Notch’s Drowning is just too much like real life
Legendary Minecraft creator Notch has released a new game on the web called Drowning in Problems.
On one level it’s a great example of how to create something engaging with stark simplicity. It feels like Notch is in some alternate timeline that’s running backwards. While everyone is else is vying to make games hyper-realistic, Notch makes a virtue out of a eight-bit world and now goes right back to text on a grey screen. The game was made as part of the Ludum Dare game-making event and really is a great example of how something simple can remain engaging: A great example for kids learning to code in particular.
The game doesn’t take long to play, which is good because it serves as a reminder of the realities of life as you start simple and then acquire attributes until you are, you guessed it, drowning in problems.