4 ms·

I just picked it up last night, its pretty weird to think that this game I bought way back in 2010 is still relevant. Indie hits like super meat boy and limbo c

I just picked it up last night, its pretty weird to think that this game I bought way back in 2010 is still relevant. Indie hits like super meat boy and limbo came out in 2010, Triple As like God of War 3 and Fallout NV. But this java applet somehow has outlived them all. There arn't many 8 year old+ games that still have this much traction. I wonder how it holds onto it's user base, or was it just dumb blind luck that it hit big with the youtube boom

lcfcjs 9y ago
It's mainly preteens that play this game, lets be honest.
shr_nk 9y ago
Constant updates. The game doesn't follow any real story so it doesn't have that limiting factor.
erickhill 9y ago
Old stereotypical analogy, but Legos haven't become obsolete, either. My kids can pick it up and "just build" without boredom at any time.
- Waterluvian 9y ago
  Almost all the Lego my parents bought 30-20 years ago is viable and relevant when my kids are old enough. I wonder what the story is around LEGO and not having to make their product obsolete over time. Could you imagine if they changed the scale just a little bit every 5 or so years?
  - PhasmaFelis 9y ago
    The wonderful thing about construction toys is this: however cool an action figure is, you'll eventually get bored of it, and then it essentially becomes clutter. But Legos never stop being useful. The more of them you have, the more you can build.
  - cookiecaper 9y ago
    LEGO has been on the ropes before. Generic blocks became a race to the bottom. LEGO pulled a Hail Mary and saved itself mostly by associating with popular kids' brands (and leveraging that association to create their own popular brands, like Lego Friends, Legends of Chima, and The LEGO Movie). The irony of that is that most LEGO brick sets are now pre-cut and specially made so that they're hard to use beyond their specific design. Kids don't really buy giant sets of generic, inter-compatible LEGO anymore. They buy licensed LEGO that allow them to rebuild a single figure (potentially with minor customizations), and it seems completely powered by imitating the characters and properties they enjoy, and not the joy of construction. First row of results on Offical LEGO Google Shopping page is 6 pre-cuts: Mercedes AMG GT3, "Expert Assembly Square", Cinderella Castle, VW Bug, Ferrari SF16-H, and "Winter Toy Shop". Screenshot at https://i.imgur.com/c0tP7b4.jpg https://i.imgur.com/c0tP7b4.jpg . Notice all of these are pre-cuts, and only two are non-licensed (Toy Shop/Assembly Square). Minecraft is different in that to this point, licensing has made only minimal excursions (the Mario packs probably being the most prominent example).
    - thesuitonym 9y ago
      I see this complaint a lot when it comes to legos, but it couldn't be more wrong. I can't say for sure on the Disney castle, but those other ones are all using fairly standard parts. Plus, any new pieces are still compatible with the legos you had years ago. fwiw as a kid my parents bought me mostly sets with things like pirate ships and castles and stuff, a specific goal. They were no less fun than the big boxes--in fact, sometimes they were more fun because I had all the pieces I needed to make whatever it was, rather than trying to make something out of the generic boxes and running out of a certain unit. I'm not really sure where this complaint comes from, Legos today interlock exactly as they did 30 years ago, so what if they come with a cute guidebook that shows you how to make an X-wing?
      - Waterluvian 9y ago
        I grew up absolutely proud of my complete Ice Planet Lego set. I built it all once and then through years of imagination the ships and vehicles all slowly mutated into things that don't resemble the original designs at all. I would say that the original designs primed my imagination.
munificent 9y ago
> I wonder how it holds onto it's user base In most games, you are consuming an experience created by the developers. In Minecraft, you are creating your own experience in an environment created by the developers. There's no end to what you can do in the game.
Fej 9y ago
Minecraft isn't just a game anymore. It is a cultural touchstone. An entire generation has been introduced to video games through Minecraft. Furthermore, the gameplay effectively can go on forever. Especially with mods on PC, there are very few limits to what can be done. Entire separate games (e.g. Hunger Games mod) have been implemented. Also, it's one of the best-selling games of all time. That helps. No one bats an eye when, say, Puyo Puyo Tetris gets released and ported. (Yes, I just compared Minecraft to Tetris.)
- seccess 9y ago
  > An entire generation has been introduced to video games through Minecraft. Absolutely, but I would take it one step farther. Minecraft has introduced them to concepts beyond only video games: architecture, circuit design, and people management, to name a few.
- giancarlostoro 9y ago
  > Entire separate games (e.g. Hunger Games mod) have been implemented. Reminds me of why I was hooked to Star Craft / SC Brood War in my youth, same thing with Counter-Strike. Video game modding is probably the best part of any video game, at least for me. There's a group of people redoing the Morrowind engine so they can allow the game to live on in other OS' for those who have the disk. I have to wonder if GTA had never had online PC game mods if Rockstar would of ever made it an online game as soon as they did.
jason_slack 9y ago
Well, I still play Super Meat Boy. I just bought a new Alienware laptop and I plan to play this weekend (via Steam). I haven't ever played any of the console versions, except XBox 360. If I bought a new console now, I'm not sure what else I would play. Perhaps a Switch would be my best choice since I like the Mario games and older Zelda games. Edit: I own Fez, Braid, etc also, but I don't play them much.
- mercer 9y ago
  I'd buy the Switch just for the new Zelda, and the last time I bought an entire console for (at least) one game was Metroid Prime for the GameCube!
gdulli 9y ago
> somehow You compared games that have a definitive start and end to a sandbox experience that doesn't have an end. It's like asking why people still playing with Legos but aren't watching Annie Hall every week.
oneweekwonder 9y ago
> There arn't many 8 year old+ games that still have this much traction. Funny that other games with this traction is also *craft.

lcfcjs 9y ago

It's mainly preteens that play this game, lets be honest.

shr_nk 9y ago

Constant updates. The game doesn't follow any real story so it doesn't have that limiting factor.

erickhill 9y ago

Old stereotypical analogy, but Legos haven't become obsolete, either. My kids can pick it up and "just build" without boredom at any time.

