We here at ThinkComputers are very avid gamers. So each Friday we will be covering a game that should help you get through the weekend. The games will range from new games to classics that we still love to play. They also are not limited to just PC games either. If you have a game you think we should cover check out the Gaming Friday thread in the forums.
Today we will be telling you about one of the more addictive games released this century. It’s called Minecraft, a game made by indie developer Mojang AB. It is a very unique game in that you can alter the terrain as you see fit, and it never ends. Literally, it randomly generates the terrain in every direction infinitely. You will never run out of level space. You can edit the terrain to your very whim. There are natural cave systems, beautiful landscapes, and monsters that come out at night to kill you, as well as much more that can’t possibly fit in one internet page. Interested?
Minecraft is available from minecraft.net for roughly $20.00, for now. When it comes out of beta it will be pushed to $28.00. It is a java game with simple graphics, allowing just about any modern computer to easily play it. You have two choices when you get into the game, single and multiplayer. Both are the same thing, though you obviously have more man power in multiplayer.
This is one of the infinite possibilities of what could welcome you once the level renders. Chances are if you don’t manually input a level seed, you will never see the same level twice. It expands infinitely in every direction except up and down, which is only 64 blocks up from sea level, and 64 down. The infinite expanse of land is a good thing, as you need lots of resources to power your own civilizations, underground communities, or whatever you want to make.
This is one of the maps that I have played on with a few friends on their server. As you can see, it’s generated to be something rather massive. There are many elements that did not show up in this map render, such as the biomes for winter and desert, as well as the recently added types of trees and other features.
This game has a unique feature of being able to craft resources into objects and other resources. In the first picture you can see how I turned two sticks and three stone into a pickaxe. In the next, you can see how I turned 8 stone into a furnace. There are hundreds of things you can make in this game, and the list only grows as more updates and mods roll in.
When the sun sets, if you have the difficulty off of peaceful, you better have something to hide in. Monsters will spawn anywhere dark, day or night. There are various types of monsters, ranging from basic zombies, to wall climbing spiders, to arrow shooting skeletons, to Minecraft’s iconic kamikaze exploding creepers.
Getting started in this game can be difficult, as there is no tutorial level, no npc to explain anything to you at all, and no instructions. It just dumps you into the middle of a lush, unaltered landscape with your bare hands, leaving you to fend for yourself. So don’t be afraid to look up info on the Minecraft wiki, or watch some of the excellent videos on YouTube explaining how to get started. You can decide to build a massive castle with a lava mote, or perhaps live completely underground. The choice is yours, the possibilities are endless. Just watch out for creepers!