Android and iOS get a little Minecraft love Despite never being advertised, or having a publisher, the Java game Minecraft has sold more than 1 million copies, and is now on its way into mobile phones. The game itself is remarkable only in its lack of objective, primitive graphics and (critically) infinite variety that allows players to create intricate landscapes for …
The one that made me look for my cell phone on my desk, and then search through all my tabs for the offending video, and then wasn't allowed to be paused. Kill it with fire! Seriously, and it didn't work, I paid no attention to whom the ad was for whilst furiously clicking the [disabled] pause button.
inb4 flames for not running ABP, No Script, etc. I'd actually like to see ElReg get some ad revenue, but, if I encounter more ads like the one before the inline video then I'll put a stop to it.
P.S. Videos that automatically play are worse than the <blink> tag.
P.P.S. I thought Minecraft was a troll?
It's still a beta version you know...
Furthermore, only the die-hards fans who bought the game during alpha phase (well... probably around 800K people however!) will benefits from the totally-free-updates-for-the-whole-lifespan-of-the-game.
However, time to get back to my railroad station...
"The game itself is remarkable only in its lack of objective, primitive graphics and (critically) infinite variety that allows players to create intricate landscapes for no reason beyond their own artistic merit"
"Quite what drives players to spend hours creating intricate landscapes is a mystery to most of us"
"no doubt to the delight of Minecraft players and the continuing mystification of everyone else"
What a waste of your, and our, time. How about getting someone who has played the game, or at least likes videogames, to write this stuff?
Minecraft is one of the most unique, creative and charming games to be produced in quite a while. It's cross-platform and runs great on my Ubuntu box. If you haven't tried it then I suggest you do...if you have an open mind that is...
I would compare Minecraft to playing with Lego - IMHO I don't care who you are but playing with Lego is NOT time-wasting.
Thumbs down for this author's obvious and childish prejudice against the game.
This game works because it merges three compelling genres into a package that works.
1. Digital Legos. Who DOESN'T like Legos? The problem with physical Legos are myriad... you need approximately &750,000 to amass the amount and variety of blocks to do anything epic, the inevitable mess rivals a post apocalyptic wasteland - which also causes serious foot injuries, irreparable damage to vacuum cleaners, and present a choking hazard since they look like candy, and candy is delicious. Minecraft gets around all of these issues by presenting an infinite virtual world that cannot be swallowed or stepped upon. Carpal tunnel is still a danger.
2. Zombie Apocalypse Survival Horror (With special guests: Pickle Jihad Battalion and Werewolf Spiders that are only angry at night) - With physical Legos, you only had to worry about that sociopath rescue dog your sister HAD TO HAVE coming by and om nom noming your scale replica of the HMS Ark Royal because he's already chewed every single power cable in the house into sopping masses of PVC and copper confetti, or that bastard little brother who knows he has diplomatic immunity and exploits this with wanton glee as he dismantles hours of work. In MINECRAFT, there are approximately 3 reinforced battalions of Zombies (whose diets consist of chickens or feather pillows, apparently), Skeletons (who, thankfully, rival Stormtroopers and gang bangers for inaccuracy), Spiders (approximately the size of minvans or small SUVs, climb walls, and whose diets consist mainly of YOU.), and FINALLY, the legions of Pickles (Officially known as "Creepers") - Basically, a pickle and a tactical nuclear device got drunk and these were the result. They are quiet, and just want to be close to you. They are very excited. Which is why, once they get close to you, they detonate. Usually this happens when you are building a plate glass window on the side of a cliff... the result is the cliff is now a crater in the hillside, and you are face planted on the stone below, all your painstakingly accumulated worldly goods strewn about in a macabre crime scene portrait. Your items will persist for some time, though! This time is calculated as follows: X - 5 seconds. X being the amount of time it will take you to run back to collect them (in the unlikely event that you: A. Can find your way back to where you were, and B. You don't die 14 times on the way.)
3. Nerdo-Masochism - The subliminally devious sites and sounds work their way into your sub-conscious, stimulating the same pleasure centers as heroin, deep fried desserts, and celebrity divorce battles. You will become the computer science equivalent of the SAS, as you battle to make the game run properly, only to have a forced update destroy everything so you can start from scratch. You will gleefully punish yourself for hours, digging fake holes in a fake world while running from Pickles, falling to your death, burning alive as you tunnel into lava pools roughly the size of the Indian Ocean (approximately once every 17 minutes). Why? Because you have other nerds to impress with your fake dollhouses, and zOMG DIAMONDS!!!! (Which you will decide to take back to your vault for safe keeping approximately 14 seconds before the Pickle Jihad triangulates your sub-dermal homing device and blasts you into a lake of lava roughly the size of the Indian Ocean).
To summarize, possibly the best game ever created.
Supposedly, IF you purchased during alpha, future add-ons (i.e., additional content) once the game is "finished", will be free. If you purchased after alpha, they are not.
Your assertion that it is not a subscription model is absolute correct. There is no monthly charge, nor is there any indication that it will ever move to that. Perhaps the mobile app will require it, but I doubt that.
Redstone circuitry! You can make processors in there!
I only bought the game last week and I'm hopelessly hooked. So far my only redstone creation is a blinking clock circuit "lighthouse" on top of the glass tower on my base but the possibillities are endless. And water! You can make elaborate water systems with the flowing water mechanics, I have the output items from my monster trap automatically delivered though a waterfall into my workroom right next to my crafting bench. Next step is to wire up a pressure plate to a torch to alert me when there's an item waiting for pickup. Or maybe a note-block for an audible alert.
My underwater glass house eagerly awaits more underwater content.
ssssssSSSSSSS BOOM!
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