Text by — Federico Scarfo’

Translation by — Julia Perry and Federica Vecchio

You know how in a dream your brain has the power to mix pieces of places, houses, streets, statues, visited in the past and create a new and unique image as well as the ability to evoke familiar sentiments which for some reason, you have never actually experienced before? This is a major theme that unites two incredibly different things: the metaphysical painting of DeChirico and, in my opinion, an unfortunate series of “aim and click” flash games. I define it unfortunate because, being more than sure that an introduction to the Greek artist is not needed at all, the same cannot be said for Submachine: belonging to the unlucky class of flash games, that is to say games which you can play for free on the original site and which usually last for a limited period of time, the series has not gained the popularity I think it so long deserves. Although Submachine has never been an “innovator” of these games, initiated by legendary games like “The Secret of Monkey Island” and “Clock Tower”, I think it is more than suitable for flash games, especially because it has a minimalistic yet very interesting story, inspired by the Matrix, that incentivizes the player to pay great attention to the few clues given. The plot is trivial, the main character is trapped in the submachine, a specific machine that replicates an infinite number of closed environments, among which it is possible to travel through portals. Nevertheless, the most relevant points of strength of the game are its setting, graphics and sound effects: elements that are, as we say, abstract. In fact they are deeply linked to De Chirico’s thematic guidelines, those that were selected for the art show “De Chirico and the mysterious object”. The show, held at Villa Reale, that is the principal reason behind this article. As the title itself suggests, referring mostly to the paintings where the mysterious object is represented, the art exposure concentrates almost entirely on De Chirico’s relationship with objects, inanimate figures, opposed to living beings.

As I have already stated, the first point of similarity is the looming scenario on its single components, generating an oppressive, scary and dreamlike environment. In the painting “Mercurio’s meditation”, the feeling of claustrophobia is alimented by the prospective and narrow space, at the end of which lies a classic bust, the closest thing to a person that ever appears both in the metaphysic way of painting as well as in certain sections of Submachine. Similarly, painting by De Chirico set in an outdoor environment are just as disturbing, as they form a dreamlike composition whose limits are incumbent upon the flat sky and largely geometric shadows and solid walls.

Submachine is set in a series of places, mainly closed, artificial and mostly ruined. For example, in the same episode, taking advantage of the portals in the game play, the character visits a ship, a canteen, a ruined coffin, the ruins of a temple, and various other places, in which it is easy to see Skutnik’s peculiar style. Each of these locations is abandoned, ruined, no longer functioning, and the themes of deterioration and dissipation melt with the feeling of claustrophobia, of falling out of place, of being undesired guests.

The second common feature derives from a second sense, that of loneliness. In most metaphysical painting, and in each section of Submachine, no human presence can be found. In Submachine, however, even recent traces can be found, which is surprising given the decrepitude of its surrounding environments. Most of the story is told through notes left behind by people less fortunate either long dead or who were forced to flee. The only human contact of the series takes place via computer and not coincidentally, happens to be one-sided since our hero does not have a keyboard to use. Isolation is the greatest power of Submachine, the “enemy” machine, due to its immensity and ability to forever grow and expand, pulverizing humans and objects in its way. The feeling of loneliness in De Chirico, however, come from a surreal feeling of familiarity. De Chirico represented environments as seen from a train window, wanting to reproduce the feeling you get when passing a nearby city and feeling a bigger sense of homeliness than its people. This maps an intimate representation of a place in each of us. The feeling of familiarity that Submachine’s location communicates is instead one linked to despair of the hunted, the ones who lost in the woods, recognize the real horror of aimlessly traveling in circles.

