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[Dragonmaw]

Yeah, I'd say Terraria is definitely similar to Minecraft, in the same sense that Minecraft is similar to Infiniminer. There's clear inspiration, but the developers didn't just make a flat clone. I think that's why I like Terraria. It feels like a game within the same genre, but not a flat out clone.

[Rumrusher]

Yeah, I'd say Terraria is definitely similar to Minecraft, in the same sense that Minecraft is similar to Infiniminer. There's clear inspiration, but the developers didn't just make a flat clone. I think that's why I like Terraria. It feels like a game within the same genre, but not a flat out clone.

Yeah up until the a developer ends up taking the Terraria's npc roaming  into your fort and add on to that too.That developer who would ask what if "I could help those npc build using my god like entity which then increase my power?". then the cycle will circle back to Actraiser. Which isn't that bad now I think on it.

[raleigh]

Hit 200k units sold a couple days ago reports Gamasutra.

[TheLastBanana]

Yeah up until the a developer ends up taking the Terraria's npc roaming  into your fort and add on to that too.That developer who would ask what if "I could help those npc build using my god like entity which then increase my power?". then the cycle will circle back to Actraiser. Which isn't that bad now I think on it.

What exactly is this supposed to mean? Yes, somebody could use the ideas in Terraria as the base for another game, but how does that change anything?

[Uykered]

Has there been any big companies make a minecraft type game with good graphics yet?

[Dragonmaw]

Bullfrog.

[Rumrusher]

Yeah up until the a developer ends up taking the Terraria's npc roaming  into your fort and add on to that too.That developer who would ask what if "I could help those npc build using my god like entity which then increase my power?". then the cycle will circle back to Actraiser. Which isn't that bad now I think on it.

What exactly is this supposed to mean? Yes, somebody could use the ideas in Terraria as the base for another game, but how does that change anything?

I was going with the whole inspiration will lead to not many ways to spin a new game out of and a developer would accidentally make a game similar to Actraiser or Black and White.

[gimymblert]

By the way, i have a planned game that is "age of mythology meet zelda" and it play a bit like terraria in the broad line (harvest resource, build house, get npc, power up, fight mob event) except with added social aspect (npc need and affinity, other player can jump into your world from their base on neibourhood mechanics).

It's an old concept but I can clearly see how it will relate to this "new" genre.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

Bullfrog.

populous only had one material to build with tho (well two if you count water) and did not have crafting

[mirosurabu]

Also EA - The Sims 2 Castaway.

Though, that was before Minecraft.

[FK in the Coffee]

Irony?

[PowRTocH]

He makes millions copying things it's not really ironic.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

yeah but that's better than not making millions copying things

[Zulaan]

I think most people who say it's a complete rip off are just mad their game isn't as
successful as terraria.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

i haven't seen anyone say it's a complete rip-off -- it's obviously a lot different, i can tell that without even being particularly familiar with either game

basically i see it like this: whether a game makes a fortune or not is mostly random, and comes from giving the public what it wants, which depends on trends. if terraria had been released, exactly as it is, 5 years ago, it would have made nothing, and probably wouldn't even have been accepted on steam. it's because minecraft prepared the way that it's as popular as it is. but that doesn't mean it's a minecraft clone, it's just a similar game that could have been created completely independently. but it definitely owes its financial success to the audience minecraft built up, even though it's a very different game

an analogy could be made with fantasy novels and lord of the rings. even though a lot of fantasy novels are very different from lotr (no elves, no dwarves, etc.) even those original fantasy novels owe their success to lotr, because it created the audience

[Linx]

But wouldn't it also be fair to say Terraria is pretty popular due to Notch promoting it ?  And ive heard from a friend that Terraria is fun, but not for too long any truth to this?

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

i have no idea if or how he promoted it but i seriously doubt it's popular because notch promoted it. notch doesn't have that kind of power, he can't just tell his fans to buy a game and it sells 500,000 copies in a month -- nobody has that power, not even oprah (with her book club)

[TheLastBanana]

Notch really only mentioned Terraria once or twice. He's done that for other games, which, as far as I know, haven't done nearly as well. Terraria's success is due in part to that, though. Also, Steam advertised Terraria a bit right on its marketing page, which helped a bit, too. That said, plenty of other games get space there, and again, they didn't do as well as Terraria.
I'd say the main reason was due to their marketing of it. The idea to release a bunch of gameplay footage but not actually release the game got people interested enough to buy it without wanting a demo or anything. That's likely why they released the game early - the second that leak got out, their marketing scheme was going to become a lot less effective, so they pushed it out before it could really take its toll.
And, of course, as rinkuhero pointed out, it really does come down to a matter of luck and having the market ready for the game. It's a combination of all these factors that got the game where it is.

Linx, the game is fun for 20-30 hours (that's how long I played it before unlocking all the main content, although I was playing online with a friend, so that has an effect on the length of the game). They're supposedly adding a lot more content in the coming months, so we'll see if that extends it.

[Zulaan]

Ive heard from a friend that Terraria is fun, but not for too long any truth to this?

For $9.99  the game is worth it for sure,
the game has loads of items and armour to collect and it will keep you busy for a long time if you're into games where you fight bosses and try to gain better equiptment to progress in the game.

[FK in the Coffee]

I think that the main reason Terraria did so well because of the methods of promotion.  They actually got Yogscast and PBat, two big-time LPers, to do Let's Plays of it.  That means that they were effectively marketing the game to each of their audiences and getting some great free advertising.