Engineering puzzle designer Zach Barth almost made a Factorio-like automation game, but "got really bored really quickly"

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b6704bce1ee68eb7df176df643da1bae

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https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/engineering-puzzle-designer-zach-barth-almost-made-a-factorio-like-automation-game-but-got-really-bored-really-quickly

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https://assetsio.gnwcdn.com/kaizen-a-factory-story-demo-6.jpg?width=1920&height=1920&fit=bounds&quality=70&format=jpg&auto=webp

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"I'm not a perfectionist," says the guy who makes niche puzzle games that turn me into a gibbering wreck obsessed with efficiency. And I feel a wave of comical fury. If like me you've been whirring and clicking your way through very good engineering puzzle game Kaizen: A Factory Story, you're probably a fan of previous work from the same developers. The creators of Opus Magnum and Infinifactory may have dissolved their old studio Zachtronics and chemically regenerated as Coincidence Games, but there are still large traces of a Zach present. I caught up with designer Zach Barth to ask about perfectionism, the Factorio-like automation game he gave up on out of boredom, and how the team managed to make a story about factories in 1980s Japan feel human.

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"I'm not a perfectionist," says the guy who makes niche puzzle games that turn me into a gibbering wreck obsessed with efficiency. And I feel a wave of comical fury. If like me you've been whirring and clicking your way through very good engineering puzzle game Kaizen: A Factory Story, you're probably a fan of previous work from the same developers. The creators of Opus Magnum and Infinifactory may have dissolved their old studio Zachtronics and chemically regenerated as Coincidence Games, but there are still large traces of a Zach present. I caught up with designer Zach Barth to ask about perfectionism, the Factorio-like automation game he gave up on out of boredom, and how the team managed to make a story about factories in 1980s Japan feel human.

Read more

content_text

"I'm not a perfectionist," says the guy who makes niche puzzle games that turn me into a gibbering wreck obsessed with efficiency. And I feel a wave of comical fury. If like me you've been whirring and clicking your way through very good engineering puzzle game Kaizen: A Factory Story, you're probably a fan of previous work from the same developers. The creators of Opus Magnum and Infinifactory may have dissolved their old studio Zachtronics and chemically regenerated as Coincidence Games, but there are still large traces of a Zach present. I caught up with designer Zach Barth to ask about perfectionism, the Factorio-like automation game he gave up on out of boredom, and how the team managed to make a story about factories in 1980s Japan feel human. Read more

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18 July 2025, 3:08 pm

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https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/engineering-puzzle-designer-zach-barth-almost-made-a-factorio-like-automation-game-but-got-really-bored-really-quickly

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Brendan Caldwell

processed

TRUE

id: 80660
uid: 3OpTH
insdate: 2025-07-18 14:30:05
title: Engineering puzzle designer Zach Barth almost made a Factorio-like automation game, but "got really bored really quickly"
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category: Rock Paper Shotgun
md5: b6704bce1ee68eb7df176df643da1bae
link: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/engineering-puzzle-designer-zach-barth-almost-made-a-factorio-like-automation-game-but-got-really-bored-really-quickly
image: https://assetsio.gnwcdn.com/kaizen-a-factory-story-demo-6.jpg?width=1920&height=1920&fit=bounds&quality=70&format=jpg&auto=webp
image_imgur:
description:

"I'm not a perfectionist," says the guy who makes niche puzzle games that turn me into a gibbering wreck obsessed with efficiency. And I feel a wave of comical fury. If like me you've been whirring and clicking your way through very good engineering puzzle game Kaizen: A Factory Story, you're probably a fan of previous work from the same developers. The creators of Opus Magnum and Infinifactory may have dissolved their old studio Zachtronics and chemically regenerated as Coincidence Games, but there are still large traces of a Zach present. I caught up with designer Zach Barth to ask about perfectionism, the Factorio-like automation game he gave up on out of boredom, and how the team managed to make a story about factories in 1980s Japan feel human.

Read more


content_html:

"I'm not a perfectionist," says the guy who makes niche puzzle games that turn me into a gibbering wreck obsessed with efficiency. And I feel a wave of comical fury. If like me you've been whirring and clicking your way through very good engineering puzzle game Kaizen: A Factory Story, you're probably a fan of previous work from the same developers. The creators of Opus Magnum and Infinifactory may have dissolved their old studio Zachtronics and chemically regenerated as Coincidence Games, but there are still large traces of a Zach present. I caught up with designer Zach Barth to ask about perfectionism, the Factorio-like automation game he gave up on out of boredom, and how the team managed to make a story about factories in 1980s Japan feel human.

Read more


content_text: "I'm not a perfectionist," says the guy who makes niche puzzle games that turn me into a gibbering wreck obsessed with efficiency. And I feel a wave of comical fury. If like me you've been whirring and clicking your way through very good engineering puzzle game Kaizen: A Factory Story, you're probably a fan of previous work from the same developers. The creators of Opus Magnum and Infinifactory may have dissolved their old studio Zachtronics and chemically regenerated as Coincidence Games, but there are still large traces of a Zach present. I caught up with designer Zach Barth to ask about perfectionism, the Factorio-like automation game he gave up on out of boredom, and how the team managed to make a story about factories in 1980s Japan feel human. Read more
pub_date: 18 July 2025, 3:08 pm
guid: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/engineering-puzzle-designer-zach-barth-almost-made-a-factorio-like-automation-game-but-got-really-bored-really-quickly
creator: Brendan Caldwell
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processed: TRUE

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