Minecraft is a great game, an has been very successful in a niche market. However, as Notch begins to bring this thing out of Beta, and into the mass market, it has one critical flaw that will hold it back.
It comes down to one thing, and one thing only: Escalation.
In every game, there is some degree of escalation: of difficulty, of technology, of resources. However, in Minecraft, as soon as you launch the game, you can be attacked by mobs, and have full ability to create anything as long as you can gather the resources. Resources are randomly dispersed; diamonds are just as likely under the spawn point as they are miles away.
While the user maintains the ability to set the difficulty of the game at any given moment, this breaks the fourth wall, ruining the players immersion into the game world. It also lets players get out of tight spots by simply dropping down the difficulty back to peaceful.
A player first coming into the game world is bound to be discouraged by zombies and creepers immediately attacking before he has even had a chance to gather his first resource. Further, the recipes to create items are complex enough that a first time user can't just sit down and play the game. This is a game where you have to RTFM, whereas most casual players just want to start playing as soon as possible. While Minecraft has developed a devoted following of people who are passionate enough about the game that these issues don't matter, the Mass Market is a different animal altogether.
So, back to the point--how do we fix this problem? I suggest ESCALATION. Here's how it would work.
Imagine, if you will, that the spawn point is in the center of a group of concentric circles. As the player moves further away from the spawn point, mobs become more difficult and rare materials become more prevalent.
Immediately around the spawn point would be strictly the most common elements: Sand, Trees, Dirt, Water, Stone, and Gravel. Also, there would be no mobs in this region. This would give the player the ability to create a basic home before being killed for the first time.
To get up the the technology tree, the player will require iron and coal, which would only be found in the next ring. Here also, the player would begin to encounter zombies.
This would continue until we reach the final ring, where mobs are abundant, spider/skeleton combos are frequent, and diamonds and gold are as common as coal is in the game today. This outer ring would also be the only place in the game where you could find lava, allowing the final escalation--a portal to the Nether--(to seek out and destroy a final boss?)
Levels of difficulty could still be selected--but ONLY when creating a game world. Clearly this would have to be the case, if resource distribution was effected by difficulty settings. This also prevents users from "switching off" the mobs, making for a more immersive experience. The Levels of Difficulty would work by expanding or contracting the distance of the rings; in hard mode, maybe there is no "peaceful center" at all, and the distances through the "rings" are relatively short, while in easy mode, the "peaceful center" expands for many many blocks, with the distance between the rings very broad.
The rings would not restrict mob movement, just the areas in which they would spawn. If you wandered into a zombie region, one could follow you all the way back to the spawn point. There is no sense of "jurisdiction" or "invisible boundaries" here.
Because this change effects world generation and mob spawning, but not mob AI, I have to imagine that it would be relatively simple to add in.
Having escalation adds two distinct benefits. First, it allows novice players a chance to get used to the game play before being attacked. Secondly, it gives a loose feeling of a story, something that the game completely lacks currently. With the player being handed everything (both good and bad) at the beginning, the overall "feel" of the game is banality and boredom. Nothing drives the player to the far reaches of the map; you can see and experience within the first 256x256 square all that there is to see and do currently. This will spur exploration and excitement.
it is like you are trying to kill the fact that minecraft is A SANDBOX GAME!
Not at all. To me, you could just set the difficulty slider to the hardest level and get the same game play you have today.
Again, the point is making this appeal to the mass market. Notch has made a lot of money, but does this game appeal to all gamers? If not, why not? I'm presenting this both as the problem, and the solution.
There is no reason why the game cannot support multiple game modes, as it does today. This could just be an additional mode, although, honestly, I think it would be best presented as the default.
it is like you are trying to kill the fact that minecraft is A SANDBOX GAME!
Not at all. To me, you could just set the difficulty slider to the hardest level and get the same game play you have today.
Again, the point is making this appeal to the mass market. Notch has made a lot of money, but does this game appeal to all gamers? If not, why not? I'm presenting this both as the problem, and the solution.
There is no reason why the game cannot support multiple game modes, as it does today. This could just be an additional mode, although, honestly, I think it would be best presented as the default.
