- We built another ecosystem. This one has sprites. - 20 August 2026
Nine years ago you took an interest in a game about polygons eating polygons. That is still the largest group of people who ever have, and we have never quite got over it... We have built something new - Now instead of polygons it's sprites eating sprites..Captain Contraption's Safari Park is a park management game with a properly simulated ecosystem underneath it - no fences, no enclosures, no way to tell an animal what to do. Every creature is an individual now, so herds have stragglers and wanderers. Territories pass down through generations. Creatures sleep. Fights end in routs and chases instead of always ending in a corpse pile. The playtest is now permanently open to everyone. Free, no invite, no deadline.If you know what a food chain looks like just before it falls over, we would really value your eyes on this one.
- All Our Games Are on Sale and Playtest our Next one for Free 🎉 - 23 July 2026
If you’ve been meaning to check out any of our games, they’re all on sale right now, and you can playtest our next game for free! Thanks so much for the support — it really helps us keep making weird little games.
- All Our Games Are on Sale 🎉 - 27 January 2026
If you’ve been meaning to check out any of our games, they’re all on sale right now. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2166920/Captain_Contraptions_Chocolate_Factory/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1098220/Making_it_Home/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/749560/Cycle_28/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/627620/Intelligent_Design_An_Evolutionary_Sandbox/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/4186590/Captain_Contraptions_Safari_Park/ Thanks so much for the support — it really helps us keep making weird little games.
- All Our Games Are on Sale 🎉 - 27 January 2026
If you’ve been meaning to check out any of our games, they’re all on sale right now. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2166920/Captain_Contraptions_Chocolate_Factory/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1098220/Making_it_Home/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/749560/Cycle_28/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/627620/Intelligent_Design_An_Evolutionary_Sandbox/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/4186590/Captain_Contraptions_Safari_Park/ Thanks so much for the support — it really helps us keep making weird little games.
- Wishlist our next ecosystem game! - 7 January 2026
Hey everyone!Just wanted to quickly let you know about our next game, Captain Contraption’s Safari Park, which we’ve just put up on Steam. It's somewhat of a spiritual successor to Intelligent Design: An Evolutionary Sandbox.It’s a safari park management game built around a fully simulated ecosystem. You run a park where animals (and some less sensible things) live together in open spaces. Expect farm animals, lions, dragons, and the occasional questionable decision.If that sounds like your kind of thing, you can check out the Steam page and trailer below. Wishlisting the game helps a lot and means you’ll get notified as we share updates and open the beta.Thanks for all the support — genuinely means a lot.
- Want to playtest our next game??? - 18 December 2025
Hello fellow scientists!Dave and I have been quietly working on our next game and are looking for volunteers for playtesting.You can sign up here https://subscribepage.io/hZKgliIt's a safari park with a fully simulated ecosystem in a nostalgic tycoon sandbox with rewarding roguelite elements. Clone bizarre species, unlock new toys and design clever paths to guide guests through the attractions. Don't worry, there's only a small chance they’ll become dinner....oh and it's totally a spiritual sequel to Intelligent Design An Evolutionary Sandbox!
- Hotfix for Unity Security Vulnerability - 19 October 2025
A patch has been released to fix the vulnerability described here https://unity.com/security/sept-2025-01/remediation
- Only 24 hours left to save on our latest game! - 1 September 2024
Today is the last day of the Captain Contraption's Chocolate Factory 20% off sale! It's a physics based puzzle game to give automation and base building fans a quick fix. The perfect thing for a rainy Sunday! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2166920/Captain_Contraptions_Chocolate_Factory/
- Our new game Captain Contraption’s Chocolate Factory is Out Now - 20 July 2024
It’s a big day for robot chocolatiers around the world. The whole of Captain Contraption’s factory is now available to explore, as you experiment with fresh ingredients and automate ever more complex machines. With 40+ levels to unlock, as well as brand new achievements and fiendish modifiers, we can’t wait for players to show off their creative solutions to all these puzzles. PCGamesN describe it as "bizarrely cheap" Captain Contraption's Chocolate Factory is our latest game. It is a contraption building game. Design and build your own machines to combine ingredients to make chocolates. Automate production using simple components to create ingenious contraptions, which are as satisfying to watch as they are to optimise. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2166920/Captain_Contraptions_Chocolate_Factory/
- Play Captain Contraption's Chocolate Factory in the Steam Puzzle Fest - 27 April 2023
You can now play the demo for our next game Captain Contraption's Chocolate Factory by visiting the store page using the link below. It’s an open ended factory, automation style puzzle game. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2166920/Captain_Contraptions_Chocolate_Factory/ Using a simple set of tools you’ll need to automate production of a variety of sweet treats like chocolate covered toasted almonds. The game plays sort of like a mix between a programming game like Opus Magnum, a factory game like factorio and a contraption maker game like The Incredible Machine. Check it out and let us know what you think!
