The people in the meeting room looked a little confused.
They already knew that Lucas would be leading them on a new project, and they were almost certain it would be a sandbox game.
They had thought of many possible themes and gameplay ideas.
But now, looking at the toy building blocks Lucas had placed on the table as examples, both Hector and Rachel felt completely lost.
"Lucas, is our next project going to be a building block game?" Anna asked curiously, looking at the blocks on the table and the simple draft projected on the screen.
Although Lucas hadn't fully explained the details of the concept draft yet, Hector and the others had already figured out a few things about Minecraft.
First, in terms of art style, the game would use a pixel look.
Everything in the game would basically be made of pixels, and all of it could be destroyed.
For example, if the basic block in the game is 1x1, then a big rock might be made of four 1x1 blocks.
Everything else would follow the same logic.
"Lucas, isn't Minecraft's content a little too simple? I don't mean the combinations players can create, but the overall direction of the game itself," Hector said, continuing Anna's thought after choosing his words carefully.
He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood what he meant.
Compared to Don't Starve, Minecraft didn't seem to have a clear core gameplay.
"And besides, Lucas, there's going to be a wave of sandbox games coming soon," Ethan added. This was the part he cared about most as the one in charge of operations.
It was also a very important point.
Other game studios would definitely try to grab a share of the success that Don't Starve had brought to the sandbox genre.
Some might turn out bad, but others could be really well-made, and all of them could affect Minecraft.
Another big concern was timing: Minecraft would launch as a sandbox game not long after Don't Starve.
If its quality wasn't as good as Don't Starve, it could hurt Nebula Games' reputation.
"And about the game's art, Lucas, why are we going with a pixel style? It feels a little odd," Rachel, who was in charge of art, asked the question on her mind.
Pixel-style games had already become very rare.
After all, pixels usually represented retro. In the past, games used pixel graphics mostly because of the limits of display technology and memory size.
And making a good pixel game wasn't easy at all. A pixel image was basically a grid made of tiny square dots, and to do it right, the art team would need to place each pixel one by one. It was actually more work than regular art.
So unless the game was selling nostalgia, most studios today wouldn't choose a pixel style.
Minecraft chose a pixel style, which Rachel found a little strange.
After all, looking at the design drafts, Minecraft didn't seem like a retro game or one that tried to play on nostalgia.
Everyone started voicing their doubts.
At that time, making a sandbox game—especially one with a pixel look—was confusing to many people.
After hearing them out, Lucas just smiled.
He didn't mind their doubts at all.
In fact, he thought it was a good thing, since it showed that everyone was thinking.
"First, think back to what I told you before about Don't Starve. Survival gives players a strong goal, but it isn't the heart of the game. In a sandbox game, creation is the real core."
"And everything in Minecraft is built around creation as the main gameplay."
"This creation isn't just stacking blocks. It's about using Minecraft as a platform to create gameplay itself."
"Actually, if other sandbox games of the time only took Don't Starve's survival as their model, then they were already heading in the wrong direction. They might have ended up as great survival or co-op games, but they would never be great sandbox games," Lucas explained to Hector and the others.
Hector thought for a moment. "So a sandbox game is built on creation and freedom. Everything else can be left behind."
"Right, that's exactly it. Of course, I didn't know back then if players would accept such a unique kind of sandbox gameplay. That's why Don't Starve was more like a test run. From the players' feedback and results, it turned out to be pretty good."
"As for the art style, I need to make one thing clear. It's not that Minecraft had to use pixel graphics. What it really needed was pixelization. Pixelization was a sacrifice for freedom and creativity. Because of Minecraft's gameplay, the world had to be made up of countless blocks, just like building with bricks." Hearing Lucas's words, Rachel suddenly understood.
These are two completely different ideas.
A pixel-style game only means the art looks that way. But Minecraft is different. It needs to pixelize the entire world, dividing everything into cubes—the 3D version of pixels.
The starting point is totally different.
Put simply, a game like Don't Starve is more like a half-assembled toy.
When you buy it, you need to piece it together, but the base structure never changes. You can change clothes or colors, but the foundation is fixed.
Minecraft, on the other hand, is like clay or sand. On its own it doesn't look like much, but whether you shape it into something beautiful or ugly depends on the player's creativity.
Don't Starve is about playing within a set of pre-made rules, while Minecraft, just as its name suggests, is about creating your own world.
The meeting room grew quiet as everyone tried to digest Lucas's words.
"I see," Hector nodded deeply.
Looking only at the design drafts, Hector had thought Minecraft didn't stand out at all.
But after Lucas's detailed explanation, he completely understood.
He still wasn't sure if players or the market would accept such a game.
But one thing was certain.
Lucas had clearly thought Minecraft through very carefully.
"Pixels don't always have to look simple or rough. They can also be made to look beautiful." Lucas looked at Rachel as he spoke.
Pixel style does carry a retro feeling.
But that doesn't mean it must always be retro.
Why can't modern art techniques be used in pixel style?
Of course they can. In his past life, there was a very famous pixel game that blended modern techniques perfectly into pixels — that was Square Enix's Octopath Traveler. Because of Square Enix's pricing, players jokingly called it "Fifty Bucks Traveler."
The story itself wasn't flawless — the mix of a classic main plot with scattered character narratives wasn't perfect. But what stood out the most was the combination of music and modern techniques in its pixel art style.
And in his past life, Minecraft could be loaded with high-resolution texture packs and lighting effects, giving players visuals that could rival AAA games. This proved that pixel graphics don't always equal outdated visuals.
(End of The Chapter)
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