Bonus Interview with Oskar van Deventer

Oskar van Deventer is one of the greatest puzzle designers in the world. He is also fascinated by gears and gearing mechanisms, and he combined his talents to invent the Gear Cube, a twisting cube puzzle that is crucial to the design of AnchoR! We asked him about his passion for gears...

You’ve created some amazing toys and inventions. What got you interested in creating these intricate objects originally?

Thank you! I started designing puzzles with getting the book “Puzzles of the World” when I was 12 years old. After making many puzzles from the book, I started designing my own.

More specifically, you have created countless puzzles and toys using gears... What is it about gears that fascinates you?

I like the implicit complexity of gears. There is a challenge in designing gear mechanisms with specific properties, and I like such design challenges.

In the world of Clockwork Planet, gears are used in place of electromagnetic mechanisms... Even in the real world, intricate clockwork watches are still valued highly despite the existence of digital technology. What is it about gears and physical mechanisms that appeals so much to you?

I like the challenge in designing mechanical puzzles, as the physical aspect limits possibilities.

A lot of your creations use gears in ways that people have said were “impossible” to create, like gears which all rotate in the same direction, or gears which mesh in a triangle... As an inventor, how does it feel to create these things other people have said were “impossible”?

Of course such compliments feel great. It is fantastic to get all the feedback from people that enjoy my work.

Why do you think that mechanical technologies, like gears and steam engines, are so popular in fantasy and science fiction?

I do not know. For me, they are inspiration and fascination about their visible complexity.

In an ever-increasing digital world, what do you think the place is for clockwork and gear mechanisms for humanity’s future?

Our digital world is getting more and more robotized. You are the owner of tens of electro motors and gear mechanisms, perhaps without realizing it. More robots and more automation means more gears :-)

Many of Oskar’s puzzles like the Gear Cube are mass produced worldwide, and he is always presenting new creations on his 100,000+ subscriber YouTube channel, OskarPuzzles!