Mojang Admits Minecraft - Pocket Edition Plans May Have Been "A Huge Mistake"

[noahpocalypse]

I don't see how a seperate Minecraft for a mobile device would work, I mean I've seen myself sit and play it for 3 or 4 hours at a time - a mobile device is simply not convenient for that.

But also there is absolutely no need for a Minecraft creative mode game, Minecraft without the point. No threat, no monsters, no death, no challenge, no gameplay - but looka my purty house what I made, it'll help protek me from the... ohh.

What would be outstanding is if mobile Minecraft was just Minecraft but mobile. Like if I could play on my own server, then it would make it a whole seperate game. Maybe Mojang needs to look at the cloud, store the world data on that, then share it on mobile and console versions. I run a server for myself and my brothers/friends - and it's great, we can nip in when we want and tend the farm, or whatever - or we all meet up to explore cave networks and build XP. If I could log into that server from my iPhone, well it would be epic, it would make me interested in mobile Minecraft... but no, lets just make a piss poor creative mode game, that any indi worth his salt could knock up in a weekend, and we'll call that Minecraft PE... or Minecraft 'play once and never again edition'.

Notch is being retarded, he thinks that everyone plays Minecraft to build stuff - no, bulding is part of it, the main gameplay hook is the imminent danger outside, constantly worrying about resources and protection, trying to survive, maybe even prospering. If I want to build something pointless, then I'll buy some lego. Everything I build in Minecraft starts out as a functional project, a monster trap, or a shelter, mushroom farm - whatever it is, making it look cool is a secondary concern. I guess we all play Minecraft our own way, but the main thing is we PLAY minecraft, we don't mess around making pointless stuff.

Uh, I'll tell you right now that there are lots of people who play Minecraft without the monsters and just enjoy building. I myself prefer to play on Peaceful so I can build a proper house, then spawn some monsters so I can get their resources. I'm pretty darn sure the main gameplay hook is being able to remove and add the terrain at will- but let's not get into an argument about what constitutes playing a game. Even if it isn't the main hook, I know that survival is not everyone's favorite mode. Not for everyone. Chill out, man. Is it possible that you disagree with him on the best part of his game? Absolutely. I think he'd have noticed if EVERYONE loved the monsters and didn't care about the building. Most of the most impressive Minecraft creations I've ever seen have been built just for the heck of it, not for any practical use. The LOTR server. Cathedrals. Snow globes. Castles with levers that launch traps and stuff. The castles may have practical use, but not much. The point is, lots of people play games lots of different ways. (Ignore the bad English, you get the point.)

 

[Baresark]

Wow, I didn't realize this also came out on Android. I am just used to good games getting skipped on it since it's only for "pirates" and all. But, I guess I'm gonna buy it, they deserve money for such a game, even though I already have it on my PC and it consumes me from time to time.

 

[surg3n]

I don't see how a seperate Minecraft for a mobile device would work, I mean I've seen myself sit and play it for 3 or 4 hours at a time - a mobile device is simply not convenient for that.

But also there is absolutely no need for a Minecraft creative mode game, Minecraft without the point. No threat, no monsters, no death, no challenge, no gameplay - but looka my purty house what I made, it'll help protek me from the... ohh.

What would be outstanding is if mobile Minecraft was just Minecraft but mobile. Like if I could play on my own server, then it would make it a whole seperate game. Maybe Mojang needs to look at the cloud, store the world data on that, then share it on mobile and console versions. I run a server for myself and my brothers/friends - and it's great, we can nip in when we want and tend the farm, or whatever - or we all meet up to explore cave networks and build XP. If I could log into that server from my iPhone, well it would be epic, it would make me interested in mobile Minecraft... but no, lets just make a piss poor creative mode game, that any indi worth his salt could knock up in a weekend, and we'll call that Minecraft PE... or Minecraft 'play once and never again edition'.

Notch is being retarded, he thinks that everyone plays Minecraft to build stuff - no, bulding is part of it, the main gameplay hook is the imminent danger outside, constantly worrying about resources and protection, trying to survive, maybe even prospering. If I want to build something pointless, then I'll buy some lego. Everything I build in Minecraft starts out as a functional project, a monster trap, or a shelter, mushroom farm - whatever it is, making it look cool is a secondary concern. I guess we all play Minecraft our own way, but the main thing is we PLAY minecraft, we don't mess around making pointless stuff.

