''The Incredible Machine'' (''TIM'') is a series of video games in which players create a series of Rube Goldberg devices. They were originally designed and coded by Kevin Ryan and produced by

Jeff Tunnell Jeffrey Tunnell is a video game producer, programmer and designer. In 1984 he founded Dynamix with Damon Slye in Eugene, Oregon. In 1990, Tunnell left Dynamix to start Jeff Tunnell Productions. Tunnell would go on to create famous brands such ...

, the now-defunct Jeff Tunnell Productions, and published by

Dynamix Dynamix, Inc. was an American developer of video games from 1984 to 2001, best known for the flight simulator ''Red Baron'', the puzzle game '' The Incredible Machine'', the '' Front Page Sports'' series, ''Betrayal at Krondor,'' and the online ...

; the 1993 through 1995 versions had the same development team, but the later 2000–2001 games have different designers. All versions were published by Sierra Entertainment. The entire series and intellectual property were acquired by

-founded PushButton Labs in October 2009. Pushbutton Labs was later acquired by Playdom, itself a division of Disney Interactive, so as of now the rights are held by

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

. A new game by Jeff Tunnell, called ''

Contraption Maker ''The Incredible Machine'' (''TIM'') is a series of video games in which players create a series of Rube Goldberg devices. They were originally designed and coded by Kevin Ryan and produced by Jeff Tunnell, the now-defunct Jeff Tunnell Productio ...

'', is the spiritual successor to the ''Incredible Machine'' series. It was produced by Spotkin Games, a company founded by Jeff Tunnell, and features the same developers of the original ''Incredible Machine''. The game was released through Steam for Windows and OS X on July 7, 2014.

Gameplay

The general goal 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 (such as "put the ball into a box" or "start a mixer and turn on a fan"). Available objects range from simple ropes and pulleys to

electrical generator In electricity generation, a generator is a device that converts motive power (mechanical energy) or fuel-based power (chemical energy) into electric power for use in an external circuit. Sources of mechanical energy include steam turbines, gas ...

bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...

balls, and even cats and

mice A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

to humans, most of which have specific interactions with or reactions to other objects. For example, mice will run towards nearby cheese. The levels usually have some fixed objects that cannot be moved by the player, and so the only way to solve the puzzle is to 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. Notably, the games simulate not only the physical interactions between objects but also ambient effects like varying

air pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The Standard atmosphere (unit), standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equival ...

and

gravity In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...

. The

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

does not use a random number generator in its physics simulation, ensuring that the results for any given machine are reproducible.

Titles

The series includes four core titles and a "Toon" spin-off, with multiple iterations published of the earliest titles: *'' The Incredible Machine'' (

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, DOS/ 3DO) **''

The Even More Incredible Machine ''The Incredible Machine'' is a puzzle video game released in 1993, and the first release in '' The Incredible Machine'' video game series. The objective of the game is to create Rube Goldberg machines by arranging collections of objects in a comp ...

'' (

, DOS/

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

, Macintosh) **''The Incredible Machine'' (

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, Apple iPad) *''

Sid & Al's Incredible Toons ''Sid & Al's Incredible Toons'' is a puzzle video game developed by Dynamix and released by Sierra On-Line in 1993. Summary This video game is designed with the same style as that of '' The Incredible Machine'', except that the game takes place ...

'' (

, DOS) **''

The Incredible Toon Machine ''The Incredible Toon Machine'' is a game from Sierra On-Line, and is the sequel to ''Sid & Al's Incredible Toons'', also from Sierra. The game is a Windows port of ''Sid & Al's Incredible Toons'' with added multimedia features such as animated cu ...

'' (

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, Microsoft Windows, Macintosh) **'' Arthur to Astaroth no Nazomakaimura: Incredible Toons'' (

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...

) *'' The Incredible Machine 2'' (

, DOS/

, Macintosh) **'' The Incredible Machine Version 3.0'' (

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, Microsoft Windows/Macintosh) *'' Return of the Incredible Machine: Contraptions'' (

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, Microsoft Windows/Macintosh) **'' The Incredible Machine: Even More Contraptions'' (

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, Microsoft Windows/Macintosh/ Palm OS) A compilation called ''The Incredible Machine Mega Pack'' was released in 2009 on

GOG.com GOG.com (formerly Good Old Games) is a digital distribution platform for video games and films. It is operated by GOG sp. z o.o., a wholly owned subsidiary of CD Projekt based in Warsaw, Poland. GOG.com delivers DRM-free video games through its ...

for Microsoft Windows. It included ''The Even More Incredible Machine'', ''The Incredible Machine Version 3.0'', ''Return of the Incredible Machine: Contraptions'', and ''The Incredible Machine: Even More Contraptions''.

