Many thanks in advance.
Minecraft
-
James
- Moderator
- Posts: 1763
- Joined: August 28th, 2012, 5:42 am
- Location: Worcestershire, UK
- Contact:
Minecraft
The upcoming show, to be recorded on Thursday 11th July is on Minecraft. We're after your thoughts, opinions and stories about Minecraft (whichever version you've played) for inclusion on the podcast.
Many thanks in advance.
Many thanks in advance.
-
RoboticMonk3y
- Member
- Posts: 844
- Joined: September 2nd, 2012, 3:25 pm
- Location: Bristol
Re: This week's podcast: Minecraft
so... Minecraft!
I could write endlessly about this game, but I'll try my best to keep it short.
I stumbled into minecraft when a friend linked me to the web-based version. You got a small play area and a range of blocks to choose from. There was a link to buy into the beta, so I stumped up and jumped in.
Back at the time, I remember playing on the Gamerdork server, and spent some time putting up pixel art, which seemed to fix the style of the graphics, at the same time, a friend managed to set up a server, and we set about building. Chopping down trees, digging out caves, and refining materials, we built a massive house, that turned into a cathedral and then into a castle.
The sense of satisfaction in knowing you dug up the materials and turned them into something is what made the game so special to me.
Building yourself a Fortress and defending it from beasties and wrong do-ers poked at a childish nostalgia, which made me keep returning to the game.
Back early on in the development of the game, there was little to no documentation on how to build things, you had to experiment.
Time passed on, and I ended up being a moderator on a server, this gave me the ability to summon any amount of any block I wanted, and this allowed me to make even bigger and more elaborate projects, but this also kinda killed the game for me. The sense of achievement in knowing I would have to gather materials myself if I wanted to build something ultimately made building things feel a little bit more hollow.
Spin forwards to the xbox release of the game, I jumped in again with both feet and this time played the game with my Daughter, who is a big lego fan. It was great seeing her try to work out how to build things and trying to copy the things I would build. We made houses and castles and ran away from monsters. When I got home from work, she would proudly show me what she had dug up and added to our base. It was also lovely to see her trying to re-create the things we had made using lego. Sad times indeed when our save was corrupted and we lost our epic castle. Shortly after this, 'creative mode' was added in an update, and we set about making bigger and better things, but just like with the PC version, 'creative mode' kinda killed the game for me.
I don't play anywhere near as much as I used to, but it's still one of my favourite games to sit down and play with my daughter.
I think minecraft's simplicity is it's biggest hook.
Break things down, level off an area, build your imagination.
The game is made up of 20 minute moments of "oh, I'll just move this" and before you know it, it's 3am and you can barely keep your eyes open.
Minecraft has given me some truly wonderful multiplayer gaming experiences (some rather horrific ones too if your server get griefed!)
I really could write about so many things that I've built over the years and how the game pokes gently at my OCD, but I've wiffled on for long enough already.
TL:DR
A gentle poke at nostalgic gaming superimposed onto a big bucket of cubes.
Just keep digging
I could write endlessly about this game, but I'll try my best to keep it short.
I stumbled into minecraft when a friend linked me to the web-based version. You got a small play area and a range of blocks to choose from. There was a link to buy into the beta, so I stumped up and jumped in.
Back at the time, I remember playing on the Gamerdork server, and spent some time putting up pixel art, which seemed to fix the style of the graphics, at the same time, a friend managed to set up a server, and we set about building. Chopping down trees, digging out caves, and refining materials, we built a massive house, that turned into a cathedral and then into a castle.
The sense of satisfaction in knowing you dug up the materials and turned them into something is what made the game so special to me.
Building yourself a Fortress and defending it from beasties and wrong do-ers poked at a childish nostalgia, which made me keep returning to the game.
Back early on in the development of the game, there was little to no documentation on how to build things, you had to experiment.
Time passed on, and I ended up being a moderator on a server, this gave me the ability to summon any amount of any block I wanted, and this allowed me to make even bigger and more elaborate projects, but this also kinda killed the game for me. The sense of achievement in knowing I would have to gather materials myself if I wanted to build something ultimately made building things feel a little bit more hollow.
Spin forwards to the xbox release of the game, I jumped in again with both feet and this time played the game with my Daughter, who is a big lego fan. It was great seeing her try to work out how to build things and trying to copy the things I would build. We made houses and castles and ran away from monsters. When I got home from work, she would proudly show me what she had dug up and added to our base. It was also lovely to see her trying to re-create the things we had made using lego. Sad times indeed when our save was corrupted and we lost our epic castle. Shortly after this, 'creative mode' was added in an update, and we set about making bigger and better things, but just like with the PC version, 'creative mode' kinda killed the game for me.
I don't play anywhere near as much as I used to, but it's still one of my favourite games to sit down and play with my daughter.
I think minecraft's simplicity is it's biggest hook.
Break things down, level off an area, build your imagination.
