that a sequel to Machinarium "is possible" but something the team has yet to fully consider. "We don't look far through the future", said Jakub Dvorský.See also
- Samorost 2Samorost 2Samorost 2 is a puzzle point-and-click adventure game developed by Amanita Design. Released for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux on December 8, 2005, the game is the second video game title in the Samorost series and the sequel to Samorost....
- Art gameArt gameAn art game or arthouse game is a video game that is designed in such a way as to emphasize art or whose structure is intended to produce some kind of reaction in its audience. Art games typically go out of their way to have a unique, unconventional look, often standing out for aesthetic beauty or...
- SamorostSamorostSamorost is a puzzle point-and-click adventure game developed by Amanita Design. The first game of the Samorost series, it was released in 2003 for free at the Amanita Design website.-Development:...
- The Humble Indie BundleHumble Indie BundleThe Humble Indie Bundles or Humble Bundles are a series of game bundles, that are sold and distributed online at a price determined by the purchaser. The games are multi-platform, DRM-free, and independently developed, and buyers can set the revenue split between the developers, charities and...
- Kooky the Teddy Bear