''The Incredible Machine'' and ''Even More Incredible Machine''

''The Incredible Machine'', the first game in the series, was originally going to be developed by

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...

for the

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

in 1984, but Dynamix worked on ''

Arcticfox ''Arcticfox'' is a science fiction tank simulation video game developed by Dynamix and published by Electronic Arts in 1986. It was published in Europe by Ariolasoft. A sequel to Dynamix's ''Stellar 7'', ''Arcticfox'' was developed for the Amiga ...

'' for the

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...

instead and work did not start on ''The Incredible Machine'' until early 1993. Kevin Ryan programmed ''The Incredible Machine'', in nine months, on a budget of . ''The Even More Incredible Machine'' is an extended version with 160 levels, about twice the original, and has more parts.

''The Incredible Machine 2 and 3.0''

''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 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". In terms of gameplay, this version provided the biggest addition to the series, and subsequent updates were basically only ports of the game to newer operating systems with updated graphics/sounds and sometimes new puzzles, but no new parts. ''The Incredible Machine Version 3.0'' (1995), on some releases titled ''Professor Tim's Incredible Machines'', contains the same levels as ''The Incredible Machine 2'', but with an improved interface and extra features like CD music tracks.

''Return of the Incredible Machine: Contraptions'' and ''Even More Contraptions''

''Return of the Incredible Machine: Contraptions'' was released in 2000. As a full 32-bit Windows 95 game, it has new 800x600 resolution graphics. Although it has a few new levels, the majority of them are levels from ''The Incredible Machine 2''. ''Even More Contraptions'' (2001) started a service allowing players to share their homemade puzzles using a service called "WonSwap". ''Even More Contraptions'' also came with a Palm Pilot version of the game that contained its own unique set of parts and puzzles suited for a small screen.

''The Incredible Machine Mega Pack''

Released on

, ''The Incredible Machine Mega Pack'' includes ''Even More Incredible Machine'', ''The Incredible Machine 3'' (contains all levels from ''The Incredible Machine 2''), ''Contraptions'', and ''Even More Contraptions''.

Reception

Neil Harris reported in ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...

'' in 1994 that showing ''The Incredible Machine'' to an engineer friend caused "a chain reaction that brought productive work to a halt at a major naval yard".

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

described ''Return of the Incredible Machine: Contraptions'' as "a vintage blend of educational and entertainment software at their finest". The developers of the series have been criticized by fans for recycling content, specifically all the games after ''The Incredible Machine 2'', rather than creating new additions to the games. By 2000, the series had sold over one million copies.

Legacy

''The Incredible Machine: Even More Contraptions'' was included in the 2005 edition of ''Hoyle Puzzle Games'' as a bonus game. A mobile phone version was developed by Mobile Interactions Group and published by

Vivendi Games Mobile Vivendi Games was an American video game publisher and holding company based in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1996 as CUC Software, the publishing subsidiary of CUC International, after the latter acquired video game companies Davidson & Associ ...

in 2006. A new game was announced for a download release on Xbox Live Arcade, but was later canceled. ''The Incredible Machine Mega Pack'' (which includes ''Even More Incredible Machine'', ''The Incredible Machine 3'', ''Return of the Incredible Machine: Contraptions'', and ''The Incredible Machine: Even More Contraptions'') was published by Playdom and released on

on October 1, 2009. ''

'' and ''

'' are not an official part of the series, but are essentially a

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...

version of the same concept, created by Chris Cole.

iOS

''The Incredible Machine'' for

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

is the first version in the series to be developed and released by Disney for the AppStore. This revamped version contains new art, sounds, and levels, as well as a redesigned user interface. Disney released ''The Incredible Machine'' on June 8, 2011 at E3 in Los Angeles, CA. The app has been retired from the app store as a decision made by Disney.

''Contraption Maker''

In 2013, Tunnell began the work on a new game, called ''Contraption Maker'', which is billed as a "spiritual successor" to the ''Incredible Machine'' series. Kevin Ryan and Brian Hahn, the other two developers on the original game, worked on ''Contraption Maker'' as well, along with other developers at Spotkin, a video game development company started by Tunnell. ''Contraption Maker'' features improved "HD" graphics, and has a robust physics engine. The game features over 200 official puzzles and over 100 different parts. It also has Steam Workshop support, so users can create and share their own puzzles. The game was first released on

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

through its Early Access program on August 28, 2013. Throughout its time in the program, ''Contraption Maker'' had 6 Alpha releases, adding features such as multiplayer and copy-and-paste, new parts, and new puzzles, followed by a Beta release in May 2014. The final (1.0) release was made in July the same year, and ''Contraption Maker'' left the Steam Early Access program.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Incredible Machine, The Interactive Achievement Award winners IOS games Puzzle video games by series Video game franchises Video game franchises introduced in 1993 Sierra Entertainment games D.I.C.E. Award for Family Game of the Year winners Video games developed in the United States