SpaceChem Mobile Demo 1011m

We rarely get to play games with truly original themes. With the years, developers have exploited every aspect of the hero or warrior archetype. It is easy to identify with these character archetypes since we all strive for these ideals. Well, most of us do anyway.

However, there's no more relatable character than an office computer programmer. This is what SpaceChem does. It puts you in the shoes of a rookie reaction engineer!
In the fantastic future, money is made by extracting and recombining chemical elements on distant worlds, sending the resulting compounds back home.

Your job is too sit at your desk (conveniently realistic) and design intricate automation procedures for the chemical reactors. These reactors are capable of breaking down and recombining molecules, but without a mind behind them they're as worthless as the surface rock on which they stand.

The basis of the game revolves around a form of visual programming. Each reactor is equipped with two little robotic handlers called waldoes (a tribute to Robert A Heinlein). These move on a circular conveyor belt type track and perform actions like grabbing, dropping and activating different features of the reactor. In this form of programming you must construct a routine for each waldo which generally includes bringing in atoms and molecules, binding and/or breaking them and transporting them to the exit sockets.

SpaceChem features an enhanced periodic table, where each atom has a certain number of possible binds to form molecules. This is by no means a tool to learn chemistry however. In the game, you will be presented with a number of extractors that produce these atoms, while a transport ship waits patiently for the product on the other side of the map. Through the network of reactors that you assemble and the routines you program in each of them, the final product can reach the transport ship.

Puzzles start off easy enough. You need to pick up an atom from one side and drop it to the other side. But each subsequent level introduces new concepts and more difficult problems. Every puzzle has a multitude of solutions, however the way in which you solve them is compared online with other players. Don't worry, all is presented in form of graphs, completely anonymous.

The puzzly gameplay is accompanied by a story which at first is only present as part of the briefing notes but becomes more integral to the game later.

This version is a demo and only contains the first twelve levels. It is a good idea to check it out before getting the full version The screen size and video resolution of the device are very important factors for play-ability, since the interface does not scale. On the other hand, you can get SpaceChem on Windows, Mac and Linux also.

Conclusion

SpaceChem is a wonderful game about problem solving and optimization. Its visual programming interface doesn't look flashy but the visual aspect pales in comparison with the joy of making the assembly lines work together in a wonderful symphony.