The game is made up of 20 minute moments of "oh, I'll just move this" and before you know it, it's 3am and you can barely keep your eyes open.
Minecraft has given me some truly wonderful multiplayer gaming experiences (some rather horrific ones too if your server get griefed!)
I really could write about so many things that I've built over the years and how the game pokes gently at my OCD, but I've wiffled on for long enough already.
TL:DR
A gentle poke at nostalgic gaming superimposed onto a big bucket of cubes.
Just keep digging
Re: This week's podcast: Minecraft
I'm surprised there hasn't been any more feedback on this one. I would have expected it to be one of the more popular games that people would want to talk about.
Then again, what can you say about this game that hasn't already been said?
I tend to think of Minecraft as being more of a toy box than a game. It's fitting that it's gained a reputation of basically being digital Lego. That's a big part of what it is. Even with all the survival and combat elements, that can be quite compelling (admittedly more so with the former), the biggest draw for this game for me is how it can be a blank canvas to express creativity in a 3 dimensional space. One of the biggest reasons I play games is to explore new and strange worlds, and Minecraft allows you to create your own worlds, even if sometimes I find myself frustrated with the limits of my own capabilities. But seeing what other people can create is such a joy too. I've spent far more time watching videos of this game on Youtube than I have actually playing it, marvelling at what some people are able to do with it. My mind has been blown many times over seeing what people have been able to create.
It's been interesting to see what people have been able to create in not just an aesthetic sense, but in a mechanical sense too. The way people have created entire games within Minecraft itself. Whether that be with mods, or just redstone, it's amazing to see how much the game can be changed, and how many different experiences you can have.
I think there's also something to be said about how it is largely responsible for the popularisation of Let's Plays and general gaming video content. Although it was around before, it wasn't really until the Yogscast showed up with the right mix of personality and being at the right place at the right time that it really took off, leading to a revolution in how people consume media about games. Whether that be a good or bad thing could be debated, but it certainly had a huge impact on the medium.
Then again, what can you say about this game that hasn't already been said?
I tend to think of Minecraft as being more of a toy box than a game. It's fitting that it's gained a reputation of basically being digital Lego. That's a big part of what it is. Even with all the survival and combat elements, that can be quite compelling (admittedly more so with the former), the biggest draw for this game for me is how it can be a blank canvas to express creativity in a 3 dimensional space. One of the biggest reasons I play games is to explore new and strange worlds, and Minecraft allows you to create your own worlds, even if sometimes I find myself frustrated with the limits of my own capabilities. But seeing what other people can create is such a joy too. I've spent far more time watching videos of this game on Youtube than I have actually playing it, marvelling at what some people are able to do with it. My mind has been blown many times over seeing what people have been able to create.
It's been interesting to see what people have been able to create in not just an aesthetic sense, but in a mechanical sense too. The way people have created entire games within Minecraft itself. Whether that be with mods, or just redstone, it's amazing to see how much the game can be changed, and how many different experiences you can have.
I think there's also something to be said about how it is largely responsible for the popularisation of Let's Plays and general gaming video content. Although it was around before, it wasn't really until the Yogscast showed up with the right mix of personality and being at the right place at the right time that it really took off, leading to a revolution in how people consume media about games. Whether that be a good or bad thing could be debated, but it certainly had a huge impact on the medium.
Re: This week's podcast: Minecraft
Where to start with Minecraft
Ive lost count of how many hours ive put into this game
Fond memories was of the original server we had with gamerdork and spending my first time on the game with Fudge and Guy building a damn and massive swimming pool.
Another time was building my first monster trap on a single player game, its took me soooooo long.
Or digging another monster trap and emptying all the blocks underneath leaving a big black hole, i think it took me about 3 months to do.
Such a great game but one ive kinda grown bored with now thanks to DayZ and other games. Its one of those games that draws you in and you can loose months on it. Its all about those WOW moments when exploring and you come across the random beauty of the games creations.
Love It........infact i need to play some more haha.
Ive lost count of how many hours ive put into this game
Fond memories was of the original server we had with gamerdork and spending my first time on the game with Fudge and Guy building a damn and massive swimming pool.
Another time was building my first monster trap on a single player game, its took me soooooo long.
Or digging another monster trap and emptying all the blocks underneath leaving a big black hole, i think it took me about 3 months to do.
Such a great game but one ive kinda grown bored with now thanks to DayZ and other games. Its one of those games that draws you in and you can loose months on it. Its all about those WOW moments when exploring and you come across the random beauty of the games creations.
Love It........infact i need to play some more haha.
-
Sly Reflex
Re: This week's podcast: Minecraft
I love digital toyboxes. Minecraft is one of the finest. I love that it's many things to many people.
Some like to play Survival mode where everything they put down was claimed by them.
Some people like the LEGO-iness of the Creative mode that allows them to go wild.
Others like to create problems so they can be solved by using the in game mechanics.