This game has sold how many copies, without even having a commercial? It appeals enough. This idea doesn't.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Quote from Baraq Hussein Osama »
Do you show children your phallus? Is that what you want them to see?
This game has sold how many copies, without even having a commercial? It appeals enough. This idea doesn't.
I understand that it doesn't appeal to you, and that you like the game as is. That's great. I'm really happy for you. I'm suggesting an alternate mode, not taking your cookies away. If you don't think that you're part of a niche market, you're wrong.
The point is not whether or not Notch sold a large number of copies or how large the niche is. The point is how he can sell even more? What is it about the game that may not appeal to a person who is not familiar with this genre? Or what is the best way to introduce someone to Minecraft gameplay? How will Captain Yuppie want to play it on his iPad?
We're talking about adding a new mode, with a relatively small amount of code changes, that could have a great positive impact on how the game is received by a larger audience. While I and my friends enjoy this game tremendously, I know of many more people in my life who would not be interested in the game in it's current state.
Thanks for that, Captain Obvious...I'm suggesting this isn't a great idea.
This isn't worth its own mode. It doesn't add anything - just tacks down some silly ring boundaries and calls it escalating gameplay. Never mind that things being somehow magically limited to certain rings like this makes no sense at all in a sandbox. All this amounts to is: Farther from spawn = more difficulty, better reward. That's not escalation, or progression, or good gameplay. And it sure doesn't offer any story.
There are far better ways to improve gameplay than that: Better AI, strategic ore generation (not senseless generation of certain ores within silly ring boundaries), fleshing out expansive and unique biomes, etcetera.
And what's this crap about zombies attacking before you gather your first resource? That's your fault for being slow. New worlds don't generate you in the middle of the night.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Quote from Baraq Hussein Osama »
Do you show children your phallus? Is that what you want them to see?
Alright, time for some constructive ideas! Here goes:
"Rings" don't make sense. "Biomes" and "Rare Biomes" do. Travel to find different and more difficult biomes, not to go an arbitrary distance from spawn. A garuntee that every world will have every biome within a certain number of chunks, and a finite looping map, would be nice as they would allow exploration without @#*)$#)*( big save files.
"Safe Zone" around spawn is a good idea, though it is already in place :smile.gif:. I would rather the no-spawn zone around the spawn point to be larger on easier difficulties though.
Thanks for that, Captain Obvious...I'm suggesting this isn't a great idea.
Thank you for being a positive member of the Minecraft community, and making me feel so welcome. I'm glad to know that every idea that comes from your mind is pure gold. You sir, are a gentleman and a scholar. You must have many friends and fans, and young apprentices writing down your every word, and virgins doting on your every need. Surely, one day, oh, one day I can hope to be one tenth of the man you are. What amazing constructive criticism you have provided. What great, precise ideas you have presented. Oh, yes, please, send me your address so I can send you thank you notes and Christmas cards. Surely, you are a friend to your fellow man and a positive influence here in this forum. I am deeply thankful that you took a moment out of your day here to provide your most humble opinion, this gentle correction of my clearly misguided viewpoint. Oh! I mustn't run away with my tail between my legs because I'm sure there is so much more you can teach me. Please, oh, please, teach me how I may be more like you! Oh, if only there was some way that I could come up with some sort of suggestion that may pass the incredible firewall of The Phantom Potato! Oh, please, please, if there is a god, let him bestow upon me such a blessing that I may one day whisper a suggestion to the Minecraft development that would please the ears of the Phantom Potato! Oh, but alas, no. I will never be good enough. No, I must only sit back and be quiet and keep my ideas to myself. Clearly they are not worthy. Oh, thank you, Phantom Potato. Thank you for showing me the error of my ways. How foolish was I to suggest a mode of gameplay that may appeal to other people who are not you (and therefore do not matter). How wrong I was to even think of defiling your Minecraft menus by providing another option. Oh, mighty Phantom Potato, please except my deepest apologies, for I--for one fleeting moment--had forgotten that it is only your opinion that matters in this world. Thank you, oh, thank you so much for taking notice of my humble, unworthy post, and placing your blessed name anywhere near it. It is truly an honor to have such a deep thinker, such a master of game design, such a prolific member of this community, share their most valuable input.
