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Why we shouldn't compare Minecraft and Hytale (in some aspects)

Antnest8

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By Antnest8

There is no doubt that Minecraft and Hytale are eternally linked together. The first thing that most of us thought upon seeing the trailer probably included the name ‘Minecraft’. There has already been sufficient discussion on how Hytale is not going to be - or trying to be - Minecraft 2.0; but I still hear the two games being compared all the time. I do the same thing when making my theories and there are many reasons to do so! Yet, the feeling still came to me that these games are more different than we make it out to be.

I will note that Hytale will be based off Minecraft in many ways. The team the makes Hytale have all played Minecraft and are basing much of this game off it. The game is also in the same genre as Minecraft, so they will share many similarities in that aspect. My argument will divert from these points and focus on the area where the similarities are being drawn with little to no grounds holding it up. With that out of the way, the argument can now start.



A truly unique game

Minecraft is a unique game in more aspects than one. Many like to slander its name stating that the game itself has little substance and the team was just lucky by pioneering the block game genre. They also like to state that if another team had made the first block game, that they would have succeeded just as much, if not more. However, I don’t believe this to be true.

The earliest roots of Minecraft started with Markus Persson (A.K.A Notch). Markus believed that game designers should build games from their own ideas with little thought into financial backing(1). This viewpoint was unusual for a game that later was played by over 600 million people(2). This is where the first difference arises. The core of Minecraft was built from little to no financial backing and although Markus’s philosophy is no longer practiced, by the time that was done so, Minecraft had already solidified itself as a game and a culture. Hytale searched for investors to fund the game, eventually becoming a subsidiary of Riot to do so(3). Minecraft and Hytale will have very different starts and gameplay because of this.

Markus’s financial policy is not the only thing that makes Minecraft unique. Markus’s ideas will be impossible for Hytale to replicate! There are so many strange, but fun mechanics to Minecraft that Markus added himself, for example, Jump Crits, Golden apples, the Nether!(4,5,6) These mechanics came to define Minecraft as Minecraft and even if Hytale were to add these mechanics, it would feel and act different, due to the rest of the world around being different as well. Hytale will undoubtedly have strange mechanics itself and these will grow to define Hytale.

A different audience

As much as we like to fantasize Hytale becoming the “New Minecraft” in popularity, that will not happen (if it does, well then, good I guess). Hytale is not just trying to avoid copying Minecraft, but its goal is completely separate entirely(7). Minecraft has sold over 200 Million copies, more than any game before, but it has many more people playing Minecraft than just 200 Million(8). In 2017 Minecraft released the Minecraft: Chinese Edition, which is Free to play and has double the number of players the other editions (400 Million)(9,10). This is already a hard number to topple, but the fact is, Hytale is not trying to do so.

Hytale’s roots are in the Hypixel server, after many grievances of the Minecraft platform the Hypixel team dreamed of making their own game to host their server(7). That dream became Hytale and the team never had ‘taking over the game industry’ in mind. They already have stated that they were blown away from their 57 million trailer views, if 57 million views on a free trailer amazes them, then selling (or downloading) 600 million copies is nowhere in their goals, but why isn’t it?

Like I mentioned, Hytale was created because of the problems for Minecraft, or at least the problems in the view of Hypixel. Most Minecraft players are relatively new and play on the bedrock or Chinese edition(8). These editions are incredibly successful for a game supposedly riddled with ‘problems’. Veteran Minecraft players often cite: the 1.9+ combat system having lack of skill(11), Minecraft’s lack of attention to servers, lack of hard bosses and fights and the lack of modding API and customizability of the Bedrock edition(12). However, for most Minecraft’s players, these are not game-breaking problems.

Minecraft is built to be a game for all, but in doing so it cannot focus on just one group. Veteran PVP players are not prioritized due to the large amounts of newer, less experianced players who prefer 1.9+ combat. The lack of hard boss fights and additions of passive creatures like Bees and Pandas are catering to a younger audience. The lack of updates to the games are because Mojang is busy rewriting the code and striking deals for all the many ports the Minecraft has.

Enough of Minecraft, what about Hytale? Hytale’s developers have already stated that the game is their main priority, not community or accessibility(13). This could change once the game is out, but the teams decision of not porting to Linux at the start is likely because they are not worried about the games accessibility, they just want to make their game and make it amazing.

The game being a Fantasy sandbox with a storyline is a huge clue that Hytale is not meant for everyone. Those who want a sci-fi game will have to deal with ignoring the Trorks and Dragons or find a mod that would take a few months to make after release. The modding and creator tools are focused on those who are sick of Minecraft and other games not providing adequate ones. Hytale will no doubt harbor a large audience, but that audience will be narrower than other sandboxes like Minecraft.

A Defined Purpose

Minecraft never really had a purpose to the game. The game was created almost out of accident, as a hobby of Markus’s. Eventually we have the Minecraft we know of today, even now, we have no Idea where it is going. After the Caves and Cliff’s update, what will the next update bring? What weird thing will be added next?

Hytale has a defined purpose. The developers know what they want the game to be and likely how they are going to move forward. This does not mean everything is known, but what is added to Hytale will be planned and will correlate to what the base game is in some way. This makes the games different. Hytale will be a living breathing game, much like Minecraft, but Hytale will grow toward its goal as being a fantasy sandbox and a creative platform, the game will likely resemble itself, at release, 10 years from now.

Conclusion

That ends my rant about the differences about the 2 games. Hopefully, it brought new ideas to light and maybe an insight into Hytale’s future. I have provided some sources here at the bottom, but I will mention that they only apply to part of this post. Some of it is just my speculation about the game, because in truth: We never know what the future will bring.



Sources.

1. https://www.ft.com/content/c58e4b5c-1fda-11e5-ab0f-6bb9974f25d0
2. https://www.thewealthrecord.com/cel...022-2023-2024-2025/other/minecraft-net-worth/
3. https://hytale.com/news/2020/4/ente...l-studios-an-announcement-from-simon-and-noxy
4. Video 1
5. https://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Golden_Apple
6. https://minecraft.gamepedia.com/The_Nether
7. https://www.gamesradar.com/hytale-first-look-preview/
8. https://www.businessofapps.com/data/minecraft-statistics/
9. https://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Minecraft_China
10. https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/...surpasses-400-million-players-in-china-alone/
11. https://hypixel.net/threads/minecraft-pvp-1-9-sucks.1740907/
12. Video 2
13. https://hytale.com/news/2018/12/hytale-faq
 
Last edited:

Reyrey

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:eek:WOW SO MUCH READING ME ONLY READ HALF:eek:

highly impressed.
 

Zodak

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This is an interesting insight on the comparison between Minecraft and Hytale.
 

Reyrey

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U look SOoooo smart
 

GavinTheCrafter

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I think comparing Hytale to Minecraft limits our thinking of what Hytale can become. We unknowingly assume that any features that couldn't be implemented in a Minecraft mod or update couldn't be implemented into Hytale.
 

Antnest8

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Was doing some research for my next blog post and noticed that this post was at the top of the search results. I bet there is some personalization going on here, but it still makes me incredibly happy to see!
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*Bet you can't guess what the next topic is XD
 
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