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Mojang offers limited edition Minecraft Xperia Play on eBay
There may not be many people willing to pay over $1,000 for an Xperia Play, but it turns out there's at least a few willing to go nuts when there's some Minecraft involved. That limited edition model pictured above will be given away to a few lucky winners at the upcoming Gamescon conference in Germany, but Minecraft developer Mojang has decided to let one loose on eBay beforehand, where the bidding has already topped a grand with a full six days left. Adding a bit of extra incentive for those with deep pockets, Mojang says that it will also donate all the proceeds from the auction to an as yet unnamed charity. Hit the source link below if you're in a generous and / or Minecraft-obsessed mood. [Thanks, Andrew]
Put creepers on your sneakers with these custom Minecraft Vans
What better way to improve the experience of terrified, panicked sprinting than by adorning your life-saving sneakers with the grim vissage of the eldritch monstrosity you're running from? None, we say, and gaming-inspired custom footwear designed KyozoKicks agrees with us, it seems. Originally intended to be worn to this month's Gamescom trade show, these Minecraft Vans Slip-Ons are being auctioned on eBay to finance the artist's computer repairs. The size-9.5 men's/11 women's classics were "made with the intention to be worn," and have been finished with a water-resistant clear-coat, meaning that you won't have to worry about ruining your one-off kicks as you desperately try to outrun an explosive death.
Buy Minecraft this weekend, get Minecraft for free
Notch is getting married this weekend, and he's celebrating the, uh ... celebration of his love by giving free Minecraft to everyone ... who buys a copy of Minecraft! Wait, let us explain. Everyone that purchases a copy of the game this weekend (not using a gift code), will receive a free gift code to give to whomever they want. Once you purchase a copy, the code will show up in your account on the Minecraft website. After all, nothing says love like giving someone an insidious addiction.
MineCon tickets available now
MineCon is attempting to craft an audience by selling of tickets on the interwebs. The first 500 registrants to the show, taking place November 18-19 at the Mandalay Bay hotel in Vegas, are entered to win "The Ultimate Fan Experience." The status will grant the lucky soul VIP seating to keynotes and "classes," along with a meal at the same table as Team Mojang -- no word if the developer will pick up the bill, though. The early bird special has tickets costing $99 until September 30, with the regular price and onsite ticket prices set at $139. Mojang head Markus "Notch" Persson is expected to launch the game at the event.
Minecraft to begin (and possibly never end) with a beta on XBLA
Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson likes to take things slow -- crawl before you walk, beta for two years and gain mainstream popularity and 3 million users before you release the actual game, that sort of slow. It seems Minecraft's release on XBLA won't be any different, as it will begin with a beta, much like its PC papi. Notch said he wants to discern which aspects of the game are fun on console before its release, but he thinks the Kinect features will be an interesting part of Minecraft's port, in an interview with Develop. Notch didn't say how long the full-game beta will last, but did add that updates will probably be infrequent and mods will not be available on XBLA at launch, for fear of breaking the system.
Minecraft hits 3 million, Notch buys us all
In January, Minecraft passed its first major sales milestone: 1 million downloads. Three months later, in April, it clocked another cool million. And today, just five days into August, the game has surpassed its 3 millionth paid user -- every four months, eh? Smells like a trend! Those 3,000,961 folks (as of this writing) make up over a full quarter of all accounts at 26.24 percent. At around $22 per purchase, that's quite a bit of dough -- and with no publisher to pay. We imagine Mojang Specifications head Markus "Notch" Persson will be investing a good chunk of that dough in the upcoming MineCon, which kicks off the official launch of Minecraft on November 18. [Thanks, Matias.]
Mine 4 Dead is exactly what you're hoping it is
Traveling into the late 80s? Want to take a game that features modern gameplay conceits but an era-appropriate graphical style back with you? Of course, we've all been there. Next time you rev up to 88 mph, you should plan on sliding this custom Minecraft adventure map, Mine 4 Dead, into your DeLorean glove box. The first episode, Blockhawk Down, has got all the zombie killing and pill gobbling of undead redeadening simulator Left 4 Dead, but with a retro look that won't completely terrify the pre-90s, Debbie Gibson-loving cro-magnons you'll encounter during your chrono-vacation. This brainchild of Chicago artist Kate Ouwenga is available for free right here, but you can see it in action in the video above.
Microsoft's XBLA plan includes monthly Kinect titles
Fruit Ninja Kinect is only a week away, but Microsoft is keen to assure motion-lovers that more Kinect-fueled Xbox Live Arcade games are on the way. Speaking to CVG, Microsoft product marketing manager for the EMEA region, Robin Burrowes, stated that the company plans to release more Kinect XBLA titles in the near future. Specifically, we should expect new Kinect XBLA games to the tune of "about one a month." Burrowes also said that future Kinect titles will do a better job of leveraging Xbox Live. August is covered, thanks to Fruit Ninja. Let's see where that leaves the rest of the year. Hole in the Wall is expected "this summer," which could mean September. Burnout Crash is coming this fall, and nothing says "fall" like October. Kung Fu High Impact? That's a lock for November. That just leaves December and, hey, what better way to while away the hours of the holidays than by building a world or two in Minecraft? Bam, mystery solved.
