by Stone Marshall | Jan 18, 2016 | Minecraft News |
BASIC is a programming language, and Minecraft is a video game. If you used a Commodore 64 or Amstrad CPC464 back in the 1980s, you probably have some vague familiarity with the language. Anyway, someone has built a BASIC interpreter in Minecraft. It doesn’t work very well, and you’ll probably never want to actually use it, but the fact that it exists is its own reward.
It’s the work of one SethBling, who does a great job of explaining what it is and how it works in the accompanying video. It’s made in vanilla Minecraft, and utilises hundreds (or maybe thousands) of command blocks. You can download the scripting here, if for some reason you actually wanna use it, but I feel like it’s better just to watch, and to marvel at what’s possible.
Cheers, Kotaku.
Someone has built a BASIC interpreter in Minecraft
by Stone Marshall | Jan 15, 2016 | Minecraft News |
At last, I’m free to speak about one of the most exciting things that we’ve been squirreling away on at TT Games for LEGO Marvel’s Avengers, outside of everything that already makes the game such a fun and authentic Marvel title (Yes, Squirrel Girl reference intended… sorry!).
LEGO Marvel’s Avengers is getting some free DLC content exclusively for all PS4 and PS3 players. What’s even more awesome is that this content is based on the brilliant Marvel’s Ant-Man movie and also one of my most anticipated films of 2016, Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War. And yes, believe it or not I’ve managed to keep a lid on this. I’m not quite sure how… but I have.
LEGO Marvel’s Avengers already features content from six epic Marvel films (and a plethora of content from the rest of the Marvel Universe, including a ton of characters from Marvel Comics), however, now PlayStation gamers will be able to add content from two more movies to their experience.
So, I hear you all asking: what is this content exactly, and what makes it so exciting? Well, first up we have the Captain America: Civil War Character Pack, which will be available at launch on January 26th and includes nine characters — yes, nine characters — featured in the upcoming movie: Captain America, Iron Man (Mark 46 armor), Black Panther, Winter Soldier, Falcon, War Machine, Scarlet Witch and my personal favorites, Crossbones and Agent 13. It’s a great pack that will hopefully get everyone as excited as I am about the film. Obviously before you ask, yes, you will be able to take all of these characters into the main game, into the various levels or into the eight different open world locations.
The second is the Ant-Man Character & Level Pack, of course based on the Ant-Man movie, which will be available later this spring. This pack features an awesome level based on a section of the film. It also has eleven great characters, including Ant-Man (Scott Lang), Ant-Man (Hank Pym), Ant-Thony (Flying Ant), Cassie Lang, Darren Cross, Scott Lang, Hank Pym, Hope Van Dyne, Luis, The Wasp (Janet Van Dyne), and Yellowjacket.
We are really bringing Ant-Man and Yellowjacket to life with all the abilities that you’d expect them to have. The team and I here at TT Games are positive you will really enjoy this DLC offering. But, not only are we bringing you the characters and the level content, the part of this pack I’m most excited about… Ant-Thony the Ant! You’ll be able to fly around on Ant-Thony within the DLC level and then into the main game as well.
When I watched the movie with the team, we really enjoyed it, so much so that I went back to watch it again the next day, and then saw the amazing playsets that LEGO created for the film so to now be able to pair those together and bring them to life in LEGO Marvel’s Avengers is yet another reason why this game has been an absolute delight to work on.
In addition to the movie and comic content in the game, we’re really looking forward to hearing what you all think of the many new features in LEGO Marvel’s Avengers, specifically the Avengers Team-Ups. When you think of the Avengers, you think of teamwork, pulling together against adversity as a team. So, now you can team-up characters to perform incredible combo moves to take down the bad guys.
Teaming up core Avengers results in unique moves based on the pairing so we hope you enjoy trying out all of the various combinations to see which is your favorite. For us, it’s yet another reason why LEGO Marvel’s Avengers has been such a pleasure to develop. All of us on the team here are Marvel fans so make sure you look out for the various references and nods we’ve put into the game to make it the most authentic and fun experience.