Lastly, the last common feature is the prominent role given to the objects. Like in “silent lives” or in the series of the “mysterious object” by De Chirico, in which objects are placed on a stage and in spite of the human figures portrayed faceless in the background., Submachine makes the objects the fundamental element. In fact, what else makes us realize how importance objects are if not a game in which taking advantage of the environment at its fullest? Everything that is useful exists in Submachine, an object, a note or a pattern, there are virtually no secondary characters, and if there are, they remain invisible throughout the entire series and bring interaction only through notes. In contrast, the statues, representations of steam-punk style potted machines are ubiquitous, mimicking what you would expect, the “real” world beyond the Submachine (although throughout history, the “true” world is not an external reality to Submachine). For their use and even for a sense of “company” that can be drawn from it – after all, they’re the only allies of a player playing against fate – objects are humanized in Submachine and from this it is humanization that becomes a sort of invincible enemy of the Submachine itself, that is far from being a simple virtual help, it becomes an opponent capable of smarts and immense resources, that reigns over an infinite space in which the relationship between object and humans is broken, and the only audible sound is one of squeaking machinery, moving, non-human symphonies that accompany the metaphysical framework that is the game.

Teso di – Federico Scarfo’

Avete presente quando in un sogno, mischiando pezzi di vari posti visitati in passato, case, strade, statue, il vostro cervello riesce a ricreare un’immagine unica, inquietante per la sua capacità di evocare sentimenti familiari ma allo stesso tempo di mantenersi estranea ed aliena? Ecco, questo è uno dei temi principali che accomuna due cose disperatamente diverse: la pittura metafisica di De Chirico e la a mio parere sfortunata serie di flash games punta e clicca del graphic artist polacco Mateusz Skutnik, Submachine. Dico sfortunata perchè, essendo più che sicuro di non aver bisogno di fare una presentazione del pittore greco, lo stesso non vale per Submachine: appartenente alla razza sfigata dei flash games, ovvero giochi a cui si può tranquillamente giocare gratis sul sito d’origine e che tendono a essere piuttosto brevi, il riconoscimento di cui gode la serie  è stato sempre meno che risonante. Nonostante Submachine non sia mai stato un “innovatore” del genere punta e clicca, inaugurato da giochi leggendari come “The Secret of  Monkey Island“e “Clock Tower“, a mio avviso possiede una giocabilità eccellente per un flash game, unita a una storia minimale e interessante, alla  Matrix, che spinge il giocatore a fare tesoro dei pochi indizi che trasudano dal velo opaco del gameplay. Della trama si capisce che il protagonista è intrappolato nella Submachine, una macchina che replica virtualmente un numero infinito di aree chiuse, tra le quali si può viaggiare tramite portali.  Tuttavia, il vero punto di forza della serie sono l’ambientazione, la grafica e il sonoro, elementi, per l’appunto, metafisici. Infatti si collegano con numerosi rimandi alle linee tematiche di De Chirico selezionate per la mostra “De Chirico e l’oggetto misterioso“, a Villa Reale, che è stata per l’appunto il motus primus di questo articolo. Come suggerisce il titolo stesso, ammiccante soprattutto alla serie di quadri ritraenti “l’oggetto misterioso”, la mostra si è concentrata principalmente sul rapporto di De Chirico con gli oggetti, le figure inanimate, opposte e surrogate del vivente.

Come ho già introdotto, il primo punto di similitudine   è l’incombere dello scenario sulle sue singole componenti, generando un ambiente oppressivo, pauroso, onirico. Nel quadro “La Meditazione di Mercurio“, la sensazione di claustrofobia è alimentata dallo spazio prospettico, angusto, in fondo al quale giace un busto classico, la cosa più simile a una persona che appare sia nella pittura metafisica, sia in certe sezioni di Submachine. Allo stesso modo, i quadri di De Chirico ambientati in un ambiente esterno non risultano meno inquietanti, poiché formano una composizione onirica i cui limiti incombenti sono il cielo piatto e le ombre larghe e geometriche, non meno solide dei muri. Submachine è ambientata in una serie di luoghi, per la maggior parte chiusi, artificiali e perlopiù in rovina. Per esempio, in uno stesso episodio, sfruttando l’elemento di gameplay dei portali, il personaggio visita una nave, una cantina, la sezione di una tomba in rovina, resti di un tempio, e vari altri posti, nei quali è facile distinguere il tocco dello stile singolare di Skutnik. Ognuna di queste location è abbandonata a se stessa, in rovina, malfunzionante, e la tematica della bruttura e della decadenza si mescola con la sensazione di claustrofobia, di essere fuori posto, e di essere ospiti non desiderati.

