Machinarium

MACHINARIUM

Machinarium is a single player, puzzle point and click adventure game developed by Amanita Design. The game is on several different platforms such as Windows, Mac, Tablets, Andriod, and Playstation 3 and Vita. 

When the game first loaded and was ready to play, I had no idea where to start even after the directions but I eventually got it .  The goal of the game is to solve a series of puzzles and teasers. The puzzles are linked together by an over world consisting of a point and click story. There are objects the player can click on helping him advance on. The game also has a two tier hint system. One is a series of mini-games which provide a walk-through and sketches that show up when clicking an object

This game turned out to be a bit fun but a bit agitating also. Agitating because at times I was completely confused. After playing the game for a couple of the puzzles I eventually got the hang of it and continued playing it to the end.  

The game opens up with an overview of the city as a disposal flier launches from its highest tower. The player, is a character called Josef (named after Josef Capek) who is is dumped on a scrapheap, where he has to reassemble himself and set off for the city. Entering the city, he discovers a plot by the Black Cap Brotherhood, which throughout the game he has to defeat and eventually rescue his girlfriend who was locked up. After all this goes on Josef the player restores his friend to sanity, dumps the Brotherhood down a drain, and frees his girlfriend. The two of them climb back up to tower, wave goodbye to their friend and fly off into the sunset. 

One of the features of the game that I love is the artwork. The game is two dimensional. Everything is detailed and in depth, not just simple drawings. All the characters are fully animated. The POV for the game is side scrolling and Isometric. 

Machinarium has also received several gaming awards. Some of the awards received were "Excellence in Visual Art" at the 12th Annual Independent Games Festival, and "Best Soundtrack" from PC Gamer in 2009. It was also nominated for an Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction  by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. 

The music of the game can be described to me as middle/far eastern. The game contains no dialogue, spoken or written, apart from a few tutorial prompts on screen. There are occasional grunts here and there but nothing more. The game instead uses a system of thought bubbles.  The soundtrack for the game was written, composed, mixed, and produced by Tomas Dvorak for Amanita Design, which won the award mentioned above.