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Speaking as a someone who has never played either, it's also shocking because World of Warcraft looks like this: http://www.sopheon.com/Portals/1/WoW%20Screens

Speaking as a someone who has never played either, it's also shocking because World of Warcraft looks like this: http://www.sopheon.com/Portals/1/WoW%20Screenshot.jpg http://www.sopheon.com/Portals/1/WoW%20Screenshot.jpg While Minecraft looks like this: http://www.indiegames.com/blog/images/timw/minecraft.jpg http://www.indiegames.com/blog/images/timw/minecraft.jpg

vaksel 16y ago
looks can be changed, my guess is that the first thing he'll do is update the graphics to give the game mainstream appeal. right now people are playing for the gameplay...just like they do with WoW
- city41 16y ago
  I don't know why he'd change the graphics. $350k/day is a pretty resounding confirmation that people don't mind or even like them. (I personally think it's a really nice style, it's got a certain flare to it)
- steveklabnik 16y ago
  Actually, if you upgrade your textures, the game bogs down pretty bad. He'd have to do a serious overhaul to fix the graphics. I'm not sure if I'd want him to, either; the look is very charming.
- zacharycohn 16y ago
  The graphics are simple on purpose - because the game is essentially infinitely scalable (theoretical max map size is 3x surface of the Earth), simple graphics are super important for not lagging servers and clients to hell. He's said in interviews that the improvements he wants to make are improvements that make the game more fun. He's not going to add features that won't somehow add fun, and if he finds that something isn't fun, it's out. Because the graphics are purposely so simplistic, people are okay with that. As soon as you upgrade them and start to make them more modern, you start getting compared to other modern games like WoW, etc. Keep it simple, people won't worry about the graphics.
  - InclinedPlane 16y ago
    The graphics are fine. I'd rather see improvement made in speed of rendering (even on a decent machine, setting "fancy graphics" and a "far" viewplane is a recipe for low framerates and lag) before trying to change the look.
  - prawn 16y ago
    I also think he avoids any issues with the 'uncanny valley' of near-realism in games. If something isn't going to look exactly like a pig wandering the mountain slopes, why not make it look like a Lego pig and be done with it?
city41 16y ago
There's a refreshing vibe working its way through the game community where alternative graphic styles and alternative game concepts are given more acceptance. It's becoming a great time to be a game developer.
JeanPierre 16y ago
You have two distinct directions here, though: World of Warcraft's gameplay is rather complex (compare the image of WoW with this image from Minecraft: http://imgur.com/lQdye.png http://imgur.com/lQdye.png), is about killing monsters and obtaining the best equipment, showing off how much time you're able to spend in-game. I think showing your personality to others is really hard in WoW, at least without talking to them. Minecraft, on the other side, is about you, your personality and creativity. You're able to modify the game as you like: First off all, you're making your own world! Second, texture packs are available, in order to change both the world and your own character. By making the game less complex, it is also very easy to get into, compared to WoW. (I'm sure there are other reasons as well, but I'm no professional game developer.)
kqr2 16y ago
Minecraft is more like a lego world. Recently, someone built a 16-bit ALU in minecraft: http://www.boingboing.net/2010/09/28/working-computer-mad.html http://www.boingboing.net/2010/09/28/working-computer-mad.ht... And a 1:1 scale model of the Enterprise D: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2010/09/the-true-story-behind-the-amazing-minecraft-enterprise-d.ars http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2010/09/the-true-story-be...
joeld42 16y ago
It's called a 'backlash'. It's been happening for a while now, minecraft just dragged it into the spotlight. The current demand is for games that are fun, not games that are pretty or push your gfx card to the limit. It doesn't have to look polished, but the look has to fit the gameplay. Minecraft's blocky graphics allow the player to use their imagination a bit. Don't underestimate that.

vaksel 16y ago

looks can be changed, my guess is that the first thing he'll do is update the graphics to give the game mainstream appeal. right now people are playing for the gameplay...just like they do with WoW

city41 16y ago
I don't know why he'd change the graphics. $350k/day is a pretty resounding confirmation that people don't mind or even like them. (I personally think it's a really nice style, it's got a certain flare to it)
steveklabnik 16y ago
Actually, if you upgrade your textures, the game bogs down pretty bad. He'd have to do a serious overhaul to fix the graphics. I'm not sure if I'd want him to, either; the look is very charming.
zacharycohn 16y ago
The graphics are simple on purpose - because the game is essentially infinitely scalable (theoretical max map size is 3x surface of the Earth), simple graphics are super important for not lagging servers and clients to hell. He's said in interviews that the improvements he wants to make are improvements that make the game more fun. He's not going to add features that won't somehow add fun, and if he finds that something isn't fun, it's out. Because the graphics are purposely so simplistic, people are okay with that. As soon as you upgrade them and start to make them more modern, you start getting compared to other modern games like WoW, etc. Keep it simple, people won't worry about the graphics.
- InclinedPlane 16y ago
  The graphics are fine. I'd rather see improvement made in speed of rendering (even on a decent machine, setting "fancy graphics" and a "far" viewplane is a recipe for low framerates and lag) before trying to change the look.
- prawn 16y ago
  I also think he avoids any issues with the 'uncanny valley' of near-realism in games. If something isn't going to look exactly like a pig wandering the mountain slopes, why not make it look like a Lego pig and be done with it?

city41 16y ago

There's a refreshing vibe working its way through the game community where alternative graphic styles and alternative game concepts are given more acceptance. It's becoming a great time to be a game developer.

JeanPierre 16y ago

You have two distinct directions here, though: World of Warcraft's gameplay is rather complex (compare the image of WoW with this image from Minecraft: http://imgur.com/lQdye.png http://imgur.com/lQdye.png), is about killing monsters and obtaining the best equipment, showing off how much time you're able to spend in-game. I think showing your personality to others is really hard in WoW, at least without talking to them. Minecraft, on the other side, is about you, your personality and creativity. You're able to modify the game as you like: First off all, you're making your own world! Second, texture packs are available, in order to change both the world and your own character. By making the game less complex, it is also very easy to get into, compared to WoW. (I'm sure there are other reasons as well, but I'm no professional game developer.)

kqr2 16y ago

Minecraft is more like a lego world. Recently, someone built a 16-bit ALU in minecraft: http://www.boingboing.net/2010/09/28/working-computer-mad.html http://www.boingboing.net/2010/09/28/working-computer-mad.ht... And a 1:1 scale model of the Enterprise D: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2010/09/the-true-story-behind-the-amazing-minecraft-enterprise-d.ars http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2010/09/the-true-story-be...

joeld42 16y ago

It's called a 'backlash'. It's been happening for a while now, minecraft just dragged it into the spotlight. The current demand is for games that are fun, not games that are pretty or push your gfx card to the limit. It doesn't have to look polished, but the look has to fit the gameplay. Minecraft's blocky graphics allow the player to use their imagination a bit. Don't underestimate that.