We think that this is our best game yet — more humor, more characters, more features, more open world gameplay, more abilities, and of course, more movie content exclusively for PlayStation fans.
On behalf of myself and the team, we hope you have many hours of enjoyment when you play LEGO Marvel’s Avengers, and if you love it as much as we think you will, keep an eye out for the season pass content that we’ll be bringing your way featuring classic comic content as well as content from Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
by Stone Marshall | Jan 14, 2016 | Minecraft News |
In the real life version of Ottawa, Parliament Hill looms over the downtown, the Rideau Canal bisects the city, and the Senators take to the Canadian Tire Centre ice way out in Kanata.
In Minecraft Ottawa, none of that’s set in stone.
The recently-unveiled GeoOttaWow lets Minecraft players explore and refashion Ottawa’s streets, houses, train tracks, as well as major buildings like Parliament Hill and City Hall.
“I think we’re one of the first in Canada to do this, so that’s a good thing,” said Coun. Rick Chiarelli, chair of the city’s information technology sub-committee, on CBC Ottawa’s All In a Day Friday afternoon.
For those unfamiliar with how the game works, Minecraft lets players dig (mine) and build (craft) nearly anything they want using Lego-like blocks and bricks.
The game — which has no levels to complete or mandatory objectives to accomplish — has proven immensely popular. In 2014, its Swedish designers Mojang were bought by technology giant Microsoft for $2.5 billion.
GeoOttaWow came about after a staff member took the city’s open data and uploaded it over the holidays, said Charles Duffett, the city’s chief information officer.
Duffett told All In A Day host Alan Neal that the freedom of being able to shape the nation’s capital to your liking gets people — especially young people — invested in the future of their city.
Game teaches ‘principles of civil planning’
“Now you have kids who are experimenting with basic principles of municipal planning. So if they think, for instance, that an outdoor stadium should be somewhere, they can build one — and then they can look at what impact it would have on that area, and what the concerns would be,” said Duffett.
“They may discover they’re learning some principles of civil planning.”
Other places in the real world have made themselves available on Minecraft, perhaps most notably the entire country of Denmark, which can be torn down and built back up according to players’ whims and desires.
According to Chiarelli, in one important way, the Minecraft version of Ottawa is even better than the real thing.
“It also shows all the streets plowed.”
Minecraft players given free rein to build up, tear down Ottawa
by Stone Marshall | Jan 14, 2016 | Minecraft News |
There’s an old saying about a sucker being born every minute. If you need proof, you only have to look as far as the App Store, where Minecraft Pocket Edition 2 recently stormed into the top 5.
What’s that, you say? You don’t remember hearing anything from Mojang or Microsoft about an all-new mobile Minecraft game being released? That’s because they didn’t release one. No, Minecraft Pocket Edition 2 was just another scammy app uploaded to the app store by someone looking to make a quick buck, and $10.99 less Apple’s cut, it probably wound up being quite a few quick bucks. Lots of times apps with scam-riffic names get bounced at the door. Sometimes they get discovered shortly after being approved and are unceremoniously yanked.
Minecraft Pocket Edition 2 managed to stick around in the App Store for several weeks — long enough to fool enough Minecraft-crazed iOS users into installing it that it climbed all the way up Apple’s charts to the number four spot. Apparently someone finally clued in to the fact that PE2 wasn’t an official release.
The app’s name wasn’t the only clue it was bogus. The developer’s name was also pretty suspicious: Scott Cawthorn. It’s only one letter away from being Scott Cawthon, who is far too busy printing money with his Five Nights at Freddy’s games (and donating to charities) to bother building a Minecraft ripoff. Still, you put the right name on an app and slap a familiar-looking dev on it and you’re going to fill your trap pretty fast.
