Blockland
Encyclopedia
Blockland is a multiplayer computer game
built on the Torque Game Engine
, in which players build using Lego-like building blocks. It was developed by Eric "Badspot" Hartman and was released on February 24, 2007. The game is not endorsed by, or affiliated with the Lego
brand. However, at one point, Lego was in talks with Eric about selling Blockland. It was spotlighted on The Screen Savers
February 11, 2005, drastically increasing the user base overnight. As of June 2011, the game's community consists of about 30,000 users that have purchased Retail Blockland. Blockland has also been featured on Shack News.
game with no set goals, giving players the freedom to design and construct elaborate structures.(They can do whatever they want) Styled as a tiny minifigure
, players build inside of the virtual world using bricks reminiscent of toy lego blocks
. These structures can be built in either a single-player or multiplayer (either online
or through a local area network
) setting. Any player who buys the game is able to host a standard server, able to hold up to 32 players. However, the average computer and internet speed cannot support more than 30. (Though more advanced users are able to host a dedicated server, which is free from the normal game and can hold many players.)
Using tools included in the game, a player can change the properties of individual bricks, having the ability to adjust their lighting, particle emitters, specularity
, color, and spawned items. Blockland also features destructible vehicles, a selection of weapons,(There is no blood included in Blockland and when the minifigure is hurt in any way they turn into a cloud of dust) saving and loading of player creations, semi-automated construction through macros, and a mini-game system. The minigame
system enables users to create configurable and self-contained gameplay modes. These can range from a simple deathmatch
to a custom-modded zombie survival game. Implemented in Blockland is a trigger and event
-based system to create basic interactive objects. Players can apply input and output operators to bricks to accomplish different things in-game such as operable light switches, missile launchers, collapsing brick structures, or arcade
-like games such as Pong
. In the version 11, update a new physics feature was included in an attempt to bring a more realistic aspect to the game. This can be seen when a brick structure is blown up using weapons or events. The physics quality can be lowered to work smoother on slower machines, or can be turned off entirely. The physics engine is well shown when Explosives are used, such as the "Rocket L" that comes as a default weapon.
servers created by owners of the full version. The demo version is upgraded to the full version when a unique activation key is purchased from the Blockland website for 19.95 USD and entered into the game.
. Below is an example of an event on a brick, to change the color of the brick.
onActivate >> self >> setColor[color]. All interaction with events is done through a GUI.
offered to buy Blockland from Hartman and give him a job working on the game for at least a year. After not hearing back from Lego for some time, Eric went ahead with working on a more complete, retail version of Blockland, having removed all of the copyrighted Lego content. The retail version of Blockland was completed and released on February 24, 2007.
Personal computer game
A PC game, also known as a computer game, is a video game played on a personal computer, rather than on a video game console or arcade machine...
built on the Torque Game Engine
Torque Game Engine
The Torque Game Engine, or TGE, is a 3D computer game engine originally developed by Dynamix for the 2001 FPS Tribes 2. The Torque engine and its many derivative products are available for license from GarageGames, a company formed by many members of the Tribes 2 team at Dynamix...
, in which players build using Lego-like building blocks. It was developed by Eric "Badspot" Hartman and was released on February 24, 2007. The game is not endorsed by, or affiliated with the Lego
Lego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
brand. However, at one point, Lego was in talks with Eric about selling Blockland. It was spotlighted on The Screen Savers
The Screen Savers
The Screen Savers was a live American TV show on TechTV. The show launched concurrently with the channel ZDTV on May 11, 1998. The Screen Savers originally centered around computers, new technologies, and their adaptations in the world...
February 11, 2005, drastically increasing the user base overnight. As of June 2011, the game's community consists of about 30,000 users that have purchased Retail Blockland. Blockland has also been featured on Shack News.
Gameplay
Blockland is a non-linear open worldOpen world
An open world is a type of video game level design where a player can roam freely through a virtual world and is given considerable freedom in choosing how to approach objectives...
game with no set goals, giving players the freedom to design and construct elaborate structures.(They can do whatever they want) Styled as a tiny minifigure
Lego minifigure
A Lego minifigure is a small plastic articulated figurine available as part of the construction toy Lego, produced by Danish toy manufacturer the Lego Group. They were first produced in 1978, and have become hugely successful, with over 3.7 billion produced, and the figure appearing in a variety...
