Minecraft is like consensual rape

Posted by Chris on Oct 20, 2010 |

Minecraft for all those not in the know is the latest small time game that made it big. Developed by Markus “Notch” Persson who was inspired by games like RollerCoaster Tycoon, Dwarf Fortress and Infiniminer. The game is a first person sandbox that allows you to build structures out of cubes of different objects. Part of creating is mining as you dig out ore and chop wood down to make a Pick-Axe, therefore making further mining easier. It scales up from this basic principle with workbenches and stronger versions of your regular items.

The simplicity of the game allows for a wide array of entry. You can build simple structures and survive the horrors of darkness (I’ll get to this later) or you can completely mine out full areas of the game to build astounding and complex buildings. The choice is truly yours; a game like this will really push that urge to break out some of those old Lego’s of your childhood.

The game has been a breakout success that has landed Markus PayPal account with over a million dollars. He has decided on hiring on a couple extra hands simply to deal with all the publicity so he can continue to work on Minecraft.

There are two different modes currently available, Classic and Alpha. Classic is a God-like mode where you can’t die, and you have unlimited blocks. The only hindrance is that you can’t create a lot of the tool items used in the alpha game. Multiplayer is also available with a bunch f people in one game world that usually leads to utter chaos. Classic is a good jump off since it’s currently free but will be phased out for the Alpha Build.

Alpha is the only mode that is being currently being updated all the time by Markus and his growing team. It allows for the wide variety of creations to be made from simple digging tools to complex switches and mechanical systems (railroads and computers). There is a multiplayer available also but god-mode is play in this world I guess to avoid too much grieving. But the mechanic that I find the most interesting is the night cycle which has monsters attacks you. The monsters come out of anything that holds darkness, so several well placed torches can ward them off. The inclusion of these enemies allows the game to be an actual game instead of a very interesting developer tool.

I’ve really got into this game and have spent hours and hours tediously working on various structures. From my Castle made out of class to my underground mining facility that continually gets flooded by overexcited digging on my part. Minecraft is a treat and should be tried by anyone with a touch of imagination. The game is currently about 9 Euros so that’s about $14 USD and 15 skittles in Canadian.

To buy Minecraft.

Minepedia for all the crafting and other neat stuff.

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