Minecraft's 'MineCon' convention set for November 18 - 19 in Vegas
Rather than setting its convention in the icy grip of its home country's chilly November, Sweden-based Minecraft studio Mojang Specifications is holding what it dubs "MineCon" in Las Vegas. "For me, MineCon is about celebrating the full release of Minecraft," Mojang head Markus "Notch" Persson told PC Gamer this week. Apparently the delayed title will see its full launch in grand style, with Notch "getting up on stage and pushing the button to upload the final build." When he first spitballed the idea back in May, voters overwhelmingly responded, "No, definitely not" when asked whether they'd attend such an event. That said, the minority's 42,000 votes were assuredly enough to convince him of demand for such an event. Speaking of, Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino will host MineCon on November 18 and 19, and the ticket registration site is set to go live next week -- apparently Notch will announce as much on his Twitter account, so keep an eye out. That is, if you can tear yourself away from building that to-scale replica of Hogwarts. Update: This year marks the second MineCon.
Ragnaros awakened in Minecraft
Last week in The Daily Quest, you may have seen a YouTube video of a recreation of Darnassus in Minecraft. If you thought that was cool, there's more where that came from. In addition to Darnassus, YouTuber kattooMC and his servermates resresres1 and nessy27 have also created a scale model of Deathwing (which has made the rounds once before) and, much more recently, Molten Core's version of Ragnaros. These Minecraft builds do use game mods or third-party tools, and there are blocks incorporated into the designs that cannot be placed by players (such as the blocks of Coal in Deathwing) -- but cool is cool, regardless of how something is made. Many viewers of the Ragnaros video have commented that he looks a bit ... green. However, kattooMC assured everyone it was just a result of video encoding. As a Minecraft player myself, I'll back him up on that. I know what yellow wool blocks look like when I see 'em. According to kattoo via Twitter, Stormwind is next on their Warcraft to-do list. I, for one, can't wait to see it.
The Endermen are coming for you in Minecraft mob update
Notch has already seriously cut into our sleeping time simply by creating Minecraft, but with this new, horrific mob we'll be lucky if we sleep one wink per week. Notch's "Endermen" were designed specifically to creep players out -- to not only be scary, but to be gut-twisting terrifying. In his blog post, "The psychology of the reticle and the feeling of control," Notch describes how he created the Endermen and what they will do to raise your heart rate: "Suddenly you could walk up to these looking beasts (they're three meters tall) and watch them as they moved their blocks around, but as soon as you happened to look straight at them, they'd attack. And by 'straight at them', I mean putting the reticle on top of them. You can keep them visible on screen and actually look straight at them in real life, but as soon as your in game character looks straight at them, boom. "Still, that was more scary than creepy.... I wanted something a bit more psychological. So to really drive home the point of looking at them being bad, I made the Endermen freeze and turn towards you when you look at them. As long as you look straight at them, they stand perfectly still and look straight at you. As soon as you look away, they will run (very fast) towards you. "And they teleport." The Endermen will begin stalking Minecraft with the Adventure Update, but if you can't wait, check out the inspiration for the creatures' name, Slender Man.
Humble Bundle 3 includes free Minecraft play until Aug. 14
As ever, the latest Humble Indie Bundle is as great a deal as you want to make it (but don't cheap out -- it's for charity!), and it's gotten better since its announcement. Now, in addition to the five games you'll own permanently, you'll also get the opportunity to play Minecraft for free until August 14. That's a great deal for that guy who hasn't played Minecraft yet! That's actually the third way Notch is helping out with Wolfire's charitable efforts -- he is also the top contributor to the bundle, paying $4,048 for games he likely already had. We know he had VVVVVV, at least, since he made a new level for the Bundle version. You can put in your own financial contribution to the Bundle here.
Mind-blowing Middle-earth manufactured in Minecraft
Minecraft is one of the most flexible creation engines this side of LittleBigPlanet, and despite the pretty cool stuff we've seen in the past, nothing comes even remotely close to the synapse-destroying brilliance of the in-game, more-or-less-to-scale Middle-earth created by Shorvok and the hobbits of Minecraft Middle-Earth. A large majority of the reproduction has been crafted without the use of plug-ins, with incredibly massive cliff-faces and mountain vistas being carved by hand. More than a thousand man-hours have been devoted to the project, and the results are nothing less than breathtaking. If you've got the time, we heartily recommend watching the full video. If you're pressed for time, however, make sure and check out Rivendell at 29:09 and the Mines of Moria at 33:23. [Thanks EvoHelix!] (Please note, neither Joystiq nor Minecraft Middle-Earth can be held responsible for brains exploded in bewilderment.)
