>> ^dystopianfuturetoday:

The last game he liked this much was the mediocre GTA clone, 'Saint's Row 2'.


He liked Just Cause 2, too. He has an affinity for quirky and flawed sandbox games.

They should have had this conversation in a sandbox in a playground somewhere.

This, my friends, is why sandbox games are better. They're the gifts that keep on giving

I don't think a "Public Apology" is good enough.
They have an empire built on lies and theft. They should be put out of business and THEN punished.

These aren't kindergartners - "OK Johnny, say sorry to Jane - good, everything's now fixed, now go play nice in the sandbox"

>> ^shuac:

Hooray. Another super-scripted rail shooter with zero replay value. I prefer to play in the sandbox worlds of Elder Scrolls/Fallout/Stalker.


Ditto. Even multiplayer isn't that good. I love Battlefield especially with the destructable buildings. Does MW3 even have that yet?

Hooray. Another super-scripted rail shooter with zero replay value. I prefer to play in the sandbox worlds of Elder Scrolls/Fallout/Stalker.

>> ^dag:

Have you tried it within the last year? Has to be the download version.>> ^rychan:
>> ^dag:
I wouldn't say that Minecraft is dead from a gameplay perspective, just stripped down. The game can be truly scary, even for adults. The monsters are great and the game really shines in multiplayer. In the end though, it is a sandbox game that eschews structure for freedom and creativity. IMHO it's the best thing to happen in gaming for many, many years.>> ^westy:
Not actually "that" creative.
the best part of this i think is the execution of the editing and recording ultimetly this is like sumoen building a large thing in Lego. not that thats a "bad" thing but its a very procedural process and so i would argue its not that "creative" still fun and still as valid as anything else.
Its s ahsame that mine craft is largely dead and soleless when it comes to annything other than building stuff , im sure a company will taske the best building parts of mine craft and then marry it with some deeper game play , proper servival horror game play or RPG oor just something that is more sophisticated.
im sure a AAA dev some place is doing this right now. ( granted will probably be shit lol)


I actually agree with Westy. I freaking love sim games and building games. I love to start with a clean slate and build up an intricate, active universe. But isn't it true what Westy said, that there's not really anything going on under the hood in Minecraft? I mean this city is just a bunch of inactive geometry? There's no dynamic processes, no citizens, no interactions? I fail to see how this is so different from modelling in 3d studio, although I acknowledge it is somehow much more compelling.
I see that the beta has a little more gameplay with roaming monsters, but I don't find that very compelling, and that's not what's being demonstrated in this video.
I really _want_ to like Minecraft, because I feel like I'm the perfect audience, but it's just not compelling to me (yet). I guess I want a sandbox world that feels as alive as Sim City 4, but that is as mutable as MineCraft.



I have, i still feel like it's missing a soul. I'd build all that, but what would i do with it? It just feels too empty

It's close to being "the" game i want to play, but there's just not enough to do in it. I feel similar about terraria atm - terraria went down the adventure/rpg route, getting gear, killing bosses, going to dungeons - but again, there's no 'end game' to make me want to do more. (I hate saying end game, it makes me look like someone who wants hardcore raiding, but i don't - i hope you understand what i mean when i used that phrase)

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

Have you tried it within the last year? Has to be the download version.>> ^rychan:

>> ^dag:
I wouldn't say that Minecraft is dead from a gameplay perspective, just stripped down. The game can be truly scary, even for adults. The monsters are great and the game really shines in multiplayer. In the end though, it is a sandbox game that eschews structure for freedom and creativity. IMHO it's the best thing to happen in gaming for many, many years.>> ^westy:
Not actually "that" creative.
the best part of this i think is the execution of the editing and recording ultimetly this is like sumoen building a large thing in Lego. not that thats a "bad" thing but its a very procedural process and so i would argue its not that "creative" still fun and still as valid as anything else.
Its s ahsame that mine craft is largely dead and soleless when it comes to annything other than building stuff , im sure a company will taske the best building parts of mine craft and then marry it with some deeper game play , proper servival horror game play or RPG oor just something that is more sophisticated.
im sure a AAA dev some place is doing this right now. ( granted will probably be shit lol)


I actually agree with Westy. I freaking love sim games and building games. I love to start with a clean slate and build up an intricate, active universe. But isn't it true what Westy said, that there's not really anything going on under the hood in Minecraft? I mean this city is just a bunch of inactive geometry? There's no dynamic processes, no citizens, no interactions? I fail to see how this is so different from modelling in 3d studio, although I acknowledge it is somehow much more compelling.
I see that the beta has a little more gameplay with roaming monsters, but I don't find that very compelling, and that's not what's being demonstrated in this video.
I really _want_ to like Minecraft, because I feel like I'm the perfect audience, but it's just not compelling to me (yet). I guess I want a sandbox world that feels as alive as Sim City 4, but that is as mutable as MineCraft.

