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Minecraft
MiquelFire
Member #3,110
January 2003
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I'm hoping it doesn't go beta (and price goes up) before I have a chance to try it on a computer that should be able to handle it.

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verthex
Member #11,340
September 2009
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I'm hoping it doesn't go beta (and price goes up) before I have a chance to try it on a computer that should be able to handle it.

The thing that turns me off is that exactly, the resolution is something like it was made around the time of Doom with raster graphics for blocks. Is there any news about hi-res graphics instead of just that.

MiquelFire
Member #3,110
January 2003
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I think it's meant to look like that.

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Febreze (and other air fresheners actually) is just below perfumes/colognes, and that's just below dead skunks in terms of smells that offend my nose.
MiquelFire.red
If anyone is of the opinion that there is no systemic racism in America, they're either blind, stupid, or racist too. ~Edgar Reynaldo

verthex
Member #11,340
September 2009
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I think it's meant to look like that.

They could make a low-res and a high-res game option, one with textures for high res.

Chris Katko
Member #1,881
January 2002
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verthex said:

The thing that turns me off is that exactly, the resolution is something like it was made around the time of Doom with raster graphics for blocks. Is there any news about hi-res graphics instead of just that.

The game is a physics one. The blocks are 100% intentional. Essentially, the world is a 3-D bitmap and the art-style follows suit. I think the art is inherently "cute" looking, which works well with the game because most people design cute structures such as castles and dungeons.

Moreover, the guy making it used to be a game developer and now he quit his job and is going the indie route. So he's a good programmer but not a good artist, so he chose to make a game that plays to his strengths and doesn't require much of his weak talents.

I'm routing for him and I hope he succeeds in his dream! I love basic games likes this. Try Clonk Rage for a very advanced 2-D version of this.

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"Political Correctness is fascism disguised as manners" --George Carlin

verthex
Member #11,340
September 2009
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The game is a physics one.

What physics?

Quote:

I'm routing for him and I hope he succeeds in his dream! I love basic games likes this.

Me too, although I play games for the game not because the brand name "X" made it.

Jonatan Hedborg
Member #4,886
July 2004
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verthex said:

Me too, although I play games for the game not because the brand name "X" made it.

What "brand" are you referring to? Indie? It's not a brand, it simply means that the developer is not being payed in advance by a publisher, and that he has complete creative control over his product. If this was not an indie game, we certainly would not be playing it right now, since it would not be released to the public yet.

verthex said:

Is there any news about hi-res graphics instead of just that.

I don't really care much about pretty, high resolution graphics. I often play ascii-based roguelikes, simply because they have very deep, interesting and emergent gameplay. This game is not quite there yet, but I think it will be. And it improves almost daily. In the few days since I bought the game, it has gotten a day/night cycle (with undead mobs catching fire during the day), two new level generators and tweaks to the aforementioned day/night cycle based on feedback from the community.

verthex said:

Well, I guess I've played a lot more games in my life and maybe thats why I dont find that game appealing. Obviously todays internet commercialization allows for a much larger market reach and that is one reason why games are easier to sell compared to 10 years ago.

What does that even mean? It sounds like you are talking about shovelware for the Wii.

Billybob
Member #3,136
January 2003

I just bought the game. Mostly for the fun of watching it develop. I know I'll be bored with it in a day or two, so that normally would not be worth $14USD. Looking at the dev blog, though, and the thriving community, I know I will be coming back often to try new features. So I guess I am paying to watch sausage be made. How odd.

At first, it struck me as odd to pay to watch someone develop a game. My conclusion is that the difference between watching this guy make Minecraft, and you guys make Allegro games, is that his progress is much faster. I'm paying money for my impatience :P

weapon_S
Member #7,859
October 2006
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It's Java? Now I can certainly forget playing it due to system requirements... It looks promising, but I think the minimalistic approach is,as it is now, still far from a 'cutesy' style. Rather, it looks 'hacky'. I can appreciate the approach the developer has taken, though. I never buy PC games, though.
<--Note the tasteless avatar change

verthex
Member #11,340
September 2009
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What does that even mean? It sounds like you are talking about shovelware for the Wii.

