Notes

Mini-minecraft more than Carbon Copy

New Zealand is a strong country in music, film, and literature but has struggled to make an impact on the international video games market. Aside from Wellington-based Sidhe Interactive's popular rugby titles, as well as 1995's cult Megadrive classic Super Skidmarks, the list of Kiwi games that have received international recognition is a small.



Modern mass-market games with multimillion-dollar budgets and international publishers backing them, make it virtually impossible for new companies to establish themselves. This is especially true for console titles sold through off-the-shelf retailers. Mobile gaming is a viable option for programmers with great ideas, since there aren't many developers from the country.



At the top of this new wave of Kiwi digital entrepreneurs is Hawke's Bay developer David Frampton who is already an App Store aficionado after he made his name known with quick-fix hit Chopper and its imaginatively titled sequel Chopper 2, Frampton hit the news earlier this month with a game that racked more than a million downloads within three days of its launch on its way to becoming the No 1 iPad app in 15 countries around the globe.



The Blockheads is a game without any storyline, narrative structure or overall objective. It's difficult to determine the "point" of the game. There's no princess to save or alien invasion to ward off or a plot to unravel. There's no high score or boss to defeat. It's a game with no end in sight where your sole goal is to discover and create. This open-ended, blank slate approach allows you to create whatever you will, take things at your own pace and let your imagination go wild.



Despite the fact that your protagonist has no personality You will soon feel connected to the cube-headed character. Their mood is an important part of the game.



If you spend too much time exploring without resting or eating, and they'll end up exhausted and hungry , requiring you to gather resources to build shelter and to grow food. As you explore the virtual world, you'll discover materials that can be used to build elaborate palaces and more advanced tools.



The game is free to play, but its addictive nature makes it a good match for the "freemium" model that many mobile games employ. If you're patient enough to wait for your blockhead to complete tasks such as mining, building, and sleeping, then you will not have to invest any money. However, you can invest in the game's currency, called "time crystals" to speed up the process and build more complicated items.



With all this talk of crafting and mining it's impossible to discuss The Blockheads without not mentioning the elephant in our room, which is another idea of an indie musician and band leader, Markus "Notch" Persson's phenomenally successful Minecraft. It's clear that both games have a great deal in common, from the zany low-tech graphics to the emphasis on resource gathering, exploration and creative expression.



When the Nelson Mail's Adam Roberts interviewed Frampton earlier this month, online critics were quick to point out the striking similarities between the two games, inferring and insinuating that The Blockheads was little more than an "Minecraft copycat".



While it's understandable that some would be quick to jump to this conclusion, and there's little doubt that Notch's game was evidently a source of inspiration on a certain level for Frampton, there's far more to The Blockheads than some of the other copy-cat cash in shovelware that makes its way on to the App Store.
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It's also lazy and unfair to jump on similarities between two games to prove of plagiarism. Video games, more than any other form of entertainment, build upon what's been played before them.



As technology develops and new trends become popular developers will refine and revise what "works" and draw inspiration from the most innovative games. Just as Space Invaders led to a wave of space shooters, Super Mario Bros set the trend for side-scrolling platformers, and Gears of War opened the floodgates for cover-based shooters, the unimaginable success of an innovative indie blockbuster such as Minecraft will surely cause ripples within the industry. It's not plagiarism, it's progress.



If you're an avid Minecraft fan and you're a Minecraft fan, then you're bound to love The Blockheads but it's more than a carbon copy. While Minecraft is best played using a mouse and keyboard, The Blockheads' 2-D approach to the sandbox genre is perfectly suited to the mobile format, and its use of touchscreen controls is well-implemented and user-friendly.



It's thrilling to witness an Kiwi developer making waves within gaming's fastest growing sector. With three hits under his experience, it will be fascinating to see what Frampton's Majic Jungle Software creates and develops next.



Majic Jungle Software - The Blockheads (iPad and iPhone) Play for free.


Homepage: https://mcprofile.net/