This Rube Goldberg contraption has a twist: it contains four time machines. Schedule the arrival of time travelling elements to create a consistent loop and avoid paradoxes.

How to play: Drag one of the 4 highlighted elements into a timeline slot (on the right column) to schedule something arriving from the future at that time (an object can appear in several slots). To win, create a consistent time loop, where everything received from the future is correctly sent to the past.

StatusReleased
PlatformsHTML5
Rating
Rated 4.6 out of 5 stars
(25 total ratings)
Authorknexator
GenrePuzzle
Made withBlender, Paint.net, Unity
Tagsrube-goldberg, Short, Singleplayer, thinky, Time Travel, Unity
Average sessionAbout a half-hour
LanguagesEnglish
InputsMouse

Comments

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(1 edit) (+1)

     Alright, a few quick tips for anyone still looking to solve it (with minimal spoilers)
     So the core of the game comes down to the four time machines and how they work. Each one has it's unique effects and conditions needed to resolve the paradox:
     First, you have the twin microchip gates. These guys are pretty simple, just launching out a white ball, and "receiving" it in the future 7 ticks later. Worth noting that unlike the other time machines, this one can be used as many times as you want.
     Next, you have the pressure tube. While at first this one may seem similar to the gates, it's different in two ways: It can only be used once, but the red ball can be received at any point in the future.
     Third, you have the Delorean. This one's unique in that you can send the Delorean both forwards and backwards in time. But although the game lets you drag multiple instances of it onto the timeline, know that in practice you can only resolve it's paradox once.
     Finally, you have the Time gears. These are the simplest time machine of the four, lighting a fire when activated. To resolve it's paradox, find a way to light the bottom right rope.
    All in all, this game is a pretty neat puzzle. Would be interesting to see it's concepts expanded and fleshed out a little more.

The animation and models are great, but the gameplay could be improved.  It needs to be more clear that you can use the same item more than once, as its currently not mentioned anywhere.  After wasting a lot of time, gave up and looked up the solution, and was kinda frustrated to find out not knowing you can use the same item more than once was the thing that was hindering me.  But still, great rube goldberg machine!

Can I get the link to your server?

here you go! https://discord.com/invite/Qc4Ez5X4km

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this is a great game if done correctly however this is not.

doesnt work

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it was hard, so it was even better when i created a loop, fantastic game

This is one of those contrived puzzles in which there are no consistent rules, and you have to read the author's mind. The game can be compared to the GROW flash series by EYEMAZE - his games are also about making a similar sequence in the right order, but the difference is that in EYEMAZE's GROW there are many convincing fail states / wrong sequences to explore and learn from. Here, failing just means "nothing".

The way you can interpret the objects in front of you skyrockets to infinity, because their function is obfuscated beyond recognition. The little ball has an obvious exit and entrance, whereas the other objects have no clear (or at least suggested) exits or entrances whatsoever. One ball spawner is multiple use, the other ball spawner is "single use only" - why? Just because of the contrived, inconsistent design? This inconsistency is a big deal, because of things like this none of  the constraints or consequences make any sense. 

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I don't know about you, but I've spent a lot of time thinking about time machines. The end result makes perfect sense, but only if you/because I have knowledge of the potential temporal quirks beforehand. 

Also, I spent a decent amount of time assuming the larger ball was meant to cross the right side, and so had no idea how the Delorean or that hammer I think may be based on "Primer" were supposed to be satisfied. 

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I find the answer by accident I'm so mad and dumb


still a 8.5/10

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...Paradoxes are not real, I loved the game anyways! But what if...

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Cool game! It took me a while to solve but it totally worth it :D

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Was losing my mind not being able to get this done, but I got there, and now I can sleep in peace! Darn you developer for making this challenge! Great game!

(+2)

i feel smart after finishing this, good game, but maybe add tutorial or easier level for introduction

(+2)

Cool game! Short, but fun.

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A demo would help me a lot with this game. I'm not entirely sure what to do.

(1 edit) (+3)

You can drag&drop some of those items into the timeline on the right. Then start it and stuff happens. The goal is to not have paradoxes at the end.