Minecraft - What should the complete game be?
Minecraft has achieved an incredible amount for a game that is only now starting to near its final stages of development. With its developers publicly stating their desire to be finished with development (and naming the end of 2011 as a possible launch window), it's about time to think about what could, should or will be included to make this game feel complete.
The most obvious thing here is that, come the full release, the addition of new blocks and tools will cease. Between now and then, we can expect to see new furniture blocks to accompany the recently-released bed, however they will likely have little functionality. A few stronger building blocks - similar to sandstone - should be added for extra variety.
The whole concept of redstone is amazing and mimics humanity's early use of electricity. While it can be used to make extremely cool devices, only those with extreme knowledge are capable of such a feat. To fix this, new redstone contraptions should be added (similar to the recent redstone repeater) which will drastically decrease the space needed to produce a small effect. Ideally, there would be some method of condensing a fully-complete redstone circuit into just a few blocks in order to heighten practicality.
The biggest thing Minecraft lacks at the moment is modding support. Game files need to be erased and modified in order to allow some mods to work - and this is all undone the moment a new update is released.
Mojang have already stated multiple times they want to increase support for the modding community. What this will likely mean is a method of externally loading new files so that each time a minor bug-fix is released, the entire modding community does not have to reconfigure their Minecraft setup.
When this occurs, a torrent of mods will start emerging. The modding community already has a large base - but upon the full release of Minecraft, it would not be surprising if this become just as popular - if not more - than the Source Engine and the thousands of mods which have been made for it - no mean feat for any game.
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A cool example of how mods can change Minecraft
Many people think some sort of tutorial will be incorporated come this game's final release. However, a tutorial just does not suit what Minecraft is all about - finding your feet and expressing your imagination. Perhaps the closest thing to a tutorial would be a fold-out recipes guide: accessible from your menu, this feature would allow you to see your own successful crafting attempts and recipes. This would reduce the average player's dependency on guides and websites - increasing Minecraft's accessibility even more.
Such a feature will become even more vital with the upcoming release of the mobile versions of the game.
The fact of the matter is, Minecraft is already a game. Apart from a few missing features, there’s little to be added. It’s not a game which requires a story - the depth of the experience is limited only by one’s imagination, and not the elements which have been included in the game.
The repertoire of building blocks might be expanded slightly. More mobs (both friendly and enemy) could be added. User friendliness will be improved. But Minecraft is not a game which needs to be jam-packed with features, and perhaps the best thing the developers could do is let its simplicity shine in the final product.
By Harry Hughes
What do you want to see added into Minecraft? If it wasn’t added, would a make-shift version be possible to create using the tools and resources in Minecraft?