mouseandhat Wednesday: sunrises vs. sunsets

Sep 1, 2010 by Joshua    No Comments    Posted under: game feature, mouseandhat

I suppose the normal approach one might take to this topic would be to compile a series of images showcasing both sunrises and sunsets, possibly waxing poetic on the emotions and atmosphere that each generates. Really, though, I do not put much merit on such things, particularly when taken out of context – at the end of a long ordeal, sure, or at a romantic moment, but screenshots of suns halfway melted into the horizon do not catch my fancy, especially when it isn’t even clear whether the sun is rising or setting. After all, one man’s sunrise is another man’s sunset.

No, I decided to take a different approach. You see, lately I have been playing a game called Minecraft. Minecraft is the ultimate sandbox game: no goals, no plot, just a gigantic world to explore and modify. Players can dig through the landscape and create all sorts of objects and structures from the resources they acquire.

So what does this have to do with sunrises and sunsets? The game operates on something of a diurnal cycle, with a virtual sun and moon at opposite poles, circling the world. So, computer-generated sunrises and sunsets come regularly in the game, and they have certain implications on gameplay. For instance, at night, monsters come out and attack the player. During the day, those hostile mobs are replaced with docile farm animals.

In Minecraft, a sunset is a terrible thing. It means that the monsters are coming. It means that the player must seek shelter. On the other hand, a sunrise is a glimpse of salvation. It brings the light of day, which affects the monsters by causing them to spontaneously combust.

I have been ranting about Minecraft to friends for the past few weeks. The game is in alpha right now, meaning that it is not fully developed, but it is being sold at half price. The developer, Markus Persson, continues to work on the game and intends to finish it.

Well, enough chatter. Here’s a somewhat lengthy video of me playing the game while mumbling about it into a microphone:

(Video may not be processed yet)

Minecraft also has a free (“Classic”) version that can be played through the web browser, but it does not have nearly as many options and features as the paid version.

Next week’s topic: Half-Full Life Consequences, or so-bad-it’s-good fiction in general, submitted by Calvin Luther.

Got anything to say? Go ahead and leave a comment!

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website

Comment

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

CAPTCHA Code *

Notify me of followup comments via e-mail