Notch doles out more details on Minecraft for 360, Kinect functionality
Markus "Notch" Persson is in a bizarre position, especially given his usual openness about his studio's first creation, Minecraft. "There's going to [be] actual marketing for the Xbox 360 version of Minecraft, so I've agreed to be slightly less transparent than usual when it comes to that version," he tells IGN in a recent interview. But don't despair! Notch still offers a handful of new details, saying that the Xbox 360 version (announced during E3 2011) will have "completely different" crafting, and that the Kinect functionality will include a mode where "you wave your arms around to mine and use items" -- "it's just too silly not to include," he adds. Hilariously, rather than respond to a question about console exclusivity and the possibility of Minecraft coming to PS3/Wii U, Notch simply draws the ridiculous (and admittedly adorable) sheep you see above. He also reveals that the upcoming Xperia Play version of Minecraft will cost $7 when it drops sometime "this fall," and that it was programmed "in a way that will make it easy to port to all sorts of mobile phones."
Modder builds homebrew version of Minecraft on DS
We've long held the opinion that the only thing standing between our world and its inevitable ruin is the creation of a portable version of Mojang's remarkably addictive Minecraft. We're still waiting on the Xperia Play to bring about said apocalypse, but it seems a Nintendo DS modder by the name of Smelaum has beaten Sony to the punch, releasing a demo of a homebrew application aptly titled Minecraft DS. The software, which is demonstrated in the video above, is fairly basic: Players can only add or remove blocks, and cannot save their towering megastructures. Smelaum hopes to bolster the homebrew with saving and terrain generation -- hopefully those features will be implemented before Smelaum is incapacitated by Notch's shadowy cabal of trademark lawyers. (We're kidding, of course; those clearly don't exist.)
Minecraft's Adventure Update will be playable at PAX
If the promise of 24/7 board gaming extravaganzas and endless 3DS StreetPass swapping aren't enough to get PAX Prime attendees excited about the event, perhaps this will: Notch has announced that Minecraft's Adventure Update will be playable on the show floor. The expansion, which is still largely under wraps, will tack over 40 new features onto the game, including NPC villages, additional farming opportunities and randomly-generated dungeons. For those who didn't snag tickets to the sold-out, late-August convention, don't fret too much -- we can only assume the line for Mojang's booth is going to wrap around the expo hall like an anaconda. Your time would be better spent actually playing regular Minecraft and building a complex machine to do all that Adventuring for you.
Minecraft designs tossed into 3D printer, we're pretty sure a wizard did it
We've seen the cuboid tools afforded to Minecraft builders used for some pretty impressive in-game creations -- but never before have we seen those creations manifested out-game. Two students at the MIT Media Lab have whipped up a piece of software called Minecraft.Print(), which is capable of feeding a megastructure built in the game's world into a 3D printer, which that turns it into a real-life thing. Check out the video above to check out this impressive tool in action. Keep an eye out for the few frames where a wizard steps in and performs the series of magic spells required to make something like this work -- we missed them our first time through, but we know they're there.
Talk about zombies: Minecraft has over 10 million users
Over 10 million people now live at least part-time in the mythical world of Minecraft, where the trees are green, the zombies are dumb and the dirt is sharp enough to cut you, fool. Markus "Notch" Persson, creator of Minecraft, posted news of his growing minion army on his personal blog and twitter, and the game's official website proudly states on its Stats page that there are "10005777 registered users, of which 2674483 (26.72%) have bought[*] the game." If you still haven't joined the Minecraft militia, hurry and buy it now, for 25 percent off while it's still in beta mode, because we all know it won't stay that way forever.
Minecraft 1.7 is out, pistons and deadly sheep added to the mix
Minecraft's latest world-expanding update has arrived, bringing with it the all new piston mechanism that should help add some motion to your intricately constructed Starship Enterprise model. As is customary, the patch also included an odd bug or two -- as evidenced by creator Markus Persson's somewhat ominous Tweet suggesting players "don't right click sheep with an empty hand." However, minutes after that warning, Update 1.7.01 went live, which apparently fixed the whole thing. So, what are you waiting for? Go build some stuff with pistons. The trailer after the jump shows some of the practical applications of the new tool, but we think you can come up with something even more clever. Like, for instance, a machine that does all that tiresome mining and crafting for us.
Mojang's Scrolls to follow Minecraft's piecemeal release strategy
Mojang Specifications' Daniel Kaplan confirmed that the studios' next game, Scrolls, will follow the same procedural release plan as its current mega-hit, Minecraft. Kaplan explained to attendees at the Barcelona-based event Gamelab 2011 that the game will be released "very early," and will be continually patched and updated until finished. Hey, if there's anything we love more than magic-infused parchment, it's instant gratification. Kaplan also outlined the future of the development studio, explaining that Scrolls is being developed by a five-person team -- a sizable increase over Minecraft, which was "by and large created by one developer, Markus Persson." He also revealed the studio is considering becoming a publisher for other, smaller indie developers, which of course means that Mojang is totally selling out, or something.
