Anybody else thinks Minecraft should not use complex words to identify it's items and blocks ?
Version 1.6 and before :
All blocks have very simple names. Almost all names are readily accessible even to younger kids, and are often part of the popular "collective memes". There are exceptions, but even then the name is usually kept as short and simple as possible. This fits well with the simple textures of the game. It is very kid-friendly.
Version 1.7 :
Mojang decided to break from that tradition. They had thousands of flowers to choose form, and could even create "fantasy" flowers, instead they seem to put way too much emphasis on "realism". A few of their flower choices are uncommon "much less known by the average person" flowers, with more complex names.
Azure Bluet and Oxeye Daisy: In a fantasy world where there is ONLY one kind of each flower, adding a prefix in front of the main name is ridiculous. It is useless and unneeded. Kind of like if Grass blocks were named "Bentgrass" or iron ingots were named "Grey cast Iron Ingots".
Allium : This is quite an uncommon name and I think there could have been lots more "more popular" flowers to choose from. Ask a group of random kids to each make a list 10 flower names and I dare say the Allium name will show up only a few times and more often than not, will be near the end of the list. Mojang should have made such a list and selected the most popular flowers instead. Given that this is reputedly more like a medicial herb, it would have made more sense to add Allium not as simply another way to get a dye, but also link it with a Garlic or an Onion crops, or maybe with a potion effect.
But even this is pretty minor, and pales in comparision to what is coming in 1.8 :
Version 1.8 :
Andesite
Diorite
Biotite
What's up with the geology class names here? Is the game trying to become educational or something? Becoming too much grounded in "realism", maybe ?
Again, I think Mojang should have simply have asked pepole to make a list of 10 kinds of stones and creamed the most popular stones from that, instead of going the "scienbtific" route.
I'm not arguing AGAINST the new stone blocks. Those are very cool. I'm just saying Minecraft should stick with kid-friendly names.
It's just a name. What's the big problem. If you don't like it, make up your own name, or use a resource pack to change the names.
So, according to that logic, it would be ok if a Rose Bush was named instead, let's say, a Rosa Rubiginosa Bush ? Yes, I agree it is not a major problem at all, you are right. But I didn't know only important stuff could be posted here.
No, I won't take the trouble to mod my game because I like to play vanilla and am not good configuring stuff. Every time I mod the game I end up spending much more time with the modding than with the playing. And then I get a world that isn't compatible with new releases anymore. Or mods that conflict with each other so much that it becomes a puzzle trying to make heads or tails of it all. So yeah: "Meh!". I shouldn't need to be a car repairman to be able to drive my car, same thing with this game. There is a reason why Windows Update is way more popular than adding all those KB###### software patches by hand, and the very same principle applies here, so until using mods becomes way more simple and automatic than it is right now, don't expect everybody to go along with it. So please don't use that kind of argument, it doesn't help anybody and I group it in the same category of "unhelpful answers" jut like when players were saying the 1.6 zombie apocalypse was way too bad, and others answered them with really useless "Just play on peaceful!" comments.
Anyway, I found a way to change "by hand" block names:
Still, what truly annoys me is not the names themselves. It is the "philosophy" behind that kind of game design. Normally you'd first determine your target audience, defining useful metrics, and then stick to those. Minecraft is definitely a very kid friendly name, an "all ages and family friendly" game, even, which is relatively rare nowadays. It is definitely not-that-realistic in it's world mechanics, and doesn't need to be. Reality is to be used as a base source for imagination, for the needs of the game itself, and not as a photographic reference. The game is also not "edutainment".
These kinds of thing just tell me that the game is designed by programmers, with all of the weird quirks and short term vision that such entails, not by an actual professionnal game designers. Meaning this ofte leads to a lack of global vision of the game development's long-term direction, that can result in a "as I feel like it which feature will I add this month?" kind of development, with a "anything goes let's try this we can always fix it later" attitude that can easily lead to lots of coding time ultimately wasted.
Education? The game isn't educating you about anything, the names are just a bit unknown.
I don't really like the Andesite and Diorite names either, and other stone-y blocks that are more usefull and well-known are being suggested, like Graphite and Basalt, but I don't think it's such a big deal.
Also, "kid-friendly" names? Really?
I wasn't talking about "kid friendly names" like boo-boo-ga-ga baby names. 8 years old kids, not 3 years old ones. Names that a teacher could ask elementary school kids to make a list of 10 names, for example.