Perhaps it could just be that as the game progresses in terms of days past that more mobs can generate.
For example, you could have a 'story' that has no relevance other than to say why more mobs appear as the game progresses say...
Come from another world etc.
It would have no real effect on how minecraft is played as a whole but would allow for an increased challenge for those who want it as they become more prepared.
Perhaps it could just be that as the game progresses in terms of days past that more mobs can generate.
For example, you could have a 'story' that has no relevance other than to say why more mobs appear as the game progresses say...
Come from another world etc.
It would have no real effect on how minecraft is played as a whole but would allow for an increased challenge for those who want it as they become more prepared.
This is what I'm talking about. Great idea. Maybe a combination of time/distance?
And thank you for a truly positive contribution to this thread.
[rambling wall of sarcastic whining about criticism]
Cool story bro. Get out if you can't take feedback.
I'm sorry but you can hardly call your 'input' feedback and certainly not constructive criticism!!!
You have just been saying how bad the idea was. The least you could have done if you were going to do all of that was be polite about it, or if you were feeling particularly generous, offer your own ideas.
I don't care, and neither should you. You should not have to pump out huge amounts of text just to convey a point. It tends to drag on and doesn't get to what you REALLY are trying to convey besides tweaking the game to suit your playstyle or the way the game should suit YOU.
Here's what you should have done.
"This is my idea"
"These are a few things that make it good".
And that's all. This main point you made right here completely ruined your entire paragraph and gave away it's real meaning:
While the user maintains the ability to set the difficulty of the game at any given moment, this breaks the fourth wall, ruining the players immersion into the game world. It also lets players get out of tight spots by simply dropping down the difficulty back to peaceful.
This is obviously a personal anecdote, since you are not referring to the 4th wall, but the Willing Suspension of Disbelief, which differs from person to person and is not as formulaic as you said, but you clouded that in a bunch of cleverly twisted sentences that try to support an point that is not there, and merely presenting it as a player's opinion.
I don't care, and neither should you. You should not have to pump out huge amounts of text just to convey a point. It tends to drag on and doesn't get to what you REALLY are trying to convey besides tweaking the game to suit your playstyle or the way the game should suit YOU.
Okay, I'm sorry. I read earlier in "How to suggest something" that being terse WASN'T a good thing. So I tried to explain my reasoning.
Quote from Kira »
This is obviously a personal anecdote, since you are not referring to the 4th wall, but the Willing Suspension of Disbelief, which differs from person to person and is not as formulaic as you said, but you clouded that in a bunch of cleverly twisted sentences that try to support an point that is not there, and merely presenting it as a player's opinion.
Actually, the majority of the time i have played this game has been on a mutliplayer server where I had no option to set the difficulty. I did notice that it IS possible to play the game that way, however, so I can only assume that some people *do*.
[rambling wall of sarcastic whining about criticism]
Cool story bro. Get out if you can't take feedback.
I'm sorry but you can hardly call your 'input' feedback
Input IS feedback. Learn what you're talking about. And I offered my ideas. The OP got pissy over not being praised and adored, then vomited that inane text wall above. Notice how she cut out my criticism and ideas on how to better improve the game? Just moaned and groaned about me not instantly calling the idea great.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Quote from Baraq Hussein Osama »
Do you show children your phallus? Is that what you want them to see?
It comes down to one thing, and one thing only: Escalation.
In every game, there is some degree of escalation: of difficulty, of technology, of resources. However, in Minecraft, as soon as you launch the game, you can be attacked by mobs, and have full ability to create anything as long as you can gather the resources. Resources are randomly dispersed; diamonds are just as likely under the spawn point as they are miles away.
While the user maintains the ability to set the difficulty of the game at any given moment, this breaks the fourth wall, ruining the players immersion into the game world. It also lets players get out of tight spots by simply dropping down the difficulty back to peaceful.
A player first coming into the game world is bound to be discouraged by zombies and creepers immediately attacking before he has even had a chance to gather his first resource. Further, the recipes to create items are complex enough that a first time user can't just sit down and play the game. This is a game where you have to RTFM, whereas most casual players just want to start playing as soon as possible. While Minecraft has developed a devoted following of people who are passionate enough about the game that these issues don't matter, the Mass Market is a different animal altogether.
