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The Internet backlash over Facebook buying out Oculus has been varied to say the least. Ranging from those thinking that the extra investment can only speed progress of VR to those saying simply ‘Oculus is dead now – game over.’ One reaction though has gotten an awful lot of notice purely because of what it means and who was saying it.
Shortly after the announcement of Facebook’s purchase of Oculus, Notch the creator of popular sandbox game Minecraft tweeted that Minecraft on Oculus was now a dead thing. Not many people knew at that point that Notch had only two weeks earlier been at the Oculus offices talking about bringing a simplified version of Minecraft out that would be made specially to work with the Oculus Rift.
In a lengthy blog post on his website Notch outlined his joy at virtual reality becoming a feasible concept in the modern age and his trip to see the makers of Oculus.
“I felt like we were on the cusp of a new paradigm… I could be part of the early efforts to work out best practices, and while I have no doubt that in ten years we’ll look back at the problems with early VR applications in the same we look back at GUI problems with early PC games, it still felt exciting to me.”
But then he goes on to explain why he withdrew the offer of a Minecraft game for the Oculus after Facebook bought them out, stating that as a company he really doesn’t trust Facebook. He also points out that Facebook is about engaging users, building numbers and social media. Notch points out that while VR and social are a good match he doesn’t wish to work with social, but games; adding that he didn’t fund the Kickstarter for the Oculus Rift “to build value for a Facebook acquisition.“. He ended the post by congratulating both companies on the ‘business deal’ and stating his respect for the engineers and workers at Oculus. He also linked a mod for those who really needed their Minecraft fix in a VR setting.
While this is sad news, as a long-time Minecraft player I must admit for all my excitement at VR technology I can’t really see the sandbox game working well in VR. Not for me at least. And this might be a good thing, imagine your first VR creeper…
Details have emerged that an unofficial Minecraft convention in Orlando, Florida, called Meeting of the Mines has provided a sub-par experience far from what was promised and seems to have aimed at making the organisers a lot of money off the backs of the thriving Minecraft community, especially parents and children. The stories now circulating the Internet are unbelievable and quite frankly appalling to hear.
MOTM was meant to have happened back in December 2013 but was delayed to March this year because of ‘red tape’ stopping them holding the event when it has been advertised. While it was supposed to have been a weekend event, many have said that the event was called off early because it had apparently ‘gotten out of hand’. Also a lot of advertised give-aways and competitions either didn’t happen or had the winners having their prizes rescinded after the event, with these cases usually being money prizes.
The kicker comes though when you hear of the specifics of the ‘StarCraft’ event. This contest had children compete to craft the best structures in the game with a fairly hefty prize at the end. A prize which can be quickly and easily summed up in two words – ‘Youtube stardom’. On par with that of CaptainSparklez and IcanHasCupquake (which they don’t even spell right in the contest text). The organisers promised for the 6 winners, their own Youtube channel, websites, branded merchandise and even ‘you first subscribers’ made up of the other attendees for the event. All set up within their ‘MOTM network’ of course. Since these things are often dreamt about by the younger viewers of such popular Youtubers, it just sounds like an almost shameless ploy to get kids to bug their parents to buy tickets for the event and make them more money.
Of course, getting refunds from the organisers has proven to be a difficult task with the organisers even beginning to accuse people of stealing the con’s décor. The MOTM website has vanished along with the head organiser’s Facebook, Twitter and pretty much every way to get in contact. Tickets have already been sold for another MOTM event supposed to be held in New York, but the venue has not been booked and no further details are available so it looks as if the organisers have taken the money and run with it. Since they took roughly $50k for the event that (sort of) happened alone, it is a LOT of money they have taken. The attendees for the event have even set up a Facebook group dedicated to sharing stories and doing their best to get their refunds or at least some sort of closure from the entire fiasco.
If you want a better, clearer picture of the entire event, BebopVox’s video sums it up pretty well (and also includes tips on how to spot conventions and events that could be potentially scams in disguise, as well as plenty of links to information in the description):
As I said above, it had to happen eventually to the Minecraft community, but that doesn’t make what happened any less terrible, especially as it has disappointed so many children. I can only hope the organisers of this event are found and made to pay for what they have done.
Keiji Inafune’s spiritual Mega Man successor game, Mighty No. 9, has rode the hype train rather conservatively since its phenomenally successful Kickstarter campaign, with leaks of new info perfectly timed for just when people may have forgotten about the project while its development continues apace; and until now, not very much is known about the game at all. Today however, as part of a talk given at GDC this year, Keiji Inafune revealed a short gameplay trailer for Mighty No. 9 which fleshes out the game’s details a reasonable amount.
After previous screenshots showed hero Beck redesigned in a 2.5D graphical style and standing on a 3D stage, the latest trailer reveals that the entire game is now being developed in a 2.5D viewpoint not unlike the Classic Sonic stages in Sonic Generations. Also seen in the trailer is some new Action mechanics including what looks to be some combo attack possibilities; as well as some more platforming action. We’ve even got some new animations being shown off – the “hanging from a ledge” animation at 1:28 is particularly adorable. But perhaps the biggest news is we’ve got concept art and basic biographies for all of the other eight “Mighty” robots Beck will encounter in the game; and even hints towards a rudimentary storyline:
