 Prior to SpaceChem , Zach Barth , the designer behind Zachtronics Industries , had created several Flash @-@ based browser games with automation puzzles , including The Codex of Alchemical Engineering where the player had to place and program manipulator arms to construct atoms and molecules following the rules of alchemy . Barth had wanted to expand the ideas in Codex to include more realistic aspects of chemistry , such as more complex molecules , but did not pursue the idea immediately afterwards . About a year after completing Codex , Barth was inspired by the disused chemical plant at Gas Works Park in Seattle , giving him the idea to incorporate pipelines into the basic mechanics of molecule @-@ building from Codex . 