So, back to the point--how do we fix this problem? I suggest ESCALATION. Here's how it would work.
Imagine, if you will, that the spawn point is in the center of a group of concentric circles. As the player moves further away from the spawn point, mobs become more difficult and rare materials become more prevalent.
Immediately around the spawn point would be strictly the most common elements: Sand, Trees, Dirt, Water, Stone, and Gravel. Also, there would be no mobs in this region. This would give the player the ability to create a basic home before being killed for the first time.
To get up the the technology tree, the player will require iron and coal, which would only be found in the next ring. Here also, the player would begin to encounter zombies.
This would continue until we reach the final ring, where mobs are abundant, spider/skeleton combos are frequent, and diamonds and gold are as common as coal is in the game today. This outer ring would also be the only place in the game where you could find lava, allowing the final escalation--a portal to the Nether--(to seek out and destroy a final boss?)
Levels of difficulty could still be selected--but ONLY when creating a game world. Clearly this would have to be the case, if resource distribution was effected by difficulty settings. This also prevents users from "switching off" the mobs, making for a more immersive experience. The Levels of Difficulty would work by expanding or contracting the distance of the rings; in hard mode, maybe there is no "peaceful center" at all, and the distances through the "rings" are relatively short, while in easy mode, the "peaceful center" expands for many many blocks, with the distance between the rings very broad.
The rings would not restrict mob movement, just the areas in which they would spawn. If you wandered into a zombie region, one could follow you all the way back to the spawn point. There is no sense of "jurisdiction" or "invisible boundaries" here.
Because this change effects world generation and mob spawning, but not mob AI, I have to imagine that it would be relatively simple to add in.
Having escalation adds two distinct benefits. First, it allows novice players a chance to get used to the game play before being attacked. Secondly, it gives a loose feeling of a story, something that the game completely lacks currently. With the player being handed everything (both good and bad) at the beginning, the overall "feel" of the game is banality and boredom. Nothing drives the player to the far reaches of the map; you can see and experience within the first 256x256 square all that there is to see and do currently. This will spur exploration and excitement.
What do you think, Miners and Crafters?
Not at all. To me, you could just set the difficulty slider to the hardest level and get the same game play you have today.
Again, the point is making this appeal to the mass market. Notch has made a lot of money, but does this game appeal to all gamers? If not, why not? I'm presenting this both as the problem, and the solution.
There is no reason why the game cannot support multiple game modes, as it does today. This could just be an additional mode, although, honestly, I think it would be best presented as the default.
Perhaps call it Scout Mode...or merely Escalation Mode.
Where the difficulty selection determines the size of each ring.
This game has sold how many copies, without even having a commercial? It appeals enough. This idea doesn't.
I understand that it doesn't appeal to you, and that you like the game as is. That's great. I'm really happy for you. I'm suggesting an alternate mode, not taking your cookies away. If you don't think that you're part of a niche market, you're wrong.
The point is not whether or not Notch sold a large number of copies or how large the niche is. The point is how he can sell even more? What is it about the game that may not appeal to a person who is not familiar with this genre? Or what is the best way to introduce someone to Minecraft gameplay? How will Captain Yuppie want to play it on his iPad?
We're talking about adding a new mode, with a relatively small amount of code changes, that could have a great positive impact on how the game is received by a larger audience. While I and my friends enjoy this game tremendously, I know of many more people in my life who would not be interested in the game in it's current state.
This is a suggestion box, people.
Thanks for that, Captain Obvious...I'm suggesting this isn't a great idea.
This isn't worth its own mode. It doesn't add anything - just tacks down some silly ring boundaries and calls it escalating gameplay. Never mind that things being somehow magically limited to certain rings like this makes no sense at all in a sandbox. All this amounts to is: Farther from spawn = more difficulty, better reward. That's not escalation, or progression, or good gameplay. And it sure doesn't offer any story.
There are far better ways to improve gameplay than that: Better AI, strategic ore generation (not senseless generation of certain ores within silly ring boundaries), fleshing out expansive and unique biomes, etcetera.
