Mini-minecraft more than Carbon Copy

Despite punching well over its weight in the areas of film, music and literature, one part of popular culture in which New Zealand has traditionally struggled to establish a global presence is the video game market. Aside from Wellington-based Sidhe Interactive's popular rugby titles, as well as 1995's iconic Megadrive classic Super Skidmarks, the list of Kiwi games that have received international recognition is a surprisingly short.

With contemporary, mass-market games with massive budgets and the support of international publishers with deep pockets, it's nearly impossible for startups to gain a foothold, particularly for console games that are released through the off-the-shelf retailers. Mobile gaming is a viable option for developers with brilliant ideas, as there aren't many developers from the country.

At the forefront of this new wave of Kiwi digital entrepreneurs is Hawke's Bay developer David Frampton, already an App Store aficionado after making his name with quick-fix hit Chopper and its imaginatively named sequel Chopper 2, Frampton hit the news earlier this month with a game that racked more than a million downloads within three days of its launch on the way to becoming the No. 1 iPad app in 15 countries around the world.

The Blockheads does not have an underlying story, a narrative structure or a general objective. It's even more difficult to put a finger on what the "point" of the game is - there's no princess to rescue or an alien invasion to defeat or storyline to unravel there's no high score to beat or end-of-level boss to take down. The game is completely open and allows you to explore and imagine. This blank slate approach lets you to create and explore at your own pace.

Even though your protagonist is muted and has no personality per se, you'll soon find yourself interested in the cube-headed character because their mood is an essential element of the game.

If you spend too much time exploring without resting or eating, and they'll end up exhausted and hungry , requiring you to gather resources in order to build shelter and to grow food. Beginning with simple structures like huts as you explore more of the vast virtual world, you'll find materials that will allow you to create more advanced tools and construct massive palaces.

Although the game costs nothing to play, its incredibly addictive nature is perfect for the "freemium" structure that a lot of mobile games have adopted. If you are patient enough to wait for your blockhead to complete tasks such as building, mining, or sleeping, then you won't need to spend any money. However you can invest in the game's currency called "time crystals", to accelerate the process and build more complicated items.

With all this talk about crafting and mining it's impossible to discuss The Blockheads without not mentioning the elephant in the room, which is another idea of an indie band of one man, Markus "Notch" Persson's extremely successful Minecraft. Both games have a lot in the same way, from their quirky, lo-fi graphics, to their focus on exploration, resource gathering, and creative expression.

When Nelson Mail's Adam Roberts interviewed Frampton earlier this month, online commenters were quick to highlight the striking similarities between the two games, implying and insinuating that The Blockheads was little more than a "Minecraft copycat".

While it's understandable why people would be quick to jump to this conclusion, and there's no doubt that Notch's game served as an an obvious inspiration on some level for Frampton However, there's more to The Blockheads than some of the other similar cash-in shovelware that finds its way on to the App Store.

It's also unfair and unprofessional to rely on the similarities between two games to demonstrate plagiarism. Video games, more so than any other form of entertainment build upon what's gone before.

As technology improves and trends become more popular developers will continue to refine and improve what "works" and take inspiration from the most innovative games. Similar to how Space Invaders led to a wave of space shooters, Super Mario Bros set the trend for side-scrolling platforms, and Gears of War opened the floodgates of cover-based shooters. the unimaginable success of an innovative indie blockbuster like Minecraft will undoubtedly cause ripples within the industry. It's not plagiarism. It's progress.

If you're an avid Minecraft fan and you're a Minecraft fan, then you're bound to enjoy The Blockheads but it's more than just a copy. While Minecraft works best with keyboard and mouse, The Blockheads' 2-D take on the creative sandbox genre is perfectly suited for the mobile format, and its touchscreen controls are well implemented and intuitive.

It's exciting to see a Kiwi developer making waves within gaming's fastest-growing industry.Forums.com.bz With three wins under his under his belt, it will be fascinating to see what Frampton's Majic Jungle Software creates and develops next.

Majic Jungle Software - The Blockheads (iPad and iPhone) Play for free.