XBL Indie Dev Clones Minecraft With FortressCraft

[Tom Goldman]

XBL Indie Dev Clones Minecraft With FortressCraft


A game very similar to Minecraft is coming to Xbox Live from a different developer under a different name.

Projector Games' FortressCraft not only has a title that sounds similar to Minecraft, but the game is extremely reminiscent too. While Mojang toils away at finishing the final version of Minecraft for the PC (and the iPad/iPhone [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/107890-Notch-Building-Portable-Version-of-Minecraft]), Projector Games plans to bring FortressCraft to Xbox Live Indie Games.

Like Minecraft, FortressCraft has players mining for materials and placing blocks. Differently, FortressCraft uses a more detailed graphics engine and will reportedly add new features not found in Minecraft, like minions that can perform tasks. It won't be a direct clone of Minecraft.

Projector Games plans to release FortressCraft on the Xbox Live Arcade Indie Games platform in chapters. The first chapter will be similar to the creative mode found in Minecraft. Subsequent chapters will add crafting, life, machinery, minions, PVP, and a "Fortress Assault" mode. Each chapter will cost 80 Microsoft Points ($1). Eventually, the game will come to other platforms.

After looking into FortressCraft past its exterior, I can say that it might be a game Minecraft fans should look forward to, rather than criticize based on its similarities. There's no doubt that it's taking advantage of the popularity of Minecraft, but there's nothing wrong with taking a game style and adapting it with new ideas, right? In fact, Minecraft creator Marcus "Notch" Persson himself admits that Minecraft was inspired by a very similar title called Infiniminer [http://thesiteformerlyknownas.zachtronicsindustries.com/?p=713]. For a few bucks, FortressCraft could be a fun way to use those skills built up in Minecraft in a different way.

Source: Joystiq [http://www.fortresscraft.com/]

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[Katherine Kerensky]

Even if it may be a somewhat polished clone of Minecraft, I'll probably get it simply because it is on XBL and has multiplayer, by the looks of it.
Won't have to rely on trying to get our own servers to work >.>

 

[Togs]

Can anyone say breach of copyright?

 

[BehattedWanderer]

I await someone to reskin Minecraft into this, just to show them. I have Minecraft. I have no need of this.

 

[kajinking]

Minecraft with better graphics?! Hell yes!! This game better have creepers though, yes they suck to run into but they're just a key part of the experience. Nothing like running into four of them during your first dungeon crawl.

 

[Wintermoot]

if MC was Copyright notched could sue their asses!
this is just a MC ripoff and nothing more!
also MC,s relativly bad graphics gave it charm this just looks too realistic

 

[RSGstyle]

This will definitely be worth playing and I really like the graphical enhancement. Minecraft fans shouldn't worry about this replacing or even be more popular than Minecraft since it is on Xbox Live; this means no Personal servers, no admins, and definitely no huge mod communities.

I see myself playing it for a while, then going back to Minecraft.

EDIT: Minecraft fans REALLY should notice the obvious disadvantages of a game on Xbox Live, which I stated before, and even then there are still more. Don't fill the board with fanboyism lacking an actual opinion.

 

[Catalyst6]

I guess that it makes sense for the Xboxers to get their own version of Minecraft, although most of them probably have computers that can run it.

Still, this reminds me of the joke that Yahtzee made about Iphone games, that he expected the top game to be Angry Birds and the rest to be things like Perturbed Parrots and Disgruntled Marlets.

 

[Baldr]

sadly?? gameplay mechanics are not copyrightable.

 

[TimeLord]

I sense a lawsuit!

 

[Armored Prayer]

Well they say imitation is a form a flattery, but I'd rather have the original rather than a clone.

Also Minecraft for the iPhone? Interesting but I'm still not ever touching the game.

 

[manythings]

Can anyone say breach of copyright?

Can you copyright things people do in the real world? It's not like he invented blocks or block based gaming and, like the article said, Infiniminer inspired minecraft.

 

[Jim Grim]

Can I just say, the HD graphics look ugly, and while Minecraft on the 360 sounds fairly cool, I can't help but think that the controls would be poorly suited to the game.

 

[legendarytomuk]

Feelings of mildy pissy offiness arising. I suppose we can expect a bit of an upsurge of these games, I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes somewhat of a new genre, it is a great idea, it was just Notch's idea

 

[Dr. Pepper Unlimited]

I await someone to reskin Minecraft into this, just to show them. I have Minecraft. I have no need of this.

Most likely.

I laughed at the overly serious music for the trailer. Calm down there XBOX Live, you're mining for minerals and chopping down trees with an ax. Not every game is about saving the world.

 

[AndrewC]

Knockoff of Minecraft, it's pretty much a carbon copy.

 

[MrGalactus]

So I can play Minecraft with a proper controller? Sweet, count me in!

I sense a lawsuit!

Microsoft is the publisher of all XBLIG. Notch vs Microsoft? No chance in hell.

 

[RSGstyle]

Well they say imitation is a form a flattery, but I'd rather have the original rather than a clone.

Also Minecraft for the iPhone? Interesting but I'm still not ever touching the game.

Is that because you don't own an iPhone or you sense an actual fault with a port/remake created for the iPhone?

 

[duchaked]

well it's just the Xbox Live Indie Market so...

MineCraft can probably come on over to a full Arcade status and actually get real recognition on the 360

 

[Kayar13]

Oh, come on Goldman. Minecraft fans should look FORWARD to someone ripping off the game we already love? They're just jumping on the Minecraft bandwagon for the money. I suppose you'd support Microsoft making a game titled "Legend of Belda" in which a pointy-eared kid in a green tunic slew a pig and saved a princess and found four golden glowing squares of power too, right? This greed in the industry is exactly what we should be ignoring and not buying into. Indie developers should focus on making new, creative, innovative game experiences like Notch already did with Minecraft, not blatantly copying each other for profit.