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Disclaimer: The following is my personal, subjective opinion. In no way do I claim it to be fact, nor do I mean any disrespect to those with differing opinions. If you are prone to flaming people with differing opinions, please click your browser's "back" button. If you are willing to act maturely and debate the topic in a calm and rational manner, feel free to read on.
The topic of "clones" and "ripoffs" of Minecraft got really big with the release of Terraria, and the debate continues to inspire rage as more block-based games are released. There are those that believe Mojang should go on a glorious crusade to purge the Internet of anything similar to Minecraft. There are also those that believe no action is necessary. Finally, there is the middle range of people that believe the other games should merely credit Minecraft as inspiration. For the most part, it is down to personal preference. My position lies in the second camp: those that don't think anything needs to be done about so-called "Minecraft clones." The following is an explanation of why.
The story begins with a period of gaming history when neither myself nor (gasp) the first person shooter genre existed. Then along came a little gem called Doom. Released in 1993, it rose to popularity with its innovative new gameplay. Other companies saw this success, and wanted a piece of the pie. For the first few years, any game involving a first-person perspective and firearm-based combat was called a "Doom clone." But, as the genre grew ever larger, such games became gradually more accepted as members of a genre rather than clones of a single originator.
In more recent history, the same thing is starting to happen with MOBA games. Originally branded as "clones" of the popular WarCraft mod DotA, they are now commonly accepted as variations on a genre. While I wasn't around to see it, I'm sure League of Legends and similar titles were blasted in their early days for being "ripoffs" or "clones" of DotA.
Anyone starting to notice a theme here?
Here's where Minecraft comes in. It was the first highly-successful game to use the idea of a block-based world where blocks could be mined and then used to build. Then someone decides they like this idea, and makes Terraria. Only two dimensions and more based on adventure than building, but block-based nonetheless. The Minecraft community explodes in a torrent of rage. How DARE someone steal the idea that rightfully belongs to Notch?! This is an outrage! These people should be sued! At some point on this timeline, early versions of Ace of Spades, a block-based FPS, were released. Infuriated, the Minecraft fanbase rained down insulting comments on anyone who supported this foul creation.
Now, however, more and more block-based games are being released. But they're still in the stage of being called "Minecraft Clones." Many people still don't accept them as a proper genre, despite the growing numbers and obvious differences between them. Perhaps it's Minecraft's younger fanbase, who haven't experienced this cycle before, that is responsible for this. Or maybe it's simply too soon in the cycle, and Minecraft must first reach the zenith of its popularity and die off before people will truly accept these games as a proper genre. Or maybe it's even so simple as the lack of a name such as "First Person Shooter" or "Multiplayer Online Battle Arena" to bind them together.
But what would the name for this genre even be? Only time will tell...
The topic of "clones" and "ripoffs" of Minecraft got really big with the release of Terraria, and the debate continues to inspire rage as more block-based games are released. There are those that believe Mojang should go on a glorious crusade to purge the Internet of anything similar to Minecraft. There are also those that believe no action is necessary. Finally, there is the middle range of people that believe the other games should merely credit Minecraft as inspiration. For the most part, it is down to personal preference. My position lies in the second camp: those that don't think anything needs to be done about so-called "Minecraft clones." The following is an explanation of why.
The story begins with a period of gaming history when neither myself nor (gasp) the first person shooter genre existed. Then along came a little gem called Doom. Released in 1993, it rose to popularity with its innovative new gameplay. Other companies saw this success, and wanted a piece of the pie. For the first few years, any game involving a first-person perspective and firearm-based combat was called a "Doom clone." But, as the genre grew ever larger, such games became gradually more accepted as members of a genre rather than clones of a single originator.
In more recent history, the same thing is starting to happen with MOBA games. Originally branded as "clones" of the popular WarCraft mod DotA, they are now commonly accepted as variations on a genre. While I wasn't around to see it, I'm sure League of Legends and similar titles were blasted in their early days for being "ripoffs" or "clones" of DotA.
Anyone starting to notice a theme here?
Here's where Minecraft comes in. It was the first highly-successful game to use the idea of a block-based world where blocks could be mined and then used to build. Then someone decides they like this idea, and makes Terraria. Only two dimensions and more based on adventure than building, but block-based nonetheless. The Minecraft community explodes in a torrent of rage. How DARE someone steal the idea that rightfully belongs to Notch?! This is an outrage! These people should be sued! At some point on this timeline, early versions of Ace of Spades, a block-based FPS, were released. Infuriated, the Minecraft fanbase rained down insulting comments on anyone who supported this foul creation.
Now, however, more and more block-based games are being released. But they're still in the stage of being called "Minecraft Clones." Many people still don't accept them as a proper genre, despite the growing numbers and obvious differences between them. Perhaps it's Minecraft's younger fanbase, who haven't experienced this cycle before, that is responsible for this. Or maybe it's simply too soon in the cycle, and Minecraft must first reach the zenith of its popularity and die off before people will truly accept these games as a proper genre. Or maybe it's even so simple as the lack of a name such as "First Person Shooter" or "Multiplayer Online Battle Arena" to bind them together.
But what would the name for this genre even be? Only time will tell...
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