While reading Overclockers Australia, I ran across a forum thread for a game called Minecraft. It’s a stupidly addictive open ended sandbox game which plays like a cross between a survival horror and Lego. Using the raw materials of the map, you can construct various things like pickaxes, shovels and swords and use them to build forts, explore caves and kill the creatures that come out at night.
The developer has hit on a really good idea here, with a nice balance between open ended construction and actual gameplay. You don’t really have a goal, aside from doing things for fun, and there is no victory condition.
The game can be a little hard to figure out right away, as there isn’t a tutorial or any documentation with the game itself. There are plenty of videos on Youtube that help in this regard.
For his efforts, according to the internet, the developer is probably going to be joining the ranks at Valve Software. I’m not sure what they may decide to develop in the future but if it’s anything like this it’s going to be good.
So, you’re still reading this? Go and get Minecraft. It’s (currently) free because of some technical issues, but will return to being available for a small fee ($14, I believe) shortly. I will definitely be buying this one.
