Kaizen: Factory Story Review

“Fine” is an interesting word. It means something is made sublime, but it can also be used in a withered sense. it’s okay. This is no problem. But there’s another, calm and casual feeling that can be said that something is fine. When your friends give it to you, they apologize because they “have only hemisphere milk.” s’fine. Or when they say, “No, let’s go to another pub.” Certainly it’s okay! I’m happy to hang out. Kaizen: The Factory Story is a great game. It’s a puzzle and makes you feel okay if you can’t find the perfect solution.

There are ideas about what will come if developers play the game in Concidence Games (NEE ZACHTRONICS). A freeform puzzle about programming a small machine for building things. Each puzzle hand over a bundle of disassembled pieces to assemble the right way, hoping to make a TV set, video camera, toilet seat, etc. There is a small photo of the product you are looking for, which is always pinned to one corner of the screen. Drag and drop various pieces into the workspace and plant drills like a Grabby Arm, Zappy Welder, and teeth while programming with simple commands. You can drag the timeline back and forth to see how things go. mass. I flipped the TV screen over my metal arm. Backback, idiot, try again.

As I say, Kaizen is not a Zachtronics game – that company has been closed. But anyone you know and worked there now makes something like a coincidence. As a result, another satisfying Brainscratcher about dropping pistons and Weiler, Fuser and Himalayans strives to create the best production line for 1986 jogging shorts or the best personal computers.

That’s when the game was set – you’re a Japanese-American who wasn’t used to Tokyo in the shining era of 1986. It’s a story about things you want to do more to rethink your expectations, but often need. Between the puzzles you get a visual novel style story snippet. This is full of characters who want to make cooler toys or invent more impressive plastic dishes.

But they usually have to compromise on that vision and reduce things. The main character, David, comes to Japan thinking that he will become a big player in Matsuzaki Manufacturing’s business, but he works on the floor of the factory. There he might have to jam a cheap radio with him or cut out the collar into a t-shirt with a razor gadget. In the end, that’s fine too.

The puzzle itself is more like a jigsawpa than previous games by the same designer. It’s easier and less mechanic as it requires much less commands to complete any puzzle. If Wilmot had to program a small team of robots to do heavy lifting, it’s like Wilmot will solve that. It also forces you to think in a modular way. The big chunks of this Betamax recorder are grouped together on one side of the workspace, but the small button panel on the other side are grouped together? Not only do you get a higher score to keep things compact, but you should consider putting a lot of space in order for the machine to get in its own way. Does your Game Boy imitation twin screen have enough clearance to escape the surrounding arms? Can I flip this whole fake sushi box over without sticking to all the welders I’ve already built?

Despite being more familiar, it still foams my brain in a special way. I’m starting to think about things again and desperately looking for an overly efficient solution before finding the half extreme solution that Jerry has been caught up in. Sometimes I flip and rotate parts and move them along the long track. Suddenly I retreat and realize that the original solution I think is my job is one big leaky Rubaix Goldberg. With a little tweak, you can remove half of these components and finish the work in some time. This is the self-righteous satisfaction of this studio game. Being a completely efficient master by mistake. “Your method may be a little unusual,” says David’s supervisor at one point. “But you got the results and that’s what matters.”

The assignments will increase in later chapters. When I was handed a rice cooker and realized that the control needed to place a smack van in the center of the machine, my brain went to “oooo”. That meant that parts had to be cut out and then glued together, including doing surgery in a large pot. But I quickly discovered that it wasn’t that simple. There was no pot parts needed to insert the gap. I hit my head for 45 minutes on this puzzle and finally understood the simple concept of “punching” the problem. I whispered quietly when I was instructed to assemble this coffee machine soon afterwards: “Ah shit.”

I remember seeing a Honda ad on TV many years ago. We talked about the word “OK” and how it was one of the most common words in English. It was also set in the factory, and workers unconsciously engraved a large metal print with the word “OK.” The key to the ad was that “OK” was not sufficient. There have always been better words to print.

Kaizen’s story reminds me of that ad. It’s a story of the people in the factory working on things, but always have some improvement in mind. Except here, there is some tension between the idea that we must chase improvements and the idea that there is an acknowledgment of “OK”. teeth Everything you need. One of the managers you meet is obsessed with Betamax, an unfortunate video cassette format, because it is a “high quality” product. Other workers are trying to explain to him that high quality is not a problem at times.

This tension between perfectionism and satisfaction is the perfect theme that explores what we previously called “Zachlikes” after lead designer Zach Baath. They historically are games that encourage you to find a more efficient solution forever. Faster solutions, cheaper ones, smarter solutions. But just as I love them, my progress almost always comes to a halt with the final act. Looking for the perfect solution, I have not even tried any shaking or messy things. “Perfect” and “Done” may not be enemies, but at least they are housemates who leave passive, aggressive refrigerator notes. It’s fun to watch the game interrogate its own practices through tired office workers, frustrated assistants and wealthy bosses in the story.

Matsuzawa Manufacturing is full of employees that are not where they want to be. But it’s not about a failed dream. Instead, it reminds us that humans have an engine of optimism built into them. And, while our ambitions are often destined to shrink, regardless, they are worth making our hopes for that shrinking version. With the following, we can repeat anymbitious again.

Plain robot toys can be as good as we can manage. We don’t always beat puzzles in the most perfectly optimal way. Sometimes the most efficient solution is a solution that allows you to simply press the big green button to start the factory. In Opus Magnum, in previous games from these developers (and still my favorite of all of the titles), the machines I built had a sync beauty. It was an elegant game. In contrast, Kaizen feels like a game of acceptance. My factory lines are messy and boxy, but they are very ok. Everything here is fine when it comes to formation and functioning.