Eurogamer figures they know the real name of the guy behind PE2. Ironically enough, they found his name — Viktor Todorov — on the game’s copyright screen.
Minecraft ripoff skyrocketed into the App Store’s top 5
by Stone Marshall | Jan 13, 2016 | Minecraft News |
Top 10 free and paid game apps for the iPhone and iPad in Canada for Jan. 4-10.
Top Paid iPhone Game Apps
1. Minecraft: Pocket Edition (Mojang)
2. Geometry Dash (RobTop Games AB)
3. Heads Up! (Warner Bros.)
4. Plague Inc. (Ndemic Creations)
5. Minecraft: Story Mode (Telltale Inc.)
6. Cut the Rope: Magic (ZeptoLab UK Ltd.)
7. Bloons TD 5 (Ninja Kiwi)
8. The Game of Life Classic Edition (Electronic Arts)
9. Terraria (505 Games (US), Inc.)
10. True Skate (True Axis)
Top Free iPhone Game Apps
1. Clash Royale (Supercell)
2. Geometry Dash Meltdown (RobTop Games AB)
3. Color Switch (Samuel Ratumaitavuki)
4. Candy Crush Jelly Saga (King.com Ltd.)
5. Piano Tiles 2 (Don’t Tap The White Tile 2) (Cheetah Technology Corp. Ltd.)
6. Traffic Rider (Soner Kara)
7. Mobile Strike (Epic War LLC)
8. Swing (Ketchapp)
9. Surfingers (Digital Melody Games Kitajewski I Stalewski Spolka Jawna)
10. Solitaire (Harpan LLC)
Top Paid iPad Game Apps
1. Minecraft: Pocket Edition (Mojang)
2. Geometry Dash (RobTop Games AB)
3. Minecraft: Story Mode (Telltale Inc.)
4. Escapists – Back in Prison: Survival Hunter Mini Block Game with Multiplayer (Noah Mason)
5. Cut the Rope: Magic (ZeptoLab UK Ltd.)
6. Terraria (505 Games (US) Inc.)
7. Draw a Stickman: EPIC 2 (Hitcents.com, Inc.)
8. Heads Up! (Warner Bros.)
9. Bloons TD 5 HD (Ninja Kiwi)
10. Plague Inc. (Ndemic Creations)
Top Free iPad Game Apps
1. Clash Royale (Supercell)
2. Candy Crush Jelly Saga (King.com Ltd.)
3. Geometry Dash Meltdown (RobTop Games AB)
4. LEGO Nexo Knights: Merlok 2.0 (LEGO Systems Inc.)
5. World Chef (Social Point)
6. Piano Tiles 2 (Don’t Tap The White Tile 2) (Cheetah Technology Corp. Ltd.)
7. Subway Surfers (Kiloo)
8. Sky Burger (NimbleBit LLC)
9. Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes (Electronic Arts)
10. Solitaire (Zentertain Ltd.)
Top Paid TV Game Apps
1. Galaxy on Fire: Manticore Rising (FISHLABS)
2. Beat Sports (Harmonix Games LLC)
3. Golf Pro 2016 (Inlovewith AB)
4. Does not Commute TV (Mediocre AB)
5. Riptide GP2 (Vector Unit)
6. Battle Supremacy: Evolution (Atypical Games)
7. Oceanhorn (FDG Mobile Games GbR)
8. Snowboard Party 2 (Ratrod Studio)
9. Alto’s Adventure (Snowman)
10. Dumb Ways to Die: Wire Walk (Metro Trains Melbourne Pty Ltd.)
Top Free TV Game Apps
1. Just Dance Now (Ubisoft)
2. PAC-MAN 256 – Endless Arcade Maze (BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe)
3. GT Spirit (Eden Games Mobile)
4. Crossy Road – Endless Arcade Hopper (Hipster Whale)
5. Strike! Ten Pin Bowling (Touch Mechanics)
6. Despicable Me: Minion Rush (Gameloft)
7. Asphalt 8: Airborne (Gameloft)
8. Rayman Adventures (Ubisoft)
9. Beach Buggy Racing (Vector Unit)
10. Jetpack Joyride (Halfbrick Studios)
These game apps are available from the App Store on your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch or atwww.itunes.ca/appstore.
