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Comment by georgeecollins | Hacker News Reader

I think it is interesting to see how much people want the dream of a game, the evolving story, and the community. It is a great example of the things people want from gaming-- and life I guess.

The closest thing I can think of is Minecraft, which IMO is a 100x better game but still you can't play it forever. People loved the creativity of it, but even more they liked the idea and the story of the creativity. How many times did you see in a feed that some kid made a computer in minecraft, a display, a life size battleship or tv spaceship. I am sure people see those stories-- think I could do something like that-- and go back to the game. The dream informs the play.

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There are still enough EverQuest players for Daybreak Games to continue to make expansion packs for the original version.

That game came out in March 1999. It's so old, it's creator is dead.

You can play something forever if you're dedicated enough.

For even more of a classic, the Avalon and Genesis MUDs (text-based multiplayer RPGs), both created in 1989, are still running.

EA don't think that. See what they did to kill the servers made by the community when they plug off the Battlefield 2142.

When someone continually milks customers for more and more cash on the promise of something never delivered, that's called "exploitation" and "a con job."

Minecraft launched into EA with a game that was still actually fun to play in itself, and asked a moderate fee for access to ongoing improvements.

Star Citizen isn't selling a dream, it's selling plots of land on the moon.

So literally the refunds group... Who makes claims that never panned out... The move their goalposts... While the game continues to fulfill the promoises it made...

> but still you can't play it forever

Says you.

Yea, Minecraft is a huge sandbox with lots of features. Players often come back to it over and over again years later.

The anticipation of an experience can be more enjoyable than the experience itself.

Making a computer or a display or many of the huge replicas in minecraft isn't creative. They are just technical achievements.

Do you feel this way because the behavior's largely imitative, or because it's happening on a computer? Is designing and building a replica of a Boeing 747 with LEGO also not creative? Or making some kind of Rube Goldberg machine with LEGO Technic parts and junk from around your house? I would expect not, under this framework for what is and is not creative. Where's the line, though?

It's not because it's happening on a computer. It's because the behavior is largely imitative or following a script.

The initial folks who figured out how to build a computer a minecraft were very creative.

Rube Goldberg machines I think do involve a fair amount of creativity. it's not because they are physical per-se, but because the physical environment tends to force individual and creative thinking to solve the problems unique to that environment. Physical environments tend to be less homogenized and predictable than digital ones.

Designing and building a replica of a Boeing 747 is less creative than a rube goldberg machine, but depending on how many decisions you made yourself while building it makes it more or less creative.

I disagree and think that learning through imitation is itself a creative process. It opens up possibilities that didn't exist for the imitator beforehand. It shows how things work and creates new conceptual models in their minds. At the same time, I do think that creating from first principles is the most creative.

Got it, that makes sense, thanks for the clarification.

I agreed completely until I started playing Minecraft with kids. Once they taught me how to play, I got to see the amount of creativity within the game. From my perspective, it's a really amazing way to start instilling mathematical literacy in kids and the best part is that they have so much fun they don't even realize it. As an example, thanks to Minecraft, my five year old already has an understanding of exponents. I didn't do that.

> thanks to Minecraft, my five year old already has an understanding of exponents.

Wait, how ?

Where are exponents used in Minecraft ?

... Think about it. Blocks are cubic. You lay 2 blocks by 2 blocks down, that's 4 blocks. If you add a second layer, you have 8 blocks. He probably meant something like this.

2^2 = 4

2^3 = 8

understanding of exponents and mathematical literacy is great but it's not the same thing as creativity.

You are correct- but they do complement each other very nicely, and Minecraft as a game has many properties that encourage both creative and analytical thought.

I agree completely but I think it takes incredible creativity to make something educational so much fun that kids don’t realize they’re learning.

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