Other Notch Games Some cool, small games that Notch made for jams ...

9 years ago

Other Notch Games

Some cool, small games that Notch made for jams and for fun

Notch has made a lot of cool games besides Minecraft. In fact, he’s made quite a few smaller, free games as competition entries and experiments.

There are the five early games I already covered. There are his Java4K Competition entries, which are all amazing demonstrations of economy and ingenuity in programming. And there are the following games, each of which is worth playing, and which I have attempted to list in chronological order. Here we go.

The Europa Arcology Incident (Java)

The Europa Arcology Incident is a sci-fi roguelike that I remember fondly. Unfortunately, the links to download it and play it online are broken. It makes sense, I suppose, seeing as they’re pages on the site of a company with which Notch is no longer involved. Does anyone know where one might obtain a copy of this again?

Metagun (Java)

If any of these smaller games could be successfully adapted into a larger commercial release, it would have to be Notch’s Ludum Dare 18 entry, Metagun. The concept is brilliant and leads to a wholly original set of puzzles. It’s also ridiculous and can quickly lead to chaos. In a nutshell, you’re a guy with a gun (a rocket launcher, really) that shoots little guys with guns. You have to position them in the right places to shoot obstacles and enemy little guys so you can make it through the level, fedora intact. Sadly, as with The Europa Arcology Incident above, this game was hosted on the Mojang site and does not appear to be available anywhere else right now.

Prelude of the Chambered (Java, Windows)

I really dig this Wolfenstein-style tomb raiding adventure. There are several varied environments to explore as you solve lite puzzles, fight ghosts, and collect as many trinkets as you can find before making it out alive. You can download Prelude of the Chambered or play it online.

Minicraft (Java, Windows)

Minicraft, made for Ludum Dare 22, might be the most well known of Notch’s small games. Of course, that’s undoubtedly because its name and gameplay are similar to a certain other, bigger Notch game. Minicraft is a lot like what Minecraft might have been had it originally come out for the NES. You gather resources, craft tools and weapons, explore your surroundings, and fight slimes and zombies—all in pixely, 2D glory. Your ultimate goal is to infiltrate the undergorund and defeat an evil wizard that lurks there. You can download Minicraft or play it online.

Last Minute Christmas Chopping (WebGL)

Notch’s entry for Ludum Dare 28 casts you as a rather spry Santa Claus running through the forest, leaping over rocks, and swinging a sword. You have one minute (in keeping with the jam’s theme) to collect wood for the elves to make into toys. You use your Santa-sword to chop trees—and also the purple tentacles that try to take your wood. Don’t make the children sad!

Drowning in Problems (HTML)

Drowning in Problems was made in less than ten hours for Ludum Dare 29, and it’s one of Notch’s most interesting experiments. Basically, it’s a life sim, presented as a series of solvable problems. Clicking “Solve” next to a particular problem starts a progress meter. When a problem is 100% “solved”, you’ll gain something, like knowledge, experience, or a friend, and more options (problems) will open up for you. To grow, you’ll have to trade in some of the things you’ve acquired. And the older you get, the more problems you have. Protip: You can solve multiple problems simultaneously to save time. This might be an incremental game, but it’s certainly not an idle game.

Shambles (Unity Web Player, Windows)

Notch made a zombie game for 7DFPS. It’s a mindless affair, but its billboarded sprites look great and its unorchestrated chaos is pretty darn fun for a while. You’re basically just trying to stay alive for as long as possible and accrue lots of points by shooting zombies. Besides the undead, there are soldiers and civilians running around. You might as well shoot them, too, because they leave behind ammo and health, respectively. Careful, though; the soldiers shoot back.

Drop (Unity Web Player)