Minecraft is an indie game where players explore a randomly-generated world and use the resources around them to build…everything. There are also zombies. The gaming community has fallen in love with Minecraft on the PC, and now the console version is proving its worth with 3-million copies downloaded off Xbox LIVE. That’s a rather impressive milestone for any game, indie or not. VentureBeat has the story.
Unleashing gamers to do whatever they can has often proven to be an effective strategy for game design. Gamers are natural problem solvers. Give them some tools, a sandbox to work with, and a little time to knock around, and it’s amazing what they’ll have when you come back.
I await the inevitable Minecraft: Dwarf Fortress Edition.
No doubt someone is right now looking at red stone with an eager light in their eyes in an attempt to develop a complex analytical engine out of mine carts, railroads, and switches.