La seconda caratteristica comune deriva da una seconda sensazione, quella della solitudine. Nella maggior parte della pittura metafisica, e in ogni sezione di Submachine, non si trova alcuna presenza umana. In Submachine, tuttavia, restano tracce anche recenti, il che è paradossale rispetto alla decrepitezza degli ambienti. La maggior parte della storia viene narrata tramite note, lasciate indietro da personaggi più sfortunati e morti da tempo, o costretti a fuggire. L’unico contatto umano della serie avviene tramite computer, ed è unilaterale, dal momento che il nostro eroe non possiede una tastiera. L’isolamento è il potere più grande della Submachine, la macchina “nemica”, dovuto alla sua immensità e alla sua abilità nel crescere ed espandersi, separando e polverizzando per sempre allo stesso modo i pochi umani e gli oggetti. La sensazione di solitudine in De Chirico, invece, deriva da una sensazione surreale di familiarità. De Chirico rappresentava gli ambienti come visti dal finestrino di un treno, spiegando di voler riprodurre quella sensazione che si prova quando, passando vicino a una città, la si sente più familiare delle persone che ci vivono. Questo mappa dentro ognuno una rappresentazione intima del luogo, da cui sono esclusi i non-familiari, ovvero tutti gli altri. La sensazione di familiarità che le location di Submachine comunicano è invece legata alla disperazione del braccato, di quello che, perso nel bosco, riconosce con orrore di aver girato in tondo per ore e ore.

Infine, l’ultima caratteristica comune è il ruolo di primo piano dato agli oggetti. Come nelle “vite silenti” o nella serie dell’”oggetto misterioso” di De Chirico, nelle quali gli oggetti vengono messi su un palco a dispetto delle figure umane che vengono relegate senza volto sullo sfondo, in Submachine gli oggetti sono fondamentali. Infatti, quale installazione può dare maggior rilievo a oggetti comuni più di un gioco per vincere il quale bisogna sfruttare ciò che si trova e usarlo per interagire con l’ambiente circostante? Tutto ciò che di utile esiste in Submachine è un oggetto, una nota o uno schema, praticamente non esistono personaggi secondari, o se ci sono, ci si interagisce solo tramite note ed essi rimangono invisibili per tutta la serie. Al contrario le statue, le rappresentazioni e i macchinari in vago stile steampunksono onnipresenti, facendo una mimica di ciò che ci si aspetterebbe, ovvero il mondo “vero” al di là della Submachine (è tuttavia suggerito nel corso della storia che il mondo “vero” non sia una realtà esterna alla Submachine). Per la loro utilità e addirittura il senso di “compagnia” che se ne può trarre, – in fondo, sono gli unici alleati del giocatore contro un triste destino – gli oggetti sono umanizzati in Submachine, e questo deriva direttamente dall’umanizzazione in una sorta di nemico invincibile della Submachine stessa, che, lungi dall’essere semplicemente un’unità virtuale, come si suppone che sia, è un avversario, astuto e dalle immense risorse, che regna su un infinito spazio in cui il rapporto tra oggetti e umani è rovesciato, e l’unico suono che si sente, è il rumore di cigolii, muoversi di macchine, sinfonie non umane che corredano il quadro metafisico che è questo gioco. De Chirico ha rappresentato “gli archeologi”, un tema ricorrente della sua pittura, come uomini “ripieni” o composti da oggetti, elementi architettonici principalmente. Gli “archeologi” sono più che mai il punto di incontro tra il pittore e Submachine, rappresentando il tema della familiarità interiore, il “possedere” in modo univoco un particolare luogo o città, una ricorrente umanizzazione dell’inanimato, e, al contrario, una perdita di definizione e un oggettivizzazione, nel senso più letterale, della figura animata, che, così come il protagonista di Submachine, viene ridotta a un inventario di oggetti.

