Link Steam
indiegame.fan
The Automatician header art

The Automatician

Take on the role of Emma in a first person puzzle game, solve puzzles and problems in a Victorian mansion. Prove your worth as a candidate to become "The Automatician" and build increasingly complex chain reaction machines. Can you become the new Automatician?

Steam Page
Developer
DreamPunks
Publisher
DreamPunks, WolffWare
Release
July 23, 2017
9 years and 12 days ago
Steam Reviews
Mixed21 reviews61.9%

Does this feel indie?

Vote based on whether this game feels indie to you. You can change your vote at any time. Results earn an IGF score after 10 accepted votes.
No votes yet
Vote on More Games
Game contextLatest: IGF Team
ContextThe evidence factors used to assess whether this game belongs on IndieGame.Fan.Status
Notes
Latest Contributor: IGF TeamEdit notes
Updated: Jul 13, 2026Developer scaleThe operating scale of the game's developer.
Updated: Jul 13, 2026Publisher scaleThe operating scale of the game's publisher.
A separate publisher is listed for this release.
Search Google: Is The Automatician self-published or published by DreamPunks and WolffWare?Publisher statusHow the game's publishing relationship is classified.
Search Google: How is The Automatician and DreamPunks and WolffWare funded?FundingThe known source of funding behind the game.
Search Google: Who controls the creative direction and IP for The Automatician and DreamPunks?Creative controlWho appears to retain creative control of the game.
Updated: Jul 13, 2026Release statusWhether and how the game has been released.
The game was released through a separate publisher.

Media

8 items

About the Game

Summary

The Automatician is a first person puzzle game where you take on the role of Emma, who needs to solve puzzles and problems in a Victorian mansion. To prove your worth as a candidate to become "The Automatician" players must build increasingly complex chain reaction machines (Rube Goldberg Machines) to satisfy their challengers. Can you become the new Automatician?

Gameplay

Take on a series of increasingly complex hexagonal puzzles that ask you to create chain reaction machines. Find one or all of the solutions that make your machines a success!
Explore the halls of a Victorian mansion called the Absolon Estate. Solve a number of quests for the denizens of the mansion while you investigate to uncover the secrets of the mansion.

Story

Explore the Absolon Estate, speak with it's inhabitants and learn more about their past.
Take on the Challenge to become the Automatician, and prove your worth in a series of escalating challenges.
Should you succeed, you can expect one final secret to reveal itself to you...

Features

  • Beautiful environments to explore, with a lot of secrets to uncover.
  • Figure out the Story behind what went on at Absolon Estate.
  • Learn about the enigmatic animated burlap dolls called Whodos.
  • Quests to be solved around the Mansion.
  • Increasingly complex Chain Reaction Puzzles to be solved.
  • Using Unreal Engine 4 for high quality graphics.

Music

Beautiful Soundtrack and Audio created in collaboration with Ratchet Audio.

About us

DreamPunks is game development studio from Breda, The Netherlands. The Automatician was developed by about 30 students from the NHTV University in Breda. The game was developed part time, as a part of our studies.

Events

While in development, the game has been showcased at a variety of events to gather feedback and improve on the existing game. Some of the events that we've participated in so far include:
  • GDC 2016, San Francisco
  • Nordic Game Jam 2016, Copenhagen
  • A Maze 2016, Berlin
  • Indigo 2016, Utrecht
  • AnimeCon 2016, The Hague
  • Indigo 2017, Utrecht
Indie Game Fan