needlemakeup79

p>Despite punching way over its weight in the areas of film, music and literature, one part of popular culture in which New Zealand has traditionally struggled to make a global impact is the market for video games. The list of Kiwi games that have received international recognition is shockingly small with the notable exception of Sidhe Interactive's rugby titles in Wellington and 1995's Megadrive classic Super Skidmarks.

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p>With the advent of mass-market games that have large budgets of millions of dollars and the support of international publishers with huge pockets, it's nearly impossible for new companies to get an edge, particularly for console games that are released through the off-the-shelf stores. https://telegra.ph/Minecraft-Controllers-are-out-Today-09-15 With a limited selection of options as far as domestic developers are concerned, developers with a great idea have looked at mobile gaming as a way to break into the industry.

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p>Hawke's Bay developer David Frampton is at the forefront of this new wave digital entrepreneurs. He's an App Store enthusiast already, having made his mark with Chopper and its imaginatively named sequel Chopper 2. Frampton made headlines earlier in the month when he released a game that had more than a million downloads within three days. It went on to become the No. number one iPad application in 15 countries.

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p>The Blockheads is a game that doesn't have any narrative structure, storyline or overall goal. It's difficult to determine the "point" of The Blockheads. There's no princess to save or alien invasion to ward off, or storyline to unravel. There's no high score or boss to defeat. The game is completely open and you can explore and imagine. This free-form, blank-slate approach lets you create whatever you like, go at your own pace , and let your imagination go wild.

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p>Despite the fact that your muted protagonist is not a person You will soon feel a connection to the cube-headed character. Their mood is an essential aspect of the game.

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p>If they spend too much time exploring, they won't be able to sleep or eat enough. This will leave them exhausted and hungry. You'll have to find materials to build shelters and food. As you explore more of the virtual world, you'll find materials that allow you to build elaborate palaces and create advanced tools.

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p>The game is completely free to play however, its addictive nature makes it an excellent fit for the "freemium" model that a lot of mobile games use. If you are willing to wait for your blockhead to complete tasks like mining, building, and sleeping, then you will not need to spend any money. However you can purchase the game's currency called "time crystals", to accelerate the process and create more complex items.

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p>With all this talk about crafting and mining, it would be impossible to review The Blockheads without mentioning the elephant in the room, another brainchild of an indie musician and band leader, Markus "Notch" Persson's phenomenally successful Minecraft. It's clear that both games have a great deal in similarity, from the quirky graphic style, low-tech graphics to the emphasis on resource collection, exploration and expression of creativity.

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p>When the Nelson Mail's Adam Roberts interviewed Frampton earlier this month, online commentators were quick to highlight the striking similarities between the two games, inferring and insinuating that The Blockheads was little more than an "Minecraft copycat".

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p>It's understandable people would jump to this conclusion. While there's no doubt that Notch's game was an obvious source of inspiration for Frampton but there's a lot more to The Blockheads that the other similar cash-in-sandwapware finds its way onto the App Store.

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p>It's also unfair and unprofessional to use the similarities between two games to demonstrate plagiarism. Video games, more than any other entertainment, are built on the previous work.

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p>As technology improves and trends become popular developers will be able to refine and modify what "works" and draw inspiration from games that have made waves. Just as Space Invaders led to a wave of space shooters Super Mario Bros set the trend for side-scrolling platformers, and Gears of War opened the floodgates for cover-based shooters, the unimaginable success of an innovative indie blockbuster like Minecraft will inevitably cause ripples within the industry. It's not plagiarism. It's advancement.

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p>If you're a Minecraft fan and you're a Minecraft fan, then you're bound to love The Blockheads but it's more than a carbon copy. https://mooc.elte.hu/eportfolios/1072453/Home/Minecraft_might_get_Banned_in_Turkey_because_of_its_Violence While Minecraft is best played with keyboard and mouse, The Blockheads' 2-D take on the creative sandbox genre is perfectly suited to the mobile format and its use of touchscreen controls is well-designed and easy to use.

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p>It's wonderful to see an Kiwi developer making waves in gaming's fastest-growing sector. With three hits already under his belt, it will be interesting to see what Frampton's Majic Jungle Software crafts and creates next.

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p>Majic Jungle Software - The Blockheads (iPad and iPhone) Play for free.

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