The secret of Minecraft (2014) • Hacker News Board

Re: The secret of Minecraft (2014)

#21

Post by Version467 » Sat, Jul 27, 2024, 7:15 PM UTC

cedws wrote: post #2

Call me a hater but I think Microsoft ruined Minecraft. The "secret knowledge" that the author describes is no longer a thing. The game shows you all the recipes. There are way too many blocks now so there's not as much need for creativity in building. Simplicity made Minecraft a true sandbox. There was no real objective, just blocks and ways to arrange them. Now there's always an objective to get the next magic/powe…

Nah. Microsoft did a great job handling Minecraft imo. I thought they were out of their mind paying that much money for something that I didn't think had many opportunities left to grow.

But now I think it was the perfect time for Persson and his team to give it to someone with the resources and the reach to make those opportunities. Yes, Microsoft changed some things about Minecraft the game, but overall they didn't touch the core gameplay loop. Instead they focused on expanding the minecraft universe with genre crossing spinoff games and cooperations that the old Mojang could've never done. And kids loved most of it. Stuff like Minecraft: Story Mode added a richness to the franchise that you could completely ignore if you wanted to, or dive into if it appealed to you.

Microsoft grew Minecraft because it still had a lot of growth in it. It might clash with your nostalgia, but it evolved such that it still broadly appealed to its growing core audience. And that is and always has been children. And children still love Minecraft.

Re: The secret of Minecraft (2014)

#22

Post by throwuxiytayq » Sat, Jul 27, 2024, 7:16 PM UTC

vbezhenar wrote: post #9

cedws wrote: post #2

Call me a hater but I think Microsoft ruined Minecraft. The "secret knowledge" that the author describes is no longer a thing. The game shows you all the recipes. There are way too many blocks now so there's not as much need for creativity in building. Simplicity made Minecraft a true sandbox. There was no real objective, just blocks and ways to arrange them. Now there's always an objective to get the next magic/powe…

I never understood the appeal of having game knowledge on a separate websites. I can understand this situation happening because of lack of development resources. Like - yeah, it's easier to just let the community to write the documentation and concentrate on the game, if you're small company. But why would it appeal to the actual players? It's not really secret knowledge, there are wiki websites with all the recipes…

It's bad design and it was annoying already back when Minecraft was still young. The article author gets this hilariously wrong. He claims that he is "obsessed" with Minecraft, but later admits that they haven't played the game much. I knew that before I even got to that paragraph...

Re: The secret of Minecraft (2014)

#23

Post by rootforce » Sat, Jul 27, 2024, 7:19 PM UTC

I’ve been playing Minecraft off and on since beta, and I’ve been able to introduce each of my kids as they’ve gotten old enough to play.

It is pretty amazing, they all started in creative running around punching random things and now each one has their own way they like to play. One loves to build, another mini games, survival, parkour, mods etc. we are currently watching MCC live and it’s like the Super Bowl. They all have their favorite streamers too.

Few games turn into multi generational cultural movements like this.

Re: The secret of Minecraft (2014)

#24

Post by Carlseymanh » Sat, Jul 27, 2024, 7:19 PM UTC

ethbr1 wrote: post #13

opan wrote: post #11

For other "wiki games", I would recommend Terraria and Stardew Valley. Both have very rich wikis you can read for hours that will give you a much better understanding of game mechanics. I've also gotten into the habit of keeping a txt file for a game open in vim with notes on what I'm working on or what to work on next time I play. For Stardew it's stuff like "Kent's birthday is coming up, give him x item", or "catch…

Not to ick anyone's yum, but when games begin to approach the same parts of my brain that I use for work, I question why I'm not just using them to make more money instead. But said as an ex-EVE player, so color comment to taste.

I cannot think of any game that could approximate a full-time job as much as EVE (I am currently obsessed with factorio, which I play after working for 8 hours on production line automation systems)

Re: The secret of Minecraft (2014)

#25

Post by hoten » Sat, Jul 27, 2024, 7:20 PM UTC

cedws wrote: post #2

Call me a hater but I think Microsoft ruined Minecraft. The "secret knowledge" that the author describes is no longer a thing. The game shows you all the recipes. There are way too many blocks now so there's not as much need for creativity in building. Simplicity made Minecraft a true sandbox. There was no real objective, just blocks and ways to arrange them. Now there's always an objective to get the next magic/powe…

Hardly anyone interacted with the crafting system via "discovery mode". Almost everyone consulted a wiki, or I guess had a friend tell you what to do. Stumbling upon how to make an axe without looking it up has got to be the least enjoyable part of Minecraft (note: not saying it's NOT enjoyable, it's just not high up on the list for most).

