TPA 73 Mechanics

I've written about this before but I'll mention it again; I enjoy watching certain mechanics. I don't care for cars or physics or watching pieces work in symphony. I enjoy watching a well-oiled machine work. Specifically in games or when it comes to pool machines. As a kid, my folks would often take me to the museum where I would spend the majority of the time watching this machine that rolled pool balls through mechanical devices. The device usually started with an elevator that had prongs that would lift the ball into a curvey rail. These rails would twist and turn and let gravity move the balls along until they reached the end and fall onto a catcher that would make a drum sound as the ball landed or they would land onto a flat surface that would clack and clatter as the balls fell down. Some would fall onto a drum that was positioned to send the ball flying into another area while others would spin in a funnel similar until they exited. Various arms and wheel would turn as the ball rolled through or over them and waggle back and forth until their motion gave out. It reminded me of a giant roller coaster that smoothly drifted through the course. On the floor there would be a few balls that had escaped the process and no one would get them. I always thought it was because no one knew how to open the glass cases that housed these machines. Of course they were behind glass. Anyone would be tempted to grab one of the balls and either steal it or interupt it's path. It was a beautiful demonstration of physics that kept my eyes glued for hours. Instead of taking in all the musuem had to offer, I was following the path of each ball. Once one was complete, I would follow the next one through it's endless path. I don't know if this is true but I heard that the man who made the blueprints for Wille Coyote of Looney Toons fame designed these hypnotic contraptions. Whether that's true or not I've yet to discover, it will likely remain unknown just as my ancestry to Stonewall Jackson.

Even as an adult I have loved watching complicated mechanics move. I've tried watching other motors like cars and 3D printed devices but without the motion or the balls, the effect isn't the same. When I was learning game design, the head designer made a course that taught how physics worked using rails and balls. I was excited when I saw this, I wanted to build my own and make my own ball machine. That never came to pass but I've been searching for a video game that would scratch that itch. None have been able to do so perfectly, but a few have come close. These games don't have the same effect as those mechanicalized Rube Goldberg machines had on my young mind, but watching conveyers and parts move in tandem has it's own addicting effect. One of the games I used to play I've already written about; Factorio. The game has been called the ultimate game for people with autism. I can concur that they are somewhat correct. By connecting belts to mining machines and processing machines, the player is able to build items at an incredible rate. These items are used to power machines, supply weapons, or prepare rockets for take off. It's a huge game that you look back at the map after working for hours and say to yourself "I built that?" It's hard to imagine when you started so small with only a few machines and a pickaxe. Factorio has been praised by almost every outlet I could find and released DLC with four more planets to explore. I find myself stopping and watching the conveyer belts move massive amounts of items and lose myself in the hypnotic movement. I have to stop myself and figure out how to maintain the machines while also improving upon their work. Adding faster belts or better equipment just to keep up with the monster of a machine I'm building. As the trailer states, you aren't alone on this planet. Bugs will come attracted to the pollution your machines produce and destroy them. Whether out of hunger or anger is a matter debated by some of the community. I've talked before about this game so I'll keep it short since there are other games I want to talk about.

Another game that has similar effects on me is Planet Craters. The game tasks you with collecting resources and using them to build machines that terraform the planet.  You manage everything from machines that produce heat to rockets that cause meteors to strike your planet, seeding it with rich resources. You explore new areas that open up as you reach certain milestones. One of my favorites is the vines that grow on cliffsides allowing you to explore a large basin. Other minerals are found that let you give birth to life on the planet from plants to insects to animals. The DLC came out for it recently so I should give the game another go. It's a joy to watch your planet grow and eventually become habitable. 

That brings me to the final game, Palworld. It's a Pokemon clone where you explore the world and capture Pal monsters to fight with you or work at the base making you tools to use in the field. I'll often stop and help out in planting crops just to be part of the mechanics. It's a great feeling to go out and lose a bunch of items tryng to capture pals and get supplies only to come back and restock with whatever the Pals made for you. I know I've talked a lot about Palworld in the past but this aspect of the game has me hooked. It's the same thing that had me staying in one spot at the museum for hours while my folks wandered around. This mesmerizing action must have something to do with the spectrum. I'm sure there are others who stare at mechanics that have a hypnotizing effect on them. Maybe it's a shared effect that people like me enjoy for the sole purpose of watching one object move to the other end.