SpaceChem
SpaceChem | |
---|---|
Puzzle game | |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
SpaceChem is a
The game was initially released for Microsoft Windows at the start of 2011 via Zachtronics' own website. Though it was initially rejected for sale on
Gameplay
In SpaceChem, the player takes the role of a SpaceChem Reactor Engineer whose task is to create circuits through which atoms and molecules flow with the aid of waldos to produce particular batches of chemical shipments for each level.[1]
The primary game mode of SpaceChem depicts the internal workings of a Reactor, mapped out to a 10 × 8 regular grid. Each reactor has up to two input and up to two output quadrants, and supports two waldos, red and blue, manipulated through command icons placed on the grid. The player adds commands from an array to direct each waldo independently through the grid. The commands direct the movement of the waldo, to pick up, rotate, and drop atoms and molecules, and to trigger reactor events such as chemical bond formation. The two waldos can also be synchronized, forcing one to wait for the other to reach a synchronization command. The reactors may support specific nodes, set by the player, that act where atomic bonds can be made or broken, where atoms can undergo fission or fusion, or where logic decisions based on atom type can be made.[1] As such, the player is challenged to create a visual program to accept the given inputs, disassemble and reassemble them as necessary, and deliver them to the target output areas to match the required product.[2] The product molecule does not need to match orientation or specific layout of the molecules as long as the molecule is topologically equivalent with respect to atoms, bonds, and bond types; however, in larger puzzles, these factors will influence the inputs to downstream reactors. While the two waldos can cross over each other without harm, collision of atoms with one another or with the walls of the reactor is not allowed; such collisions stop the program and force the player to re-evaluate their solution. Similarly, if a waldo delivers the wrong product, the player will need to check their program. The player successfully completes each puzzle by constructing a program capable of repeatedly generating the required output, meeting a certain quota.
In larger puzzles, the player can also guide the formation of chemicals through multiple reactors, which they place out on a larger rectangular grid representing the planet's surface. From here, the output from one reactor will become the input for another reactor; the player is often free to determine what intermediate products to produce to send to the next reactor. The player must not only program the individual reactors, often limited in functionality such as one that can only break bonds but not form them, but plan out the location and order of reactors to make the final product.[1]
The game's puzzles are divided into groups set on different planets. Players generally must complete each puzzle in order to progress to the next one, but the game includes optional harder puzzles.
Upon completion of each puzzle, the player's performance is compared on a leaderboard based on the number of instructions placed in their reactors, the number of cycles it took to meet the quota, and the number of reactors required to meet the solution.
Development
Prior to SpaceChem, Zach Barth, the designer behind
SpaceChem took about a year with a team of seven people from around the globe to create: Barth was responsible for design and production, Collin Arnold and Keith Holman handled the programming, Ryan Sumo created the visuals, Evan Le Ny the music, Ken Bowen the sound and Hillary Field created the game's narrative.[4] The development costs were around $4,000, with the team working on the game during their spare time on weekends.[3] Barth considered this a risk-cutting measure; if the game did not succeed, the team still had their full-time jobs they could continue.[3] The team used the C# language built on the Mono framework for the game which would allow for easy porting to other platforms beyond Microsoft Windows. Initially, they had considered using Microsoft XNA for ease of porting to the Xbox 360, but later opted to consider other release platforms, requiring them to switch to the more portable Mono framework.[3]
In designing puzzles, Barth wanted to keep puzzles open-ended, allowing the player to come to a solution without funneling them in a specific direction. The team designed puzzles based on general chemistry concepts without envisioning the specific solution that the player would take.[3] They brainstormed a number of puzzles and then eliminated those with similar solutions, and arranged the others into a reasonable learning curve for the game.[5] Despite this, Barth reflected that the tutorials provided to explain the game's mechanics had mixed responses, from some players who took up the concept easily to others that remained baffled as to the puzzle's goal even when instructions were set out step by step. In some cases, Barth discovered that players made assumptions on limitations of the game from these tutorials such as the idea that the red and blue waldos must remain in the separate halves of the screen.[3] Based on the feedback that players had made on sites that hosted his previous Flash-based games, Barth designed the global-based histograms to allow players to check their solution without feeling overwhelmed by the top players as would be normally listed on a leaderboard. He also devised the means of sharing solutions through YouTube videos due to similar comments and discussions on the previous games.[3]
Barth had envisioned the game as his first commercial project, and based on feedback from Codex and other games, wanted to include a storyline along with the puzzles. The story missions included "defense" puzzles that typically were considered very hard to solve; Barth recognized after release that players would stall out at these puzzles and not attempt to complete the game, with only 2% of the players tracked having reached the final puzzle. Barth would have likely placed the harder puzzles at the end or as part of the ResearchNet add-on.[3] He also tried too much to incorporate a theme based on scientific research, popularized at the time by the success of Portal. He instead found potential players were scared off by the chemistry aspect even though the game had little connection to real chemistry; a colleague had once suggested to Barth that if the game was named SpaceGems and modeled around alchemy, the game would have sold twice as many copies.[3]
SpaceChem was released on January 1, 2011 via
Post-release support
SpaceChem received a free update in late April 2011, which added several new features to the game as well as new puzzles. The patch included support for the ResearchNet puzzle creation and sharing system, and for the Steam-enabled version, support for achievements and leaderboards specific for Steam friends. The update for the Steam version also included a small set of puzzles tied in with
SpaceChem was ported to the
Zachtronics Industries has encouraged the game to be used as a learning tool for programming and chemistry concepts, and offers discounts for schools, though briefly offered the game free-of-charge for educational institutions for a few months after the release of the sandbox mode addition.
