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On December 11, 2010, Markus Persson announced via his personal blog that Minecraft would be entering its Beta testing phase on December 20, 2010, and that the price would be raised to €14.95.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://notch.tumblr.com/post/2175441966/minecraft-beta-december-20-2010|title=Minecraft Beta: December 20, 2010}}</ref> He further stated that users who bought the game after this date would no longer receive all future content free of charge as it "scared both the lawyers and the board." However, bug fixes and all updates leading up to the release would still be free.
On December 11, 2010, Markus Persson announced via his personal blog that Minecraft would be entering its Beta testing phase on December 20, 2010, and that the price would be raised to €14.95.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://notch.tumblr.com/post/2175441966/minecraft-beta-december-20-2010|title=Minecraft Beta: December 20, 2010}}</ref> He further stated that users who bought the game after this date would no longer receive all future content free of charge as it "scared both the lawyers and the board." However, bug fixes and all updates leading up to the release would still be free.


==Monsters==

THIS SECTION BROUGHT TO YOU BY LEAGUEX, WHO ALSO APPEARS UNDER THE SAME NAME IN MINECRAFT.

1. The Spider


2. The Zombie



3. The Creeper (When too close, the creeper will start making a bomb fuse noise, then blow up. Also hated by Minecraft fans everywhere.)


4. The Zombie Pigmen (ONLY AVAILABLE IN THE NETHER AND COME IN PACKS RANGING FROM 4-10! Passive until attacked.)



5. The Ghast (ONLY AVAILABLE IN THE NETHER! They spawn fireballs which you can hit back to them, therefore damaging the Ghast.)



6. The Slime (Can't hurt you, has more fall damage than a cow. ALSO AVAILABLE IN PEACEFUL! It is less dangerous than passive mobs that appear in the day, eg. cows, chickens and pigs.)
==Reception==
==Reception==
''Minecraft'' has received generally favorable responses from critics, and has had notably large numbers of sales. As of December 19th 2010, Minecraft had almost <!-- NOTE: If you wish to update the numbers, please also update the reference -->2,500,000 registered users, and over 800,000 purchases.<ref name="usercount"/> In September 2010, after an impromptu "free to play" weekend, the game had a spike in sales of over 25,000 purchases in 24 hours.<ref name="freeweekend"/><ref name="124hourpeak"/> The game has been praised for the creative freedom it grants its players in-game, and for how dynamic its overall gameplay is.<ref name="PCGamerUK"/><ref name="PCPowerPlay"/><ref name="Valve"/> ''[[PC Gamer]]'' listed ''Minecraft'' as the fourth-best game to play at work.<ref name="PCGamer"/> A review of the alpha version, by Scott Munro of the ''[[Daily Record (Scotland)|Daily Record]]'', called it "already something special" and urged readers to buy it.<ref name="DRreview"/> [[Jim Rossignol]] of [[Rock, Paper, Shotgun]] also recommended the alpha of the game, calling it "a kind of generative 8-bit [[Lego]] ''[[S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl|Stalker]]''".<ref name="RPSreview"/> On September 17, 2010, gaming [[webcomic]] [[Penny Arcade (webcomic)|Penny Arcade]] began a series of comics and news posts about the addictiveness of the game.<ref name="PennyArcade"/> 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.<ref name="ABCTV"/> In December 2010, ''Good Game'' selected ''Minecraft'' as their choice for "Best Downloadable Game of 2010" title.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/tv/goodgame/stories/s3085956.htm|title=GG Awards 2010: Best Downloadable Game|publisher=ABC Television|date=2010-12-06|accessdate=2010-12-08}}</ref>
''Minecraft'' has received generally favorable responses from critics, and has had notably large numbers of sales. As of December 19th 2010, Minecraft had almost <!-- NOTE: If you wish to update the numbers, please also update the reference -->2,500,000 registered users, and over 800,000 purchases.<ref name="usercount"/> In September 2010, after an impromptu "free to play" weekend, the game had a spike in sales of over 25,000 purchases in 24 hours.<ref name="freeweekend"/><ref name="124hourpeak"/> The game has been praised for the creative freedom it grants its players in-game, and for how dynamic its overall gameplay is.<ref name="PCGamerUK"/><ref name="PCPowerPlay"/><ref name="Valve"/> ''[[PC Gamer]]'' listed ''Minecraft'' as the fourth-best game to play at work.<ref name="PCGamer"/> A review of the alpha version, by Scott Munro of the ''[[Daily Record (Scotland)|Daily Record]]'', called it "already something special" and urged readers to buy it.<ref name="DRreview"/> [[Jim Rossignol]] of [[Rock, Paper, Shotgun]] also recommended the alpha of the game, calling it "a kind of generative 8-bit [[Lego]] ''[[S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl|Stalker]]''".<ref name="RPSreview"/> On September 17, 2010, gaming [[webcomic]] [[Penny Arcade (webcomic)|Penny Arcade]] began a series of comics and news posts about the addictiveness of the game.<ref name="PennyArcade"/> 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.<ref name="ABCTV"/> In December 2010, ''Good Game'' selected ''Minecraft'' as their choice for "Best Downloadable Game of 2010" title.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/tv/goodgame/stories/s3085956.htm|title=GG Awards 2010: Best Downloadable Game|publisher=ABC Television|date=2010-12-06|accessdate=2010-12-08}}</ref>

