Right now its Xperia Play only, Mojang have said it'll be available on other devices in a month or two.
Some people have already thrown the .apk on other devices, and gotten in game, however it's unplayable without the physical inputs on the Xperia Play. (http://imgur.com/a/bknX7)
They've committed to further updates following a similar model to the desktop version. The current version is actually 0.1.
Let me hop on my soapbox for a minute and say that Mojang really seems to be squandering the greatness that they have discovered in this game.
Minecraft's level of success is unheard of for an indie game, by a huge margin, and it's well deserved. My favorite critic quote called it something like "an end to the era of shallow games". I think they've created a new genre, or possibly multiple genres, with more potential than any one developer could realize in a lifetime.
And yet:
They hocked exclusivity rights to a marginal platform. Now they have to develop and promote a game that nobody can buy for some mysterious amount of time. I seriously doubt that whatever amount of cash Sony dumped on them was worth it.
And what they released, and attached the Minecraft name to, is a drastically dumbed down version of the game: 36 blocks, no survival, no mining, no infinite worlds, no online multiplayer. You can see the disappointment reflected in the market reviews.
I'm aware that a straight port is not technically feasible, but I'm confident that they could make something a lot closer to the desktop version if they took advantage of cloud resources and took mobile more seriously.
Notch is a very talented game designer and I think he has great vision, but maybe not enough confidence in his vision. He's still thinking like an indie developer and grasping at opportunities.
He's still thinking like an indie developer and grasping at opportunities.
Or perhaps he's thinking incrementally. Notch has always been a big proponent of incremental development, rather than keeping a game secret and releasing it only when it's done.
They've said as much, but that process works a lot better for obscure indie desktop games than for mobile apps trying to capitalize on fame. A lot of potential new players are going buy it to see what all the fuss is about, not see the point of it, and move on.
If the mobile version is being developed independently of the desktop version, then it's always going to lag way behind and not share the same base of players. It's the t-shirt, not the game.
Not only has he limited himself to Android (you notice no other mobile platforms in your list there) he's chosen to take an exclusivity deal from Sony so that it's artificially limited to only the Xperia Play for at least a month or two.
Android is Java based ... Minecraft is java based ... seems only logical Android is first. I don't really see it going to any other OS myself... maybe the Win7 phone when the xbox version is completed. I bet that payment from Sony was to convert it, I doubt they had plans to ship to xperia otherwise. If it sells as well as the PSP it will hardly be marginal.
And one to two month is hardly exclusive, its just a marketing gamble by Sony.
I believe there is good reason for the game being dumbed down for the mobile version. An intense session of Minecraft probably won't translate so well to mobile - UI in particular possess a legit challenge for a game originally designed with a keyboard and mouse in mind.
Regarding the platform: I don't know how relevant it is, but Minecraft was written in Java. Android apps are normally written in Java. Maybe this was simply the path of least resistance?
So far, it only works on one phone - Xperia Play, also known as Playstation Phone, although notch said that they are working on bringing it as 'regular' Market release.
I would say "How can this work on such a small screen" but when I was younger, Age of Empires for Dell Axium was one of the most exciting games to to play. Felt so futuristic.
Consider Minecraft is entirely coded in Java, I'm surprised it's not been ported to Android platform sooner... But again, although game's size itself is not big, Minecraft is very resource consuming as the world expands.
Yes, Minecraft is very resource intensive and a lot of people with powerful computers (relative to smartphones) can't run it, a straight port would not work. It's been rebuilt from the ground up.
Is this creative mode ("minecraft classic") only? Or is there a survival mode too? Survival and Multiplayer? All the screenshots and video teasers I've seen have been creative only.
All the reviews on the marketplace indicate it's creative only. Bummer, survival is lots of fun. Sure that it'll be ported over though, they're working on Xbox versions too...
I'm guessing he was able to reuse some of his java code in the mobile version (as opposed to a complete rewrite). He probably spent most of his time optimizing - PC Minecraft can bring gaming machines to their knees.
They actually brought on a developer specifically to work on the Android version. Notch and Jens are the only two developers who work on the PC version of Minecraft.
Everyone else that has been hired at Mojang is working on their next game 'Scrolls'.
It's also probably much, much easier to port to an interface that includes some physical controls. Minecraft uses a number of control on the PC (movement including crouching and jumping, interacting with M1/M2, inventory, menu). I can't imagine what a pain it would be to adapt that for purely touchscreen.
I've tried to play console adapted games on touchscreen via emulator, and it just simply doesn't work well. Games with action are horrible (Super Mario World was what I tried), but even turn based games are annoying to control. Having buttons really makes it easier.
On a completely unrelated note, that's why I bought a Droid 1 and then a Droid 2. I really wish more Android phones would include a physical keyboard; they're a much nicer experience than any touchscreen keyboard I've ever used, including the iPhone's.
This brings me to a point. I was thinking about writing a game (real time 3d graphics, etc) for desktop and mobile, as many platforms as possible. What would be the language or tool of choice to go with?
My conclusion: in 2011 you should write your program in C if you want to reach the widest audience with a single code base.
