Coffin Comics

Posts Tagged ‘terraria’

8 results.

Greenlighting

by Coffinshaker on September 3, 2012 at 12:00 am

Release the clones!

For those of you who do not know, Steam has just released it’s new community initiative called “Greenlight“, which users are allowed to vote for new indie type games to be included in the Steam library. This has come about because of some unfortunate practices on the Steam side where great games fall through the cracks during the approval process (and some have been picked up by their competitors). So to help facilitate a better approval process, they went to the people to see what will is popular and, of course, let those games in. Not a bad idea at all!

Right out of the gates we had many great gems pop up! Such as DLC Quest, Stardew Valley, Zombeer (hey, don’t judge me!), A walk in the dark, Secrets of Grindia, Melody’s Escape, Mutant Mudds (which Steam dropped the ball on before…), and so many more! And I’ve only scratched the surface with 64 rated of the 630+ sitting in the queue.

But then there came the problems… It’s become increasingly hard to distinguish between a developer posting and some idiot’s wishlist. You get a lot of people posting stupid stuff like “huh duuur, me want mass effect 3″ in the game list. That’s not what this is for. It’s developers ONLY! Sure, I’d like to play some Mario Allstars on my pc, but that’s not going to happen.

Then there’s the trouble with clones. I have counted DOZENS of Minecraft spinoffs appearing in the last few days. (Now now, before I get angry emails, yes, I know Minecraft was based off of another game, Infiniminer, but MC did it better and packaged it nicer. It’s like saying CoD:MW2 is a ripoff of Doom…) Anyways, I keep seeing games that are nearly identical copies, but with various tweeks; like say rounded objects or jaggedy ones, or placable wedges, or just MC with tower defense, or everything else in between. This also goes for the swarms of Slender clones! Now, I’m no expert in the realm of slender games, but there is one that is VERY popular right now that’s free to try… well, now we have Slenders of every shape and size coming at us in Greenlight! I get that these are popular games with hazy lines of copyrights, but especially for things that you’re looking to sell on a major distribution platform, I can’t see them going over well.

But that brings us around to today’s topic; are near reproductions to games like Minecraft or Slender copies/clones, or did we accidentally stumble onto a completely new genre of gaming? I have trouble wrapping my head around the answer to this, really. On the one hand, you can look at a Minecraft spinoff game and instantly think “minecraft” every time. But is that because MC was the first successful one to do it, or is it that it’s just the style? The open random blocky worlds certainly scream MC, but is that something exclusive to Minecraft, or is it just the genre, like what Mario games are to platformers? Same with Slendermen, you wander around the forest looking for pieces of paper with a flashlight (torch for my english friends) all the while avoiding the Slenderguy. Every one of those games is exactly this. But are they necessarily copies? Or is a new type of horror genre? Where you feel totally helpless and paranoid for the entirety of the game. Maybe if there were more variations on badguys or more genres that Skinnyman is in, it might be a bit less confusing. But to the lay person, looking at 10 of these next to eachother in a listing tends to raise an eyebrow or two.

Also, extra credit assignment: discuss some games from greenlight that caught your eye! (note, if you post more than like 1 link, it won’t show up right away because it needs to be moderated… and I’m slow… so there you have it! >)

└ Tags: Coffin Comic, Minecraft, Steam, terraria

6 Comments

It’s That Season Again

by Coffinshaker on April 13, 2012 at 12:00 am

Stupid allergies… Always gotta be messing up everyone’s day! Bleh!

So allergy season is upon us again. Terrible time ya know. And of course the only plant everyone seems to ever use to landscape anywhere I go is Confederate Jasmine, which is like the most pungent thing in the universe and turns my brain into a punching bag. XP

Anyways, lots of really cool changes happening over at the Minecraft site. Mod APIs, super duper updates, creepers are afraid of cats now… good stuff! Oh, and Terraria seems to have some good updates too! Mods is one of them so that’s fun!

Ps… SWTOR 1.2! Wewt!

