A game that truly is mine
Not gonna lie, Minecraft has probably stepped on the toes of a few game-industry execs.
Recently, I’ve been blown away by “indie”/independent game “studios.”
It all started with World of Goo by the lovely 2D Boy studio - the art style was fantastic. It looks great; but it by no means stresses modern hardware. Meaning the game is enjoyable by all types of PC users. I think the reach if your creation is incredibly important.
Side-tangent: there will always be reach limitations. You can’t make a painting, and expect the blind to appreciate it. (Perhaps you could make a textured canvas though?)
Regardless if you can make your art more accessible will benefit the world. For instance, put it on display in a “public museum” as opposed to selling it to a private collector.
A game certainly doesn’t need “great graphics” to survive; it needs to be accessible and enjoyable for as many people as possible.
The next game I took interest in was LittleBigPlanet, another “indie” studio. I put indie in quotes because they are still deeply infected with the big-industry-bug. MediaMolecule has deep pockets, courtesy of Sony, from my understanding.
Recently I visited a friends house, and he was playing Minecraft for a while. Now I had heard of this game; I even tried to play it on the “free weekend” (which didn’t work out so well); but I didn’t really like the concept of the game. From the videos I had seen, it looked tedious, boring, and to be frank, it looked like complete crap. $15? For alpha software? (A point in the game’s defense, you will get the full version for free if you get a paid account now)
After seeing him play it, I was somewhat captivated. I just had to try it on my own terms. So I dropped $15, and played the game.
I set up my account at about 4 in the afternoon. I played non-stop until 2 in the morning. The game was ridiculously entertaining.
Not only does it allow for unbridled “destructivity” — it also gives you a great sense of reward. The game truly stretches the limits of your imagination. Which is something most games are solely lacking in.
You see, now a days, game developers get to have all the creative, imaginative fun. The players then get immersed into this pre-created world. It can be fun, of course. But very few games allow the player to create.
Those that do have pretty severe limitations. The Sims franchise has nothing on Minecraft.
I have never seen a game that literally sets you free in another world. With the power to destroy; and subsequently create.
That is another thing I love about this game; you cannot create from scratch. You must first destroy something. Whether it be a tree, an animal, or a patch of dirt. Everything has a cost. It also encourages something I call “destructivity” — the art of simply destroying stuff, and ending up with a completely free standing structure.
You can simply dig, never placing a single block, and end up with a fully functional “house.”
The other thing I love about this game is that it’s so repetitive and tedious. Yet I don’t seem to get bored of it.
With every block you destroy; you can’t help but wonder “if I destroy just one more block, will I find [iron or coal or diamond or gold]?”
I frown upon games that require incredibly tedious action. (I’m looking at you, Farmville.) But this game seems to perfectly weight tedious action versus reward. Just like real life.
We work, and work, and work, and work, and then comes payday! We drive, and drive, and drive, and drive, and then we get to Grandma’s house and we get to eat ribs and watch a movie and drink all the soda in the fridge! (For serious — my grandparents have a ridiculous amount of soda)
Now this game does have a bit of a “game” aspect to it. It’s not entirely a sandbox. You have to fight off monsters, if you’re playing on a difficulty above “peaceful.”
Admittedly I spend most of my time playing on peaceful. I’ll set the difficulty up a notch if I’m particularly bored, or I need some gunpowder, etc.
I honestly hope that this game is under pretty constant development. Whether that be an “expansion” model; or free updates; or through community mods. — This is so much more than a game. It’s a world. In fact, it’s more than a world. It’s 8 worlds :p. (Rumor has it the map can expand to be over 8 times the surface area of the Earth. (to minecraftian scale; whatever that may be.))
Anyways; I highly recommend dropping $15 on this game, or wait for a sale, or have a friend buy it for you. See you in game