No, I've just played many many games over many many years. There have been only a few that have stood out, and right the rest seemed like shovelware but it wasnt just the Wii. Mostly snes and some playstation games.

Quote:

If this was not an indie game, we certainly would not be playing it right now, since it would not be released to the public yet.

I've played a lot of prereleased squaresoft games. In fact I may still have the disk for final fantasy 8.

Billybob
Member #3,136
January 2003

verthex said:

I've just played many many games over many many years

Get to work, slacker. :P

Neil Walker
Member #210
April 2000
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verthex said:

This is gaming today!

Too right as well. It's not the developers fault that so many American's have SDTV. SDTV should be classed in the same way as IE6 is now.

If people can afford a PS3 or 360, they can afford a decent TV. If they did that, we wouldn't have the ridiculous Microsoft requirement to not put anything important in the outer third of the screen of an xbox game.

Neil.
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Jonatan Hedborg
Member #4,886
July 2004
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verthex said:

No, I've just played many many games over many many years.

You keep saying that, as if it has any bearing. And this is on a game developer forum, where I'm sure the majority of people would say the same.

deps
Member #3,858
September 2003
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yes, who hasn't played lots and lots of games? I have done it for over 20 years now...

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Chris Katko
Member #1,881
January 2002
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I bought Minecraft today. The new survival mode is hard! I'm getting mauled left and right trying to play an Inland-style Hell level. Granted, I don't really know what I'm doing yet--especially with crafting--but man, I feel like a weakling being destroyed by... little skeletons.

On the other hand, I took my starting house and stole the torches and immediately made stairs up to the top of my house and build castle walls around it. And then I connecting walkways across two trees. If I actually had some arrows I'd be rocking my enemies. I have no such equipment, yet, however.

-----sig:
“Programs should be written for people to read, and only incidentally for machines to execute.” - Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
"Political Correctness is fascism disguised as manners" --George Carlin

Neil Black
Member #7,867
October 2006
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I can't read the paypal page, so I can't buy it. :(

Chris Katko
Member #1,881
January 2002
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The floating levels are cool as crap too.

I can't read the paypal page, so I can't buy it

Click the foreign word on the upper right and switch to English.

-----sig:
“Programs should be written for people to read, and only incidentally for machines to execute.” - Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
"Political Correctness is fascism disguised as manners" --George Carlin

Neil Black
Member #7,867
October 2006
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I know :P

verthex
Member #11,340
September 2009
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I sincerely wonder if this guy developing this game will just run with all of your money and never finish the game instead.

You keep saying that, as if it has any bearing. And this is on a game developer forum, where I'm sure the majority of people would say the same.

I guess I'll refer you to game theory and explain my viewpoint on that level. Basically every game has a point, if there was no point then there would be no game, the point of the game and how it is achieved is called gameplay. If the gameplay sucks whats the point? In between the point of playing a game and using strategy to achieve certain goals comes a story line, which most modern games require because even the game with best of graphics and characters just looks really dull without one.

Minecraft has (as most of you have shown) very little of what I would like in a game as I just outlined above. Does that answer your question....

Jonatan Hedborg
Member #4,886
July 2004
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verthex said:

I guess I'll refer you to game theory and explain my viewpoint on that level. Basically every game has a point, if there was no point then there would be no game, the point of the game and how it is achieved is called gameplay. If the gameplay sucks whats the point? In between the point of playing a game and using strategy to achieve certain goals comes a story line, which most modern games require because even the game with best of graphics and characters just looks really dull without one.

All that is subjective. I think the basic idea and gameplay is fun, and has a lot of potential. Potential is the keyword here. It is not done (but I obviously think it will be one day).

And games can work fine without a narrative or even a goal (and just emergent behavior and self-created goals) - just look at the sims, one of the worlds most successful game franchises (I don't really like those games, but still a valid point). Sure, they may not be (in game theory terms) a "game", but that matters very little. Prisoners Dilema is a "game" according to game theory, and it's not very enjoyable.

