Everyone needs a handy robot helper, there to be supportive at whatever task it excels at and put away when done. The thing about robots, though, is that they need to be programmed very specifically in order to, for example, notbreak the fingersof the kid its playing chess against. This is incredibly important, and the conscientious robo-industrialist will have a good number of failsafes in place tominimize liability protect humanity. The inventor in Manufactoria 2022 is on a journey from garage to manufacturing plant as the world discovers just how handy a helpful little robot can be, but nothing can launch unless it works right. This is where the automated testing facility comes in.
Each robot has its program printed out on a paper scroll in what are initially binary symbols but get more complicated further on, and it’s your job to test for failure states and correct as necessary. Maybe they need an even number of commands, can’t have a blue Off symbol come after a red On, or need to have three of the same symbol in a row. There are only a small number of devices necessary to test for these states and the puzzle is to chain them together in a way that can catch any combination of symbols and sort for the valid ones. Three-way splitters sort for the first symbol and remove it so the next one can be read, stampers add new symbols to the end of the tape, and the burning fire pit provides a toasty home for the unrepairable robots. There’s a huge amount you can do with a small number of parts, but the first thing is to figure out how to make a machine that sorts things properly. After that you can work on shrinking it down and making it faster, because that first iteration may be successful but it’s incredibly unlikely to be pretty.
Manufactoria 2022 is an upgraded and enhanced version ofa flash gamefrom 2010, still playable if you’re comfortable with the security risk. The new version, though, is bigger and shinier while also being incredibly devious in its challenges. While it looks like an automation game on the surface it’s actually about programming, using conveyors and simple machinery to output complicated results if you’re able to just wrap your head around the necessary instruction sequence. While Manufactoria 2022 is still a couple weeks away from its Early Access release on August 16, theitch.io versionhas been kicking around for a few months now to get player feedback and theSteam demois available today. The launch trailer was also released today, a bit early maybe with the Steam release two weeks away but certainly entertaining. Debugging a robot takes a logical mind and a fair amount of iteration, but a few simple tools in just the right order will make them ready for the public to love.
