Contoured Landscape
Take for instance the example of a 3D game that is infinitely mine-able, but does not show the landscape as blocks. Such a game might be based on blocks, but then smooth the appearance of the landscape out into aggregate curves.Material Physics
In Minecraft, there are some materials that have independent physics, like sand and gravel. What if those features were advanced such that materials like sand, dirt, and gravel would fall into mounds instead of straight columns.Water
Another example is a game with water that behaves with independent physics. A game that advances this feature would allow water to move in its own paths, into ravines and gullies. Flow could be sourced from springs, and even rainfall.Purpose in Automation
In Minecraft, most timed events halt when you leave a given area. Animals and plants stop growing. Automation stops. In a more advanced version of this game, automation would contribute to a larger purpose. This means that you would want to be able to leave a farm or a factory to do its own thing for you, while you went off and did something else.Such a feature would also facilitate more automation, like teaching villagers how to mine and build for you.
Designing and Automated Building
After learning how to mine and build yourself, eventually you could teach villagers how to build walls, cities, and larger structures from templates, altered templates, or full designs.In such a game, design would be a different step from construction. One could use creative mode, or another interface, to design a building. Perhaps if the building were symmetrical, or came in sections, one could design one portion of the building, and then delegate its construction to villagers.
Walls for instance could be designed in a wall section. Villagers would then mine the necessary materials and replicate that section over and over again.
Reuse Designs
The best part about separating design and construction is that you can reuse designs for multiple constructions.In such a game, creative mode could become more of a place to test designs out before you delegate multiple such constructions to villagers in survival mode.
A player could design segments of buildings independently, and then mix and match them to create varied structures.
War and Strategy
Minecraft has an obvious potential for competitive war strategy against other players or AI mob/illager hordes. However, there are many prerequisites for this to happen.Prerequisites
- Villager automation for mining and construction
- Villager training buildings
- soldiers
- builders
- miners
- academics
- farmers
- Buildings with special attributes
- special components
- special locations
- such as a seaport by the sea
- in a city wall
- in the vicinity of other buildings
- interactions between special components of buildings (perhaps much like the relationship between bookshelves and the enchanting table)
- City walls
- War devices like cannons and trebuchets
- Ships and other mass transit vehicles
- Block lockdown (much like underwater monuments are locked down from mining.)
Open Ended Physics
Natural phenomena like balance and leverage could be used to accomplish tasks or build mechanical devices. If the features were advanced enough, they would exist and be useful in the open world, with open ended possibilities.- Rope/Cable physics
- elevators/lifts
- tugging
- rope bridges
- hanging
- use cables with pullies and gears
- leverage
- pullies
- levers
- gears
- axles and pins
- wheels
