Blockland
Developer(s)	Eric 'Badspot' Hartman,
Publisher(s)	Eric 'Badspot' Hartman
Designer(s)	Eric 'Badspot' Hartman
Engine	Torque Game Engine
Platform(s)	Retail: PC, GNU/Linux, Macintosh
Release date	February 24, 2007, December 22, 2004 (v0002, beta)
Genre(s)	Sandbox/Freeform
Mode(s)	Singleplayer, LAN Multiplayer, Online Multiplayer

Blockland, is a semi-noncompetitive multiplayer computer game built on the Torque Game Engine, in which players build with interconnecting LEGO-type blocks in virtual online worlds. Users construct massive buildings and artwork across numerous servers and then have the freedom to roleplay, explore or have a deathmatch within their constructions. The game is neither endorsed by, nor affiliated with, the LEGO brand. It was spotlighted on The Screen Savers^[1] February 11, 2005, drastically increasing the user base overnight. Blockland has also been featured on Shack News^[2] November 1, 2007. A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates video games. ... A game designer is a person who designs games. ... A game engine is the core software component of a computer video game or other interactive application with real-time graphics. ... The Torque Game Engine, or TGE, is a modified version of a 3D computer game engine originally developed by Dynamix for the 2001 FPS Tribes 2. ... In computing, a platform describes some sort of framework, either in hardware or software, which allows software to run. ... Further information: Game classification Video games are categorized into genres based on their gameplay interaction. ... For other uses, see Game (disambiguation). ... The Torque Game Engine, or TGE, is a modified version of a 3D computer game engine originally developed by Dynamix for the 2001 FPS Tribes 2. ... For other uses, see Lego (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Lego (disambiguation). ... The Screen Savers (broadcast May 11, 1998 - March 18, 2005) was a live American TV show on TechTV. The show launched concurrently with the channel ZDTV (later known as TechTV) on May 11, 1998. ... is the 42nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ...

Blockland is available for $19.95 from the main website, a demo is also available for download. The demo restricts access to online play and limits construction to 150 bricks. You do not need to download any other necessities once you have entered a key. The game is currently available on Windows and Macintosh. Windows redirects here. ... For other uses, see Macintosh (disambiguation) and Mac. ...

Features

Structures of immense size can be built in a multiplayer setting. Using various tools in the game, a player can add certain effects to bricks such as lighting, specularity, and animated particles, although these are not the only effects available. The game also features a variety of vehicles players can control, weapons, saving and loading of constructions, automated construction through macros, and a mini-game system. The mini-game system enables users to create highly configurable and self-contained game modes through a variety of different options, and then play in the world they create.^[3] These can range from a simple Deathmatch, to a zombie survival game. One of the strengths of this system is that some players on a server can be in a mini-game while the other players can continue to build, giving the user much more freedom in the way they play the game. Specularity is the quality used in many 3D Rendering programs to set the size and the brightness of a textures reflection to light. ... For other uses, see Macro (disambiguation) A macro in computer science is a rule or pattern that specifies how a certain input sequence (often a sequence of characters) should be mapped to an output sequence (also often a sequence of characters) according to a defined procedure. ... Deathmatch (abbreviated DM) is a widely-used gameplay mode integrated into many shooter and real-time strategy (RTS) computer games. ...

Some of the features for the next update for Blockland (v9) have been announced to the community recently, and one of the most notable additions to the game is an Interactive Brick System (Brick Events) which will allow the user to apply special properties to bricks which allows them to create anything from a simple light switch to a missile launcher^[4] or even a game of Pong^[5]. For other uses, see Pong (disambiguation). ...

Add Ons

Blockland features a versatile add-on system to aid users in adding their own content - in this way, users do not need to modify source code for the game. The System searches for script files within a designated Add-Ons folder, and will then allow you to enable or disable this add-on from loading when you start your game. The System will be improved in the next update (v9) to automatically check that an add-on is valid, and instead of extracting zip archives to the Add-On folder - the user simply has to drop the archive into the folder instead.

During its development, a basic open-source alpha version of the game was released under the same name.^[6] This was the only release of its kind and it featured a small number of open maps with basic building functions. This version had several major modifications made for it with the intent of increasing content and improving gameplay, most notably RTB (Return to Blockland), AiO (All-in-One) and TBM (The Better Mod). The RTB team is currently producing a similar modification for the retail version of the game which is to be released alongside the upcoming Blockland V9 update. The TBM development team sought to create an independent engine to continue expanding the game (due to their ban from the official Blockland community website), but development has ceased on the new engine.

References

1. ^ Pauly Shore, Blockland, Avion (2005). Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
2. ^ The Games of IGC 07 (2007). Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
3. ^ Edge Issue #148 (2005). Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
4. ^ Missle Launcher Video (2007). Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
5. ^ Pong Video (2008). Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
6. ^ Computer Gaming World Issue #251 (2005). Retrieved on 2008-06-05.

Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Blockland Official Homepage
• Blockland Official Forums
• The TorqueScript Language Chapter 5 Addon Coding Language.