Editorial — The Return of the Factory
Ever since "Factory: The Industrial Devolution" appeared as shareware on the Mac — I think I was using a Mac SE at the time — I found the game absolutely brilliant. Each level demanded intense focus and precise actions, combining vision, sound, and timing, where even small mistakes were often impossible to fix. That’s where the concept was born, along with the idea of user‑created levels.
The desire to bring this game back to life has never left me. I first rebuilt an unreleased version in Objective‑C, and later moved on to Swift. The rise of generative AI allowed me to design new images for the game, finally making the project possible.
Today, I’m proud to present Flaw Forge. More than a remake — it’s a true revival of the spirit that made Factory so captivating back in the day, featuring entirely new visuals and sounds but with a design that stays 100% true to Patrick Calahan, the original creator. After reconnecting with him a few weeks ago and receiving his permission, I’m deeply moved to introduce Flaw Forge and its participatory gameplay concept.
Paying tribute where it’s due, the very first issue of this magazine is entirely dedicated to Patrick’s original levels. I thank him, sincerely and profoundly.
I hope you’ll enjoy it as I did…
Chris
Factory 1.3 Splash screen
About the author:
I’m Christian Poüs, a biologist by training rather than a professional developer — yet the boundary between both worlds has always felt thin to me. Today, I lead the Department of Biochemistry and Endocrinology at Antoine Béclère Hospital in Clamart, France, and teach Cell Biology at Université Paris‑Saclay. My research focuses on how cells respond to stress, particularly the role of the cytoskeleton in chemoresistance to anticancer drugs — a field where precision, observation, and curiosity constantly intertwine.
My story with the Mac began back in my residency days, between 1985 and 1989, with a Mac 512 and later a Mac Plus glowing late into the night. Those machines were my gateway to digital wonder — where games like Lode Runner and Dark Castle stole whole evenings of discovery. When Factory appeared, it sparked something deeper: the desire to create, not just play.
From that moment, I taught myself programming — first in Pascal, then C and C++, later Objective‑C, and now Swift. Most of my projects grew from research needs: image‑acquisition tools and analysis software for microscopy. But the idea of bringing Factory back kept tugging at me, until I finally embraced game development through Apple’s SpriteKit.
The spirit behind Flaw Forge mirrors what I value most in science — open collaboration and shared creativity that leads to new discoveries and their publication. I build and test everything on my trusty Intel MacBook Pro (2019) and Silicon iMac (2024), both running macOS Sequoia. The website lives on a Mac mini under Monterey, with an iPad 10 and iPhone 12 completing the lab.
Computers, research, and imagination have always formed a single thread in my life — one where science meets play. Flaw Forge is, in a way, the natural outcome of that lifelong coexistence.
Halitos‑X Mouthwash
Your first day at SACCOM begins at the mouthwash bottling plant. A simple switch controls everything — caps go up, bottles roll through. Easy work… enjoy it while it lasts.
Mosty Toasties Cereal
Friday calls for breakfast cereal. Drop toy prizes into the boxes and release them manually. The pace picks up — and so does the pressure.
Areté Sportshoes
Box tennis shoes for shipment. Shoes to the left, boxes to the right — but now, every release must be manual. Simple rhythm, tricky timing.
Moulto Milk
Time for chocolate milk. Label, fill, and release your cartons twice — back‑to‑back precision under increasing speed.
Britex Toothpaste
Fill, cap, and box toothpaste tubes. Three steps, one flow. Don’t get lost between caps, tubes, and boxes.
BIG Burgers
Burger assembly, SACCOM style. Keep buns stocked and meat flowing. One click, one burger — if you’re quick enough.
Yumyum Candy
Dessert shift! Sort candy molds from finished treats in chaotic quality control. A sweet mess of multitasking.
Great Big Honkin Cookies
Mix, bake, and box cookies. Automatic production meets manual release. Sugar rush guaranteed.
Uneeda Donut
Pack a half‑dozen donuts — three maple, three glazed. Don’t release a box until all sweets are ready. Precision pastry at work.
Us ’R’ Dolls
Assemble doll heads, arms, and hair. Mass production meets childlike charm.
Areté Hoop Shoes
Sort left and right basketball shoes, add laces, and box them. Read the guide — one mismatch, one mess.
Eightways Records
Press, spray, and sleeve vinyl records. Short on covers, long on chaos. Rock ’n’ roll revived.
Reaneer Rootbeer
Fill, cap, and label bottles — without tanks! Manual work and a rush of fizzy precision.
Uwatchalota TV
CRTs, casings, lids — the TV factory leaves no room for error and no storage tanks either. Stay alert.
BIGGER Burgers
Double cheeseburgers this time — buns, meat, cheese, two levels of juggling. Hungry yet?
Dejavu Recycling
Sort bottles, cans, and newspapers. Wash, crush, recycle. Environmental multitasking at its hardest.
Kiwi Computers
Assemble computers that could one day run Factory. Motherboard, drives, screen
— in order, or not at all.
Candy‑Cane Lane
Gift‑wrap chaos! Candy canes and boxes share a single bow machine — pace yourself before it all unravels.
Quality Pie
Fill, top, bake, and box pies. Simple steps, tight layout.
Easy looks. Hard runs.
Widgets Inc.
SACCOM evaluation round. Revisit your training — quotas, recyclers, and no mercy.
Porcelain and Plumbing Co.
Toilets. Yes, toilets. A nightmare factory with almost no instructions and less hope. Good luck.
Ulovea Lava Lamp
Fill, cap, and assemble lava lamps. Easy on paper, hectic in practice. Near your last day — maybe.
Trains ’R’ Us
Final mission: assemble toy trains. Manual sorting, relentless switches, maximum concentration.