Uh, I'll tell you right now that there are lots of people who play Minecraft without the monsters and just enjoy building. I myself prefer to play on Peaceful so I can build a proper house, then spawn some monsters so I can get their resources. I'm pretty darn sure the main gameplay hook is being able to remove and add the terrain at will- but let's not get into an argument about what constitutes playing a game. Even if it isn't the main hook, I know that survival is not everyone's favorite mode. Not for everyone. Chill out, man. Is it possible that you disagree with him on the best part of his game? Absolutely. I think he'd have noticed if EVERYONE loved the monsters and didn't care about the building. Most of the most impressive Minecraft creations I've ever seen have been built just for the heck of it, not for any practical use. The LOTR server. Cathedrals. Snow globes. Castles with levers that launch traps and stuff. The castles may have practical use, but not much. The point is, lots of people play games lots of different ways. (Ignore the bad English, you get the point.)

Thing is, how many of these impressive creations were made in pocket edition?

That build gameplay works on PC, because for one thing it takes ages, so you need to put in a lot of time and effort to make that stuff, for another thing which you say yourself... you've seen these creations. I imagine most of them on YouTube, it's like theres a sub-culture of creative people, making epic structures, working with other people making villages, even making whole storylines. My point is that Minecraft PE allows none of these things effectively. There isn't an option to show people, other than waving the device at their face .

I have a Minecraft clone for iOS, creative mode, and from first hand experience I can tell you it's not something people would want to build huge structures in. If it had survival mode, then I'd play that happily. Remember, peaceful mode is not the same - you still have lava, and animals, and consequence. Pocket edition has no resource management, no animals, it's just placing blocks... I guess my overal point is that if survival mode gets added, then it'll be an awesome game that people will enjoy - right now it's no better than those clones, creative mode should be an option, not the whole game.

 

[yourbeliefs]

I think they didn't expect that consumers basically wanted Minecraft on the go, as opposed to a stripped down version of it. I could see why they didn't do that at first, as it would be quite a task to port the game to phone, but it appears that that is what the people want. I mean I tried out the free version and when I saw I couldn't craft anything I gave up on it. I purchased the full version during the 10 cent sale and haven't even installed it on my new phone. I basically got it to "reserve" the better version when it comes out.

 

[viranimus]

Market research Mojang, you might want to read up on it.
I can't for the life of me imagine where they got the asinine idea people only want the creation part, everyone fell in love with Minecraft because of the full survival adventure.

lolwhut?!?!?

Well, I had no idea I loved the half assed, underdeveloped (even with the newer adventure patches) gimmicky (Creeper... Hiss..BOOM!) and incredibly repetitive adventure mode because well. Ive turned it on for prolly all of 5 hours total (farming things you cant get otherwise like gunpowder or bonemeal) compared to the literally thousands of hours I have played in "peaceful" mode, in the same manner that most of the people I know personally play the game.

That is a massively incorrect assumption. I think people fell in love with the freedom and building more than the slight occasional short lived distraction adventure brought to the game.

Honestly, for the ARM architecture predominant in smart phones and other portable devices, I think creative mode is not only sufficient, its rather ample. (provided it has a somewhat similar level of depth to creative mode)

Guess this is a prime example of people expecting entirely too much. Cause yanno it isnt supposed to be minecraft. Its minecraft esque so you can get a minecraft fix while your sitting 10 min in the waiting room of a doctors office, or 20 min bus ride, or some other short lived gaming experience. I mean really who wants to pour thousands of hours into playing minecraft on a roundabout 4.2 inch screen anyway? Granted, the adventure mode might be a better fit for that platform, but really its asking for too much to get a full fledged creative mode PLUS a full fledged adventure mode.

 

[Smooth Operator]

That is a massively incorrect assumption. I think people fell in love with the freedom and building more than the slight occasional short lived distraction adventure brought to the game.

Then why did anyone buy the game, creation mode was all the demo had so why would you even go for the full game?
You were obviously only inconvenienced by the extras.

 

[viranimus]

That is a massively incorrect assumption. I think people fell in love with the freedom and building more than the slight occasional short lived distraction adventure brought to the game.

Then why did anyone buy the game, creation mode was all the demo had so why would you even go for the full game?

I dunno, supporting an indie developer? Full screen capability? The ability to easily save? Running and supporting your own server? Modding? The functionality of crafting and resource management being a part of creativity (as having limited resources alters your design choices)? and many other possible reasons to love minecraft and not have the slightest bit of interest in dealing with the tiresome mobs, xp, health management, etc and all the other things that adventure mode has.

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

Man screw minecraft, I want to do a phone/tablet client for dwarf fortress. The game is too intense itself to run on a phone but a client run a month or so at a time for an existing fortress would be rockin.

 

[XDravond]

I have only played desktop Minecraft, but it sounds great that they are doings something more studio teams should: Listen to your customers...

