4 ms·
I do think there is kind of a "perfect storm" effect around this game. It isn't so unique that you can't find a game to compare it to. In fact, two of the bigge
by chipsy 15y ago
I do think there is kind of a "perfect storm" effect around this game. It isn't so unique that you can't find a game to compare it to. In fact, two of the biggest influences are already present in Notch's previous work:
Procedural landscapes: Infinite Mario Bros.
Multiplayer wilderness survival: Wurm Online
And the voxel terrain concept - the feature which surfaces most visibly - was already demonstrated in many other games.
In light of this I've charted a path for my own games which doesn't seek to ape the specific concepts or technologies of Minecraft, but instead aims to achieve the same level of intrinsic "I want to share this" and supplements it with a dynamic that adds some explicit rewards for doing so(the social game virality model - not necessarily tied to FB or any "social platform" though). This comes at some risk of sucking out the intrinsic joy, but the potential reward is to have even faster growth than Minecraft - assuming the game is equally good.
- FeministHacker 15y agoWhat I find interesting is the ultimate heratage of MineCraft: If I recall correctly, Wurm Online directly owes it's existance to RuneScape, a Fantasy MMO with skills instead of classes, and a strong crafting system. RuneScape started originally as a project to recreate Utima Online in java.Ultima Online has a crafting system, player housing, skills instead of classes, and is the second-oldest MMO, and the first that most people would recognise as such. Ultima Online is closer to a MUSH or MOO, unlike most modern MMORPGS. On the whole they follow a similar style of game as designed in DikuMUD, one of the most popular MUD engines. As far as I am aware, there are few major competitors to Ulima Online and RuneScape. The DikuMUD model of classes and limited interaction with the world is far similar to develop and market (see World of Warcraft et al). Yet MineCraft's appeal clearly shows there is a huge demand for something else.