Jump to content

Minecraft

Edit links
Page semi-protected
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by SheeEttin (talk | contribs) at 19:35, 12 October 2010. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Minecraft
File:Minecraftlogo.gif File:Minecraft title.png
Developer(s)Markus Persson
Publisher(s)Markus Persson
Designer(s)
Composer(s)
Engine
Platform(s)Java platform, Java applet
ReleaseClassic: May 17, 2009 Alpha: June 28, 2010
Genre(s)Sandbox, Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player, Multiplayer

Minecraft is a sandbox game which allows players to build constructions out of textured cubes in a 3D world. It is currently in development by Markus "Notch" Persson. The gameplay is inspired by Dwarf Fortress, RollerCoaster Tycoon, Dungeon Keeper, and especially Infiniminer.[1][2]

Minecraft has two variants, Alpha and Classic, both with single- and multiplayer options. Classic includes only the building aspects of the game with unlimited blocks, while Alpha includes monsters and a much greater variety of crafting available, as well as requiring players to mine their own blocks. Alpha is currently the latest release of Minecraft, and plans to move into beta sometime in October 2010. Minecraft was developed for about a week before its public release on May 16, 2009 on the TIGSource forums, where it gained a considerable level of popularity. It has been continually updated since then.

Gameplay

Minecraft features two separate game modes, each focusing on the core mechanic in a different way: Survival mode and Creative mode. Creative mode is solely a building simulator, playable in single or multiplayer mode. Survival mode adds monsters as well as many other features. Survival mode is broken up into four different development versions: Classic, the most basic; Indev, which added a number of new features; Infdev, which added a practically unlimited playing surface; and Alpha, the most recent version of the game, and which continues to add new features. Indev and Infdev are no longer supported, updated, or available. Alpha has become the main version of the game, with the free version being renamed Classic. In Minecraft Alpha and Classic there is a 3D anaglyph image mode where the player may wear a pair of basic "3D" glasses and view the world in a true 3D format.

Alpha

File:Minecraft.png
A screenshot of Minecraft Alpha 1.0.17_04

Alpha is the only version of Minecraft which is currently being updated, and is only available to users who have purchased the game. Currently only featuring a survival mode (although with single and multiplayer variants) Alpha requires that the player use the building and mining mechanics as a method of protection from hostile monsters, and as a way to uncover useful ores in the ground. Alpha also includes limits on the number of blocks that can be held by the player, using an inventory system, and requires that all blocks be mined first rather than giving the player an unlimited supply as in Classic's creative mode. Different blocks can be crafted into items such as chests, minecarts and tracks, and buckets. There are also plants and animals, which can be farmed and hunted for other resources. The player has an inventory in which to hold blocks and items, as well as a health meter. Health can be restored upon eating certain items and is lost from long falls or attacks by monsters. Upon death, the player respawns at their original spawn point with an empty inventory, though items can be recovered if the player reaches the point of death before the items vanish.

Alpha also places a heavy emphasis on creativity. Players must devise methods of building functional and navigable structures that can withstand the nightly assault from various monsters. The player's short reach and short jumping ability forces players to plan structures carefully, lest they trap themselves or fall to their death during construction. More advanced players can create complex traps and mechanisms using the game physics as well as primitive electrical circuits and logic gates out of redstone.

Alpha allows for an effectively infinite horizontal playing surface, though limits exist on vertical movement both up and down. The game world is procedurally generated as the player explores it, with the full size possible stretching out to be nearly eight times the surface area of the Earth before running into technical limits.[3] Alpha can be played either with a stand-alone client or in a browser, and in either single or multiplayer mode (which is still under heavy development). Minecraft Alpha is expected to move out of alpha status into beta soon, along with a name change.[4]

Classic

File:Minecraft classic.png
A screenshot of Minecraft Classic (single player).

The other Minecraft mode is Classic, which is divided into two modes, survival and creative. Survival is a very basic version of the Alpha survival mode and contains far fewer features, while creative features only the game's base functionality, allowing players to build and destroy any and all parts of the world, either alone or in a multiplayer server, without the need to worry about being attacked by mobs or avoiding hazards like lava or steep falls. The player is given an unlimited number of blocks with which to build, and can place and remove blocks instantly regardless of type. Unlike Alpha, Classic is free to play, though it is not updated like Alpha. Classic is intended to be phased out as Alpha progresses, leaving Alpha as the only Minecraft game. An official version of the Classic server software is available from the Minecraft website, but many fans have created their own custom servers with additional features.

