SpaceChem

SpaceChem
Developer(s)	Zachtronics Industries
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, iPad
Release	January 1, 2011
Genre(s)	Puzzle game
Mode(s)	Single-player

SpaceChem is a cross-platform indie puzzle game from Zachtronics Industries, creator of Infiniminer which was the main basis of the cult indie game Minecraft. It runs on Windows, Mac OSX, Linux and iPad.

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.

A complex SpaceChem program requiring the player to make either titanium oxide or zinc oxide from titanium, zinc, and oxygen, and deliver the complete molecule to the upper right quadrant.

The primary game mode of SpaceChem depicts the internal workings of a Reactor, mapped out to a 10x8 regular grid. Each reactor has up to two inputs and up to two outputs, 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. 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. 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. Certain puzzles in the campaign require the player to efficiently create chemicals and deliver them in a timely manner, once the reactor systems have been started, to trigger defense systems to ward off attacking enemies before they destroy a control structure.

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. The player also has an option to upload videos of their solution to YouTube. The game's single-player campaign presents a number of these puzzles in order, with some optional side puzzles of increased difficulty. The player, once having cleared a puzzle, can return to previous puzzles to try to improve their solution by reducing the number of instructions, cycles taken, or reactors used. SpaceChem supports downloadable content created by the developers themselves, and user-submitted puzzles through its "ResearchNet" service.

Development

SpaceChem took about a year of weekends by a team of 7 people from around the globe to create: Zach Barth on design and production, Collin Arnold and Keith Holman on programming, Ryan Sumo on visuals, Evan Le Ny on music, Ken Bowen on sound and Hillary Field on narrative.

SpaceChem was released on January 1, 2011 via digital download from the Zachtronics website and was subsequently made available through other digital distribution platforms such as Valve Software's Steam distribution platform on March 4 and GamersGate on March 17, 2011.

At first, Barth's team e-mailed Valve Software about the possibility of publishing the game on Steam, but nothing came out of it so Zachtronics launched their own store and self-published SpaceChem. After the game got reviewed by Rock, Paper, Shotgun and got high marks, Zachtronics was contacted 2 days later by Valve Software with an interest to add it to Steam.

On April 29, 2011, multiple new features were added to the game with the Shareholders' Report update:

• ResearchNet which gives players access to a level editor and new assignments via the Journal of Reaction Engineering
• Steam achievements
• Friend Leaderboards
• Team Fortress 2 integration: Team Fortress 2-themed levels were added to SpaceChem while promotional virtual items were added to the first-person shooter online game Team Fortress 2.
• Customized Forum Signatures

Barth has mentioned the possibility of a sequel in an interview with IndieGamer.com.

Zachtronics Industries has encouraged the game to be used as a learning tool for programming and chemistry concepts, and have offered a discounted rate for educational purposes. According to The Independent Games Developers Association, schools in the United Kingdom have started using SpaceChem to teach students fundamental programming concepts.

SpaceChem has also been ported to the iPad in October 2011, using touch controls instead of mouse and keyboard to manipulate the visual program. The game was included in the Humble Frozen Synapse Bundle charitable sale in early October 2011.

Reception

Reception

Aggregate scores

Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	86.80
Metacritic	84

Review scores

Publication	Score
Eurogamer	9/10
PC Gamer (UK)	89

SpaceChem got a 7/8 from Out of Eight, 89/100 at PCGamer, 9/10 from Eurogamer and 9.5/10 at Igromania. Quintin Smith of Rock, Paper, Shotgun said "I think we might have just received one of the year’s best indie games in the first week of 2011" and Team Fortress creator Robin Walker called it "Pretty much the greatest game ever made," with it as the only game on his recommendation page. Gamasutra named SpaceChem the best indie game of 2011. Edge Magazine said "The triumph of SpaceChem is that overcoming these situations is more a case of inventing a solution than discovering one."

External links

• Official website
• Twitter account
• Zachtronics Industries website