Case studies

Practical engineering, with the constraints and evidence left in. These project accounts explain what AlienMachine changed, why that layer was chosen, what was verified, and where the result stops.

Kobo Clara BW: more capability, less system change

Embedded integration · e-ink · compatibility and verification

An account-free Kobo expanded with Cobalt, KOReader, Plato, and selected controls while retaining stock firmware. The project included a measured landscape-touch fix, an independent administrative access path, and a clear distinction between installed changes and physically verified behavior.

• Challenge: add capability without depending on an unproven operating-system replacement or boot-layer recovery plan.
• Outcome: working core app/stock transitions and measured stock-orientation checks, with a deliberately minimal everyday menu.
• Evidence: fixed-pose corner observations, menu/return checks, restart verification, and a published upstream compatibility report.

Read the Kobo case study · Read the detailed engineering story

Cog Wars: website, SEO and AI visibility

Web engineering · technical SEO · live-site verification

A site for a browser game and its art universe, covering the playable build, lore, gallery, devlog, and feedback. The case study describes the build and its subsequent live-site audits, including structured data, indexing decisions, accessibility, and measured layout fixes.

• Challenge: make a substantial project discoverable while keeping early-build claims accurate and the site fast.
• Outcome: a published site with documented technical improvements and explicit boundaries around what the game currently offers.
• Evidence: the case study records live-site measurements and explains the before-and-after findings.

Read the Cog Wars case study · Read the launch story · Visit the game site

Find the right level of detail

The case studies are project-specific accounts, not guarantees that every result transfers unchanged to another product, environment, or release.