Re: The secret of Minecraft (2014)

#26

Post by simonw » Sat, Jul 27, 2024, 7:20 PM UTC

cedws wrote: post #2

Call me a hater but I think Microsoft ruined Minecraft. The "secret knowledge" that the author describes is no longer a thing. The game shows you all the recipes. There are way too many blocks now so there's not as much need for creativity in building. Simplicity made Minecraft a true sandbox. There was no real objective, just blocks and ways to arrange them. Now there's always an objective to get the next magic/powe…

Microsoft's stewardship of Minecraft has been fantastic.

Simplicity has never been a key element of Minecraft - redstone circuits were added years before the acquisition.

The sheer quantity of weird and delightful stuff they've added has kept Minecraft new and interesting for over a decade.

Re: The secret of Minecraft (2014)

#27

Post by hoten » Sat, Jul 27, 2024, 7:23 PM UTC

Carlseymanh wrote: post #24

ethbr1 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to ick anyone's yum, but when games begin to approach the same parts of my brain that I use for work, I question why I'm not just using them to make more money instead. But said as an ex-EVE player, so color comment to taste.

I cannot think of any game that could approximate a full-time job as much as EVE (I am currently obsessed with factorio, which I play after working for 8 hours on production line automation systems)

Oh boy. Do many of your colleagues play, or at least understand your obsession? this reminds me of truckers playing trucking games in their rigs during downtime.

Re: The secret of Minecraft (2014)

#28

Post by codeulike » Sat, Jul 27, 2024, 7:24 PM UTC

Version467 wrote: post #21

cedws wrote: post #2

Call me a hater but I think Microsoft ruined Minecraft. The "secret knowledge" that the author describes is no longer a thing. The game shows you all the recipes. There are way too many blocks now so there's not as much need for creativity in building. Simplicity made Minecraft a true sandbox. There was no real objective, just blocks and ways to arrange them. Now there's always an objective to get the next magic/powe…

Nah. Microsoft did a great job handling Minecraft imo. I thought they were out of their mind paying that much money for something that I didn't think had many opportunities left to grow. But now I think it was the perfect time for Persson and his team to give it to someone with the resources and the reach to make those opportunities. Yes, Microsoft changed some things about Minecraft the game, but overall they didn't…

Underrated thing Microsoft have done is allow Bedrock to cross-play between Windows, IOS, Playstation, Switch and XBox

Re: The secret of Minecraft (2014)

#29

Post by fbdab103 » Sat, Jul 27, 2024, 7:26 PM UTC

Version467 wrote: post #21

cedws wrote: post #2

Call me a hater but I think Microsoft ruined Minecraft. The "secret knowledge" that the author describes is no longer a thing. The game shows you all the recipes. There are way too many blocks now so there's not as much need for creativity in building. Simplicity made Minecraft a true sandbox. There was no real objective, just blocks and ways to arrange them. Now there's always an objective to get the next magic/powe…

Nah. Microsoft did a great job handling Minecraft imo. I thought they were out of their mind paying that much money for something that I didn't think had many opportunities left to grow. But now I think it was the perfect time for Persson and his team to give it to someone with the resources and the reach to make those opportunities. Yes, Microsoft changed some things about Minecraft the game, but overall they didn't…

  Nah. Microsoft did a great job handling Minecraft imo.

I am still peeved that my lifetime license "mysteriously" broke during Microsoft's account transitions. Trillion dollar company lacks the manpower and technical capability to handle it? Or someone cannot be arsed to maintain "freeloader" customers.

Re: The secret of Minecraft (2014)

#30

Post by codeulike » Sat, Jul 27, 2024, 7:28 PM UTC

One of the other innovations of Minecraft is that they didn't worry too much about rendering chunks in a timely manner. When you're on multiplayer and moving fast its not uncommon for the landscape to get rendered right infront of your eyes. Some games go to great lengths to avoid that (e.g. slow the player down or have distance fog so that they never notice areas being loaded). But if the game is fun, no-one cares about hiding the loading.