Minecraft prompts change in XBLA update process
"I think we might be the first to do constant updates," says 4J Studios' Paddy Burns.
"I think we might be the first to do constant updates," says 4J Studios' Paddy Burns.
Swedish developer Mojang has admitted it midjudged fan expectations with the release of Minecraft: Pocket Edition, the iOS and Android port of its PC smash. In a post on the Mojang blog, Daniel Kaplan explains that the company designed Pocket Edition to focus on the creative aspects of Minecraft. Fans, it seems, wanted something different, and with Mojang's relationship with its fanbase having been so significant a factor in Minecraft's success, the studio is now going back to the drawing board. More >
1Rockstar promises optimised controls for touch-screen play, and has included two thoughtful additions: mission retry and autosave mode. More >
1With Grand Theft Auto III now available for iOS and Android, we look at how Rockstar changed gaming forever.
Markus "Notch" Persson, the charismatic head of Minecraft developer Mojang, is no longer lead developer on the game that made him a millionaire, after he passed the reins to Jens Bergensten. Writing on his blog, Persson explains that the move means Bergensten "will have the final say in all design decisions, so he will kinda sorta become my boss, I guess." More >
A trio of Minecraft players have painstakingly recreated the first level of Game Boy platformer Super Mario Land. More >
1Randy Smith gets back behind the wheel of Rockstar's opus and discovers an uncomfortable truth.
10More than half of UK children own a toy based on a virtual world, according to a new study by youth research firm Dubit. The company surveyed 500 children from around the UK, finding that 55 per cent owned at least one toy based on one of Moshi Monsters, Club Penguin, Build-A-BearVille, Poptropica or Webkinz. Seventy-three per cent had played at least one of the games in question. More >
1Mojang's fascinating world is built to last.
3Celebrate the release of a modern classic with this compact treat.
Markus "Notch" Persson, studio head of Minecraft developer Mojang, has said he will no longer deal with the duo behind YouTube sensation Yogscast. Persson was unhappy with the duo swearing during a panel at the Minecon event in Las Vegas given that so many attendees had brought their children to the event, which was held to celebrate Minecraft's stunning success and mark its official release. More >
14More than 4,000 people logged into Minecraft every second following the release last Friday of Minecraft 1.0. The figure was revealed during a developer panel at the Minecon event in Las Vegas, held to celebrate the unprecedented success of Mojang's indie sandbox and to mark its official release. More >
Minecraft Pocket Edition will be released for iPhone and iPad tomorrow. News of the App Store release comes just days before the MineCon event in Las Vegas, where the PC version of the game will be officially released. Minecraft finally went gold earlier this week. More >
Mojang's indie sandbox, Minecraft, has finally exited beta and gone gold ahead of its official release this week. Studio head Markus "Notch" Persson revealed the news on Twitter, writing: "So, yes. Minecraft has gone gold." More >
Richard Garriott, creator of Ultima and Ultima Online, has spoken of his desire to rebuild his virtual world after being disappointed at the direction in which EA has taken Old Britannia since he left Origin Systems in 2000. In a lengthy post on Facebook, the self-styled Lord British writes: "Elves and ninjas have been added [to Ultima Online], things I specifically had banned. This is only a small example of why and how Ultima has drifted away from Richard Garriott, but I have not drifted away from Ultima. Over-used, irrelevant and re-used RPG elements are not the essence of my Ultimate RPG." More >
1Mojang's indie sandbox, Minecraft, has passed four million sales. The news was revealed in a tweet by studio head Markus "Notch" Persson, and has since been confirmed on the game's official website. More >
Minecraft has won the GameCity Prize 2011, becoming the first-ever recipient of the award at the annual Nottingham festival. Swedish developer Mojang's beloved indie sandbox was given the award - which recognises artistic, rather than financial success - at a ceremony on Saturday. It was selected by a panel including South Bank Centre artistic director Jude Kelly OBE, musician Nitin Sawhney and Labour MP Tom Watson. More >
Unity Technologies' 3D development platform Unity is to power a new virtual world to help soldiers to keep in touch with friends and family. Billed as a "community hub," the Army OneSource Virtual World is set in a virtual army campus split into several areas in which soldiers and their loved ones can interact not only with each other, but with those in similar situations and develop emotional and physical resilience, dubbed Virtual Resiliency. More >
The Xbox Live Arcade port of indie success story Minecraft has slipped to next spring. The delay was revealed by Microsoft producer Stuart Platt on Twitter yesterday. Announced at E3 in June, the XBLA port of Minecraft is being handled by Dundee developer 4J Studios and was originally set for release in 2011 More >
1YouTube sensations say their gameplay videos have helped drive stunning success of Mojang's PC sandbox.
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