#Games like machinarium reddit series#

It’s Zdeněk Smetana’s and Václav Čtvrtek’s Pohádky z mechu a kapradí, or “Tales of Moss and Fern”, a Czechoslovakian cartoon produced from 1968 to 1972. But to those who grew up in Eastern Bloc, more popular cartoon comes to mind.

And perhaps he meant less known stop-motion animations by his former teacher at Academy Jiří Barta. “ Czechoslovakia used to be an animated film superpower, which is not true anymore, but I hope Amanita and other Czech indie studios have a chance at continuing that great tradition,” Dvorský said, as quoted by The Guardian. But it’s hard not to notice that he also grew up in Czechoslovakia. Amanita’s head designer explains that he grew up on cult point-and-click games of the 8-bit computer era, like “Gobliiins” or “The Neverhood”. Samorost’s aesthetic is not entirely self-grown, though. I think it’s a nice Czech word that has various meanings”. In one interview, Jakub Dvorský explained: “’Samorost’ in Czech means a root or piece of wood which resembles a creature, but it is also a term for a person who doesn’t care about the rest of the world. The root that has a faceĬD Projekt Red: From Polish Bazaars to Conquering World Markets And “Samorost’s” success was followed by a sequel in 2005 and “Samorost 3” in 2016. More to come with other, perhaps lesser-known creations by Amanita, like “Pilgrims”, “Chuchel”, and “Botanicula”. Instead of a gnome, we have a robot, and the world is more technical and cartoon-like, though still with an uncanny vibe. The same, but maybe to a lesser extent, applies to “Machinarium” – another hit game by Amanita from 2009. Photo: Courtesy of Amanita Design (Bottom) Portrait of Jakub Dvorsky. Photo: Courtesy of Amanita Design Sketches from Machinarium. Jakub Dvorský’s imagination combines photos of natural objects and industrial ones (scrap metal, old, and rusty mechanical elements), playing with scale and giving everyday objects, say door locks or cans, new meaning. Other times, he finds himself in a forest of chanterelles or on a surface made of roots or tree branches. The gnome in white overalls, complete with a nightcap with a pompom, lands with his spaceship on a planet made of close-up moss. From Moss and Fern to SamorostĪnd Amanita Design’s games use them, too – but perhaps in a different aesthetic. Meaning literally “found objects”, Duchamp would use both everyday products and junk. To this end, Jakub Dvorský and his co-workers at Amanita used what famous early 20th-century artist Marcel Duchamp called Readymades, or, in French, objets trouvés.

#Games like machinarium reddit series#

Amanita’s hit series “Samorost”, as our dwarf on his journey usually wanders through landscapes that are unlike any others we would know. Photo: Courtesy of Amanita Design.ĭvorský’s studio, established soon after his graduation in 2003 in his hometown of Brno, is named Amanita Design after the Latin word for toadstool – and it was not overlooked that this kind of mushroom, though poisonous, may also be hallucinogenic.Īnd the name fits. Photo: Courtesy of Amanita Design (Bottom row) Screenshot from Machinarium. “Samorost,” a simple point-and-click adventure game, makes its players help a little cartoon Gnome or dwarf of a very pleasant, funny physique navigate through the world of the dangerous and the bizarre. The game was a success owing to its ingenuity and – as good games usually are – the perfect balance between simplicity of use and captivating gameplay. “Samorost ” was his diploma work (* for which he only got a B grade). Coming from Brno in Moravia, southeastern Czechia, he graduated from Prague’s Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design. When the first video game from “Samorost” series hit the game distribution system, the year was 2003. It’s been two decades since a little gnome began wandering around unusual and uncanny objects on his way to find his home.