Development

The developer of Minecraft, Markus Persson, began programming computers at the age of seven. His father had purchased a Commodore 128 home computer and began subscribing to a computer magazine which featured type-in programs. Following experimentation with the code of these programs, Persson produced his first game at the age of eight, a text adventure.[2] Professionally, he has worked on games such as Wurm Online and as a game developer for King.com for over four years.[2][5]

Minecraft development started on May 10, 2009, soon after Persson had quit his job as a game developer for King.com in order to concentrate on independent development.[2][6] Persson was inspired to create Minecraft by several other games, including Dwarf Fortress, RollerCoaster Tycoon and Dungeon Keeper. He was still working out the basics of what the gameplay would be when he discovered a game called Infiniminer and played with other forum users of TIGSource, the website of independent game developer Derek Yu.[5][6] At the time, he had been visualizing an isometric 3D building game that would be a cross between his inspiration games, and had built some early prototypes of what it could look like.[2][7] Infiniminer heavily influenced the style of gameplay that eventually resulted, including the first-person aspect of the game and the blocky visual style.[6]

The game was first released to the public on May 17, 2009 as an "alpha" build; it is expected to move into beta after multiplayer is fully integrated into survival mode.[4] Although at first Persson maintained a day job with Jalbum.net, he later moved to working part time and has since quit to work on Minecraft full time as sales of the alpha version of the game have expanded.[5] Persson plans to continue these updates after the release of the full game, as long as there is still an active userbase.[6] These updates have included new items, blocks, and changes to the game's behavior such as the way that water flows. Persson plans to release the game as open-source eventually, after sales have dropped off and when he wants to move onto other projects.[5]

In September 2010, Persson announced that he and a friend were starting a video game company. This company would back the development of Minecraft and another, unrelated game which the friend would primarily work on. As part of creating the company, Persson plans to hire "an artist, a web site developer and a business guy" as well as additional programmers and to set up an office in Stockholm for the company to operate in, to allow him to focus more time and effort on creating Minecraft.[8] Although Persson plans to spend the majority of his time working on Minecraft while his partner spends the majority of his time working on the other game, Persson claims that "everyone working at the company will be involved in both projects to some degree".[8] He said that part of the motivation behind hiring staff was that he felt that he was spending too much time working on the website and reading emails rather than developing Minecraft.[8]

Reception

Minecraft has received generally favorable responses from critics, and has had notably large amounts of sales. As of October 2010, Minecraft surpassed 1,000,000 registered users and 300,000 purchases.[9] In September 2010, after a "free to play" weekend, the game had a spike in sales of over 25,000 purchases in 24 hours.[10][11] The game has been praised for the creative freedom it grants its players in-game, and for how dynamic its overall gameplay is.[12][13][14] PC Gamer listed Minecraft as the fourth-best game to play at work in issue 200.[15] A review of the alpha version, by Scott Munro of the Daily Record, called it "already something special" and urged readers to buy it.[16] Jim Rossignol of Rock, Paper, Shotgun also recommended the alpha of the game, calling it "a kind of generative 8-bit Lego Stalker".[17] On September 17, 2010, gaming webcomic Penny Arcade began a series of comics and news posts about the addictiveness of the game.[18] Video game talk show Good Game gave it a 7.5 and 9 out of 10, praising its creativity and customization, though they criticized its lack of a tutorial.[19]

References

  1. ^ Markus Persson (2009-05-26). "Credits due". Markus Persson.
  2. ^ a b c d e Handy, Alex (2010-03-23). "Interview: Markus 'Notch' Persson Talks Making Minecraft". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
  3. ^ Persson, Markus (2010-03-19). "How saving and loading will work once infinite is in".
  4. ^ a b Persson, Markus (2010-07-29). "I'm going all gaga now, 1000 sales in 24 hours!". Retrieved 2010-08-03.
  5. ^ a b c d McDougal, Jaz (2010-07-29). "Community heroes: Notch, for Minecraft". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
  6. ^ a b c d Persson, Markus. "About the game". Minecraft.net. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
  7. ^ Persson, Markus (2009-10-30). "The Origins of Minecraft". Retrieved 2010-08-03.
  8. ^ a b c Persson, Markus (2010-09-06). "Hiring some people, getting an office, and all that!". Retrieved 2010-09-06.
  9. ^ Persson, Markus (2010-10-02). "Minecraft Stats". Retrieved 2010-10-02.
  10. ^ "Free Minecraft until this gets fixed". Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  11. ^ "24 hour sales peak". 2010-09-25. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
  12. ^ Rossignol, Jim. "Building-block World". PC Gamer UK (204).
  13. ^ DHindes, Daniel. "Trouble Down Mine". PC PowerPlay (169).
  14. ^ Reinhart, Brandon (2010-07-28). "Is that an Equalizer in your pocket?". Valve Corporation. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
  15. ^ Rossignol, Jim (2010). "50 Games to Play at Work". PC Gamer. Future plc. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  16. ^ Munro, Scott (2010-07-27). "Minecraft (Alpha Review)". Daily Record. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
  17. ^ Rossignol, Jim (2010-08-10). "Chockablock: Minecraft Revisited". Retrieved 2010-09-03.
  18. ^ Holkins, Jerry (2010-09-17). "Mine All Mine, Part One". Retrieved 2010-09-17.
  19. ^ Bendixsen 9/10, O'Donnell 7.5/10 (20 September 2010). "Minecraft Review". Season 5. Episode 32. ABC Television. {{cite episode}}: External link in |transcripturl= (help); Missing or empty |series= (help); Unknown parameter |transcripturl= ignored (|transcript-url= suggested) (help)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Minecraft&oldid=390351985"