A word of explanation.

As a preparation for inevitable Daymare Bundle, which will consist of everything dmt-related, I thought it would be a good idea to put together this mini bundle for those who already purchased Daymare Towns 1 through 4. These games are too small for me to shamelessly ask for any money for them separately, but after combining them into one, cozy, small mini bundle, I think they’re worth the price of admission. So – feel free to expand your Daymare collection, and if you’re still waiting for the whole thing to be released in one package – that’s coming up soon. Just hold on.

[sale discontinued after release of DMT Bundle]

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No, jak tam – odnaleźliście się już w Nowym Roku? Albo inaczej: czy odnaleźliście już Nowy Rok 2015? Nie? To najwyższy czas…!

Tradycyjnie na przełomie lat Mateusz Skutnik (twórca między innymi bestsellerowej serii Submachine) raczy nas nieskomplikowaną grą online typu „point and click”, której celem jest odnalezienie Nowego Roku – najczęściej występującego w postaci sympatycznego skrzata.

Tegoroczna edycja gry, „Where is 2015?”, jest mocno rozbudowana w porównaniu do lat wcześniejszych. Prócz podróżowania w przestrzeni, dostajemy także możliwość (a właściwie konieczność) podróżowania w czasie. Przygotowano trzynaście lokacji (startowa, „zerowa”, plus jedna na każdy miesiąc – co umożliwia nam w środku zimy zakosztować między innymi letnich upałów czy atmosfery wielkanocnej), w których na pięknych fotografiach trzeba – niekiedy dość drobiazgowo – wyszukiwać „hot spoty” (miejsca, gdzie kursor zmienia kształt), a klikając w nie, przenosić się w głąb danego miejsca, przypatrywać się z bliska, a nawet z bardzo, bardzo bliska. Zasada ta jest znana z serii gier 10 gnomes tego samego autora. Różnica polega na tym, że z jednej strony poszukiwanie skrzatów ograniczone jest upływem czasu, z drugiej zaś w lokacjach „Where is 2015?” znajdujemy różne drobiazgi do zbierania (trzeba je później umieć wykorzystać!) oraz przełączniki do uruchamiania.

Dla urozmaicenia Mateusz dodał też szczyptę humoru. Możemy porozmawiać z orką, mewami, łabędziami, gołębiami (na temat Poszukiwanego), podsłuchać kurczaki wielkanocne i wyrzeźbionego smoka, żaby z fontanny także wyrażą swą radość z odzyskanych języków. Jeśli macie akurat godzinkę-dwie, wybierzcie się w podróż w czasie i przestrzeni w poszukiwaniu Nowego Roku 2015.

Autor: Wojciech Gołąbowski

Now this is kind of interesting. Even though I don’t have any kickstarter projects, nor patreon or indiegogo (no one is giving me any money before I deliver) – I feel kind of obliged to keep you in the loop on what I’ve been doing last year and what my plans for future projects are. It’s kind of obligatory for those “fund my project” situations, yet here we developed this kind of relationship without dragging money into the equation. After all, it’s not one project and it’s not just one year.

So… Let me confront my to-do list from 12 months ago.

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Created by Kian Mayne.

In order to free those who are stuck pixel hunting, I’ve created a table of where the items can be found. [U] means that the item is unlocked on completing a puzzle for that location. Curved brackets indicate the item is placed there.

Starting scene

The sign “EAU NON POTABLE” is missing three letters: A, O and P.

Pick up the calendar from the window. The calendar now contains one link, numbered 0. It will take you back to this scene.
You’ll gather links to move between scenes as you progress.