- Making it Home Released Today - 3 September 2021
Did you hear? Did you see? Pill Bug’s next game Making it Home launches today! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1098220/Making_it_Home/ Whether you enjoyed the bare-knuckle lo-fi thrills of Cycle 28, or the chilled joy of watching something of yours grow in Intelligent Design, we think Making it Home has something for you. And it starts with testing your vehicle building skills against the full range of twisty routes, tricky obstacles, and fiendish boss encounters that Sean and I have come up with. In doing so, you’ll unlock brand new achievements and challenge modes. We’re finally letting everyone loose on the game’s full branching narrative too. Will you uncover the truth behind what’s happening to this ladybug and her animal family? And what relationships will you make or break along the way? Sean and I can’t quite believe we’ve made it this far. It’s been three amazing but challen…
- Making it Home is part of the Remote Play Together Event - 28 March 2021
In our most recent update to our next game Making it Home we added local co-op. That gave us the chance to be part of the remote play together event Valve has been running the past few days. If you haven't checked it out yet, Making it Home is a vehicle building game where your vehicle is your base. Design it, drive it, automate it and defend it as you travel from one side of America to the other. As part of the remote play together event the game is on sale, plus we ran a developer stream which you can currently watch a replay of over on the store page. Check it out below! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1098220/Making_it_Home/
- All our games are on sale! - 28 December 2020
Good News Everyone! All our games are on sale for Winter… Making it Home - A vehicle building game currently in early access. You're a lady bug building a rube goldberg style machine to take you across America! Think Banjo Kazooie - Nuts and Bolts but in 2D. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1098220/Making_it_Home/ Cycle 28 - A fast paced asteroids style arcade shooter which was nominated for a Cymru BAFTA. If you like old school score attack games this should be your cup of tea. https://store.steampowered.com/app/749560/Cycle_28/ Take a look at the links above and add one to your collection today! Thanks for all the support you’ve given us and other indie game developers - it means a lot to all of us.
- Our vehicle building game ‘Making it Home’ is now available! - 6 August 2020
I’m super excited to announce that our vehicle building game Making it Home is now available in Early Access on Steam (currently 15% off!) We’ve been working on it for a while now and are super proud of it. It’s something we had the idea for 3 years ago. In Making it Home you are a ladybug building a marvellous contraption to travel from one side of America to the other. As you travel you’ll unlock new components to build your vehicle and discover ways of making them work together. You’ll meet lots of different characters and face different challenges to push your design skills. Then when you just want to chill out and optimise some designs we’ve added some challenge modes with leaderboards for that. It’s the biggest game we’ve made and it would be great if you check it out today and join us for the Early Access journey!
- Play the demo of our next game Making it Home - 17 June 2020
Our next game Making it Home is currently part of the steam festival. For the next week you will be able to play the demo. Be sure to check it out! Click here and download. Making it Home is a vehicle building game. You’re a ladybug building a marvellous contraption to travel from one side of America to the other. Bounce around your vehicle, hoisting sails, squeezing bellows, and spinning propellers. How will you make it home?
- Wishlist our next game 'Making it Home' - 4 September 2019
We just launched the steam page for our next game ‘Making it Home’ and it would really help if you would add it to your wishlist. https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F31387277%2F48994339685d8e09e716a04e4deb0c2fd650fb0a.png You’re a ladybug building a marvellous contraption to travel from one side of America to the other. Bounce around your vehicle, hoisting sails, squeezing bellows, and spinning propellers. How will you make it home? https://store.steampowered.com/app/1098220/Making_it_Home/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jLvcUSwsSo
- Community Screenshots - August 2019 - 25 August 2019
There is nothing more I like more than some good graphs, and iocaio shows off some on this months first screenshot. https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F28664931%2Fac79444295eace428f8ce2d896fbd1dc15220b70.jpg Here is an established group of plants by Mr_Twister. Enough collectors there? https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F28664931%2F8143041c3d0c2f8512d4cf269045e24ff9aa95ed.jpg And finally for this month, check out these massive herbivores created by walpurgisnacht ... those must have been genetically engineered right? https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F28664931%2F66b0c9e6b96d58e41602f97277af96bc52d0c027.jpg
- Community Screenshots - July 2019 - 31 July 2019
For a while Dave and I have been trying to figure out what we could do community wise with Intelligent Design. With our other game Cycle 28 we always try to post the monthly leader boards to encourage some friendly competition. That kind of thing doesn't fit with Intelligent Design since it's meant to be a relaxed experience. Something I often do is look through the community screenshots of ID on steam. I know some people disagree but I genuinely love the look of this game, and clearly people have put the effort into taking great shots of their evolving worlds. ...so I thought I would try to set aside some time each month to pick out a couple of shots I really like and share them with you. I probably won't write too much, but just share these shots. Feel free to discuss them in the comments! https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F28664931%2F632f2b8d93157bb5b71d%25E2%2580%25A6
- Genetically Modfied Update Developer Playthrough - 14 October 2018
Over the past few weeks Dave has been playing through a new save on the new map, with me coaching him along the way. You can follow us on twitch to catch the streams live each week, and catch up by watching the archives below. Let us know how you think Dave is doing! Any tips you can share with him? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jucUE3FgWeU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR7WvM0h5-I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxcJ55olCTg https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F28664931%2Fc04ffc975a1204d8105708bf973908716863c06e.png
- Patch Notes 12/10/18 - Plus Support Cycle 28 in the GDWC2018 Fan Favourite Vote - 12 October 2018
Patch Notes Population counters are now checked for error once per in game day. The time acceleration may be introducing slight errors which will grow over time on extreamly long runs. This sanity check should deal with those errors. Creatures can now no longer see things which are far above or below them, such as on the cliffs in the new map. Our other game, Cycle 28 has made it to the final of the GDWC2018 fan favourite award. If you could support us by clicking the image below and voting for Cycle 28 we would really appreciate it. If you haven't bought Cycle 28 you can get 20% off in the Pill Bug Interactive Collection. https://cdn.steampulse.org/steam/asset?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsteamcdn-a.akamaihd.net%2Fsteamcommunity%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fclans%2F28664931%2Fbaa9cebf1aca288b6bac6f7e34a3e96cf54bf6c3.png
