5 Open Source Alternatives To Minecraft

There's no denying that Minecraft is a game that is loved for millions. And being written in Java allows it to run on a variety of platforms, including Linux. There are many Minecraft gamers who would love to have access to the source code of Minecraft and to work on it. Unfortunately, the source code is not accessible to the general public.

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But there's good news. Many people have attempted to recreate Minecraft and other similar games with open-source software. Are you in search of a free Minecraft alternative to Minecraft? Here's a quick review of some Minecraft clones and derivatives you should really check out.

These projects are at varying levels of completion and serve various purposes. Some attempt to recreate the Minecraft experience in full while others seek to provide a very similar experience. Others are taking the voxel-based game concept to completely new levels while others are more of a framework to help you build your own game or develop your own.

Minetest

The first game we'll be discussing is Minetest. Minetest is perhaps the most complete alternative to Minecraft that is described as an "near-infinite-world block sandbox game as well as an engine for games." It supports multiplayer games and subgames, and has a range of terrain generators and different default biomes. It also features a very user-friendly API to create mods using Lua.

Minetest is open source under the LGPL, and is written primarily in C++ so it's quite fast in comparison to others written in scripting languages.Minecraft Servers Minetest is compatible with Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, FreeBSD, and possibly other operating systems as well. Find the source code on GitHub.

Minetest screenshot, Minetest website, CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Terasology

Terasology could be the winner of the best rendering engine award in the pack. Its shadows are beautiful and frightening. The game that began as an experiment in procedural terrain generation has grown into a fully-featured gaming experience, complete with multiplayer and a variety of modules that are installed by default to let you try out different gameplay techniques.

Terasology is written in Java and made available under an Apache 2.0 license. Because of its Java-based system it can be compatible with any platform with sufficient power, so long as you have a Java 8 virtual machine installed.

Terasology screenshot, Terasology Code repository, Apache 2.0.

Voxel.js

The only exception to this list is Voxel.js as, unlike the other it's not a game in any way and does not claim to be. Voxel.js instead is an JavaScript library that lets you to build your own Minecraft-style games, renderings, and other interactive widgets using JavaScript or HTML. It can be embedded on any web page without the need for any special plugins.

Voxel.js is composed of a number of related projects, meaning you can utilize as much or as little code as you want when creating your ideal game. The main library, voxel engine, is a fairly basic engine to render small-sized scenes, but there are over 200 additional add-ons that are available. Visit the gallery for some ideas of what others have created using the engine. The main engine is released under a BSD-style license. other add-ons may be licensed differently It's worth checking before you make any assumptions.

Screenshot of Voxel-Forest using Voxel.js, Jason Baker.

TrueCraft

TrueCraft is designed to be very similar to the original game. It is described as a Minecraft "implementation," as opposed to a clone, and is compatible with official Minecraft server versions. The author of TrueCraft is seeking to implement the beta version 1.7.3 that he believes is "nearly perfect" in the course of Minecraft's development. TrueCraft is a snapshot of Minecraft that has been intentionally frozen in time. The author is looking to make features comparable to Minecraft.

Because it is so close to the original game, TrueCraft has taken great pains to avoid copyright issues by accepting code only from developers who have not decompiled or otherwise had access to the original game's source code, though those who have had access are allowed to contribute in other ways. TrueCraft is written using C# and is open-source under an MIT License.

TrueCraft screenshot, TrueCraft code repository, MIT license.

Craft

Craft is an open-source voxel engine which emulates Minecraft. Its development appears to have slowed down or stopped, but there are over 200 forks and many (such as the school project not2bad-craft) with major improvements. Craft's simplicity might appeal to you if looking to create games similar to Minecraft but aren't sure where to start: the game engine resides in just a few thousand lines of C code and utilizes OpenGL for rendering. It makes use of simple algorithms for terrain generation and other tasks and all data is stored in an SQLite3 database. There's also a multiplayer server based on Python which is worth giving an attempt.

Craft is available under an MIT licence

Craft screenshot, Craft code repository, MIT license.

Other great alternatives

Some other notable mentions to consider:

Freeminer is a different sandbox-based game, is inspired by Minecraft and based upon Minetest. As a fork, the authors seek to "make the game fun while sacrificing a bit of perfectionistism." It includes installers for Linux and Android. ClassiCube, it is a Minecraft Classic clone, is written in C#. It is open-source under the OpenTK License and is compatible with Linux, Solaris, Windows OS, Solaris, Windows OS, Mac OS and in browsers.

So there you are. This list isn't exhaustive; there are plenty of other options waiting to be explored and as time passes, we'll see more options emerge as players play these games in a variety of ways or even strike out on their own. Which one do you prefer? which one did we miss that you would have liked to have?