4 ms·

Java on the Desktop... in a biiig way. My son loves it, especially building complicated redstone devices -- kind of a form of in-game programming.

calinet6 14y ago
It could have succeeded without being in Java... it's the game's design and concepts that make it successful. Though to be fair, it helps make multiplatform availability easier.
- peapicker 14y ago
  I don't disagree... it was merely an observation. The largest-selling game currently available just happens to run on desktop Java... and the consensus I see recently around here is that Desktop Java is dead -- I like to point out that millions of homes are actively using it, even if only to play a game that really isn't dependent on what one would typically think of when they think 'desktop Java'. Probably a few users of Eclipse out there, as well.
  - ido 14y ago
    It's not the largest selling game, but might be the largest selling non-AAA, non-casual, PC-game of recent years.
  - pyre 14y ago
    With the amount of money that enterprise has invested in Java, it'll probably follow a similar trajectory to COBOL where "dead" isn't really dead.
- axusgrad 14y ago
  There are some basic C++ and C# Minecraft clients that people made for fun, but the real benefit of Java is how mod-able it is. There's actually a lot of tools for taking apart the minecraft.jar and putting it back together with new features.
- WaynesWorld 14y ago
  And yet had it not been Java you would have said that it could never have succeeded in Java. Somebody is butt hurt.
- teamonkey 14y ago
  I think one of the major points that sold the game is that there is (was?) a stripped-down demo of the game that ran right there on the page. Not sure whether you want to buy? Just press that button there...
mmcnickle 14y ago
If he enjoys redstone, you should also try out the ComputerCraft mod [1]. It's a full lua environment inside minecraft and you can write programs to output redstone signals to things like doors. The most interesting thing is the ability to program "turtles" -- programmable robots capable of mining/crafting for you. Videos are probably the easiest way to see the possibilities of the mod. [1] http://www.computercraft.info/ http://www.computercraft.info/
- peapicker 14y ago
  Hadn't heard of this, I'm checking it out now, Thank you! This may get me the rest way into Minecraft... I've been wanting to write an L-system generator for large-scale objects and this sounds like it may be just the ticket.

calinet6 14y ago

It could have succeeded without being in Java... it's the game's design and concepts that make it successful. Though to be fair, it helps make multiplatform availability easier.

peapicker 14y ago
I don't disagree... it was merely an observation. The largest-selling game currently available just happens to run on desktop Java... and the consensus I see recently around here is that Desktop Java is dead -- I like to point out that millions of homes are actively using it, even if only to play a game that really isn't dependent on what one would typically think of when they think 'desktop Java'. Probably a few users of Eclipse out there, as well.
- ido 14y ago
  It's not the largest selling game, but might be the largest selling non-AAA, non-casual, PC-game of recent years.
- pyre 14y ago
  With the amount of money that enterprise has invested in Java, it'll probably follow a similar trajectory to COBOL where "dead" isn't really dead.
axusgrad 14y ago
There are some basic C++ and C# Minecraft clients that people made for fun, but the real benefit of Java is how mod-able it is. There's actually a lot of tools for taking apart the minecraft.jar and putting it back together with new features.
WaynesWorld 14y ago
And yet had it not been Java you would have said that it could never have succeeded in Java. Somebody is butt hurt.
teamonkey 14y ago
I think one of the major points that sold the game is that there is (was?) a stripped-down demo of the game that ran right there on the page. Not sure whether you want to buy? Just press that button there...

mmcnickle 14y ago

If he enjoys redstone, you should also try out the ComputerCraft mod [1]. It's a full lua environment inside minecraft and you can write programs to output redstone signals to things like doors. The most interesting thing is the ability to program "turtles" -- programmable robots capable of mining/crafting for you. Videos are probably the easiest way to see the possibilities of the mod. [1] http://www.computercraft.info/ http://www.computercraft.info/

peapicker 14y ago
Hadn't heard of this, I'm checking it out now, Thank you! This may get me the rest way into Minecraft... I've been wanting to write an L-system generator for large-scale objects and this sounds like it may be just the ticket.