You'll still have to write some Obj-C for OSX/iOS but it's easier to interop Obj-C with C than any other language. With Android you go with NDK and you might have to write a little Java/Dalvik if the default launcher of NDK is not good enough. On desktop Linux you'll need a little bit of X11 programming.
On iOS, OSX, Android and Linux you can do use Posix system calls pretty liberally but have to keep some portability issues in mind (e.g. epoll vs. kqueue).
Of course then there is Windows, that has almost nothing in common with any other platform out there but it can still be programmed with C.
I've seen products that claim to give you portability across all these platforms but my experiences with that kind of frameworks have always been negative. Some cross platform game engines may be able to deliver a bit better.
Of course then there's the option of simply duplicating the code base for all platforms which seems to be popular with small apps. With a game, where the graphics and game logic are the majority of the code, you probably don't want to duplicate that part. You could also try writing some of the non-speed critical stuff (like game logic) with a scripting language like Lua (if your appstores allow you to do such a thing).
I am slightly disappointed that we still have to write C to write code that's fast and portable, esp. on mobile platforms. Also the lack of any kind of standard library (apart from libc and posix) makes a cross-platform developers job a bit harder.
C++ support on embedded devices and smartphones is kind of iffy. First there might be actual language features missing because of a simplified runtime system those systems use. I'm primarily talking about exception handling but also other features.
Second is the standard library. The systems in question might not ship with a decent C++ standard library ("STL").
Third problem is C++0x. If I were to write C++, I would definately want to use C++0x, the language has cool features like auto and lambda and the standard library has nice additions w.r.t. C++98, especially std::thread and std::chrono.
Third is the API's you have to deal with. Using C API's in C++ apps either requires you to use a wrapper layer or give up using constructors, destructors, exceptions or at least give very special attention to those and end up writing code with a bastardized C/C++ hybrid.
Don't get me wrong, I like C++ but it's always a PITA to try to write something portable with it.
I'm writing a game engine at the moment, specifically for PC but also potentially to experiment with on mobile platforms, and I decided to go with C, for exactly the reasons you've mentioned with.
I might be wrong here, but didn't Apple app store have limitations on what languages you were allowed to use. I don't know whether or not that applies to having an embedded interpreter like Lua.
Based on Notch's G+ updates, I get the impression he's pretty content and not really looking to maximize profit. So he probably went with the platform he prefers for whatever his reasons are.
I believe it was part of some sort of deal with Sony Ericsson to get an exclusive for the Xperia Play. Mojang has said that they're working on a both a generic Android version as well as one for iOS.
Because Minecraft Pocket Edition is different software that required months of work and financing (if you've followed its development) to develop.
You have to pay again in order for the software developer to make those funds back. There would be a lot less incentive to port software or develop future versions if they had to be made free.
They wouldn't necessarily need to be for free. Porting it to another platform opens up a new market. There are probably a lot of people that have an Android phone that haven't bought Minecraft for iPhone or PC.
Minecraft for iPhone doesn't exist, so that's out. Minecraft for PC has existed for months. I could see it drawing in new people with the promotion a new port gives, but I doubt it would be enough to cover development costs considering how many people have already bought Minecraft PC.
Yes, just like shifting music or movies from CD/DVD player to mp3/Computer. When I buy "content" or a license to "play" I expect to be able to transfer it amongst all the devices I own.
I know software requires manual translation. But, the above behavior is what I expect.
Music is just data/content, no program code. You can certainly transfer any client files you got from the normal Minecraft installation to your phone and (unsuccessfully) try to use them.
If you bought a house would you expect a smaller replica of your house to be free? No, it requires work to build that house just like the original and therefore costs money.
If you bought a house, would you expect to be able to use that house on both your desktop AND your laptop, because it's the same damn house? Uh, no, because physical matter doesn't work that way. In case you haven't heard, though, copying data _does_ work that way, and many people DO expect that if they buy music they SHOULD be able to use it on more than one device. And similarly for games (when it's a single chunk of code), which is actually how Minecraft actually works.
Note, I'm not arguing that MPE should be free with purchase of Minecraft, or that it shouldn't. I'm just pointing out the deadly obvious: that physical-goods arguments are basically useless for digital goods.
I don't know, I think it's pretty good and certainly better than yours. I assume you don't write software because that's not how porting works. Mojang didn't do a copy/paste job to create the mobile version they actually had to hire a _separate developer_ for the sole purpose of developing the Android game. It probably reuses some assets and code but it's not an easy task to optimize a game as heavy as Minecraft for a mobile device.
You can't copy Minecraft from your PC to your Android phone like an MP3 (well you can, but it won't work). My analogy was trying to get to the point that a smaller house would be able to reuse assets (scaled drawings, design, etc.) but it still requires someone (similar to a new developer) to create it and port the existing design to the less complicated design.
No, that's where my analogy fails. The intention was to use an analogy that someone who doesn't understand software development would understand. It only applies to the development aspect and work required - not the ability to make copies (Minecraft Mobile is not a copy, a separate version).
You are able to transfer it. It's not the developer's fault Android won't run an J2SE application, just like it's not a music store which sells albums in FLAC that your e.g. iPod doesn't support the format.