On September 30, 2012, SpaceChem was the featured game on IndieGameStand, a site which features indie games with a pay-what-you-want model with a portion of the proceeds going to charity. Zachtronics Industries chose the Against Malaria Foundation as the charity to which 10% of the proceeds were donated.[18]
On October 25, 2015, Zachtronics announced they have dropped all support for SpaceChem on the iOS and OS X platform. The reason they gave was due to the complexity of the Mono package for future support.[19]
Reception
Aggregator | Score |
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Metacritic | 84/100[20] |
Publication | Score |
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Eurogamer | 9/10[1] |
PC Gamer (UK) | 89[21] |
SpaceChem was generally well received by critics, with an aggregate
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Teti, John (February 4, 2011). "SpaceChem – Review". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
- ^ a b c Brown, Mark (November 29, 2011). "Chemistry puzzler SpaceChem offered to schools for free". Wired UK. Archived from the original on May 18, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
- ^ Gamasutra. Archivedfrom the original on June 16, 2012. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
- ^ a b c Michael Rose (March 8, 2011). "Podcast 17 Zach Barth on SpaceChem and Infiniminer". Indie Games Podcast. Archived from the original on September 22, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
- ^ Smith, Quintin (January 20, 2011). "My Chemical Romance: Zach Barth Interview". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on January 9, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
- ^ Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archivedfrom the original on May 9, 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
- ^ Phillips, Tom (May 3, 2011). "SpaceChem free update details". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on September 10, 2011. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
- PC Gamer UK. Archivedfrom the original on October 6, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
- ^ Tolito, Stephan (September 28, 2011). "Somehow, They Turned Chemistry Into the Next Video Game You Should Play". Kotaku. Archived from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
- Zachtronics Industries. Archivedfrom the original on June 25, 2012. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
- Zachtronics Industries. July 9, 2012. Archivedfrom the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
- Zachtronics Industries. Archivedfrom the original on June 25, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
- ^ Smith, Adam (November 29, 2011). "Lab It Up: SpaceChem Adds Sandbox Mode". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on July 7, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
- ^ Pearson, Craig (January 24, 2012). "Smashing Atoms In SpaceChem's Sandbox". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on May 12, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
- ^ "SpaceChem – Education". Zachtronics Industries, Inc. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
- ^ Davidson, Pete (July 7, 2011). "SpaceChem Used as Educational Tool in Schools". GamePro. Archived from the original on December 2, 2011. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
- Gamasutra. Archivedfrom the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
- ^ Phillips, Tom (October 3, 2012). "Pay-what-you-want indie games site launches, spotlights SpaceChem". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
- ^ "Support Drop". Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
- ^ a b "SpaceChem for PC Reviews, Ratings, Credits and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Archived from the original on December 18, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
- Future Publishing. Archivedfrom the original on April 20, 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
- Gamasutra. Archivedfrom the original on June 27, 2012. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
- ^ "SpaceChem Review". Edge. April 15, 2011. Archived from the original on February 6, 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
- Gamasutra. Archivedfrom the original on January 4, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
- ^ Herring, Will (October 12, 2011). "Humble Frozen Synapse Bundle Passes $1 Million Mark". GamePro. Archived from the original on December 2, 2011. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
- Gamasutra. Archivedfrom the original on June 9, 2016. Retrieved June 7, 2016.