, players build inside of the virtual world using bricks reminiscent of toy lego blocks
Lego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
. These structures can be built in either a single-player or multiplayer (either online
Game server
A game server is a remotely or locally run server used by game clients to play multiplayer video games. Most video games played over the Internet operate via a connection to a game server...
or through a local area network
Local area network
A local area network is a computer network that interconnects computers in a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, or office building...
) setting. Any player who buys the game is able to host a standard server, able to hold up to 32 players. However, the average computer and internet speed cannot support more than 30. (Though more advanced users are able to host a dedicated server, which is free from the normal game and can hold many players.)
Using tools included in the game, a player can change the properties of individual bricks, having the ability to adjust their lighting, particle emitters, specularity
Specularity
Specularity is the visual appearance of specular reflections. In computer graphics, it meansthe quantity used in 3D rendering which represents the amount of specular reflectivity a surface has...
, color, and spawned items. Blockland also features destructible vehicles, a selection of weapons,(There is no blood included in Blockland and when the minifigure is hurt in any way they turn into a cloud of dust) saving and loading of player creations, semi-automated construction through macros, and a mini-game system. The minigame
Minigame
A minigame is a short video game often contained within another video game. A minigame is always smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained. Minigames are sometimes also offered separately for free to promote the main game...
system enables users to create configurable and self-contained gameplay modes. These can range from a simple deathmatch
Deathmatch (gaming)
Deathmatch or Player vs All is a widely-used gameplay mode integrated into many shooter and real-time strategy computer games...
to a custom-modded zombie survival game. Implemented in Blockland is a trigger and event
Event-driven programming
In computer programming, event-driven programming or event-based programming is a programming paradigm in which the flow of the program is determined by events—i.e., sensor outputs or user actions or messages from other programs or threads.Event-driven programming can also be defined as an...
-based system to create basic interactive objects. Players can apply input and output operators to bricks to accomplish different things in-game such as operable light switches, missile launchers, collapsing brick structures, or arcade
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
-like games such as Pong
Pong
Pong is one of the earliest arcade video games, and is a tennis sports game featuring simple two-dimensional graphics. While other arcade video games such as Computer Space came before it, Pong was one of the first video games to reach mainstream popularity...
. In the version 11, update a new physics feature was included in an attempt to bring a more realistic aspect to the game. This can be seen when a brick structure is blown up using weapons or events. The physics quality can be lowered to work smoother on slower machines, or can be turned off entirely. The physics engine is well shown when Explosives are used, such as the "Rocket L" that comes as a default weapon.
Demo
Included on the official Blockland website is a free download of the demo version of Blockland. While allowing players to experience many features from the full version of Blockland, players are limited to building 150 bricks. Some saves which come with the game are under the demo brick limit and allow new players to explore some of Blockland's features; builds such as the 'Demo House' and 'Demo Blockland Sign' for example are available as demo examples of eventing and lettering. Included in the demo is a tutorial in which the players can learn the basics of Blockland. You may also jump in to several pre-created maps for you to explore and build in. The demo also does not allow online play, limiting players to single-player games. It is, however, possible to join LANLocal area network
A local area network is a computer network that interconnects computers in a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, or office building...
servers created by owners of the full version. The demo version is upgraded to the full version when a unique activation key is purchased from the Blockland website for 19.95 USD and entered into the game.
Eventing system
Included in the game since version 9, there has been a trigger and output eventing system. Users can create their own events through the use of TorqueScript. There are 50-55 events included in the game by default, 25 input and 27-30 output. Input events are onActivate, onBlownUp, onPlayerTouch, etc etc. Outputs can effect the player, player's client, the brick itself, another brick (Named through the brick's properties GUI), or the MinigameMinigame
A minigame is a short video game often contained within another video game. A minigame is always smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained. Minigames are sometimes also offered separately for free to promote the main game...
. Below is an example of an event on a brick, to change the color of the brick.
onActivate >> self >> setColor[color]. All interaction with events is done through a GUI.
History
A prototype version of Blockland, known as 'beta' or 'v0002', was released November 2004. The "Globe and Mail" wrote an article on this early version of Blockland in which creator Eric Hartman claimed the game had gained 30,000 users in the 4 years since it "became big". At one point, LegoLego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
offered to buy Blockland from Hartman and give him a job working on the game for at least a year. After not hearing back from Lego for some time, Eric went ahead with working on a more complete, retail version of Blockland, having removed all of the copyrighted Lego content. The retail version of Blockland was completed and released on February 24, 2007.