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Not as rivals to those games, perhaps. But Minecraft and Angry Birds show that it's easier than ever for a single person/small team to create and sell an extrem

Not as rivals to those games, perhaps. But Minecraft and Angry Birds show that it's easier than ever for a single person/small team to create and sell an extremely successful game.

slowpoke 15y ago
> But Minecraft and Angry Birds show that it's easier than ever for a single person/small team to create and sell an extremely successful game. More so, they prove (again) that the technology arms race in today's video games is utterly retarded. It's also the reason many indie games tend to be so good and refreshing - they can't make a hitech ultra-HD game, so they focus on what really matters: gameplay and design.
- chwahoo 15y ago
  "Utterly retarded" is far too strong a statement. The indie games of tomorrow may be built on "hitech ultra-HD" engines. The exploration of the space of games is advancing along many dimensions (including technology) and I think technology improvements will be needed for many of the great games to come.
- Goladus 15y ago
  The technology race in video games is as utterly retarded as it is in the movie industry. There's as much room for Clerks and the Blair Witch Project as there is for Toy Story and Avatar.
MostAwesomeDude 15y ago
I'd just like to point out that Minecraft's code is absolutely horrible from an algorithmic standpoint. On performance/speed and code quality metrics, Minecraft is a statistical fluke.
- jamesgeck0 15y ago
  Isn't there a lot of awful video game code around? Optimization is usually delayed until the end of a project, and crunch time is a norm at most AAA game developers.
- 5hoom 15y ago
  Yet by any other conceivable metric it is a huge success. I love good code & elegant design, but it doesen't beat having a successful product out there. Remember, shipping is a feature ;)
  - MostAwesomeDude 15y ago
    60FPS is also a feature. Not crashing when sent invalid input on the wire is a feature. Being able to support more than 100 concurrent connections without requiring a monstrous top-of-the-line server is a feature. These are all missing from Minecraft. Remember, usability is a feature. >:3
joezydeco 15y ago
Easier than ever, when you stand on the shoulders of giants: http://m.techcrunch.com/2011/02/28/creator-of-angry-birds-physics-engine-calls-out-rovio-for-not-giving-him-credit/ http://m.techcrunch.com/2011/02/28/creator-of-angry-birds-ph...

Not as rivals to those games, perhaps. But Minecraft and Angry Birds show that it's easier than ever for a single person/small team to create and sell an extremely successful game.

slowpoke 15y ago

> But Minecraft and Angry Birds show that it's easier than ever for a single person/small team to create and sell an extremely successful game. More so, they prove (again) that the technology arms race in today's video games is utterly retarded. It's also the reason many indie games tend to be so good and refreshing - they can't make a hitech ultra-HD game, so they focus on what really matters: gameplay and design.

chwahoo 15y ago
"Utterly retarded" is far too strong a statement. The indie games of tomorrow may be built on "hitech ultra-HD" engines. The exploration of the space of games is advancing along many dimensions (including technology) and I think technology improvements will be needed for many of the great games to come.
Goladus 15y ago
The technology race in video games is as utterly retarded as it is in the movie industry. There's as much room for Clerks and the Blair Witch Project as there is for Toy Story and Avatar.

MostAwesomeDude 15y ago

I'd just like to point out that Minecraft's code is absolutely horrible from an algorithmic standpoint. On performance/speed and code quality metrics, Minecraft is a statistical fluke.

jamesgeck0 15y ago
Isn't there a lot of awful video game code around? Optimization is usually delayed until the end of a project, and crunch time is a norm at most AAA game developers.
5hoom 15y ago
Yet by any other conceivable metric it is a huge success. I love good code & elegant design, but it doesen't beat having a successful product out there. Remember, shipping is a feature ;)
- MostAwesomeDude 15y ago
  60FPS is also a feature. Not crashing when sent invalid input on the wire is a feature. Being able to support more than 100 concurrent connections without requiring a monstrous top-of-the-line server is a feature. These are all missing from Minecraft. Remember, usability is a feature. >:3

joezydeco 15y ago

Easier than ever, when you stand on the shoulders of giants: http://m.techcrunch.com/2011/02/28/creator-of-angry-birds-physics-engine-calls-out-rovio-for-not-giving-him-credit/ http://m.techcrunch.com/2011/02/28/creator-of-angry-birds-ph...