The Canadian Press
‘Minecraft: Pocket Edition’ top paid iPhone game app in Canada
by Stone Marshall | Jan 13, 2016 | Minecraft News |
If your kid has been swept up in the “Minecraft” craze, you’ve probably come to realize that resistance is futile. It isn’t only the game itself that kids obsess over. There are Minecraft YouTube videos, “Minecraft”-like games, and lots more.
Here’s the know-how you need to engage with your kid on one of the coolest games out there.
A GUIDE TO THE “MINECRAFT” GAMES BY AGE
One of the best-selling, independently developed and published video games, Minecraft immerses kids in creative thinking, geometry, and even a little geology as they build imaginative block structures. Here’s the scoop on the games that make up “Minecraft’s” offerings:
_’Minecraft,’ age 8; platforms: Linux, Mac, Windows, Xbox 360
“Minecraft” is an open-ended, exploration- and creation-focused environment. Players can create items and buildings from scratch using materials they harvest from the world around them. Given carte blanche to sculpt virtually any creation of their choice in this 3-D space, kids can try tons of possibilities while working toward simple objectives. An option to work with others on larger building projects can help kids develop collaboration skills.
_’Minecraft-Pocket Edition,’ age 8; devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire
“Minecraft-Pocket Edition” is a mobile version of the popular PC game. Players can build essentially anything in this game, so long as they’re able to mine the appropriate resources.
‘Minecraft: Story Mode,’ age 10; platforms: Mac, Nintendo Wii U, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One, iPhone
Though part of the fun of “Minecraft” is creating the story as you go along, “Story Mode” offers a storyline, characters, and plot for kids who prefer a narrative. This game offers positive messages about teamwork and diplomacy, and its learning curve isn’t as steep as the original.
‘MINECRAFT’ ON YOUTUBE
Since Minecraft is a game that spans many ages – and has infinite possibilities – not all YouTube videos will be appropriate for your kid. Here’s one of our faves for young players.
‘Wonder Quest’ (for age 6+)
This YouTube program is inspired by “Minecraft,” and its central character hails from creator Joseph Garrett’s other Internet hit, Stampylonghead. The videos do an excellent job blending comedy, adventure, and quality educational content under the premise of its heroes’ efforts to thwart a villain’s plan and return a collection of gems to their town. There are even social lessons that promote cooperation, kindness, and perseverance.
GAMES LIKE ‘MINECRAFT’
Because of its complexity, mild violence, and online community, we recommend “Minecraft” for kids age 8 and up. So what if your younger kids want to play but aren’t quite ready? These games can occupy them with a very similar style, without some of the tougher stuff.
‘Blox, 3D Junior,’ age 5
With a style similar to “Lego” and “Minecraft,” this app’s 3-D creation environment empowers kids to create, encourages visual acuity, and fosters critical thinking.
‘The Robot Factory,’ by Tinybop, age 6
This exploratory app for early elementary school-age kids is tailor-made for players who love to create, design, and experience free play.
‘Toca Builders,’ age 6
“Toca Builders” offers sandbox-style play where kids can create worlds. It’s easier to pick up and play than Minecraft, and there’s no fighting or monsters.
“Hovercraft – Build Fly, Retry,” age 7
Kids can learn about physics and problem solving as they design, test, and rebuild a hovercraft.
Common Sense Media is an independent nonprofit organization offering unbiased ratings and trusted advice to help families make smart media and technology choices. Check out our ratings and recommendations at www.commonsense.org.
Everything you need to know about ‘Minecraft’; a guide for all ages