If you look closely at the lower right corner of the window, you’ll find a tooth. Pick it up.

The faucet of the fountain contains an upside down number: 022. When you move the mouse over the faucet, the number will be shown in a ‘tooltip’.

There is a little gap above the tap. Zoom in on it to see a switch. Turn it on (you’ll hear a hum).

The link to the scene for January is found in the rightmost rainpipe. It will be added to your calendar, as the link numbered 1.

January

There is a tooth in the hollow between the legs of the right-hand bench. Pick it up.

The link to the scene for February is on the ground below the table, in front of the right-hand bench.

Click on the right-hand side of the scene to view a pole with two signs. You can pick up a letter O from the orange sign.

February

There are some openings in the rock-like formation in the foreground.

An opening on the left contains the link to the scene for March.
An hollow in the middle contains a switch; turn it on.

There is a golden tongue on the beach to the left of the rock-like formation. Pick it up.

March

There is a bunch of tools against the wall on the right hand side, in the back. There is another switch behind the handle of a spade.

The link to the scene for April is in the white paint bucket.

There is another tooth in a hole in a slice of bread to the left of the paint buckets.

April

There is a bunny on the basket on the left (in the back). Zoom in on the bunny (Boo!) and pick up the letter P to the left of it.

There is a second golden tongue on the cupcake with the blue and golden sprinkles near the upper right of the basket with cupcakes.

The link to the scene for May is attached to the black egg on the left hand side of the egg basket.

May

There is a little gnome on a block of wood with four hollows. If you move the mouse over the gnome it’ll tell you that its collection is missing.

The link to the scene for June is near the stone ornaments on the left hand side of the scene.

June

Zoom in on the large cogwheel.

There is a golden tongue on one of the cogs slightly to the left of the top of the wheel.

There is a switch just to the left of the wheel.

The link to the scene for July is on a smaller cogwheel behind the large one, seen between the two topmost spokes.

Look all the way down to where the water swirls around the toothed rack. Zoom in and you’ll find a tooth.

July

Zoom in on the water basin on the right hand side, then zoom in on the waterlily leaves. The fish will tell you that the turtle number can be found on the faucet.

The mouth of the large vase to the right of the stairs contains a switch.

There are two stone turtles to the left of the amphoras to the left of the stairs. The left one has 000 on its back. Change this to the number on the faucet.
We found this in the starting scene – the number is 022.

The turtle will turn around, and you can take a stone sun symbol from its back.

There are three jars on the wall above the amphoras. The second one from the left contains a wooden ball.

You’ll find the link to the scene for August on the inside of the helmet in the alcove behind the jars.

Zoom out from the helmet so that you’re looking at the alcove, then look up. There are six spaces. The stone sun symbol fits into one of them. We’ll need to find five more!

August

Zoom in on the door, then on the sign on the door. Take the letter A from the word Ausrutschgefahr near the bottom. We now have the letters A, O and P…

The hole in the door below the sign contains a switch.

There is another stone sun symbol in the opening near the top of the sinker to the left of the door.

You’ll find the link to the scene for September in a little gap at the bottom of the window to the right of the door.

Click to the right of the house to view it from the back. There is a series of electric wiring with lights, some of which are on.

There is a window blockedup with smaller stones in the wall. Near the upper right part of this window you’ll find another switch. When you turn it on, one more light is on! Three aren’t on yet, so three more switches to find.

There is a fourth golden tongue in the rubbish to the right of the mill wheel.

Time to bring another visit to the initial scene (0 on the calendar).
Remember the EAU NON POTABLE sign? We’ve found the missing letters. Place them on the sign. A little lid to the left of the sign will shift. You’ll find another stone sun symbol in the opening.

September

An orca! The link to the scene for October is attached to its tail.