Sorry, today is kind of random stuff… Kind of excited, got some super special stuff coming your way and I’m about 4/7 the way through with it. >D hehe, cryptic! In other news, I was considering adding a whole “game/movie/tech review” section to the site. I kind of touched on this with accompanying comics, but I was thinking about doing some straight up reviews (in my usual laid back writing style). Wondering what your thoughts are on this. I think it’ll fit in with the whole “gaming and geeking” aspect of the site, even though it started off as a wowcraft weekly comic, I think it’s taken on a life of its own so maybe it would fit. Anyways, always love to hear feedback from you good folks, so let me know! And let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to see the site do!

└ Tags: Coffin Comic, Minecraft, terraria

15 Comments

A Change Of View

by Coffinshaker on November 18, 2011 at 12:00 am

Hmm… always wondered what it would look like if you were one of the 2d side scrolling characters. Do they see just a 2d plain like in the comic, or is it more of an awareness of the other 3rd dimension? Come to think of it, wasn’t there some weird Mario game where you went into the front view of the side scroller?

Ok gang, so here’s the deal for the next coming weeks. I’m going to be out of town for about 3 weeks so I kind of had to speed up production a bit. So in the following weeks, you’ll be getting a Wednesday and Friday update of a comic written by my friend (and drawn by your’s truly). It’s done in outline b/w format only, cause, ya know, had to make a bunch on the fly. So I hope you enjoy his insanity as much as you have mine! “Should” be back in full swing come Dec.12th (that monday). If you guys like his comic, we might be able to convince him to do a few more for the site. >) What’s Shakin’ will have maybe 1-2 pages/weeks of downtime… depending on if I get over this cold quickly and get back to drawing ahead. Regardless, I got some nifty wallpapers for your amusement in the meantime.

└ Tags: Coffin Comic, Minecraft, terraria

8 Comments

Gearing Up

by Coffinshaker on November 2, 2011 at 12:00 am

That’s right folks! Another episode of the Amazing Adventures of Steve & Terry! (working title) Actually, been getting some good responses about these two, so I guess I should make it a bit of an ongoing thing huh?

For those not in the know, the 3d guy is Steve from Minecraft and the 2d one is *Terry from Terraria (btw, terraria doesn’t have a mascot, so I just kinda made him up to fit). Since both games are somewhat similar, I figured they should be friends. >)

So yeah, about this comic… The thing I love about Terraria and hate about Minecraft is that in MC, you have such a limited selection of armor and weapons that the whole combat end just feels a bit lacking. I mean, a crafting game SHOULD have tons of things to, you know, craft; so having a just 4 reskins of the same blocky armor doesn’t yield much in the way of immersion. I know, Terraria had a larger team to work with and MC started as more of a building game than a combat one, but still, the direction it’s going now, it NEEDS to have a major overhaul of the system. What I’d like to see is some weapon slots on the inventory and make items persistent and hard to obtain… meaning, equipped armor/weapons do not disappear on death and there should be multiple tiers of crafting to make complex gear with specific abilities and improvements.

But ya know, I guess it goes back to the argument of “well, if ya don’t like it, use a mod”. And that’s a very fine point! Because MC is like mod city! I’ve just gotten into playing with a few (ok… I’ve got like two dozen going) mods and they definitely improve the gameplay! The only thing I don’t like is the lack of actual support for the mods… like an “official” centralized system for creation and installation. As it stands now, if 2 mods don’t like eachother, then everything breaks and the barrier to entry for installation is pretty high… or maybe I’m just a little special, but it’s seriously a pain to get them running correctly! If they could fix MC to cycle through mods as easy as it is to go through maps in Little Big Planet, then I could see the sales of this game just explode! Eh, that’s my theory anyways. Actually, I’m interested in making them now, so maybe I’ll tinker with some ideas in my spare time. Hmm… maybe after MC comes out of beta, I’ll put together a modpack with my favorite picks!

ALSO!

Did a little guest work over at Kuo Comics, so head out there and check it out!

