Mechanical Ink
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Feel free to drop us a line through the great digital grapevine at mechanicalink@protonmail.com. Alternatively, if you just want to say hi, message us on any platform or social network where we've uploaded our things.
Sorry, no contact form since those things are the worst.
Cheers,
M.I.
➤ Follow us (in a manner of speaking)
⎜ [ Don't follow, don't lead ]
↳ just check out what we're up to from time to time.
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🎙 News & Updates
🕹 Happy 2nd Birthday
9 June 2023
Well! Here comes ol' Reaction! Good ol' Reaction...
Heading for that chill party where everyone's invited. So why not join in on the fun?
Download the game from itch.io.
🎮 Reaction 1 point 2-oh!
17 March 2023
A new version of Reaction is out. So what's new in 1.2, besides the usual bug squashing and a few quality of life improvements here and there? Well, there's a whole new section now that explains how power-ups work and what exactly happens when the game progresses.
As always, if you want to give the game a try, you can download it for Windows, Linux, and Mac at itch.io. Or just use the widget below.
And for all of you playing it for the first time, here's a short ehem... introduction. For more, head on to the Reaction game page.
Hope you enjoy it.
Yours truly,
M. Ink.
🕹 Just Around the Corner
14 January 2023
Happy belated new year, everybody! The frost (mostly metaphorically speaking) is starting to melt and there's a new version of Reaction underneath.
Keep an eye out, since it’ll be out sooner rather than later.
❄ That Time of the Year
11 December 2022
Abandoned parking lots and empty malls, the howling blizzard rendering the icy wastes barren. It's that time of the year again. It's indie horror time.
A few years ago I helped a bit with this short but tense wintry atmospheric horror game. It works for the season, it works for the new year, it works even if there's not that much snow outside:
The vision, idea, and design are all Vladek's, who made a couple of these twisted, surreal games, scattered all over the internet.
🎮 Steam Bridge
15 November 2022
Back when Reaction was still in its infancy I joined Aaron of Eventide Games Studio on his podcast and we talked about everything from finding inspiration to finalizing a game and getting some eyeballs on it. Aaron hinted at the time that he was working on a game and, from the way he described it, it sounded like Sokoban on steroids, with more than just a few twists.
Well, the wait is over, cause Abridge is on Steam:
Give it a try and maybe check out some of Aaron's rougher, more experimental stuff on itch.io as well: https://aaron7eleven.itch.io.
🕹 Jetzt auch auf Deutsch
29 September 2022
More from the non-English speaking parts of the Internet, this time with a soothing first impressions (Schnupperkurs) video in German.
Be sure to follow Jess (cantplaylive) on Twitch for cool streams and on Youtube for shorter stuff, or on Twitter for all sorts of randomness.
Bis zum nächsten Mal!
🎮 One Whole Hour of Reaction on Twitch
2 August 2022
Nowadays I can barely play Reaction in 15 minute bursts, but this hero managed to go for almost one whole hour on stream. All while fending off the usual barrage of stubborn red squares and insolent purple hexagons.
So check out AeonWaryk's streams on Twitch and follow'em on Twitter for more displays of agony and endurance.
Also a, big shoutout to Starson (Consentacle Monster) for highlighting the game on Twitter and bumping it up ever so slightly.
Cheers!
🕹 Parlez-vous Réaction
7 July 2022
The first review to break English-speaking Youtube's monopoly on Reaction is here, and it's entirely in French.
You should follow Ookamiette on Twitter and Youtube even if your French is a bit rusty. The let's plays are laid-back and the reviews manage to be both in-depth and calming.
À la prochaine!
🎮 Can You Speedrun Reaction? Blue Triangle Gives It a Try
23 June 2022
Reaction's been around for over a year now and it's a pity we weren't able to build a speedrunning community around it. At least not until now:
Enter Blue Triangle, star of the game and a newcomer to the speedrunning scene. Blue decides to give it a try, but things don’t really go as expected. Still, go Blue!
Now let’s see if anybody is willing to challenge the record (or at least do a proper speedrun)!
🕹 Reaction – One Year Later
9 June 2022
It’s been one whole year of chaotically rotating paddles, falling geometry, power-ups arriving far too late, and an overall feeling of frustration directed first and foremost towards that rude little red square.
Merry Birthday Reaction, you cheeky rascal you!
In case you haven't played Reaction yet, why not give it a go? Download it from itch.io.
🎮 A Haunted Let's Play
15 May 2022
Another one of these brief let's play style reviews, this time from Haunted Husband (no, not the one you're probably thinking of).
As always, show the reviewer some kindness and go follow them on Twitter and subscribe to them on Youtube.
See you next time!