I'm personally all three of those. There's an incredible pride to be had in building something where you've collected everything, carefully planning what goes where so that it's footprint doesn't exceed or encroach on other projects. Making mechanical machines in the game using the least possible materials and space becomes the worlds most free form puzzle game.
Minecrafts crowning glory is the people that play it. Yeah, there are trolls and griefers, but as a whole the community is really positive. The way that knowledge and ideas pass through from person to person is almost viral. As you get to know people playing you get to know their style too. Players become artisans identifiable by their work on how they construct stuff. Some people are safe and stick to making the usual thing that are very aesthetic, some might impress with technical know how, while others might dazzle with their totally out there ideas and execution.
To me, Minecraft is a very important game. It feels like a step forward in free form gameplay that is hard to come by otherwise.
Some like to play Survival mode where everything they put down was claimed by them.
Some people like the LEGO-iness of the Creative mode that allows them to go wild.
Others like to create problems so they can be solved by using the in game mechanics.
I'm personally all three of those. There's an incredible pride to be had in building something where you've collected everything, carefully planning what goes where so that it's footprint doesn't exceed or encroach on other projects. Making mechanical machines in the game using the least possible materials and space becomes the worlds most free form puzzle game.
Minecrafts crowning glory is the people that play it. Yeah, there are trolls and griefers, but as a whole the community is really positive. The way that knowledge and ideas pass through from person to person is almost viral. As you get to know people playing you get to know their style too. Players become artisans identifiable by their work on how they construct stuff. Some people are safe and stick to making the usual thing that are very aesthetic, some might impress with technical know how, while others might dazzle with their totally out there ideas and execution.
To me, Minecraft is a very important game. It feels like a step forward in free form gameplay that is hard to come by otherwise.
-
Todinho
Re: This week's podcast: Minecraft
Well minecraft I remenber when I saw this and was still in alpha with only a limited build mode,at the time I thought "well that looks neat" but never really bothered to check it out myself,not too long afterwards the game exploded there were internet videos with millions of views everywhere,creative mods and a huge dedicated community of players behind it.
I eventualy caved in and played the game and found myself very....bored,it all felt like a huge grind to me mining stone to get iron to them get diamond,the "combat" was terrible and I hated to die and just lose everything that I had expended so much time gathering,the crafting part of the game wasnt very remarkable either unless I had some mod installed,in the end the survival mode just felt constricting and unfortunaly the building aspect of the game,the part I was most interested in,required a lot more time investiment to create something worthwhile than I was willing/able to provide but that's more my fault then anything.
I really wanted to like Minecraft,I everyone I know likes it and the community has done some amazing things like recreating Middle-Earth,creating games within the game and having some really creative mods,but unfortunaly it was not to be in the end it's a game I respect for what it has done but one that I really hate to play.
I eventualy caved in and played the game and found myself very....bored,it all felt like a huge grind to me mining stone to get iron to them get diamond,the "combat" was terrible and I hated to die and just lose everything that I had expended so much time gathering,the crafting part of the game wasnt very remarkable either unless I had some mod installed,in the end the survival mode just felt constricting and unfortunaly the building aspect of the game,the part I was most interested in,required a lot more time investiment to create something worthwhile than I was willing/able to provide but that's more my fault then anything.
I really wanted to like Minecraft,I everyone I know likes it and the community has done some amazing things like recreating Middle-Earth,creating games within the game and having some really creative mods,but unfortunaly it was not to be in the end it's a game I respect for what it has done but one that I really hate to play.
Re: This week's podcast: Minecraft
Really looking forward to this show as I haven't a clue about Minecraft but have always been intrigued by it
-
Childe of Shade
Re: This week's podcast: Minecraft
To me, Minecraft was one of those games that everyone was talking about, but I never played. I heard great things about it from a couple of my friends and actually bought a copy while it was in its beta stage, but still I never got around to playing it. It wouldn't be until earlier this year that I would finally pick up the game and try it out for the first time. Early impressions were somewhat underwhelming with me wondering around a vast world trying to figure out what to do. Then it took me ages to find out how to craft tools and blocks and that was when the game started to open up for me. But that euphoria didn't last very long when I quickly got bored of building things. I like the idea of having a massive world to explore and build to your hearts content, but I felt that the game needed to do a better job of explaining its mechanics to the player. At the end of my session with it I just found myself bored and without a goal to fulfill. Maybe I just wasn't creative enough to appreciate the game, but then again this is the guy who grew up with playing LEGOs nonstop as a child. However, one thing that I can say about this game is that it has broadened the field for gamers and has allowed more people to get into this medium. Almost every time I go to work I see one or two people, even children, wearing a Minecraft shirt and/or accessory. If you merely glance at YouTube you'll find all sorts of videos dedicated to people sharing their creations and talking about patches and experiences. Heck, this game has become my brother and sisters summer obsession with them playing it nonstop with their friends. While it may not be for me, Minecraft has accomplished so much for the games industry and gaming culture and should be applauded for what it has done.