Cube World

For the electronic LCD toy of the same name, see Radica Games.
Cube World

Official Cube World alpha version logo
Developer(s) Picroma
Publisher(s) Picroma
Designer(s) Wolfram von Funck
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
Release date(s) Alpha: July 2, 2013
Genre(s) Role-playing video game
Mode(s) Singleplayer, multiplayer

Cube World is an open world role-playing video game in development by Picroma for Microsoft Windows. Wolfram von Funck began developing the game in June 2011, and was later joined by his wife Sarah von Funck. An early alpha version of the game was released on July 2, 2013.[1] However, as of July 2015, the game is unavailable for purchase and has not received any updates since July 23, 2013. A significant lack of communication by the developer about the game's current development has fueled speculation about its future.[2]

Gameplay

A player with a mage character runs through the game.

In Cube World, the player explores a massive[3] procedurally generated "voxel-like" world.[4] This world contains randomly generated dungeons, including underground caverns and over-world castles, as well as separate biomes including grasslands, snowlands, deserts, and oceans.[5] Players can use items such as hang gliders and boats to traverse the world more quickly.[6][7]

Players can create multiple characters,[8] with character creation, which involves the player first choosing a race then customizing the look of the character.[5] The player then chooses one of four classes: warrior, rogue, ranger, or mage.[9] The world is populated with monsters and creatures which can be killed for experience, which results in stronger statistics and abilities and allows players to choose specializations which best suit their in-game aims. These specialization choices include warriors being able to choose between focusing on damage or defensive abilities, or mages focusing on damage or healing abilities.[10] Players can also tame animals, such as sheep or turtles, which fight alongside them, or, in some cases, can be ridden by them to travel more quickly.[5][8]

Crafting is also a part of the game; it allows players to create food, potions, weapons, and armor, as well as add voxels to their existing weapons block by block in order to create aesthetically unique weapons.[8][11]

Development

Wolfram von Funck announced he had begun development of Cube World in June 2011, describing it as a "3D Voxel-Based game with a focus on exploration and RPG elements,"[12] citing games such as The Legend of Zelda, Secret of Mana, and World of Warcraft as inspiration.[13] Wolfram was later joined by his wife Sarah von Funck, who contributes the game's sprites and assists in implementing new content.[3][13]

In January 2012, it was reported that Minecraft creators Mojang had hired Wolfram in order to help support him in developing Cube World;[14] however, it was later stated that this was not the case.[15] In July 2014, the developers previewed a new questing system for the game, which will focus on the player's exploration.[16]

Early alpha release

When Cube World became available for purchase as an alpha stage game on July 2, 2013,[1] developer Wolfram von Funck announced that he was temporarily disabling user registrations and their shop due to the high load on their servers.[17] Though he initially assumed that the problem was the volume of players wishing to purchase the game, Wolfram later discovered that the downtime was due to a distributed denial-of-service attack on their servers,[18] stating that "It seems that someone is trying to systematically damage us and our business... The attackers obviously want to prevent us from selling our game."[19] The game's developers admitted to being overwhelmed by the attack, saying, "Being just a small team (my wife and me), we didn't expect such things".[20]

Following the initial release, Cube World has received only one update. After three months of no other updates or contact from the developers many players began to become concerned about further development of the game. In October 2013, Wollay confirmed that the game was still being worked on, and that a new update was "coming along nicely".[21] This update was previewed in July 2014,[16] but has not yet been released.

In July 2015, after a year of silence from the developer, gaming blog Kotaku reported that Wolfram was still working on the game. About the lack of information on the development of the game, Wolfram was quoted as saying: "I’m not posting ‘hey, we’re still here’ because that’s beyond all question - Cube World is my passion project and I will work on it until it’s finished.”[2]

In October 2015, Von Funck tweeted that he was currently adding music to Cube World.[22]

References

  1. 1 2 Grayson, Nathan (July 3, 2013). "Cube World Released And, Er, Unbuyable". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  2. 1 2 Klepek, Patrick. "Despite 23 Months Without Updates, Cube World Devs Say Game Isn't Dead". Retrieved 2015-07-14.
  3. 1 2 Rossignol, Jim (July 15, 2013). "Some Time With: Cube World (Alpha)". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  4. ↑ Owen, Phil (July 7, 2013). "The magical Cube World gets alpha release — good luck". VG247. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 Hernandez, Patricia (July 18, 2013). "I Can't Stop Playing Cube World". Kotaku. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  6. ↑ Senior, Tom (September 18, 2012). "Cube World: indie exploration RPG gets hang gliders, dungeons and mega bosses". PC Gamer. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  7. ↑ Sykes, Tom (May 8, 2013). "New Cube World video shows the indie RPG's approach to crafting, magic, sailing and stealth". PC Gamer. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  8. 1 2 3 Hernandez, Patricia (July 23, 2013). "Tips For Playing The Cube World Alpha". Kotaku. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
  9. ↑ O'Connor, Alice (July 4, 2013). "Cube World public alpha now on sale". Shacknews. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  10. ↑ Smith, Adam (October 11, 2012). "Classified Information: Cube World". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  11. ↑ Pearson, Craig (May 9, 2013). "Vox Rox: Some Cube World Video To Make You Happy". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  12. ↑ Rossignol, Jim (June 14, 2011). "Cube World Looks Chunky". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  13. 1 2 Corriea, Alexa (July 30, 2013). "Cube World: where Minecraft meets Warcraft". Polygon. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  14. ↑ Smith, Adam (January 5, 2012). "Mojang Hire Cube World Developer". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  15. ↑ Smith, Adam (January 23, 2012). "It's Hip To Be Cube World". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  16. 1 2 Grayson, Nathan (July 1, 2014). "Worth The Wait? – Cube World Getting New Quests". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  17. ↑ Neltz, Andras (June 3, 2013). "You Could Briefly Buy and Play Cube World. Very Briefly.". Kotaku. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  18. ↑ Grayson, Nathan (July 9, 2013). "Cube World Woes Continue With DDoS Attacks". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  19. ↑ Hernandez, Patricia (June 8, 2013). "Cube World Developer Says His Game's Servers Are Under Attack". Kotaku.
  20. ↑ Peel, Jeremy (July 9, 2013). "Cube World alpha launch scuppered by DDoS attacks; "Someone is trying to systematically damage our business"". PCGamesN. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  21. ↑ Hernandez, Patricia (21 October 2013). "The Current Status Of Cube World, And Why Fans Are Worried About It". Kotaku. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  22. ↑ "Wolfram von Funck on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2015-10-11.

External links

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