I would expect to get, as you put it, the 3DS VERSION for free, if when I purchased the game for the Wii it specifically said that I will receive all future updates and new versions for free.
If it shows up for my phone, I might shell out $7 for it anyway.
Really? This kooky theory finds it way to HN from Reddit. Wow. Who would have thought? I’m very disappointed.
The language he uses in a blog post is not relevant. What’s relevant is whether a court would think that “future versions” from the license also includes different games using in some respects the same mechanic, that share some resources but not code. That’s very, very unlikely.
Your first sentence is justified, the second is speculation masked as a factual statement.
(This also reeks of entitlement. Even if Mojang made a mistake when writing their license, asking for all ports to be free is behavior I’m unable to comprehend.)
I'm surprised too. Anybody who thinks they should get MPE for free just because they bought MC is delusional. I have a hard time modifying my world view so that this is justifiable behaviour.
How many people really thought along these lines when buying MC alpha? I'm pretty darn sure that when people read "all future versions for free", it meant "Alpha, and everything up to and including RTM for free", and not "Everything MC related, forever".
Heck, I think Notch threw in expansion packs for alpha purchasers. They should consider themselves lucky that he did.
Heck, I think Notch threw in expansion packs for alpha purchasers. They should consider themselves lucky that he did.
Thats the difference between aplha and beta purchases. People, like me, who purchased the beta version get all version up until release and bug fixes after release. People who bought the alpha version get that plus any expansions and add ons.
Pocket Edition is, as far as I'm concerned, not part of the Minecraft version timeline, not an addon and not an expansion, therefore should be exempt from the for free clause.
Then again, since I purchased the beta version, I don't get the extra free stuff, so I'm not exactly invested in arguing that MPE should be free, so...
What makes you consider minecraft pocket edition to be a different game? It looks to me like a straightforward port of the same graphics and mechanics, but I admit I haven't seen any gameplay videos yet.
I don't feel particularly entitled to it but it certainly seems like a version of minecraft.
In some contexts "version" only applies to release numbers like that, but this is a more general sense of the word. It explicitly includes add-ons and expansions. I think it's reasonable to expect it to apply to everything minecraft, though I personally accept it if their wording was a mistake and only intended to apply to the pc version(s).
MPE is not an add-on or an expansion. In PC gaming both of those words have specific meanings; both imply the addition of additional content to the original game. This Android installment of the game does not even interact with the PC installment. (The installment which you purchased at heavy discount, I might add.)
Additionally, the PC game is only a few weeks away from getting one of the largest updates in its history. It is unreasonable to state that you aren't getting your money's worth.
That image reeks of stupidity. The mobile version (SEE, I said it) is a different game on a different platform. Like most words in any natural language 'version' is ambiguous. The original promise meant that you would get every update to the game for free, not that you would somehow be entitled to every derivative game released later on.
Why downvotes? Maybe for many of you, the answer is obvious, but I think this can be an interesting question.
Certainly, some additional work goes into each separate version and you shouldn't just get that for free. But to pay full price for both versions seems wrong too. Might there be a base cost, with an additional cost for each system? That's as simple as giving Tam a discount for the mobile version after entering a legitimate license.
Just think about all the trouble: Mojang doesn’t use one payment processor, they use two and they would have to find some way to let customers prove to one payment processor that they used the other one.
That’s not all that problematic on their side (though still a lot of work), maybe they could find some sort of (semi-)automatic way to get a discount on the desktop version of Minecraft with a receipt or a code the Android app displays. (I would guess that at the volumes Minecraft sells something like this has to generate a lot of support requests, though.)
The much, much more common case (existing buyers of Minecraft for the desktop buy the mobile edition) is also much harder. I don’t think the Android Market has a built-in mechanism for entering codes to get discounts or something like that. (Maybe it has, I don’t know. I have never heard of something like that, though.) They would have to create a way for buyers to, I don’t know, maybe enter a code the Android app displays on their website to get a discount. That would again be work but at least it’s possible.
But how is Mojang going to get $2, $3 or something like that to the customers? Is there a way to easily do that? I don’t think so and even if the fees would be horrendous.
All of this is work and would also probably be a customer support nightmare.
It’s easier to just have one price point, especially if it is so low anyway. Hardly anyone will buy the mobile edition and not the desktop edition, how would it be worth it to create an additional price point for this tiny minority? It just doesn’t make any business sense.
The issue here is that this is not a port, it's a completely new mobile code base with a new internal developer behind it. It doesn't benefit directly from any of the work done on the Java version. It might make business sense to give some discounts to existing players, but I think the logistics of that would be difficult.
It's just not how the gaming business works and Mojang would lose money. It's a different game on a different system and probably required a huge effort to optimize code and trim it down to work on a mobile device. They could do a promotion at some point to give discounts but this will never be the norm.
Right now its Xperia Play only, Mojang have said it'll be available on other devices in a month or two.
Some people have already thrown the .apk on other devices, and gotten in game, however it's unplayable without the physical inputs on the Xperia Play. (http://imgur.com/a/bknX7)
They've committed to further updates following a similar model to the desktop version. The current version is actually 0.1.