>> ^dag:

I wouldn't say that Minecraft is dead from a gameplay perspective, just stripped down. The game can be truly scary, even for adults. The monsters are great and the game really shines in multiplayer. In the end though, it is a sandbox game that eschews structure for freedom and creativity. IMHO it's the best thing to happen in gaming for many, many years.>> ^westy:
Not actually "that" creative.
the best part of this i think is the execution of the editing and recording ultimetly this is like sumoen building a large thing in Lego. not that thats a "bad" thing but its a very procedural process and so i would argue its not that "creative" still fun and still as valid as anything else.
Its s ahsame that mine craft is largely dead and soleless when it comes to annything other than building stuff , im sure a company will taske the best building parts of mine craft and then marry it with some deeper game play , proper servival horror game play or RPG oor just something that is more sophisticated.
im sure a AAA dev some place is doing this right now. ( granted will probably be shit lol)



I actually agree with Westy. I freaking love sim games and building games. I love to start with a clean slate and build up an intricate, active universe. But isn't it true what Westy said, that there's not really anything going on under the hood in Minecraft? I mean this city is just a bunch of inactive geometry? There's no dynamic processes, no citizens, no interactions? I fail to see how this is so different from modelling in 3d studio, although I acknowledge it is somehow much more compelling.

I see that the beta has a little more gameplay with roaming monsters, but I don't find that very compelling, and that's not what's being demonstrated in this video.

I really _want_ to like Minecraft, because I feel like I'm the perfect audience, but it's just not compelling to me (yet). I guess I want a sandbox world that feels as alive as Sim City 4, but that is as mutable as MineCraft.

aw man, we only had dog poop in our sand pits.. I remember calling it "treasure" when I found it and making little piles of it on the edge of the sandbox. Then I'd wonder who stole my treasure when I'd come back later

>> ^KnivesOut:

In my day, we had sharks in the pools, broken glass on the slides, and heroin needles in the sand pits, AND WE LIKED IT.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

I wouldn't say that Minecraft is dead from a gameplay perspective, just stripped down. The game can be truly scary, even for adults. The monsters are great and the game really shines in multiplayer. In the end though, it is a sandbox game that eschews structure for freedom and creativity. IMHO it's the best thing to happen in gaming for many, many years.>> ^westy:

Not actually "that" creative.
the best part of this i think is the execution of the editing and recording ultimetly this is like sumoen building a large thing in Lego. not that thats a "bad" thing but its a very procedural process and so i would argue its not that "creative" still fun and still as valid as anything else.
Its s ahsame that mine craft is largely dead and soleless when it comes to annything other than building stuff , im sure a company will taske the best building parts of mine craft and then marry it with some deeper game play , proper servival horror game play or RPG oor just something that is more sophisticated.
im sure a AAA dev some place is doing this right now. ( granted will probably be shit lol)

It's not nearly as big a sandbox as any of the GTA games, it's much more linear. You complete one case afer another, and generally the flow is investigate crime scene for clues -> question witnesses or suspects, watch facial expressions for lie cues -> occasional chase scene or gunfight.

I like it, but don't see a ton of replay value. I'm about halfway through, and want to finish it, but I'm not blazing through it like I was in the first few cases. It's at least worth a rental.

I'm on the fence about whether to play this. I haven't seen much that convinces me this is a better game than Mafia 2, which had a stunning demo. Anyone play both?

In any case I don't have a lot of need/desire for another giant sandbox game. I'm still playing through GTAIV, which I've been playing in small bits for almost two years now. I feel like I only really figured out how to play it in the past couple months... that game really rewards longer play sessions and keeping track of who all the characters are. With settings maxed, GTAIV on PC still looks damn impressive to me, aside from the faces.

The new tech looks great but I get the same impression of FMV era bullshit factor... "hey we figured out this new bit of technology, let's build a game around it!" ... you're supposed to look at the acting and figure out if the character is lying? But the lie emanates from the script, not the performance. The character is lying or not, no matter how good the animation is. So what's the point? I'd love if GTA IV had this level of facial animation, but I honestly feel the mechanic of "guess if the character is lying" would become tedious after the first couple times.

Oh I agree we need a solid virtual world/sandbox so very badly for those of us who just don't really enjoy Eve. But if your going to play an upcoming Themepark MMOG, GW2 is easily your best bet. At least they are trying to get away from WoW and the stream of lookalikes that dominate the genre at the moment. Even ToR is trying it's best to be as similar to WoW as it can get.

Oh and for the record I think the upcoming MMOG with the best chances of being a damn good sandbox game is the World of Darkness MMOG. Still a ways off though.

I assure you that is not the case. Although I am rather farty.



>> ^chicchorea:

...and I envision you sitting in your sandbox you share with your kittycat with bubbles floating out of your cranial orifices, grabbing your pigtails, turning red as you puff your cheeks and hold your breath.
but I digress.
<em>>> <a rel="nofollow" href='http://videosift.com/talk/Accute-Dupitis?loadcomm=1#comment-1183709'>^bareboards2</a>:<br />
"It would be correct."<br> <br> No offense intended @<a rel="nofollow" href="http://videosift.com/member/chicchorea" title="member since October 15th, 2009" class="profilelink">chicchorea</a>, I know you are sincere and passionate about this subject, but it is hard for me to read that sentence in anything other than a strict German accent.<br> <br> This place is supposed to be fun, not a regimented and rigid response to rules, isn't it?<br> <br> Does it have to be so... perfect? Can't we bend? Can't we play? <br> <br> And yes, I think that fair is in the equation, like @blankfist said. I want to be fair. I want to be playful. I want ease.<br></em>