From Pilgrimages in Space to Star Trek: The Untold Story of Zachtronics' Might-Have-Been Sim

A New Cosmic Puzzler Arrives

This week, the former developers of Zachtronics—now working under the name Coincidence—released U.V.S. Nirmana, a puzzle game that proudly wears its "Zach-like" lineage on its sleeve. Despite being labeled "medium-difficulty," the game has already tangled the synapses of many players, including this writer. You take command of a monastic spacecraft on a pilgrimage across the galaxy, with gameplay steeped in references to Dharmic religions. During your journey, you assist alien civilizations with their philosophical conundrums using a cosmic reactor that works like a music sequencer. By connecting pipes and components, you resolve relationships between abstract terms such as "form," "amen," and "svaha," all while striving to minimize "flux."

From Pilgrimages in Space to Star Trek: The Untold Story of Zachtronics' Might-Have-Been Sim — Source: www.rockpapershotgun.com

Playing through the opening puzzles evokes a peculiar blend of excitement and guilt: excitement because the ritualistic obscurity—like distilling "light" and "sound" into "thought" using valves and relays—is deeply satisfying; guilt because it turns out original Zachtronics founder Zach Barth told me about this game two years ago, and I forgot. Now, here, belatedly, is the second half of that 2024 interview, continuing Zachtronics' journey through the strange and arbitrary cosmos of licensed adaptations.

Zachtronics and the Art of the Engineering Sim

Zachtronics built a reputation on games that let players design, tweak, and optimize virtual machines—think SpaceChem, Infinifactory, and Opus Magnum. Their puzzles often feel like real engineering challenges, requiring logical thinking and systematic experimentation. The studio's cult following grew precisely because of this blend of hard science and whimsy. But what many fans may not know is that Zachtronics almost took a detour into one of the most iconic franchises in television history: Star Trek.

The Almost-Star Trek Sim

In an interview originally conducted in 2024, Zach Barth revealed that the team had engaged in serious discussions with CBS about creating an official Star Trek engineering simulation. "They were totally game to play ball," Barth said, referring to the license holders. The concept: a game where players take the role of a Starfleet engineer, tasked with repairing warp drives, recalibrating deflector shields, and managing power distribution—all using the kind of open-ended, component-based puzzles Zachtronics is known for. Early prototypes reportedly allowed players to physically reroute power conduits inside a schematic of the USS Enterprise's engine room, reminiscent of the classic Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Relics."

However, the project never moved past the whiteboard stage. Barth explained that the demands of a major IP—tight deadlines, mandatory approvals on every visual, and a need to appeal to a broad audience—clashed with Zachtronics' iterative, experiment-first development culture. "We would have needed to build a game that felt like Star Trek but also felt like ours," he said. "Ultimately, we decided both the license and the studio deserved something more focused." The team walked away, but the experience shaped their later work, including the philosophical abstractions of U.V.S. Nirmana.

Why the Star Trek Idea Still Resonates

Fans of both Zachtronics and Star Trek have long speculated about what could have been. The idea of a Trek-themed engineering puzzle game remains tantalizing: imagine diagnosing a plasma leak by real-time swapping isolinear chips, or reconfiguring the deflector dish to emit a tachyon burst. The genre is perfectly suited to the franchise's technobabble and do-it-yourself spirit. Even the failed prototype influenced later titles—the U.V.S. Nirmana reactor system, for example, shares DNA with that early Starfleet power-grid simulation.

The License That Got Away

The near-miss with the Star Trek license is a cautionary tale about the tension between creativity and commerce. Zachtronics, known for their tight-knit team and uncompromising designs, would have had to adapt to the demands of a global brand. In hindsight, Barth expressed no regret: "What we gained was the confidence that our weird, niche games could stand on their own." That confidence shines through in U.V.S. Nirmana, a game that asks players to ponder Eastern philosophy while rewiring a spaceship. It's a testament to the studio's ability to take risks—something a Star Trek sim, for all its appeal, might have tempered.

A Pilgrimage into the Unknown

As players navigate the pilgrim's path in U.V.S. Nirmana, they encounter puzzles that blend meditation and mechanics. The game deliberately avoids clear instructions, encouraging experimentation and reflection. This design philosophy echoes the studio's roots: just as Zachtronics once mulled over warp core breaches, they now ponder the nature of consciousness through valves and flux. It's a beautiful, if occasionally frustrating, journey—and one that reminds us that sometimes the best games are the ones that never get made.

For a deeper look at Zachtronics' design process, see our earlier interview on their unofficial Patreon. And if you're curious about the Star Trek project, the full transcript of Barth's remarks is available in the Zachtronics archive.

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