Revision as of 06:22, 20 December 2010

Minecraft
File:Minecraftlogo.gif File:Minecraft title.png
Minecraft logo and main menu
Developer(s)Markus "Notch" Persson
Mojang Specifications
Publisher(s)Mojang Specifications
Designer(s)
Artist(s)Kristoffer Zetterstrand (In-game artwork)
Markus "Junkboy"
Composer(s)Daniel "C418" Rosenfeld
Engine
Platform(s)Java platform, Java applet
ReleaseClassic: May 17, 2009
Alpha: June 28, 2010
Beta: December 20, 2010
Genre(s)Sandbox, Adventure
Mode(s)Singleplayer, Online Multiplayer

Minecraft is a sandbox building[1][2] video game which allows players to build constructions out of textured cubes in a 3D world. It is currently in development, originally by creator Markus "Notch" Persson and now by his company formed from the proceeds of the game, Mojang Specifications. Minecraft has been developed on the Java platform. The gameplay is inspired by Dwarf Fortress, Dungeon Keeper, and Infiniminer.[3][4] The game is divided into two main modes, Alpha and Classic, where Classic is focused entirely on construction while Alpha additionally contains enemies, a health meter, and additional features and items. Alpha is the currently updated version of the game.

Minecraft was developed for about a week before its public release on May 17, 2009 on the TIGSource forums, where it gained a considerable level of popularity. It has been continually updated and patched since then, and while still an alpha release, it has garnered hundreds of thousands of sales and critical notice and acclaim from many reviewers.

Gameplay

Minecraft has two variants, Alpha and Classic, both with single-player and multiplayer options. Classic is free and includes creative (only the building aspects of the game with unlimited blocks) and survival (containing monsters and a much greater variety of blocks and items available, as well as requiring players to mine their own blocks) modes, while Alpha only features survival mode, albeit with a large number of features unavailable in Classic. Alpha is currently the latest release of Minecraft. It includes music by Daniel "C418" Rosenfeld.[5] For multiplayer games, servers are hosted by individual players or groups; there are no "official" servers.

Alpha

File:Minecraft.png
A screenshot of Minecraft Alpha 1.2.0_01

Alpha, formerly known as Indev, and later as Infdev, is the only version of Minecraft which is currently being updated, and is only available to users who have purchased the game. Alpha features a survival game mode 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 swords, chests, minecarts, 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, fall to their death, or drown. More complex mechanisms can be built using the game physics as well as primitive electrical circuits and logic gates out of wires made with a resource called redstone.

Alpha allows for a nearly infinite horizontal playing world, 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.[6] 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 development). Minecraft is expected to move out of alpha status into beta on December 20, 2010.[7]

Classic

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

The other Minecraft variant is Classic, which is in turn 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 computer-controlled enemies 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, had previously worked on games such as Wurm Online and as a game developer for King.com for over four years.[4][8] Minecraft development started on May 10, 2009, soon after Persson had quit his job at King.com in order to concentrate more on independent development.[4][9] Persson was inspired to create Minecraft by several other games, including Dwarf Fortress, Infiniminer 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 the TIGSource.com forums.[8][9] At the time, he had also 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.[4][10] Infiniminer heavily influenced the style of gameplay that eventually resulted, including the first-person aspect of the game and the blocky visual style.[9]

The game was first released to the public on May 17, 2009 as a developmental release. 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.[8] Persson continues to update the game, with releases pushed out automatically to users. Persson plans to continue these updates after the release of the full game, as long as there is still an active userbase.[9] 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.[8]

In September 2010, Persson announced that he and a friend were starting a video game company, Mojang Specifications, with the money generated by Minecraft. This company was intended to back the development of Minecraft and another, unrelated game which the friend would primarily work on. As part of creating the company, Persson has hired "an artist, a web site developer and a business guy" as well as additional programmers and setting up an office in Stockholm for the company to operate in.[11][12] 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".[12] 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.[12] The four additional employees are Jens Bergensten, who will be working as a programmer; Daniel Kaplan, the "business guy"; Jakob Porser, who will be working on the other game for Mojang; and "Junkboy", a pixel artist.[13][14][15] The plans for Persson's new company were delayed by weeks when his account with PayPal, containing over USD $763,000 in proceeds from Minecraft sales, was frozen due to a "suspicious withdrawal or deposit".[16] On October 20, 2010, the official web-site suffered a prolonged DDoS attack.[17][18][19]

On December 11, 2010, Markus Persson announced via his personal blog that Minecraft would be entering its Beta testing phase on December 20, 2010, and that the price would be raised to €14.95.[20] He further stated that users who bought the game after this date would no longer receive all future content free of charge as it "scared both the lawyers and the board." However, bug fixes and all updates leading up to the release would still be free.

Monsters

THIS SECTION BROUGHT TO YOU BY LEAGUEX, WHO ALSO APPEARS UNDER THE SAME NAME IN MINECRAFT.

