''Flywrench'' is an action

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

developed and published by

Messhof Mark Essen, better known as Messhof, is an American video game designer and artist best known for '' Nidhogg'', its sequel, and ''Flywrench''. Career In college, Messhof made games with GameMaker and Microsoft Paint software. An early game, ' ...

. The game puts the player in the role of 6802, a spacecraft floating through the

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar S ...

in search of a mysterious access point. As 6802 passes the different planets (including

Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the S ...

) towards the Sun, the player is tasked to maneuver 6802 through a variety of levels, in which they, by pressing or holding one of two certain buttons, must change 6802's color adaptively to barriers blocking the way to the finish and at the same time control 6802's movement behavior.

Development

The game was created by Mark Essen under the pseudonym Messhof. After three previous incarnations since, of which one, also titled ''Flywrench'', was released in 2007, Essen launched a

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

campaign to expand upon his 2007-released game, seeking from September 20, 2009. The campaign concluded on November 1, 2009, with a total of funded by 29 backers. Essen acquired his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

in 2010, and continued to publish free games under the Messhof banner, partially in collaboration with

Adult Swim Games Adult Swim Games (stylized as dult swim games'') is the video game publishing division of the Adult Swim brand of Cartoon Network. While Adult Swim had been publishing games since 2005, primarily based on their in-house franchises. In 2011, it be ...

, and, together with Kristy Norindr, incorporated Messhof LLC in 2013, leading up to the release of '' Nidhogg'' (2014), but did not communicate about the development or fate of ''Flywrench'', up until releasing a new teaser to accompany his Independent Games Festival entry on October 22, 2014, and then until a full trailer on July 29, 2015.

Release

''Flywrench'' was released for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

and

OS X macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...

through

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

on August 24, 2015, and a port for

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

was released through

PlayStation Network PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...

on February 14, 2017. The game received "generally favorable" reviews. ''Flywrench'' soundtrack, comprising original tracks by

Mark Redito Mark Redito, formerly known as Cocolulu and Spazzkid, is a Filipinos, Filipino musician based in Los Angeles, California. Early life Mark Redito was born in Manila, Philippines. Career In his teenage years, Mark Redito was part of the Philippine ...

, Baths, Kuh Lida, Danny Scrilla,

Om Unit Jim Coles (born c. 1980), professionally known as Om Unit, is an English, Bristol-based electronic producer and DJ, known for his work in electronic music and drum and bass. Career Originally producing jungle as a teenager in the 1990s, he then ...

, Knife City, Dntel, Reso, Syndakit, Daedelus, Sweatson Klank, and Goodnight Cody, was released by Magical Properties on November 13, 2015. 6802, under the name "Flywrench", also became a playable character in ''

Super Meat Boy ''Super Meat Boy'' is a 2010 platform game designed by Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes under the collective name of "Team Meat". It was self-published as the successor to ''Meat Boy'', a 2008 flash game designed by McMillen and Jonathan McEnte ...

'' (2010).

References

External links

* {{Messhof 2015 video games Action games MacOS games PlayStation 4 games Video games developed in the United States Windows games Kickstarter-funded video games GameMaker Studio games Indie games Single-player video games