└ Tags: Coffin Comic, Minecraft, terraria

20 Comments

Jeepers

by Coffinshaker on October 19, 2011 at 12:00 am

Man, I really hope you all remember this guy from the old Scooby Doo series! Well, for anyone who wasn’t an avid viewer, that’s the original Creeper! Also… Handsome Face reference. >)

Well… that’s all I got for now. lol! XD

In other news, our buddies at Mojang had a good week. Turns out they’ll be able to go ahead with the “Scrolls” game after all. Won’t bore you all with the details, but Notch somehow convinced the powers that be that the term scrolls is common enough to not indicate a copyright/trademark violation. True, I could understand where Bethesda is coming from, but I just highly doubt anyone will get the two games mixed up. Anyways folks, it’s a good win for the little guy. Still, Bethesda can still come around and appeal the decision, but hopefully they’ll drop it.

└ Tags: Coffin Comic, Minecraft, terraria

11 Comments

Highway To Hell

by Coffinshaker on September 14, 2011 at 12:00 am

Given the feedback from my first 2 strips, I’ve been forced to make more of these crossovers! >)

Just in case you don’t play both, Minecraft and Terraria both have “hell worlds”. Though, to get to them, each game goes about it a little differently… See, in MC, you craft a portal that will transport you to another dimension filled with flying cannon ball spewing squids… In Terraria, you dig straight down… For about 1.5 miles if you’re on a large map! Maybe some others do things differently, but that’s the easiest way I can figure it. It also helps to have some sort of safe stopping method at the ending… You tend to go splat if you don’t. >D

In other news, the powers that be over at Mojang officially released the 1.8 pre-release version for public download!! There was a bit of a leak with 1.8, so it was out there before it was ready… but I think sending out an official update was a good way of dealing with it. LOTS of great things to see! Especially the creative mode!

I would like to critique this update, but unfortunately it’s only part 1 of 2… so… we’ll let it slide till we get the full version. But lets just say, it looks darn pretty now with the way biomes are generated.

So go over to the official forums and CHECK IT OUT!

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└ Tags: Coffin Comic, Minecraft, terraria

6 Comments

2DDstracted

by Coffinshaker on August 24, 2011 at 12:00 am

Part 2 of 2 (Terraria Review)

Yup, that brings us to our Terraria review. Now, I don’t mind telling you guys I was a bit hesitant in checking it out. At first, I got caught up in the whole “it’s a Minecraft clone” and at first glance, it looks basically just like one but in 2d. And yes, it is a 2d sandbox building game, just like Minecraft minus a dimension, but it’s sooooo much more! And as a new Steam fan, I picked up this little baby for like $4ish during one of their blowouts and it was money well spent!

So what is it then? Well, sure, it’s a building and mining game, but that’s not the focus at all! Actually, I’d say it’s more of a crafting and action type game. See, the main difference is in the combat system. There are just TONS of enemies to battle, even big ol bosses you can summon! And there is a clear progression of the game as well. You make your weapons and armor, set off into the world, then collect materials to upgrade all your stuff. Once you get better gear, you can go into the more dangerous areas, get more stuff to upgrade, and so on. Not only that, but the crafting has lots of fun things to make. So you’ve got furniture, walls, doors, armor, weapons, and potions! Very awesome stuff!

Not to mention (wow, I’m on topic pretty early!), the feeling of township makes the atmosphere more interesting. Yeah, you might only see your NPC companions when you login or stash your junk, but there’s something about having people around gives the landscape some color. You’ve got your nurse, druid, arms dealer, creepy old man, etc… though I think it could stand to use a nice burlesque dancer… >)

Now, since Minecraft and Terraria are some kind of weird cousins that just met, we kind of have to compare the two. MC is the undisputed granddaddy of all sandbox blocky games, but it absolutely lacks the combat stylings of Terraria. This is where the T-meister beats MC hands down! In addition, you kinda get upclose and personal with your character. All your stuff that’s equipped or in your bag is transported with you to other worlds. Not to mention your health and mana upgrades. So you can connect to your character better. Just wish you could customize your guy more like in MC, but whatevs. Also, the crafting and population awards go to Terry as well. There’s just no reason MC has no people in it (single player) or massive amounts of things to craft. However, MC kicks Terraria’s butt in one area… building! There’s just no comparison. You can build structures in Terraria, sure, but you are kind of limited by that 2d thingy. Making a big 3d castle (or in my case, office building) in MCworld is so satisfying, even if the furnishings are a bit sparse. But in 2d, it just doesn’t feel so epic. Maybe that’s just me, but it’s the vibe I get.