1. The Spider


2. The Zombie


3. The Creeper (When too close, the creeper will start making a bomb fuse noise, then blow up. Also hated by Minecraft fans everywhere.)


4. The Zombie Pigmen (ONLY AVAILABLE IN THE NETHER AND COME IN PACKS RANGING FROM 4-10! Passive until attacked.)


5. The Ghast (ONLY AVAILABLE IN THE NETHER! They spawn fireballs which you can hit back to them, therefore damaging the Ghast.)


6. The Slime (Can't hurt you, has more fall damage than a cow. ALSO AVAILABLE IN PEACEFUL! It is less dangerous than passive mobs that appear in the day, eg. cows, chickens and pigs.)

Reception

Minecraft has received generally favorable responses from critics, and has had notably large numbers of sales. As of December 19th 2010, Minecraft had almost 2,500,000 registered users, and over 800,000 purchases.[21] In September 2010, after an impromptu "free to play" weekend, the game had a spike in sales of over 25,000 purchases in 24 hours.[22][23] The game has been praised for the creative freedom it grants its players in-game, and for how dynamic its overall gameplay is.[24][25][26] PC Gamer listed Minecraft as the fourth-best game to play at work.[27] A review of the alpha version, by Scott Munro of the Daily Record, called it "already something special" and urged readers to buy it.[28] Jim Rossignol of Rock, Paper, Shotgun also recommended the alpha of the game, calling it "a kind of generative 8-bit Lego Stalker".[29] On September 17, 2010, gaming webcomic Penny Arcade began a series of comics and news posts about the addictiveness of the game.[30] 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.[31] In December 2010, Good Game selected Minecraft as their choice for "Best Downloadable Game of 2010" title.[32]

References

  1. ^ VanDerWerf, Jacob (2010-08-09). "Minecraft: The Coolest Game You've Never Heard Of". FiringSquad. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
  2. ^ McElroy, Griffin (2010-09-28). "Minecraft earned $350,000 in a single day". Joystiq. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
  3. ^ Markus Persson (2009-05-26). "Credits due". Markus Persson.
  4. ^ a b c d Handy, Alex (2010-03-23). "Interview: Markus 'Notch' Persson Talks Making Minecraft". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
  5. ^ Persson, Markus. "Minecraft". Retrieved 2010-10-28.
  6. ^ Persson, Markus (2010-03-19). "How saving and loading will work once infinite is in".
  7. ^ [1], accessed 11 December 2010
  8. ^ a b c d McDougal, Jaz (2010-07-29). "Community heroes: Notch, for Minecraft". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
  9. ^ a b c d Persson, Markus. "About the game". Minecraft.net. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
  10. ^ Persson, Markus (2009-10-30). "The Origins of Minecraft". Retrieved 2010-08-03.
  11. ^ Persson, Markus (2010-09-28). "I'm sorry about the lack of updates". Retrieved 2010-10-18.
  12. ^ a b c Persson, Markus (2010-09-06). "Hiring some people, getting an office, and all that!". Retrieved 2010-09-06.
  13. ^ Persson, Markus (2010-11-19). "Introducing: Jens!". {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help); Text "http://notch.tumblr.com/post/1619018018/introducing-jens" ignored (help)
  14. ^ Persson, Markus (2010-09-13). "Three man strong!". {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help); Text "http://notch.tumblr.com/post/1114516935/three-man-strong" ignored (help)
  15. ^ Persson, Markus (2010-10-21). "Weekend activities". {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help); Text "http://notch.tumblr.com/post/1390641415/weekend-activities" ignored (help)
  16. ^ "PayPal Freezes $750K in MineCraft Dev's Account".
  17. ^ [2]. Retrieved 2010-11-26.
  18. ^ [3]. Retrieved 2010-11-26.
  19. ^ [4]. Retrieved 2010-11-26.
  20. ^ "Minecraft Beta: December 20, 2010".
  21. ^ Persson, Markus (2010-10-02). "Minecraft Stats". Retrieved 2010-10-02.
  22. ^ "Free Minecraft until this gets fixed". Retrieved 2010-09-21.
  23. ^ "24 hour sales peak". 2010-09-25. Retrieved 2010-09-15. [dead link]
  24. ^ Rossignol, Jim. "Building-block World". PC Gamer UK (204).
  25. ^ Hindes, Daniel. "Trouble Down Mine". PC PowerPlay (169).
  26. ^ Reinhart, Brandon (2010-07-28). "Is that an Equalizer in your pocket?". Valve Corporation. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
  27. ^ Rossignol, Jim (2010-07-05). "50 Games to Play at Work". PC Gamer. Future plc.
  28. ^ Munro, Scott (2010-07-27). "Minecraft (Alpha Review)". Daily Record. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
  29. ^ Rossignol, Jim (2010-08-10). "Chockablock: Minecraft Revisited". Retrieved 2010-09-03.
  30. ^ Holkins, Jerry (2010-09-17). "Mine All Mine, Part One". Retrieved 2010-09-17.
  31. ^ 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)
  32. ^ "GG Awards 2010: Best Downloadable Game". ABC Television. 2010-12-06. Retrieved 2010-12-08.
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