Notes

Mini-minecraft more than A Carbon Copy

New Zealand is a strong nation in film, music and literature, but it has had difficulty making an international mark in the world of video games. The list of Kiwi games that have earned international recognition is surprisingly short with the notable exception of Sidhe Interactive's rugby titles from Wellington and 1995's Megadrive classic Super Skidmarks.



Modern games, which are mass-market and have multimillion-dollar budgets and international publishers backing them, make it almost impossible for new companies to establish themselves. This is especially true for console titles sold through off-the-shelf stores. Mobile gaming is an attractive option for programmers with great ideas, as there are few domestic developers.



At the top of this new wave of Kiwi digital entrepreneurs is Hawke's Bay developer David Frampton who is already an App Store enthusiast after making his name known with quick-fix hit Chopper and its imaginatively-titled sequel Chopper 2, Frampton hit the news earlier this month by releasing a game that racked up more than a million downloads in just three days of its launch on its way to becoming the top iPad app in 15 countries around the world.



The Blockheads is a game with no any narrative structure, storyline or overall goal. In fact, it's difficult to pinpoint on exactly what the "point" of the game is. There's no princess to save, alien invasion to repel or a plot to unravel, there's no high score to beat or a final boss to beat. It's a game that has no end where your only objective is to explore and create. Minecraft This blank slate approach lets you to experiment and create at your own pace.



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



If they spend too much time exploring in a short time, they will not be able to sleep or eat enough. This can make them hungry and exhausted. You'll need to locate resources to build shelter and food. Beginning with basic hut-like structures, as you discover more of the vast virtual world you'll unearth materials that allow you to create more sophisticated tools and build huge palaces.



Although the game is free to play, its intensely addictive nature is perfect for the "freemium" structure that many mobile games have adopted. If you're patient enough to wait for your blockhead to complete tasks such as building, mining and sleeping, you'll never have to pay a dime but by investing in the game's currency, "time crystals", you can speed up the process and create more complex items.



With all this talk of crafting and mining, it would be impossible to discuss The Blockheads without mentioning the elephant in the room, which is another idea of an one-man band indie programmer, Markus "Notch" Persson's phenomenally successful Minecraft. There's no doubt that the two games share lots of things in common, from the zany low-fidelity graphics to the focus on exploration, resource gathering and expression of creativity.



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



It's normal for people to be quick to draw this conclusion. 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 copies of cash-in-sploderware that is available on the App Store.



It's also unjust and lazy to rely on the similarity between two games to establish plagiarism. Video games, more than any other form of entertainment, build on the previous works.



As technology develops and new trends become popular, developers will continue to refine and improve what "works" and take inspiration from the most innovative games. Similar to how 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 to cover-based shooters, the phenomenal success of an innovative indie blockbuster like Minecraft will surely cause ripples within the industry. It's not plagiarism, it's advancing.



If you're a Minecraft fan and you're a Minecraft fan, then you're bound to enjoy The Blockheads but it's more than a carbon copy. While Minecraft works best with a mouse and keyboard, The Blockheads' 2-D take on the creative sandbox genre is perfectly suited to the mobile format and its touchscreen controls are well-designed and easy to use.


Homepage: https://minecraft-wiki.net/