🕹 The Timeless Art of the Written Review
29 March 2022
We've seen some nifty reviews for Reaction so far, ranging from First impressions to Let's plays and raw free-form rants to videos that stick to a script of sorts. But it still felt like there was a void yet to be filled. Here steps in Vulgar Knight, with the thoroughly enjoyable written word review titled How’s That Reaction Time? Try For Yourself.
Quote: "So what’s the verdict? I think it’s pretty good fun."
If you want to read more of Vulgar Knight's work, then head on to https://vulgarknight.com or follow them on Twitter.
🎮 The First Review of the Year (and a #Shorts)
2 February 2022
A quick review-cum-first impressions type video is out, this time from our friends at the All Indie Youtube channel. While they did try an innovative approach to the paddle, their “washing machine” technique ultimately succumbed to the rising tide of relentless red squares.
But hey, at least the attempt did provide us with this wonderful short, the first one ever for Reaction.
So if you had fun watching this, then follow All Indie on Youtube and Twitter.
Cheers!
🎙️ Podcasting: Beyond the Loading Screen
5 January 2022
A while ago I was invited by Aaron – a friend from one of the indie dev discords – to hop onto his podcast so we can have a chat about what it's like to be working on a small indie game, finishing it and adding some polish, while also building a bit of hype around it (something I know next to nothing about, but when was that ever a deterrent?)
Sure, we strayed a bit from the topic and ended up talking about utopian architecture, grain elevators, experimental music, as well as the fleeting nature of small games and independent media. So maybe give it a listen:
And if you enjoy it, then make sure to subscribe to the Beyond the Loading Screen podcast on Youtube.
🕹 Reaction Version 1.1 is out now!
20 October 2021
We've just finished uploading the new and improved version of Reaction. If you haven't given the game a try yet, you can download it at itch.io.
Enjoy!
🎮 An Updated Version of Reaction Is in the Works
24 September 2021
A small update is on the way. Besides some much needed bug fixes, it comes with a few quality of life improvements.
In the meantime, perphaps you'd like to check out this let's play by Luke, who is one fifth of the Chaos Counseling collective:
Join their Discord for more streaming fun and friendly rivalry.
🕹 Some More Reviews
2 July 2021
Time for another batch of video reviews!
The first one today comes from youtuber, indie dev, and possibly real-life vampire (as in the chill, undead type, not the toxic kind) PixlCrim:
Next, a more critical tear down, part of this triple feature by indie curator and occasional dev YT Apps:
Now, why don't we play a funny trick on them and subscribe to their channels and follow them on twitter?
🎮 A Few Quick Reviews
22 June 2021
We've reached out to a few people and asked them to share some thoughts on Reaction. So let's highlight two short and entertaining answers, in video review form.
The first of these comes from Regal Dreamer (not an actual monarch), who played the game as part of double feature video in the Indie Gala:
Follow Regal Dreamer on Twitter or subscribe to the Regal Dreamer YouTube channel. Do you have an indie project that you'd like to see featured on the Indie Gala? Then leave a comment.
The second is a fun high energy review, courtesy of Zakaria Ghorfati, who has been covering and boosting tons of great itch.io games recently.
Same as before, subscribe to Zakaria's YouTube channel and Instagram.
🕹 Media Kits
17 June 2021
Want to find out more about our stuff but don't have the time to explore the website (or simply don't feel like doing it)? No problem, we've cobbled together a bunch of press kits or media kits or whatever you want to call them. Find them linked below or open them from the link in the main navigation menu.
★ Mechanical Ink press kit
★ Reaction media kit
🎮 Woohoo, Reaction Just Got Released On itch.io
9 June 2021
Check out the launch trailer below and then head out to itch.io and download the game for Windows, Linux, and Mac.
Or go to the Reaction game page if you want to find out more.
🕹 Almost there
27 May 2021
So when's Reaction coming out? Well, soon, really, really soon. We have a launch date, or more like something of a launch period, and that's the end of May / start of June. Where? On itch.io.
[Just look at these pieces smiling for the camera, you can tell by their faces that they can barely contain their excitement.]
🎮 Introducing Reaction, the Puzzler With Falling Geometry
15 May 2021
And here it is: Reaction, the game where you swing your paddle left and right, pushing the endless stream of falling pieces towards the exits on each side.
Here's a first impression of how it all looks:
🕹 Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 1, 2 … 3
27 Apr 2021
We’re going on air soon, so what’s a less tired version of the "hello, world" joke? Wait, nevermind, we’re on.
Hello and welcome to our humble online abode. This place will serve as a home for all of our games. If you want to find the latest info or some of the older stuff then this is the place, since platforms like Twitter and IndieDB move at a pace which can make it hard to keep track of things.
In a few days we’ll be unveiling our latest project, but for now let’s just say that it’s a game with lots of physics and geometry, and not just on the technical side. The folks pictured above are its main cast of characters, so make sure to check back soon if you want to find out what this is all about.
Until then, feel free to look around this website and find out where you can find us or some of our friends and colleagues.