Notch (Minecraft) space game

[Pinback]

Interview with the minecraft creators Mojang on RPShttp://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/03/07/a-day-in-the-life-of-minecraft-creator-mojang/I know what you are thinking “what the hell has that got to do with space simsHere the quote that caught my attention.
Quote:
“I have many games in mind, replies Persson. Does he know which will come next? It keeps going back and forth. Im really annoyed with how there are no space trading simulators at the moment. And the ones there have been always kind of miss the point. They're fun, but even Elite 2 which was a great game, wasn't really what I wanted. I really want to make that, but that's going to be lots of work, and be extremely nerdy, and probably wont sell very well. But hopefully I can convince other people here that they want to do it.

[Geraldine]

This could be something Pinback. Persson has an eye on gameplay that much is sure from his work on Minecraft. I have always wanted to build my own star ship <img src="'[url]http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//icon_lol.gif[/url] class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':lol:' />

[Pyros]

Taking into consideration the tremendous hit that minecraft has been so far, at the least he will get "quality time" of attention from other people in the game scene. IF he goes for a Space Sim (please let it be so ) it could be something.

[Pinback]

They have the money but do have the will to do one.

[sscadmin]

Not sure if it comes down to will or not Pinback. I think it comes down to his market research and whether he will make a profit. Because in the end it usually comes down to money. Granted it also depends on the developer whether they can make the game easy to grasp, re-playable and multi-platform. The X-Series is good in this area but its flaw is that it gets boring and there is a steep learning curve for the player. But Persson is right we do need a good space trading game and I do hope he continues down the path.

[Pinback]

That’s the basic problem with most of the big developers it all about money.If they do decide to go ahead then I hope they use Frontier as a base to develop there game from and not Elite.

[Geraldine]

Perhaps he could do the same thing as he did with Minecraft. Release a working alpha, get people to buy it at a knockdown price, then improve it as he goes. It does sound a mad thing to do, but it did work with Minecraft. And yes, base it on the Frontier model.

[Pinback]

Could very well work, the only problem is you exclude everyone with no internet or poor internet access.

[Geraldine]

True, but this could be solved by releasing a retail version once the game is finally finished, or they could post updates and serial keys to those without access to the net or make them available to high street retailers for the public to buy.

[sscadmin]

PINBACK wrote:
Could very well work, the only problem is you exclude everyone with no internet or poor internet access.
Is this really a factor in todays gaming? With SP gameplay getting reduced and taking a back seat to the MP/MMO gameplay I don't think it would be a huge loss to Mojang. BioWare is so popular now because they still do make SP games that are very good same with Square Enix. I am all for the SP game Pinback I just think they are now becoming a dying bread and the only developers that will make one will be the ones with the deep pockets to take the risk.

[Pinback]

Darkone wrote:
Is this really a factor in todays gaming? With SP gameplay getting reduced and taking a back seat to the MP/MMO gameplay I don't think it would be a huge loss to Mojang. BioWare is so popular now because they still do make SP games that are very good same with Square Enix. I am all for the SP game Pinback I just think they are now becoming a dying bread and the only developers that will make one will be the ones with the deep pockets to take the risk.
I seen a few comment about the end of the single player game but I don’t think they will disappear but if it did then I think it will be only the big commercial developer who will stop making them. As their only interest is in making money and as a SP game can only be sold once unlike a subscription based MP/MMO game which can be sold month after month.

[Torric]

Hey,although it may be a bit off topic, Egosoft recently announced that their next project (referred to as "The Next Big Thing") will be unveiled on April 28th. Regarding the history of the studio when it comes to their game releases (namely the X-Series), it probably is going to be another open-ended singleplayer space game.

[Pinback]

Yes that would be Egosoft notorious “The Next Boring Thing” There’s a forum here http://www.spacesimcentral.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=44 Along with a thread about speculating what there “The Next Boring Thing” might be.

[sscadmin]

Pinback our resident X Series basher :)I think game houses like Square Enix, Valve and BioWare put out some great SP games and some are doing really well that maybe, just maybe it will catch on and developers will slowly get back to making really immersive games and not just the quick action fix that most games are. People will remember and replay these great SP games sometimes multiple times. but how many times will you play through the 6-18hr campaigns of some of these action games? Only hard thing about this is that building a great game takes a lot of time and money to do right and there isn't many game developers that can take the chance on a SP game.

[Geraldine]

This is why I will be watching how Deus Ex 3 does. The single player storyline will be all important here as will how much interaction the game has for the player. If it does well, that might open the eyes of other game devs out there. Perhaps some of those game devs might stay in Cambridge? <img src="'[url]http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//icon_razz.gif[/url] class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':-P' />

[Pinback]

DarkOne wrote:
Pinback our resident X Series basher
It's a hobby :lol:You never know Egosoft might have a hit, I think that about the only way that lot in Cambridge will ever do anything. (mind you it would have to be a big hit)

[Torric]

who/what is "that lot in cambridge"? Well, since someone noticed the description for the german egosoft "X-Universum" Forums now says "and Online-Universe" in addition to all the X-series titles, i may be wrong anyway with the singleplayer thing =/And singleplayer-wise, i really really thoroughly enjoyed Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War <-yes, the original. Voice acting was epic. "Beware, the mutant, the heretic, the alien."

[Pinback]

Torric wrote:
who/what is "that lot in cambridge"?
Frontier developments and their long delayed sequel to the Elite series.
Torric wrote:
Well, since someone noticed the description for the german egosoft "X-Universum" Forums now says "and Online-Universe" in addition to all the X-series titles, i may be wrong anyway with the singleplayer thing =/
Is that not just that X2 online site that has been knocking about for years or is it some thing else http://www.online-universe.net/I suppose it might be a possibility now that Jumpgate has failed to appear.

[Torric]

Thanks for clearing that "cambridge lot" part up Well, seems like that "online-Universe" thing is indeed old. Was curious about that anyway, since all Egosoft titles so far have been singleplayer only. Time will tell.

[jimmy69]

I hope they will surprise us as they did with Minecraft.