And what's this crap about zombies attacking before you gather your first resource? That's your fault for being slow. New worlds don't generate you in the middle of the night.
"Rings" don't make sense. "Biomes" and "Rare Biomes" do. Travel to find different and more difficult biomes, not to go an arbitrary distance from spawn. A garuntee that every world will have every biome within a certain number of chunks, and a finite looping map, would be nice as they would allow exploration without @#*)$#)*( big save files.
"Safe Zone" around spawn is a good idea, though it is already in place :smile.gif:. I would rather the no-spawn zone around the spawn point to be larger on easier difficulties though.
Thank you for being a positive member of the Minecraft community, and making me feel so welcome. I'm glad to know that every idea that comes from your mind is pure gold. You sir, are a gentleman and a scholar. You must have many friends and fans, and young apprentices writing down your every word, and virgins doting on your every need. Surely, one day, oh, one day I can hope to be one tenth of the man you are. What amazing constructive criticism you have provided. What great, precise ideas you have presented. Oh, yes, please, send me your address so I can send you thank you notes and Christmas cards. Surely, you are a friend to your fellow man and a positive influence here in this forum. I am deeply thankful that you took a moment out of your day here to provide your most humble opinion, this gentle correction of my clearly misguided viewpoint. Oh! I mustn't run away with my tail between my legs because I'm sure there is so much more you can teach me. Please, oh, please, teach me how I may be more like you! Oh, if only there was some way that I could come up with some sort of suggestion that may pass the incredible firewall of The Phantom Potato! Oh, please, please, if there is a god, let him bestow upon me such a blessing that I may one day whisper a suggestion to the Minecraft development that would please the ears of the Phantom Potato! Oh, but alas, no. I will never be good enough. No, I must only sit back and be quiet and keep my ideas to myself. Clearly they are not worthy. Oh, thank you, Phantom Potato. Thank you for showing me the error of my ways. How foolish was I to suggest a mode of gameplay that may appeal to other people who are not you (and therefore do not matter). How wrong I was to even think of defiling your Minecraft menus by providing another option. Oh, mighty Phantom Potato, please except my deepest apologies, for I--for one fleeting moment--had forgotten that it is only your opinion that matters in this world. Thank you, oh, thank you so much for taking notice of my humble, unworthy post, and placing your blessed name anywhere near it. It is truly an honor to have such a deep thinker, such a master of game design, such a prolific member of this community, share their most valuable input.
Cool story bro. Get out if you can't take feedback.
For example, you could have a 'story' that has no relevance other than to say why more mobs appear as the game progresses say...
Come from another world etc.
It would have no real effect on how minecraft is played as a whole but would allow for an increased challenge for those who want it as they become more prepared.
But I can! Oh, I can! Thank you again for your response! I am not worthy!
Evidently, you cannot. Nor can you format a post properly.
This is what I'm talking about. Great idea. Maybe a combination of time/distance?
And thank you for a truly positive contribution to this thread.
I'm sorry but you can hardly call your 'input' feedback and certainly not constructive criticism!!!
You have just been saying how bad the idea was. The least you could have done if you were going to do all of that was be polite about it, or if you were feeling particularly generous, offer your own ideas.
TL:DR
Here's what you should have done.
"This is my idea"
"These are a few things that make it good".
And that's all. This main point you made right here completely ruined your entire paragraph and gave away it's real meaning:
This is obviously a personal anecdote, since you are not referring to the 4th wall, but the Willing Suspension of Disbelief, which differs from person to person and is not as formulaic as you said, but you clouded that in a bunch of cleverly twisted sentences that try to support an point that is not there, and merely presenting it as a player's opinion.
Okay, I'm sorry. I read earlier in "How to suggest something" that being terse WASN'T a good thing. So I tried to explain my reasoning.
Actually, the majority of the time i have played this game has been on a mutliplayer server where I had no option to set the difficulty. I did notice that it IS possible to play the game that way, however, so I can only assume that some people *do*.
Input IS feedback. Learn what you're talking about. And I offered my ideas. The OP got pissy over not being praised and adored, then vomited that inane text wall above. Notice how she cut out my criticism and ideas on how to better improve the game? Just moaned and groaned about me not instantly calling the idea great.