Minecraft Coming to iOS and Android By Year’s End

Minecraft in the palm of your hand? The addictive, cubist, world building game’s creator, Markus “Notch” Persson, says yes.  Persson revealed to Gamasutra that Mojang, specifically a new team member named Aron Neiminen, is working on official ports to iOS and Android platforms this year.

This announcement is met with both excitement and a little bit of caution. The thought of being able to craft on the go is great, but at the same time, given that Minecraft itself, which is still in Beta, is a surprisingly taxing application and consistently melts laptops’ faces (including my own) with it’s memory usage, it makes us wonder how it will look and run on a more limited platform. That said, we are very interested and hopeful that Mojang can bring the same success they have seen with the PC release to their mobile endeavor.

Persson did relay that the mobile release will not contain the same updates as the original browser or download versions, but they will include features that “make sense” in relation to the touch-screen nature of the platform.

The Humble Indie Bundle #2 Passes 1 Million in Contributions

The Humble Indie Bundle #2, hosted once again by Wolfire Games, has pushed past the 1 million dollar benchmark, and with 2 days left, it looks to likely surpass the $$1,273,613 raised over the first Humble Indie Bundle.

The format is the same:  pay what you want and divvy up the contribution how you want between the games, EFF, Child’s Play, and a newly added tip for the Humble Bundle team to continue their project.

Funny enough, the spread between Windows/Mac/Linux users is the same as last time as well, with Linux users well in the lead in average contributions.

Don’t forget to go contribute yourself! There’s plenty of time left, and they’re great games for great causes.

Check after the jump for the list of included games, which are DRM free and now redeemable on Steam and Desura. Read more »

Last Day for The Humble Indie Bundle!

Don’t you just <3 indie game devs? So nice of them to give us the option to pay what we want AND give to charitable causes?!?!

If you have some funds to giveth and don’t mind getting 6 quality games in return, hurry up and hit up The Humble Indie Bundle hosted by indie devs Wolfire Games. The hours are ticking down…

As you can see in the top image, the following games are included in the package:

• World of Goo
• Aquaria
• Gish
• Lugaru HD
• Penumbra: Overture
• Samrost 2

You can also opt to donate all or some of your monies to two charities:

• Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) – proponents for digital rights
• Child’s Play – collects and donates video games, toys, and other entertainment for needy children in hosipitals across the country and beyond.

It’s a win win any way you slice it. I really think it’s a slick idea as well as a slick implementation in terms of the actual site. It’s also fun to see real time stats, which currently show Linux users are comfortably in the lead when it comes to average contributions, with Mac in 2nd, and PC in last (come on PC users! we’re not that cheap… right? ).

Celebrate V-Day With Flower – 50% Off PSN

Firstly, Happy Valentine’s Day everybody!

As the title suggests, Flower, developed by indie game devs ThatGameCompany, is on sale today for the lovely half price of $4.99. Unfortunately, it is a one day holiday sale, but there is still time left in the day! So I suggest jumping the PSN Store and grabbing it.

I went ahead and followed my own advice, making Flower my first PSN purchase to date. Took me long enough… I just haven’t really been sold on most downloadable titles.

The price was right though in this case, and I’d heard general good things about the game, including that it won the title of Best Indie Game at this year’s Spike Video Game Awards (wretched event that it is…).

Flower is a simplistic and beautiful work. More of an interactive visual experience than a traditional game, it utilizes the PS3 controller’s six-axis system allowing you to steer a colorful mass of petals through grassy landscapes, painting color and life across it as you go. I expected as much, but seeing it in action coupled with the quality musical accompaniment, Flower really shines as a super chill and relaxing diversion. It’s nice to just shut my brain off and coast along a colorful sea of flora. All that’s missing is someone spritzing Febreeze my way. One day smell-o-vision, one day.

If you want to see for yourself, check out  a nice extended gameplay video after the jump. Read more »