Zoom in on the orca’s eye – moving the mouse over it and you’ll learn that the orca has problems with its teeth. Hmmm – we found some teeth. And indeed, it is missing several teeth. You can place the teeth you found now, if you wish, but we’ll need to find more.

There is an anchor to the left of the orca. You’ll find a switch on the ring of the anchor.

Zoom in twice on the grass to the left of the ring to find another stone sun symbol.

October

Zoom in on the left hand side of the building, then on the bottom of the tree. There’s a golden tongue just to the right of the trunk.

Zoom in on the roof above the door. There is a hard-to-find tooth on the roof.

Zoom out again. Zoom in on the gutter in the center of the scene, then zoom in on the center again, to find another golden tongue.

The link to the scene for November is attached to the gabled window above the gutter.

November

Zoom in on the head of the statue. It says “My poor frogs”.

There are 8 frogs surrounding the statue. They are missing something – their tongue. We have found 6 tongues, we need 2 more.

There is another tooth on a copper knob near the leftmost frog.

The link to the scene for December is on the front of the pedestal.

December

There is a lot to find and do here!

Zoom in on the house on the left, then on the stones to the left of the door. If you look carefully, there is a handle protruding from behind a stone placed against the wall. Zoom in there to find a switch.

Zoom in on the stones to the right of the door, then zoom in on the stones in the back. You can just see the top of a can in the center left of the view. The can contains a golden tongue.

Zoom out again, then look at the stone with a face on it. Click just to the left of it to find another can with a golden tongue – we now have all of them.

Time for another visit to November.

Give the frogs their tongues back.

Look at the head of the statue – it now says that there is a reward in its pouch. The pouch (below the violin) has opened – take a key from it.

Go back to December.

Zoom in on the house on the left, then on the basement door/window on the left.

There’s a slab to the right – look under it to find another tooth (zoom in twice). You should now have 7 teeth.

Let’s visit September again.

Give the Orca its teeth back – 6 in the front view, 1 in the side view.

Then look at its eye – there is a reward under its arm (side fin).

Look closely just to the right of the side fin. There is another key.

Return to December.

There is a statue of a dragon or crocodile on the wall between the two houses. It has a stone ball in its mouth – take it.

Zoom in on the house on the right, then on the left basement window. Look in the culvert to the right of the window – you’ll find another stone sun symbol.

Zoom in on the front door. We’ve got two keys, but it looks like there are four locks, so we’re not done yet.

The cannon to the left of the door contains a snowball, and the cannon to the right of the door contains a cannonball. We now have 4 balls – what to do with them?

Visit May.

Place the four balls in the hollows of the wooden block.

Now look at the gnome. It says that there is a reward in the wreath.

The little box in the center of the wreath has opened. Take the stone sun symbol.

We now have all stone sun symbols. Visit July.

Go to the alcove with the helmet, then look up.

Place the stone sun symbols in the openings. The central stone slides aside, revealing a key.

Go back to December.

Zoom in on the right-hand house.

There is a switch at the top of the right-hand pillar at the front of the stairs. This is the 10th switch!

Visit August.

Click to the right of the house to view it from the back.

All ten lights are on, and the hub where all wires come together has opened. Take a key from it.

Go back to December.

Zoom in on the door of the right hand house.

Use the four keys to unlock the door (you’ll have to experiment which key opens which lock).

2015 will come out of the door, accompanied by funky music.

written by: hans.vogelaar

play | walkthrough | hint table

reviews: jayisgames | esensja

So this game is a bit different than all others from the series. This one was being developed over the entire year. Last year I said to myself that I’d have to start working on this year’s game a bit earlier to avoid late December shenanigans – yet here we are again, December 31st, long after midday in my timezone. Some things never change it seems, even though I started working on this in January 2014.

But next year – I’ll start even earlier! And I’ll have the game ready by…. dunno… December 30th! You just watch!

p.s. – this game is a bit bigger than other games, it’s around 30 Mb, so please give it a minute to load.

Happy New Year Everybody!