I'm not saying you have to like it, but unless you are very narrow minded, you must realize why a lot of people do.

Billybob
Member #3,136
January 2003

Anyone have tips for keeping track of their mines? I dug down from my castle and started finding a bunch of different caverns. There are so many caverns, it is now impossible for me to navigate my mine :'( I even had to dig a shaft straight up and out to make my escape from the caverns, because I couldn't find my way back.

Plus, all of these caverns are dark, so now monsters are leaking into my castle :P I'd light them all up if I could, but their number and scope seem endless!

Oh well, at least my farm is doing well.

OICW
Member #4,069
November 2003
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Billybob: You know for what PC gamers in the times of Dungeon Master used square paper and pencil? ;)

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bamccaig
Member #7,536
July 2006
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verthex said:

I sincerely wonder if this guy developing this game will just run with all of your money and never finish the game instead.

Why would he? Judging by the number of sales, he seems to have sufficient funds to live for a year or more without having to otherwise work. He's basically free to continue developing this game. That sounds like a dream life to me.

verthex said:

In between the point of playing a game and using strategy to achieve certain goals comes a story line, which most modern games require because even the game with best of graphics and characters just looks really dull without one.

I can't find it now, but I remember reading a post from Notch (the developer) saying that he would ultimately like to add a story and goals, etc.

Billybob said:

Anyone have tips for keeping track of their mines? I dug down from my castle and started finding a bunch of different caverns. There are so many caverns, it is now impossible for me to navigate my mine :'( I even had to dig a shaft straight up and out to make my escape from the caverns, because I couldn't find my way back.

Plus, all of these caverns are dark, so now monsters are leaking into my castle :P I'd light them all up if I could, but their number and scope seem endless!

I kept my mine small enough to light up. Once you find coal and learn to craft torches, you're golden. I now have huge caverns and they're all decently lit so I generally don't have to worry about monsters. You also have enough time to learn your way through them so for the most part you can navigate by torch light and memory.

I did manage to dig into a natural cave that happens to lead outside, so I currently have a lot of trouble with baddies there, but I plan to seal up the exits when I find time. :)

Jonatan Hedborg
Member #4,886
July 2004
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Billybob said:

I'd light them all up if I could, but their number and scope seem endless!

Bring a few hundred torches and you'll be fine :) Just run around placing them all over.

As for finding.... yeah, that can be quite hard. I sometimes place "markers" out of wood or dirt to point me back towards the exit. Like an 9x9 "T" in the ground, the narrow end towards the cave exit.

I also like to fully explore/excavate a single cave before I move on.

mEmO
Member #1,124
March 2001
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verthex said:

Basically every game has a point, if there was no point then there would be no game, the point of the game and how it is achieved is called gameplay

What makes free-form games like Minecraft so appealing to such a large playerbase is the ability to set, pursue and achieve your own goals within the confines of the game rules. For a player who enjoys this style of gaming, the gameplay of Minecraft is more or less perfect. It allows for a huge, almost endless set of possible goals, while the basic game mechanics are very simple and concrete.

You must also not forget the community factor. Minecraft has a very active and imaginative playerbase. On the forums there are a plethora of players creating challenges, ideas, new game modes and content for the game. In the long run, this has proven to be more important to the longevity of a game than the size of the game itself. Just consider Hal-Life, Warcraft 3 or any other of the popular modable games. The player-created content and challenges is what keeps them going, not the original gameplay.

So it all boils down to what kind of entertainment you seek. If you want 800 minutes of narrated, high-poly, vertex-shaded interactive storytelling then sure; games such as this isn't for you. But if you want to play a sandbox (quite litterally) game, with the possibility to pursue your own goals without being forced down this path or the other, then it is perfect. But don't go on claiming that the gameplay sucks, period. You might as well claim that pie is better than cake.

[edit]
Woha, apparently I'm slow. Serves me well for making dinner while writing a post.

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