Notes

Mini-minecraft more than Carbon Copy

Despite punching well above its weight in the areas of film, music and literature, one area of popular culture where New Zealand has traditionally struggled to establish a global presence is the market for video games. Aside from Wellington-based Sidhe Interactive's popular rugby titles and 1995's cult Megadrive classic Super Skidmarks, the list of Kiwi games that have earned international recognition is a surprisingly small.



Modern mass-market games with multimillion-dollar budgets and international publishers backing them, make it virtually impossible for new companies to get a foothold. This is particularly the case for console games that are that are sold through off-the-shelf stores. With limited options as far as domestic developers are concerned, developers with a killer idea have looked at mobile gaming as a method to break into the industry.



Hawke's Bay developer David Frampton is at the forefront of this new wave digital entrepreneurs. He's an App Store fan already after making his name with Chopper and its imaginatively named sequel Chopper 2. Frampton made headlines earlier in the month with the game that racked up more than a million downloads within three days. It went on to become the No. number one iPad app in 15 countries.



The Blockheads is a game without a storyline, narrative structure or overall goal. It's difficult to determine the "point" of The Blockheads. There's no princess to save or a hostile alien to repel or a storyline to unravel. There's no high score or boss to defeat. It's a game with no end where your only objective is to explore and develop. This blank slate method allows you to create and explore at your own pace.



Despite the fact that your muted protagonist is not a person You will soon feel a sense of connection to the cube-headed character. Their mood is an essential aspect of the game.



If they go on too many adventures, they won't be capable of sleeping or eating enough. This will leave them exhausted and hungry. You'll need to find sources to build shelters and food. Beginning with simple structures like huts as you explore more of the vast virtual world you'll discover materials that will enable you to build more sophisticated tools and build enormous palaces.



Although the game costs nothing to play, its fiendishly addictive nature is perfectly suited to the "freemium" structure that a lot of mobile games have adopted. If you are patient enough to wait for your blockhead to complete tasks like building, mining, or sleeping, then you will not have to invest any money. Minecraftservers.fun However, you can invest in the game's currency, known as "time crystals" to speed up the process and make more complicated items.



With all this talk about mining and crafting it's difficult to discuss The Blockheads without not mentioning the elephant in our room. Another idea from an indie musician and band leader, Markus "Notch" Persson's extremely successful Minecraft. The two games have a lot in the same way, from their quirky low-res graphics to the emphasis on exploration, resource collection, and creative expression.



When the Nelson Mail's Adam Roberts interviewed Frampton earlier this month, online commentators were quick to highlight the striking similarities between the two games, suggesting and suggesting that The Blockheads was little more than an "Minecraft rip-off".



It's understandable people would think this way. While there's no doubt that the game of Notch was an obvious source of inspiration for Frampton There's much more to The Blockheads that the other similar cash-in-sandwapware makes its way to the App Store.



It's also unfair and unwise to rely on the similarities between two games to prove plagiarism. Video games, more so than other forms of entertainment, are built on the previous work.



As technology advances and trends become more popular, developers will continue to refine and improve what "works" and draw inspiration from the most innovative games. As Space Invaders led to a wave of space shooters, Super Mario Bros set the trend of side-scrolling platformers and Gears of War opened the floodgates of cover-based shooters. the unprecedented success of an innovative indie blockbuster such as Minecraft will surely cause ripples in 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 version of the sandbox with a creative twist genre is perfectly suited for the mobile format and its use of touchscreen controls is well-designed and easy to use.



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



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


Homepage: https://minecraftservers.fun/