Miniminecraft more than A Carbon Copy
Despite punching way above its weight in areas of film, music and literature, one aspect of popular culture where New Zealand has traditionally struggled to establish a global presence is the video game market. The list of Kiwi games that have received international recognition is surprisingly short with the notable exception of Sidhe Interactive's rugby games in Wellington and 1995's Megadrive classic Super Skidmarks.
With modern, mass-market games involving massive budgets and the support of international publishers with deep pockets, it's nearly impossible for new companies to get a foothold, particularly for console titles released via the off-the-shelf retailers. With limited choices for local developers are concerned, programmers with a great idea have looked to mobile gaming as a method to break into the industry.
Hawke's Bay developer David Frampton is at the forefront of the new wave of digital entrepreneurs. He's an App Store fan already after making his name with Chopper and its imaginatively named sequel Chopper 2. Frampton made headlines earlier in the month when he released an app that received more than a million downloads within three days. It went on to become the No. 1 iPad application in 15 countries.
The Blockheads does not have a story, a narrative structure or a general objective. It's hard to pinpoint the "point" of the game. There's no princess to save or a hostile alien to repel, or storyline to unravel. There's no high score or boss to beat. The game is completely open and you are free to explore and imagine. This open-ended, blank slate approach lets you create what you like, go at your own pace , and let your imagination take over.
Despite the fact that your muted protagonist has no personality, you will soon feel a sense of connection to the cube-headed character. Their mood is a crucial aspect of the game.
If they explore too much in a short time, they will not be in a position to sleep or eat enough. This will leave them exhausted and hungry. You'll have to find resources to build shelter and food. As you explore the virtual world, you'll find materials that can be used to build elaborate palaces and create advanced tools.
The game is free to play however, its addictive nature makes it an excellent choice for the "freemium" model that a lot of mobile games use. If you're patient enough to wait for your blockhead's blockhead to complete tasks like mining, building and sleeping, you'll never have to shell out a dime but by investing in the game's currency, "time crystals", you can accelerate the process and make more intricate items.
With all this talk about mining and crafting, it would be impossible to review The Blockheads without not mentioning the elephant in our room. Another idea from an one-man band indie programmer, Markus "Notch" Persson's hugely successful Minecraft. The two games share many things in the same way, from their quirky graphic style, low-fidelity graphics, to their focus on exploration, resource gathering and expression of creativity.
When Nelson Mail's Adam Roberts interviewed Frampton earlier this month, online commentators were quick to highlight the striking similarities between the two games, implying and insinuating that The Blockheads was little more than a "Minecraft imitation".
While it's understandable that people would jump to that conclusion, and there's no doubt that Notch's game served as an obvious as an inspiration on some level for Frampton, there's far more to The Blockheads than some of the other copycat cash-in shovelware that gets on to the App Store.
It's also unfair and lazy to use the similarities between two games to demonstrate plagiarism. Minecraft-servers Video games, more than any other entertainment, build upon what's gone before.
As technology advances and trends become more popular, developers will continue to refine and revise their "work" and take inspiration from games that are innovative. Just as Space Invaders led to a wave of space shooters, Super Mario Bros set the trend for side-scrolling platformers, and Gears of War opened the floodgates to cover-based shooters, the unprecedented success of an indie blockbuster like Minecraft will inevitably cause ripples within the industry. It's not plagiarism. It's progress.
If you're a Minecraft fan and you're a Minecraft fan, then you're bound to love The Blockheads but it's more than just a copy of. While Minecraft is best played with a mouse and keyboard, The Blockheads' 2-D version of the sandbox with a creative twist genre is perfectly suited for the mobile format and its touchscreen controls are well-implemented and user-friendly.
It's exciting to see a Kiwi developer making waves in gaming's fastest growing sector. With three hits under his under his belt, it will be interesting to see what Frampton's Majic Jungle Software creates and creates next.
The Blockheads (iPad, iPhone) Majic Jungle Software. It is free to play.
