Blockland

Video games have development work, usually carried out by a team of programmers, designers, illustrators, and scriptwriters, which results in hours and hours of work on a product that later through the diffusion the player can enjoy. This particular game, Blockland, is a game that although it has that team that has created consists of giving the possibility to the participants of the game to build it again and again. Nowadays this may sound really similar to some games we know and love, and we’ll talk about that later on. But first, when was this game released, what is it all about, and why does it feel so familiar? Well, let’s talk about it.

About the game

Blockland is a computer video game based on the Torque Game engine, in which players primarily construct buildings and other types of objects using Lego-like bricks. The game features a single-mode, online multiplayer, and LAN. Developed by Eric "Badpsot" Hartman, in 2004 the beta was playable and on February 24, 2007, the full game was released. Blockland is not affiliated in any way with the LEGO brand, although the latter had offered Badspot to purchase the same game. On December 16, 2013, Blockland was released on Steam with Steam Greenlight. As of February 2016, the gaming community had over 200,000 users.

With Blockland the adventure consists of creating your world with Legos, you will be able to make models and add different sounds, although these are not entirely comfortable for the ear. The game's environments are empty and the participants will have to complete the squares to see their graphic designs inside them. The fun part of the game is that each participant will be able to choose his character and customize it as he likes.

There's plenty of creativity going around in this game, as you can create pretty much anything you want and then play that game. From vehicles to buildings and weapons, of course, there's also the ability to customize the character. The players can create different "modes" and have multiplayer matches. In this sense, the game is pretty much endless, as it's only really limited by the creativity of the players. Kinda like LEGO, by which Blockland is inspired.

Too similar?

If you didn’t know when was this game released, and you just saw some screenshots around, chances are you’d think this is a knockoff to bigger games like Minecraft or Roblox. The blocky game world has been a really popular style ever since Minecraft was first released, as they are pretty much sandboxes that remind us of LEGO pieces. But the truth is, Blockland was released many years before both of these games, and even though it may have not changed pop culture as much as any of the other two games, this was the precursor. And this means it is an incredibly relevant game, even though it may seem a little rough to the eyes and ears.

Pros

• The game is pretty much limitless. You can create anything you want, and it's all up to your imagination.

Cons

• It looks and sounds really bad.