Minecraft Everyday!

By Shamus Posted Saturday Aug 14, 2010

Filed under: Movies 46 comments

Have you found out about Minecraft yet?


Link (YouTube)

It’s sort of like a first-person Dwarf Fortress. Procedurally generated world, which can be altered through digging and building. Minecraft is (I’m told) the work of a single individual. A multiplayer version is in testing now.

If you like, you could blow a few hours playing the free version of the game game or reading the development blog. I mean, it’s Saturday. That’s what Saturday is for.

 


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46 thoughts on “Minecraft Everyday!

  1. Zukhramm says:

    The free version is kind of boring. I’ve been thinking of buying it, which lets you play the testing version.

  2. GM says:

    yep seen it,not played,thought it was some kind of survival game and the comparison to dwarf fortress curious is it that difficult too learn Minecraft?

    1. Roll-a-die says:

      Not very, if you try and find some of the crafting recipes your self it might be, but otherwise it’s easy sailing. It’s basically lego mixed with dwarf fortress.

  3. Andy says:

    Awful timing, Shamus. I *really* should be working this weekend.
    Maybe I can just look at it for just 5 minutes. What’s the worst that could happen?

    Really liked the fact that they have their own theme song instead of “borrowing” a song for the trailer.

    1. Volatar says:

      Its not an official trailer, just something some fan made.

  4. Volatar says:

    The non-free version is indeed a survival game.

    A very hard survival game. Creepers, skeletons, and slimes oh my!

    * goes back to crying in a dark corner while the sounds of creepers surround him.

  5. Hugo Sanchez says:

    I’ve been waiting for you to talk about this Shamus.

    Creative (Free) isn’t very fun for people like me, and the other free surival test also has really little to offer, but the paid version is great, and getting better all the time.

    Plus, if you buy it, you can get a refund within 30 days of purchase.

    It’s been selling over 1000 copies a day for the last week thanks to endorsements like yours, Shamus.

  6. Jarenth says:

    I played a little bit of free Minecraft a while back, but it wasn’t really anything like the game in the video. I take it that’s the main difference between the paid version and the free one?

    1. Volatar says:

      Yeah, pretty much. The Free version is basically a sandbox mode, the paid version is the real survival game.

      1. acronix says:

        I´m intrigued. Can you define what “survival” means for this game?

        1. Arctem says:

          Technically using your resources to defend yourself from the various mobs that attack you, but in practice it tends to mean hiding in a hole at night until the creepers go away. Though the random enemies moving through caverns can actually be a legitimate threat sometimes, usually if they catch you by surprise.

  7. Arctem says:

    Just yesterday I did a search on here to see if you’d written anything about Minecraft…STOP READING MY MIND!

    Also, I personally prefer this Minecraft song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjkibXv84WU

  8. bit says:

    I found the free mode to be fairly fun by itself; Going spelunking, making sandcastles, doing some sculpting, etc. I just wasted about half an hour on your link.

  9. Antman says:

    i used to play it for hours on end. usually on a lava server, which made lava appear, turning any space next to it, if it didnt have a block there, turn to lava. was pretty fun.. having to make your own base with no gaps for lava to get in. though griefing was at an all time high haha but was fun rushing around plugging gaps. been months though since i played

  10. Avpix says:

    I’ve spent countless hours exploring caves and killing zombies. Definitely the best 10 euros I’ve ever spent.

  11. Lime says:

    Yes, Minecraft is an awesome game. Although, Shamus, PLEASE don’t buy it. If you succumb to its addictive properties, we’ll never see you get anything done; especially with this ON TOP OF WoW.

  12. Lochiel says:

    Agreed with everyone above; Minecraft is fantastic. And you should pretty much ignore the free version after to 10minutes spent getting used to the controls.

    I was never able to get into dwarf fortress becomes the UI was so non-intuitive. Minecraft solves that problem. It currently lacks much of the depth in mechanics that make DF so fantastic, but it’s developing that depth and it is still in Alpha

  13. Fenix says:

    Well I just played the free version for 2 hours (built a massive underground base.)
    Definitely gonna buy this.

    (Quick question: For multiplayer is there a cap on how many players can be in the same game? If not I’d consider this to have massive potential as an MMO (Clan wars would be awesome, with massive bases (is there a ranged weapon?)))

    1. Lochiel says:

      The game is still in Alpha. The multiplayer is still very new, and as such we don’t know what it will be like in the end. Current ranged weapons are the bow and user made Cannons.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnCkE0gRSuE

      (it should be noted that in order to get that much TNT he had to hack the game)

      1. Fenix says:

        THAT IS AWESOME!!!

        1. Roll-a-die says:

          Multiplayer would probably have a cap of around 30 people for a basic server(2.6GHz duo, 4 gigs of ram), but theoretically it can scale infinitely with more powerful servers.

  14. MrGamer says:

    Awesome. Shamus did you find Minecraft through the Tf2 blog? They posted a link about this a few weeks ago.

    1. SSR says:

      I read about it there, and bought it based on their recommendation. But have to admit I didn’t play it for more than a couple of minutes. Have been meaning to make the time to go back and play it.

