Machinarium places the role of technology and invention in a new light. As you may recall, Josef is discarded in a junkyard in the first moment of the game. He is obsolete, an undesired presence in a city consumed by a technocratic hierarchy. And yet he is filled with sentiment, with energy and exceptional intelligence. For the most part, unsophisticated robots in the city tend to occupy servant roles and unwanted functions. They can be found in the lower spacial strata, which in itself is a telling visual aid. Older models struggle to remain functional and evade obsolescence. In fact the city evasion scene at the end, which is very reminiscent of Film Noir's desire to escape from the claws of the unforgiving city, indicates how he has in fact achieved a higher and liberating sense of consciousness about himself and his role in the world; as opposed to his automated brethren, still latched onto their preset functions which they carry out ad infinitum.

This powerful metaphor is also a cautionary tale of sorts which suggests that our wasteful society has grown accustomed to being too quick to discard technology as a part of a cycle fueled by the perpetual yearning for what is new; offering no second life to what is suddenly considered archaic and unwanted. There's a hint of ecological thinking in this as well.

It also speaks of the conditions in which the game was created. Machinarium plays much like an old computer point-and-click adventure, for one, and can be played in most any computer without concerns for hardware requirements. It relies far more on skilled artistry – animation, visual and sound design – than in technology itself. Amanita continues to make games using vulgar and, to an extent, outmoded game creation tools due to their accessibility. As such, their games display what can be achieved when the gift of invention takes precedence over the obsession for state-of-the-art technology.

I think it's why the Samorost-bot section is so arresting and effective — it disturbs the relationship b/w Josef and the Gang by introducing the possibility that the King condones or benefits from some sort of vague imperialism/slaving operation.

If we accept the idea that the big robot at the end is in fact "The royal robot" and that the game is depicting a world of slavery, then would it follow that the black hat gang are in fact revolutionaries? After all they break in to the "royal tower" and depose the "king" before attempting to executing him with a bomb.

The thing is the game presents these guys as the enemy, as even though the police/soldiers are shown as strict and characters are nervous around them they at least aren't outright cruel and malicious.

Perhaps Josef's motivations are simply it's better having a king than the alternatives? Thinking about it, to me it seems like the characters in all amanita's games are doing as much good as they can within whatever world they find themselves.

Another thing that might be relevant here is that the robot that was taken from it's home world is from the game samorost 2 and that game starts with the main character's dog being kidnapped by aliens and forced to work as a slave for a giant "king" type leader. Seems like a theme and means it's possible then that the robot was a slave on that planet to begin with.

One final thing, do you think they place you live affected how you see this game? I live in the UK, which of course has a monarchy, so even though I don't exactly agree with them being there I don't have an especially strong reaction against them.

Nope. There is no colloquial reference to the big brained robot in the top of the tower as being "The Royal Robot" anywhere on The Internet (nor in any of the material provided by Amanita Design). As far as I can tell you, sir, are the only person who has chosen to refer to that character this way.

Furthermore, the very concept of "Machinarium: The enslavement of Josef" as being some sort of "robo-bondage" tale is (as far as I can tell) entirely your own invention. ( you are smoking some dang war shat du! )