The Incredible Machine
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The Incredible Machine is a series of computer games originally designed and coded by Kevin Ryan and produced by Jeff Tunnell, developed by now-defunct Jeff Tunnell Productions and published by Dynamix; the 1993 through 1995 versions had the same development team, but the later 2000-2001 titles had different designers. All versions were published by Sierra Entertainment.
The general objective of the games is to create a series of Rube Goldberg devices: arrange a given collection of objects in a needlessly complex fashion so as to perform some simple task (for example, "put the ball into a box" or "light a candle"). Available objects ranged from simple ropes and pulleys to electrical generators, bowling balls and even cats and mice. The levels usually have some fixed objects that cannot be moved by the player, and so the only way to solve the puzzle is carefully arrange the given objects around the fixed items. There is also a "freeform" option that allows the user to "play" with all the objects with no set goal or to also build their own puzzles with goals for other players to attempt to solve.
The series featured the following games:
- The Incredible Machine (1993, MS-DOS)
- The Even More Incredible Machine (1993, MS-DOS)
- The Incredible Machine 2 (1994, MS-DOS)
- The Incredible Machine - Version 3.0 (1995, Microsoft Windows)
- Return of the Incredible Machine: Contraptions (2000, Microsoft Windows)
- The Incredible Machine: Even More Contraptions (2001, Microsoft Windows)
The Incredible Machine 2 introduced new levels, an extended assortment of parts, a new interface, significantly improved graphics, sounds and music, and two player hotseat play. It also improved on the "freeform" mode, allowing players to create completely playable puzzles by defining not only the participating parts, but also the set of circumstances under which the puzzle will be considered "solved".
The Incredible Machine - Version 3.0 actually contained the same levels as The Incredible Machine 2, but had a new interface, as well as compatibility with Windows 3.x. It also allowed the player to build backgrounds for the puzzles and to scale the playing field.
In the next two series, Return of The Incredible Machine: Contraptions and The Incredible Machine: Even More Contraptions, the game interface was updated again with new graphics, music, and sounds. They featured mostly new levels, except that Return of The Incredible Machine: Contraptions contained many levels (including most of the tutorial levels) from The Incredible Machine - Version 3.0. The custom backgrounds and variable sized playing fields were also removed.
The developers of the series have been criticized by fans for recycling content rather than creating new additions to the games.
Sid & Al's Incredible Toons was not an official part of the series, but is essentially a cartoon version of the same concept that was created by Chris Cole.
Notably, the games simulated not only the physical interactions between objects, but also ambient effects like varying air pressure and gravity. The engine does not use a random number generator in its simulation of physics, assuring that the results for any given "machine" are reproducible.
The Incredible Machine was the winner of several prizes due to its innovative style and simulation abilities. It was innovative enough, in fact, that Sid & Al's Incredible Toons earned Jeff Tunnell and Chris Cole a patent [link] for the game concepts.
Some games from The Incredible Machine series are now very difficult to find, except from used software stores and online auction sites like eBay. The original publisher, Dynamix, was closed in 2001 by parent company Sierra, who was in turn scrapped in 2004 by its parent, Vivendi Universal.
See also
External links
- [MobyGames' entry for the Incredible Machine Series]
- [Chain Reaction] — A modernization of The Incredible Machine
- [Crazy Machines] — Another game in the spirit of The Incredible Machine (more recent)
- [Armadillo Run] — Physics inspired adaptation. It’s a recent release (May 2006). And a demo is available.
- [Eets] — Inspired by The Incredible Machine, but with a unique visual style and some Lemmings influence. Released in March 2006.
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