Submachine (series)

The Submachine (short for Submerged Machine) series is a series of point-and-click adventure Flash games created by Polish comics author Mateusz Skutnik and released in ten instalments, from 2005 to 2015.

Every game focuses on an unidentified character who explores new locations of the "Subnet", which is a broken and distorted reality that features decaying buildings and abandoned structures. The buildings and structures are categorized into groups called "submachines" based on architectural style. The player must solve different puzzles and examine the environment in order to escape. The series has been generally well received.

In addition to the ten instalments, there are 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.

Part of the main series

 * Submachine 1: The Basement (Plus HD Version and changelogs) (original version: 2005) (current version: March 2014)
 * Various versions of this game can be played through Mateusz Skutnik's Submachine 1 Changelog.


 * Submachine 2: The Lighthouse (Plus HD Version and original 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)

Spin-offs

 * Submachine: Ancient Adventure (aka "Submachine Zero: Ancient Adventure) (Plus HD version) (August 2006)
 * Submachine: Ancient Adventure 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.


 * 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 more consistent with the Submachine world.


 * Submachine: 32 Chambers (Plus HD version) (August 2010)
 * Submachine: 32 Chambers was made for the 2010 Jayisgames Casual Gaming Design Competition.


 * Submachine Universe, (abbr. SubVerse, previously known as Subnet Network Exploration Experience/SNEE) (stated as "not a game" by Mateusz Skutnik) (first release June 2010) (HD version January 2017) (last updated February 2017)
 * Mateusz Skutnik has updated the SubVerse every few months since he first released it. It currently contains 107 "locations." Each update usually consists of adding one or more "locations" to the network, which contain theories, photographs, and video clips from fans.
 * Skutnik released a downloadable HD version on January 26, 2017 for free and only updates that (offline) version.

Other Submachine-related projects

 * 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)

Submachine: Legacy
In 2023, Skutnik re-released the series as a single game, stringing the instalments together as chapters of a larger narrative. The graphics were updated.

Development
The games were created by Mateusz Skutnik, Polish cartoonist and comics writer from Gdańsk and author of the Rewolucje comics series. He cites Oddworld, Rayman, The Neverhood, Half-life and Portal as video game influences.

The games made are created in Flash. Each game has regularly been released online (minus Submachine: FLF) to play on Mateusz Skutnik's own website and other popular Flash game websites. Downloadable fullscreen versions can also be bought through the developer's store, and they are known as "HD versions".

The graphics are hand-drawn.

In a 2009 interview with Igor Hardy, Mateusz Skutnik stated that "This series should go at least until Submachine 10. After that, I don't know." The mentioned tenth game has since been released (in December 2015) and is currently the latest Submachine full game release.

In 2016 Mateusz Skutnik formally announced his decision to move away from Flash as a game-building platform and started to use GameMaker to develop his future games. Flash was later discontinued.

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 Subnet, due to the often vague storyline of the series.

Some of these theories are included in the Submachine Universe, 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.

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)
 * Best of Casual Gameplay 2012 - Point-and-Click (for Submachine 8)
 * Casual Gameplay Design Competition #8 (for Submachine: 32 Chambers).