Chapter 213: Trial Experience
Inside the Nebula Games offices.
Most of the planned buildings have already been completed, and only a few finishing touches are missing.
"Alex, look, Aether Games' Voyage has also announced its release date: January 21!", Eric said nervously.
"Don't worry about our plan. Don't worry about the subsequent promotion of Minecraft; I've already arranged everything for the operations department," Alex said with a smile.
"As for Voyage, it is a completely different genre from Minecraft, and with this release date, I think they will feel uncomfortable when it arrives," Alex said with confidence and a smile.
With Don't Starve as the only reference, this game is unique among sandbox games, with its solid objectives. This has led many game designers to focus solely on survival. Consequently, all the elements are focused on survival, neglecting the essential characteristics of sandbox games.
For example, Mark's Wasteland.
Even Aether Games' latest release, Voyage, is clearly out of place. Just by looking at the promotional videos and materials, Alex can see that they have completely neglected creativity, violating the very nature of sandbox games.
Honestly, Alex feels that the content they have released so far leans more towards sandbox games like Shenmue, creating an elaborate world for players to explore.
Despite this, Alex believes that these games, in general, will sell well. Quality is key, and although they have deviated from the goal, the incorporation of sandbox elements, combined with the inherent gameplay, has a certain appeal.
However, the chances of them becoming a huge success are slim.
If Voyage had been released after the official launch of Minecraft, or even coincided with its test, Alex does not believe that the impact would have been significant. After all, the video game industry is not a zero-sum game. And although Voyage is advertised as a sandbox, its gameplay is completely different from that of Minecraft.
'And now? Alex could only wish him good luck.'.
On January 3, Minecraft officially opened for trial downloads. It lasted for five days. The players who had been following the game began to download it, eager to try it.
Sitting in front of the computer, Sarah looked at the unlocked game screen and, radiant with joy, took out her phone to take a picture.
'What? Use the integrated screenshot button in the system and the game? No way. She just wanted to take a picture with her phone, and she had to do it upside down, without focusing.'.
After taking the photos, Sarah sent a message to Mike: "When do you get off work? I'm already playing here!".
Almost a second later, Mike, on the other side of the phone, sent her a message: "I'll be there in half an hour, it will take me more than an hour to get home. Should I bring you something to eat?".
He had been waiting for these words. Seeing Mike's message, Sarah wrote with joy: "When you get back, bring the roasted duck rice from downstairs. I want the duck bones with cumin, not with chili powder."
After a brief chat with Mike, Sarah clicked on the Minecraft icon without hesitation.
She had to admit that her previous game, Don't Starve, had captivated her. Her previous obsession with the game had been Fall Guys and It Takes Two. She had also seen some sandbox games from other developers, but in general she was not interested in them.
Minecraft, on the other hand, had been long awaited. Despite the pixelated design and the mediocre trailer, she was still very excited. After all, the previous Don't Starve did not even have a promotional trailer, only an official text entry from Alex's blog.
After entering the game, the Nebula Games logo disappeared. What followed was a scene that looked like a meadow, although a pixelated canvas. White clouds floated in the distant sky, sunlight filtered through them and illuminated the land.
The clouds formed the name and logo of the game: Minecraft.
The shadows cast by the sunlight were reflected on the ground.
The initial loading screen was also quite interesting, as it was not a typical flat interface, but interactive. In it, the player controlled Steve, who was on an isolated island. It was not big, surrounded by air walls. In the distance, the infinite ocean extended and the sun slowly rose.
A few houses stood on the island. There were signs that said "Exit game," "Options," "MODs," and "Play." Everything was made up of blocks.
Sarah had thought that the pixelated design would be difficult to read. But now, upon entering the game, she realized that it was identical to the promotional video from Alex's official blog.
Despite the game's pixel art style, the high-definition textures and the combination of lights and shadows give these pixelated blocks a unique touch.
"It looks a little different from what I imagined, but the images from the trailer must be real," Sarah sighs as she contemplated the ingenious interface.
After discovering that Minecraft was a pixel art game, her biggest concern was the graphics. Although she is not a very visual player, she hoped for a game with better graphics. While Minecraft is completely pixel art, Alex created the art meticulously.
In addition to the various high-definition textures and lighting effects, he also made subtle adjustments. In Minecraft, players can clearly appreciate the changes in lights and shadows, especially with its weather system. The rainbow and fog, combined with the lighting and shadows on a sunny day after the rain, are truly impressive.
The loading screen, in particular, offers players a direct idea of the game's graphics.
Without thinking too much, Sarah first took a look at the mods. Just like the previous Don't Starve, they were quite simple.
Then, she entered the room where the game started. There were four modes to choose from. The first was Single Player, the second Multiplayer, and the third LAN, which allowed players to play together online on the same network. The fourth was Community, where players could create servers using their own consoles as saved games.
However, this mode was in Early Access, so only single player and LAN modes were available.
Of course, although it was for a single player, players could invite friends to join their servers through the Nebula games platform.
The LAN mode may seem useless, but it was mainly intended for future mobile players. Although PC players rarely used it, as some said: "I can live without it, but you can't live without it. It's no problem, so we developed it together."
"I can only play in single player mode," Sarah muttered before selecting a mode and entering the game.
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