But I'm not sure it's possible to make Minecraft the same on mobile platforms since you have mostly a completely different control scheme and a lot less resources...

 

[GrandmaFunk]

Notch is dumb.

Edit: also what was the general response here about notch saying that bugs were good? cause notch literally said bugs were cool.

Sometimes, they are.

ex: minecart boosters. in beta's early days a whole subculture evolved around using boosters, which was the byproduct of a bug. ppl found ways to use them innovatively and that impressed Notch.

look at some of the early subway systems ppl made complete with huge holding pattern systems to allow for momentum-charged carts to be ready at the flip of a switch.

 

[Aprilgold]

Notch is dumb.

Edit: also what was the general response here about notch saying that bugs were good? cause notch literally said bugs were cool.

Bethesda is dumb because they let bugs stay in if their funny. Notch thinks their good [I may be wrong] so its easier to better the game.

Also, Jeb is now in charge, so we should ALL be changing it to Jeb is dumb.

That is a massively incorrect assumption. I think people fell in love with the freedom and building more than the slight occasional short lived distraction adventure brought to the game.

Then why did anyone buy the game, creation mode was all the demo had so why would you even go for the full game?
You were obviously only inconvenienced by the extras.

Actually, the Demo is missing some blocks, I think the new terrain generation and a good chunk of updates. The extras are the reason to buy, and creative does have a few extras.

 

[RJ 17]

I'm rather proud to state the following three facts:

1: I don't have a Facebook account, never will.

2: I don't have a Twitter account, never will.

3: I've never played Minecraft, never will.

Granted being proud of such things is, itself, not something to be proud of.

 

[yman15]

I'm rather proud to state the following three facts:

1: I don't have a Facebook account, never will.

2: I don't have a Twitter account, never will.

3: I've never played Minecraft, never will.

Granted being proud of such things is, itself, not something to be proud of.

Whats wrong with having a FB? I mean as long as your not one of those people who treat like a virtual diary its nothing to be ashamed of.

 

[RJ 17]

I'm rather proud to state the following three facts:

1: I don't have a Facebook account, never will.

2: I don't have a Twitter account, never will.

3: I've never played Minecraft, never will.

Granted being proud of such things is, itself, not something to be proud of.

Whats wrong with having a FB? I mean as long as your not one of those people who treat like a virtual diary its nothing to be ashamed of.

Mostly just something with my personality. I don't consider myself a rebel or a hipster or something, but just the fact that EVERYONE'S got a Facebook page or a Twitter account makes me absolutely refuse to get either. Same with Minecraft: EVERYONE says it's more addictive than meth, as such I just have absolutely no desire to even see what all the craze is about.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

I still need to buy that. Damn.

"After that, the two markets must approve the update before it becomes available."
That's inaccurate, the Android marketplace has no review process before updates go live. There is a small delay for the application to go live on the marketplace automatically, but it usually can be rolled out in a business day or so.
Apple's App Store is the one with a multi-week manual review process.

But Apple picks favorites; a big money maker can get reviewed and put out in less than a week while other apps can take even months.

 

[brainslurper]

At this point, pocket edition is possibly the worst 3d modeling program ever created.

 

[JWAN]

why wouldn't they try to make it as close to the original as possible? Its written in Java for petes sake. How hard could it be?

Minecraft can be a massive resource hog.
When you start tinkering with complicated redstone machinery and what not, it can put a fair bit of strain on RAM as well as CPU.
Not to mention how huge the save files can get.
How much storage is in your phone? I mean I have a world that's over 2 GB in size, and I'm sure there are some out there that are much larger.

Even so, they could dial back the effects and even go back to the days of the limited mine craft world, possibly make the map into a grid and have loading screens. clearly it would be a change but they could still have it close to PC quality.

 

[brainslurper]

I still need to buy that. Damn.

"After that, the two markets must approve the update before it becomes available."
That's inaccurate, the Android marketplace has no review process before updates go live. There is a small delay for the application to go live on the marketplace automatically, but it usually can be rolled out in a business day or so.
Apple's App Store is the one with a multi-week manual review process.

But Apple picks favorites; a big money maker can get reviewed and put out in less than a week while other apps can take even months.

Are you complaining? I don't care how Apple reviews their apps, but they have more apps across 5 devices then the android market has across hundreds, even after removing apps they didn't like.

 

[Uber Evil]

why wouldn't they try to make it as close to the original as possible? Its written in Java for petes sake. How hard could it be?

IPhone games are written in a proprietary language (XCode) I think, so it's not like you can just ctrl-c ctrl-v. Android games probably pose a similar problem.