48-hours is far from an ideal development cycle, but for developer Markus “Notch” Persson, it was just enough time to code a miniature version of the blocky indie game that made him famous over the weekend.
Entitled Minicraft, the 8-bit era demake was created for Ludum Dare, a contest that challenges developers to make a game from scratch over the span of 48-hours. In it, players must mine resources and hack away at enemies in a procedurally generated world, with the ultimate goal being to hunt down and kill the Air Wizard.
The project is about as basic as one can expect from a marathon coding competition, but the mere fact it's actually a solid, playable game is a testament to Persson's skill. No doubt, this could easily be a discount app for iOS or a PS Mini. Luckily, you can play it for free either by downloading it to your rig or firing it up in your browser.
Minicraft is one of 891 entries currently being played and judged by the Ludum Dare community. You can show your support for Notch and other marathon developers right now at the competition page.
