Minecraft just passed 10 million registered users.
Mcboinkens wrote on Jul 2, 2011, 17:12:Popular? Yes. Great? I think we'll have to agree to disagree on that.
Farmville and Sims are both great games.
DrEvil wrote on Jul 2, 2011, 15:26:Zadig wrote on Jul 2, 2011, 15:19:
It isn't a generic fantasy MMO or 3rd person shooter with chest high walls and regenerating health. That unfortunately qualifies as innovative now. It isn't even a "cute platformer" which is what most successful indie games seem to be.
EA would've laughed them out of the office if someone tried pitching this to them, but it has sold a lot more copies than most (all? FIFA probably outsells it) of the garbage they release.
I agree with you, but I'd caution you that the how much it sells argument isn't a great one. In particular, consider how many virtual items Zynga has sold in Farmville or other games like it. Or consider how many copies of the Sims were sold -- again, not exactly starling examples of greatness.
Zadig wrote on Jul 2, 2011, 15:19:
It isn't a generic fantasy MMO or 3rd person shooter with chest high walls and regenerating health. That unfortunately qualifies as innovative now. It isn't even a "cute platformer" which is what most successful indie games seem to be.
EA would've laughed them out of the office if someone tried pitching this to them, but it has sold a lot more copies than most (all? FIFA probably outsells it) of the garbage they release.
WyldKat wrote on Jul 2, 2011, 14:52:
I don't see how Cube compares... it doesn't have resource gathering and crafting to build things, does it? Does it have randomly generated worlds?
Comparing Second Life to Minecraft is just as valid as comparing Cube to it. Yes, you can build with others in realtime, but the actual gameplay and concept is very different. Heck even HeroEngine fits that description.
Mcboinkens wrote on Jul 2, 2011, 14:06:
Pretty sure it's the first massive world cooperative construction game. I can't think of any others, really.
DrEvil wrote on Jul 2, 2011, 13:37:Zadig wrote on Jul 2, 2011, 07:15:
For a game I have no interest in playing, I'm always happy to hear how incredibly well it is doing.
Partially because unique innovative games should be celebrated even if they aren't your cup of tea, but mainly due to the conniptions the success causes to Ubisoft/EA/Bioware as it destroys their latest 'aaa' shovelware.
Minecraft really isn't unique or innovative. By his own admission it's his version of an existing game. Games like 'Cube' and others allowed you to build your own world in realtime, etc.
I think Notch just had the right timing, the right graphics style during period where retro-games are cool again, and luck.
You could argue that it's the most successful implementation of someone else's concept though.
(And I say this as someone who bought minecraft btw.)
Zadig wrote on Jul 2, 2011, 07:15:
For a game I have no interest in playing, I'm always happy to hear how incredibly well it is doing.
Partially because unique innovative games should be celebrated even if they aren't your cup of tea, but mainly due to the conniptions the success causes to Ubisoft/EA/Bioware as it destroys their latest 'aaa' shovelware.