"Modulus: A ‘Zen’ Factory Constructor Where You Craft Components for Other Facilities"

"Modulus: A Tranquil Factory Builder Where You Create Parts for Other Production Plants"

"Modulus: A Meditative Factory Game Where You Build Elements for Other Manufacturing Hubs"

"Modulus: A Serene Factory Simulator Focused on Crafting Parts for Other Industrial Complexes"

"Modulus: A Calm Factory-Building Experience Where You Assemble Components for Other Facilities"

I think the idea of a chill, cosy, and/or “Zen” factory builder is among the most pernicious to ever dribble from a game developer’s earhole, but I can’t deny how… soothing it can be to look down on a world of symmetrically nested conveyor belts. At least till your iron smelting district backs up. Modulus seems zouper-douper Zen. It also has a pleasing consistency: in this factory game, you shape and manufacture pieces for buildings which, as far as I can tell from the devlog below, can then be used to manufacture pieces for other buildings.

These building parts aren’t generic, liquid resources that magically add up into an airport or similar, once you’ve met the requirements. You can trace them within the architecture of the resulting construction. Rather than growing them from a given recipe, you’ll also sculpt these building parts from clumps of smaller cubes. You can venture inside each production facility to rotate, colour, stamp and trim these cubes to satisfaction, a mechanic that reminds me distantly of Industries of Titan, but without the accumulating e-waste.

Yes, this is quite nice. It helps that the world you’re building factories in is a blend of pearly iPod paving stones and verdant plastic greenery. Very calming. Nicely… lacking in things besides factories.

“There are no timers, no enemies—just you and your factory,” adds the Steam page. “Relax and find your flow as you build at your own pace. Watch your factory expand, with monumental buildings emerging to meet the ever growing demand from The Grand Neural Network.” That last part sounds a little ominous. Still, I’m sure “ever growing demand” won’t cause any difficulties as long as the resources available to me are also “ever growing”. Incidentally, are there any animals in this world? Any people? Ah, no matter.

There’s a demo for Modulus in the works for 3rd April. It will encompass an estimated two hours of playtime, though it’s fundamentally “only limited in factory floor size.” It’ll also have an objective-free “Zen” mode and a tutorial. I guess I could have waited till the demo launch to write this up, but it’s a slow news day – it was either this or write about some Helldivers 2 nonsense. Besides, you can sign up for the Modulus playtest right now on Steam.