Basalt, Graphite, Jade, Marble, etc. Those are "easy" and "kid friendly" names. There are so many choices t pick from. It is not as if Minecraft had 50 stone types and we needed to add more. That we have only to go from only one to a simple "count on your hands" number, and that already we get into the "less known" names, feels weird to me.
Anything ending with "'ite" (except Granite), sounds way too "scientific" for my taste. I'd rather get totally made up fantasy stone names, than scientific-sounding names.
But seeing that this seems only a tiny issue, I'll drop it.
I understand why your saying this, but I don't think the names aren't kid friendly. Also, they only way they could change this is taking away a bunch of items.
Oh no? people being force fed words they can't understand?
This is almost as bad if 4Kids actually left Japanese culture references in their anime dubs!
But no one complained about mycelium or lapis lazuli. I personally like the way they are named. Teaches people a little and I don't see a problem with it.
So instead of teaching children there are plants and rock types called Alliums, Bluets etc. we should be dumbing them down to only recognise simple and common ones like Daisies and Cowslips?
What's the big deal if the names aren't familiar to you? It teaches people new things. Before I played this game I had no idea what lapis lazuli was, and now I do! Its part of a learning process!
With your logic, these items should be renamed ASAP:
Lapis Lazuli: Blue Rock
Mycelium: Mushroom Dirt
Comparator: Device
SIlverfish: Bug
I'm sure Minecraft would be 10x more attractive if it featured bugs and blue rocks.
What's the big deal if the names aren't familiar to you? It teaches people new things. Before I played this game I had no idea what lapis lazuli was, and now I do! Its part of a learning process!
With your logic, these items should be renamed ASAP:
Lapis Lazuli: Blue Rock
Mycelium: Mushroom Dirt
Comparator: Device
SIlverfish: Bug
I'm sure Minecraft would be 10x more attractive if it featured bugs and blue rocks.
Lava: burny water
Water: not burny lava
Milk: white liquid
Bucket: holdy thingy.
OT: I kind of agree with this, there is a bit of a learning aspect to Minecraft, but generic rock names like Granite would probably suit better than Andesite and so on.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I used to be chocolate cake.. but then new Minecraft Forums happened..
Creeper: Boom Plant
Spider: Big Spider
Redstone: Electricity Dust
Paintings: Photographs (because children do not know what paintings are)
Allium: Purple Pom Pom on a Stick
Mule: Honkey
I agree with everyone mocking this person.
On principal that this is yet another in a long line of stupid complaints about things that aren't worth complaining about.
I for one LIKE learning new things, and the items themselves are self-explanatory, you don't need to know the names.
Version 1.6 and before :
All blocks have very simple names. Almost all names are readily accessible even to younger kids, and are often part of the popular "collective memes". There are exceptions, but even then the name is usually kept as short and simple as possible. This fits well with the simple textures of the game. It is very kid-friendly.
Version 1.7 :
Mojang decided to break from that tradition. They had thousands of flowers to choose form, and could even create "fantasy" flowers, instead they seem to put way too much emphasis on "realism". A few of their flower choices are uncommon "much less known by the average person" flowers, with more complex names.
Azure Bluet and Oxeye Daisy: In a fantasy world where there is ONLY one kind of each flower, adding a prefix in front of the main name is ridiculous. It is useless and unneeded. Kind of like if Grass blocks were named "Bentgrass" or iron ingots were named "Grey cast Iron Ingots".
Allium : This is quite an uncommon name and I think there could have been lots more "more popular" flowers to choose from. Ask a group of random kids to each make a list 10 flower names and I dare say the Allium name will show up only a few times and more often than not, will be near the end of the list. Mojang should have made such a list and selected the most popular flowers instead. Given that this is reputedly more like a medicial herb, it would have made more sense to add Allium not as simply another way to get a dye, but also link it with a Garlic or an Onion crops, or maybe with a potion effect.
But even this is pretty minor, and pales in comparision to what is coming in 1.8 :
Version 1.8 :
Andesite
Diorite
Biotite
What's up with the geology class names here? Is the game trying to become educational or something? Becoming too much grounded in "realism", maybe ?
Again, I think Mojang should have simply have asked pepole to make a list of 10 kinds of stones and creamed the most popular stones from that, instead of going the "scienbtific" route.
I'm not arguing AGAINST the new stone blocks. Those are very cool. I'm just saying Minecraft should stick with kid-friendly names.
Of course, this is only a first world problem.
Comments ?