  15. Scourge says:

    Online mode is quite fun. There are several official servers with friendly stuff and awesome buildings.

    The beginner area is extremely fun, people dig and build there and just have fun… I remember digging a labyritnh myself, filling it with lava and people, including DM’s, got lost in there :D

    It was just fun!

    I also hid some eastereggs. A secret room behind some flowers, another room if you go down in the lava labyrinth, go forward, and then up again before waiting at the middle and moving forwards there again.

  16. HeroOfHyla says:

    I like minecraft, but the default difficulty level is quite stressful sometimes. It’s very easy to get lost in a cave, suddenly find a creeper, have it explode on you, die, and lose the 2 stacks of iron bars you’ve been carrying. And items you drop when you die disappear after a while, so good luck finding them again.

    1. Rosseloh says:

      So just like Dwarf Fortress, basically.

  17. Yar Kramer says:

    I’d just like to point out that there is a Peaceful difficulty, in which there are no mobs.

    Of course, no one even thinks about difficulty-levels below Normal these days.

  18. Nasikabatrachus says:

    Looks good, but can you drill into hell and release demons and fire that kills everything in the way? Because that would be like dwarf fortress. I would totally dig that.

  19. (LK) says:

    Notch is a pretty talented individual. He’s been behind some noteworthy games.

    He was the competent half of a two-man dev team that produced “Wurm Online” (unfortunately the other half ran the fun of the game into the ground after Notch left), he’s produced a few very fun and addictive mini games, and especially he’s the one who created Left 4k Dead.

  20. Casper says:

    Now immagine this combined with Dwarf Fortress…

  21. Jericho says:

    I’ve been playing Minecraft for the past week. It has trumped every other game I have. Totally awesome.

    My advice? Stay away, if you don’t want to comepletely sink ALL your time into this.

    Otherwise, well worth the price.

  22. eri says:

    Meh. The game is cool in concept but there isn’t much to do unless you’re really creative and don’t mind building things with awkward tools. If I want to play with blocks I’ll get some Lego, thanks.

    1. Zukhramm says:

      While the Creative mode might be like building things with lego, I don’t think that’s true of the other modes, which have more rules.

      Lego is too expansive for me anyway. How did I ever afford those as a kid…

    2. Jericho says:

      There is something really great about spelunking in the dark, hoping not to run into a creeper around the next bend, and spotting a diamond block near a lava flow.

      Only in the pay-for version (alpha), but great fun.

      Also, vertigo inducing plummits.

    3. acronix says:

      Actually, it´s more like building stuff with pieces you made yourself (out of other pieces, of course) while some rampant griefers try to make you drop all those pieces you have in your hands.
      If we wanted to do that, we could get some Legos and an annoying little cousin to emulate the mobs!

      Still, the game is quite adictive if you are, as you say, creative. You can probably get more play hours from this than many other titles.

  23. Nasikabatrachus says:

    Well, I just spent that last four hours playing the free version of minecraft. I have a headache and it feels like there’s blood pooling in the back of my eyes for lack of blood pressure or something. Basically what I’m trying to say is it is fun as heck. Digging randomly into any given point on the map and finding some vast cave filled with lava at the bottom of the hole is enormously addictive. The maker of minecraft owes you a little money, Shamus, because I for one am sold.

  24. AGrey says:

    I started poking around the free version, looked around a bit and found the free multiplayer.

    me and a couple of other people built a giant tree, complete with spiral staircase running up the inside and branches you could walk around on. that lasted until some moron started wrecking it.

    So I downloaded the server software and started building.

    FIVE HOURS later, I regain consciousness to discover it’s 5AM and I have constructed a gigantic castle.

    So thanks for that.

    At least it’s the weekend.

    I left the server on, btw

  25. Swedmarine says:

    Damn you for making me spend the entire Saturday building towers with underground tunnels leading to large fortresses!

  26. purf (someguy) says:

    Ok, that’s it. I will stop reading this blog.

    (:D)

  27. KremlinLaptop says:

    I’ve been listening to groovesalad on SomaFM and playing the alpha version of this after buying it because of that video, not just for a few hours either — the whole damn weekend.

    Thanks a lot, Shamus.

    (Also the song in that vid is catchy.)

  28. Deoxy says:

    Hmm. I’ve been playing Dwarf Fortress for a good while, and this looks to be aimed for the same itch…. but starting with the graphics and working back into the game depth (DF doing the opposite).

    Can anyone tell me how they compare? It looks like the same concept, but you only control one guy instead of a bunch…

  29. Groboclown says:

    I was following this when the first concept was posted to the last Java4K contest. He had the basics (data generator + renderer + physics + removing objects) in 2k of pure Java code. Simply unbelievable.

  30. Volkhov says:

    Wait.

    Minecraft has boats and carts now?

    *purchased*

  31. Someone says:

    lol, it is still in Alpha :D.

  32. Sowr Appel says:

    it is made by one guy, and that one guy is the equivalent of a GOD. His name, is….. notch.

    i bow down to his awsomeness. :D

  33. Sowr Appel says:

    lochiel, it is not hacking, he is an op or one of the head guys, he can spawn anything he wants into his inventory.

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