Waterluvian 9y ago
Almost all the Lego my parents bought 30-20 years ago is viable and relevant when my kids are old enough. I wonder what the story is around LEGO and not having to make their product obsolete over time. Could you imagine if they changed the scale just a little bit every 5 or so years?
- PhasmaFelis 9y ago
  The wonderful thing about construction toys is this: however cool an action figure is, you'll eventually get bored of it, and then it essentially becomes clutter. But Legos never stop being useful. The more of them you have, the more you can build.
- cookiecaper 9y ago
  LEGO has been on the ropes before. Generic blocks became a race to the bottom. LEGO pulled a Hail Mary and saved itself mostly by associating with popular kids' brands (and leveraging that association to create their own popular brands, like Lego Friends, Legends of Chima, and The LEGO Movie). The irony of that is that most LEGO brick sets are now pre-cut and specially made so that they're hard to use beyond their specific design. Kids don't really buy giant sets of generic, inter-compatible LEGO anymore. They buy licensed LEGO that allow them to rebuild a single figure (potentially with minor customizations), and it seems completely powered by imitating the characters and properties they enjoy, and not the joy of construction. First row of results on Offical LEGO Google Shopping page is 6 pre-cuts: Mercedes AMG GT3, "Expert Assembly Square", Cinderella Castle, VW Bug, Ferrari SF16-H, and "Winter Toy Shop". Screenshot at https://i.imgur.com/c0tP7b4.jpg https://i.imgur.com/c0tP7b4.jpg . Notice all of these are pre-cuts, and only two are non-licensed (Toy Shop/Assembly Square). Minecraft is different in that to this point, licensing has made only minimal excursions (the Mario packs probably being the most prominent example).
  - thesuitonym 9y ago
    I see this complaint a lot when it comes to legos, but it couldn't be more wrong. I can't say for sure on the Disney castle, but those other ones are all using fairly standard parts. Plus, any new pieces are still compatible with the legos you had years ago. fwiw as a kid my parents bought me mostly sets with things like pirate ships and castles and stuff, a specific goal. They were no less fun than the big boxes--in fact, sometimes they were more fun because I had all the pieces I needed to make whatever it was, rather than trying to make something out of the generic boxes and running out of a certain unit. I'm not really sure where this complaint comes from, Legos today interlock exactly as they did 30 years ago, so what if they come with a cute guidebook that shows you how to make an X-wing?
    - Waterluvian 9y ago
      I grew up absolutely proud of my complete Ice Planet Lego set. I built it all once and then through years of imagination the ships and vehicles all slowly mutated into things that don't resemble the original designs at all. I would say that the original designs primed my imagination.

munificent 9y ago

> I wonder how it holds onto it's user base In most games, you are consuming an experience created by the developers. In Minecraft, you are creating your own experience in an environment created by the developers. There's no end to what you can do in the game.

Fej 9y ago

Minecraft isn't just a game anymore. It is a cultural touchstone. An entire generation has been introduced to video games through Minecraft. Furthermore, the gameplay effectively can go on forever. Especially with mods on PC, there are very few limits to what can be done. Entire separate games (e.g. Hunger Games mod) have been implemented. Also, it's one of the best-selling games of all time. That helps. No one bats an eye when, say, Puyo Puyo Tetris gets released and ported. (Yes, I just compared Minecraft to Tetris.)

seccess 9y ago
> An entire generation has been introduced to video games through Minecraft. Absolutely, but I would take it one step farther. Minecraft has introduced them to concepts beyond only video games: architecture, circuit design, and people management, to name a few.
giancarlostoro 9y ago
> Entire separate games (e.g. Hunger Games mod) have been implemented. Reminds me of why I was hooked to Star Craft / SC Brood War in my youth, same thing with Counter-Strike. Video game modding is probably the best part of any video game, at least for me. There's a group of people redoing the Morrowind engine so they can allow the game to live on in other OS' for those who have the disk. I have to wonder if GTA had never had online PC game mods if Rockstar would of ever made it an online game as soon as they did.

jason_slack 9y ago

Well, I still play Super Meat Boy. I just bought a new Alienware laptop and I plan to play this weekend (via Steam). I haven't ever played any of the console versions, except XBox 360. If I bought a new console now, I'm not sure what else I would play. Perhaps a Switch would be my best choice since I like the Mario games and older Zelda games. Edit: I own Fez, Braid, etc also, but I don't play them much.

mercer 9y ago
I'd buy the Switch just for the new Zelda, and the last time I bought an entire console for (at least) one game was Metroid Prime for the GameCube!

gdulli 9y ago

> somehow You compared games that have a definitive start and end to a sandbox experience that doesn't have an end. It's like asking why people still playing with Legos but aren't watching Annie Hall every week.

oneweekwonder 9y ago

> There arn't many 8 year old+ games that still have this much traction. Funny that other games with this traction is also *craft.