So, according to that logic, it would be ok if a Rose Bush was named instead, let's say, a Rosa Rubiginosa Bush ? Yes, I agree it is not a major problem at all, you are right. But I didn't know only important stuff could be posted here.
No, I won't take the trouble to mod my game because I like to play vanilla and am not good configuring stuff. Every time I mod the game I end up spending much more time with the modding than with the playing. And then I get a world that isn't compatible with new releases anymore. Or mods that conflict with each other so much that it becomes a puzzle trying to make heads or tails of it all. So yeah: "Meh!". I shouldn't need to be a car repairman to be able to drive my car, same thing with this game. There is a reason why Windows Update is way more popular than adding all those KB###### software patches by hand, and the very same principle applies here, so until using mods becomes way more simple and automatic than it is right now, don't expect everybody to go along with it. So please don't use that kind of argument, it doesn't help anybody and I group it in the same category of "unhelpful answers" jut like when players were saying the 1.6 zombie apocalypse was way too bad, and others answered them with really useless "Just play on peaceful!" comments.
Anyway, I found a way to change "by hand" block names:
http://minecraft.gam....com/tuts/11035
Still, what truly annoys me is not the names themselves. It is the "philosophy" behind that kind of game design. Normally you'd first determine your target audience, defining useful metrics, and then stick to those. Minecraft is definitely a very kid friendly name, an "all ages and family friendly" game, even, which is relatively rare nowadays. It is definitely not-that-realistic in it's world mechanics, and doesn't need to be. Reality is to be used as a base source for imagination, for the needs of the game itself, and not as a photographic reference. The game is also not "edutainment".
These kinds of thing just tell me that the game is designed by programmers, with all of the weird quirks and short term vision that such entails, not by an actual professionnal game designers. Meaning this ofte leads to a lack of global vision of the game development's long-term direction, that can result in a "as I feel like it which feature will I add this month?" kind of development, with a "anything goes let's try this we can always fix it later" attitude that can easily lead to lots of coding time ultimately wasted.
I don't really like the Andesite and Diorite names either, and other stone-y blocks that are more usefull and well-known are being suggested, like Graphite and Basalt, but I don't think it's such a big deal.
Also, "kid-friendly" names? Really?
Basalt, Graphite, Jade, Marble, etc. Those are "easy" and "kid friendly" names. There are so many choices t pick from. It is not as if Minecraft had 50 stone types and we needed to add more. That we have only to go from only one to a simple "count on your hands" number, and that already we get into the "less known" names, feels weird to me.
Anything ending with "'ite" (except Granite), sounds way too "scientific" for my taste. I'd rather get totally made up fantasy stone names, than scientific-sounding names.
But seeing that this seems only a tiny issue, I'll drop it.
Support.
"And so I go fast. Not because I want to, because no one else will."
-Sanic Hegehog
Please read these two threads:
http://www.minecraftforum.net/forums/minecraft-discussion/suggestions/2572194-please-read-this-before-making-a-suggestion-v2-0
http://www.minecraftforum.net/forums/minecraft-discussion/suggestions/44180-for-the-critics-ftc
This is almost as bad if 4Kids actually left Japanese culture references in their anime dubs!
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Curse PremiumWith your logic, these items should be renamed ASAP:
Lapis Lazuli: Blue Rock
Mycelium: Mushroom Dirt
Comparator: Device
SIlverfish: Bug
I'm sure Minecraft would be 10x more attractive if it featured bugs and blue rocks.
Obsidian: black rock lava
Pistons: Pushy thingies
Lava: burny water
Water: not burny lava
Milk: white liquid
Bucket: holdy thingy.
OT: I kind of agree with this, there is a bit of a learning aspect to Minecraft, but generic rock names like Granite would probably suit better than Andesite and so on.
I used to be chocolate cake.. but then new Minecraft Forums happened..
I think it's best if we called it "Cow Juice"... because...yeah...
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Curse PremiumSpider: Big Spider
Redstone: Electricity Dust
Paintings: Photographs (because children do not know what paintings are)
Allium: Purple Pom Pom on a Stick
Mule: Honkey
On principal that this is yet another in a long line of stupid complaints about things that aren't worth complaining about.
I for one LIKE learning new things, and the items themselves are self-explanatory, you don't need to know the names.
DTG Co Labs
Nope, sorry guys, no Destroy the Godmodder relevant stuff here...
At least, not yet.
puffer fish--> Mrs. Puff
Pig- Babe
Cow- Betsy
Ocelot- Mean Cat