Submachine (series)

"Submachine" redirects here. For the automatic carbine gun, see Submachine gun.

The Submachine (short for Submerged Machine) series is a series of point-and-click adventure games, created by Mateusz Skutnik, that was first released in September 2005.

In all the games you play as an unidentified character who awakens, seemingly after having some sort of amnesia, in new locations of the "Submachine" and have to solve different puzzles and examine the environment in order to escape. The series has been generally well received. There are ten installations in the main series as well as four spin-offs. Two of the spin-offs were made for a Jayisgames contest and another for the website of the band Future Loop Foundation.

In an interview with Igor Hardy, Mateusz Skutnik stated that "This series should go at least until Submachine 10. After that, I don't know."

Games in the series

Part of the main series

• Submachine 1 : The Basement (Plus extended and HD Version) (changelogs) (original version: 2005) (current version: March 2014)
• Submachine 2 : The Lighthouse (Plus Revisited Version and HD Version) (original version: June 2006) (current version: October 2013)
• Submachine 3 : The Loop (Plus HD version) (August 2006) (HD version: July 2014)
• Submachine 4 : The Lab (Plus HD Version) (April 2007) (HD version: June 2014)
• Submachine 5 : The Root (Plus HD Version) (January 2008) (HD version: January 2014)
• Submachine 6 : The Edge (Plus HD Version) (October 2009)
• Submachine 7 : The Core (Plus HD Version) (December 2010)
• Submachine 8 : The Plan (Plus HD Version) (September 2012)
• Submachine 9 : The Temple (Plus HD Version) (March 2014)
• Submachine 10 : The Exit (Plus HD Version) (December 2015)

Upcoming Games

• Submachine: the Engine (TBA) (taken off of Patreon)

Not part of the main series

• Submachine, the original game AKA Submachine 1 : The Basement (September 2005)

Various versions of this game can be played through Mateusz Skutnik's Submachine 1 Changelog.

• Submachine Zero: Ancient Adventure (Plus HD version) (August 2006)

Submachine Zero was made for the 2006 Jayisgames Casual Gaming Design Competition.

• Submachine: Future Loop Foundation (June 2007)

Submachine: Future Loop Foundation was created to promote the band Future Loop Foundation. It is the only Submachine game to show real photographs of people, those photographs being family photos from the band.

• Submachine: FLF, or FLFHD (HD version of Submachine: Future Loop Foundation) (December 2014)

Submachine FLFHD is the only HD version of a Submachine game that contains different puzzles than its original, online, free counterpart. Mateusz Skutnik removed all references to the band Future Loop Foundation in FLFHD, making it consistent with the Submachine world.

• Submachine Universe, or SNEE (stated as "not a game" by Mateusz Skutnik) (June 2010) (last updated June 2014)

Mateusz Skutnik has updated SNEE every few months since he first released it. SNEE currently contains 101 "locations." Each update usually consists of adding one or more "locations" to the network, which contain theories, photographs, and video clips from fans. Because of the periodic updates, a downloadable version of SNEE would be inconvenient. However, Skutnik has stated that he will make an HD version of SNEE at some point in the future.

• Submachine: 32 Chambers (Plus HD version) (August 2010)

Submachine: 32 Chambers was made for the 2010 Jayisgames Casual Gaming Design Competition.

• Submachine 2: The Lighthouse (Sketch)

The Submachine 2 Sketch is an unfinished version of Mateusz Skutnik's original idea for Submachine 2.

• iSubmachine, a game for iPhone (discontinued)

Future Submachine projects

In July 2015, Skutnik put "Submachine: The Engine" on his Patreon page as his $2000-per-month milestone goal. The game has since been taken off the page.

When he reached $1400 a month, he announced a SNEE update consisting of 10 new locations. He will release it in 2016. He said on October 26, 2015 on the Pastel Land Forum that if the Patreon goes back under $1400, he will remove the goal. He then clarified and said that removing a goal doesn't mean that he won't make the project. He then said that he is still going to make all the projects that he removed from his Patreon page, like Daymare Town 5 and Submachine: The Engine.

Skutnik said on November 6, 2015 on the Pastel Land Forum that he might not release the SNEE update in 2016, and that he wanted to take a break from Submachine after releasing Submachine 10.

Community

The Submachine series has drawn a multitude of fans to join Pastel Forum, created by the developer. On this forum, the fans have developed many theories, which are the main backing of most people's ideas on the story behind the Submachine, due to the often vague storyline of the series.

Some of these theories were included in the Submachine Network Exploration Experience, which was described as a "lovely way to include the player community in [...] a series of solo adventures" by Andrew Plotkin of GamesShelf in his review of the game.

Many people on YouTube have made "Let's Play" videos of themselves playing Submachine games, including Markiplier.

Awards

The series has won numerous awards, including four from Jayisgames:

• Best of Casual Gameplay 2007 - Point-and-Click (for Submachine 4)
• Best of Casual Gameplay 2009 - Adventure (for Submachine 6)
• Best of Casual Gameplay 2010 - Point-and-Click (for Submachine 7)
• Casual Gameplay Design Competition #8 (for Submachine: 32 Chambers).

External links

• Mateusz Skutnik, the developer's new website after games were transferred from Pastel Games
• Pastel Land Forum, the developer's forum
• Submachine World, the series homepage
• Mateusz Skutnik's Patreon page
• Mateusz Skutnik's Workshop, currently shows his progress on Submachine 10, usually shows his progress on whatever project he is working on at the moment
• Mateusz Skutnik's Twitter