So should you buy Terraria over Minecraft? Or the other way around? Um… no. Buy both! Together they’re cheaper than any other new game in the store and will provide you with lots of fun for many hours. Both are updated “regularly” with new content so things won’t get stale too much with either. However, the replay value of Terraria is a bit lacking at the moment because the progression was a bit easier (previous to the most recent patch)… meaning after about 40hrs and getting all the top gear and beating all the bosses… it was kind of done. BUT, like I said, they continuously release content, and in one of the future (next?) patches will be even more bosses and harder “next tier” content. Minecraft will give you countless hours of building fun, but unless you’re on a multiplayer server, it get’s kinda lonely out there, and the combat is kinda meh (again… something talked about in a future patch). So… in closing… buy both. LOL! But seriously… just do it! XD

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PS!!!
In case you missed it, I had a Tooned News update this Monday… think I might end up putting them there for now until I can figure the logistics of all this out. So here’s a link to my article on the Bethesda vs Mojang case and Notch’s unorthodox response.

└ Tags: Coffin Comics, review, terraria

8 Comments

Crafty

by Coffinshaker on August 17, 2011 at 12:00 am

Part 1 of 2 (MineCraft… Review? idk)

Guess I did a little MineCraft comic before, but I kind of wanted to do a small series with MC and Terraria together. Heh, in my mind, Steve and um Terry (does Terraria even have a mascot?) are friends. I’ll get into Terraria next week, but for the sake of getting on to other things, we’ll say it’s a 2D MineCraft-esq game with similar mechanics. But kinda not really, so more to come.

My Office Castle!

Anywho, MC is one crazy fun game! You get to build stuff and uh, dig around… Ok, so it’s not all that deep, but it pulls out the little boy in me that yearns to dig around in the sand. What I really like is the absolute freedom you get to basically make whatever you want. From castles to underground bunkers, the only limit to what can be created is your own mind. For whatever reason, my brain tends to make large office buildings as my castles! Of course, complete with lobbies, stairwells, and overhead neon lights (err… lava anyways).

Oh, and I really love games that evolve, especially when those upgrades are free! Granted, it’s in “beta” until November, we get lots of updates a few months apart with fun new things like new blocks or mechanics. Where I might get bored after a while, they release another update a few months later and I’m sucked back in! So in that way, the replay value of the game is immense!

Now… I have to toss in a few things here… I’m not really impressed with the combat system in MC. It seems like a secondary addition and other than being outside at night or in a cave without a proper sword, there’s not a whole lot to be scared of. (other than those exploding !@#$) Like the comic points out, once inside your fortress, you’re totally safe. It kind of takes away the sense of danger. One thing Terraria has over MC is the combat system, with bosses and tons of enemies… some of which can walk into your home! I know there’s an update out on the horizon that is supposed to address this, which I’m absolutely ecstatic for, but that doesn’t help me right now. >) What I’d like to see is something like a few big ol boss type creatures that can demolish your creations! So unless you fortify your works, they’ll be torn to pieces! And armaments too. Either defensive blocks (comeon, let me craft an auto turret!) and/or a hefty ton more personal armors and weapons. Again, what Terraria did with this was absolutely perfect! Oh, and for a crafting game, it needs a LOT more things to craft. There should just be hundreds of things to make.

Otherwise… Crazy awesome fun to be had. If you’re not playing it at this very minute, then you’re not living life to the fullest! Ok, that’s an overstatement, but it’s still a great little game to pick up for not a whole lot of dough.