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The Initial Idea
Basic Concepts
I wanted the system I was going to create to be as simple and as user friendly as possible. The first thing I decided is that I wanted to make the option to download additional content as obvious as possible. And there's no-where more obvious than on the main screen that you see when you start your game, so that's where the button went.
It would probably look something like that, and would glow the first time you launched Minecraft after the update, making it extra obvious that it had been added as a new feature.
The next thing I wanted to do was to chose how people actually got new mods, texture packs and all that jazz. I knew I wanted it to be in-game, but I wasn't quite sure what it would look like and how it would work. Then I had a great idea.
Everything in the "store" would be completely free - mainly because that's pretty much how mods are currently. However, mod creators would be able to add donation links to their "dev pages" and on the mod's page itself.
Obviously the mod creator would need some form of account to be able to upload their mod/texture pack to the store. However, I decided that I'd take it a step further and if this was to be created, it would require you to login using a mojang account that has paid for Minecraft. Hopefully, this would encourage people to buy the game instead of pirating it.
I wanted to the store to be as easy to use as possible, so I came up with this design:
Obviously, where the colored squares are, an icon for the mod/map/texture pack would be uploaded by the creator.
Each type of content would have different types of categories (after all, what's the use in a "Inv. Management" section for maps?) that DLC would fit under. When a content creator uploaded something, then they'd be asked to categorise their creation.
The "Official Mojang" category is there for Mojang to release their own content. For example, they could allow you to change the version of your world generator from inside the store, or to create some extra official texture packs.
Things such as Modloader and ChickenCodeCore would still be needed to make mods actually work with your Minecraft (not requiring them is a whole other suggestion...) - but the store would let you know if you needed to download one to run a mod correctly with the patches alerts.
Incompatibility alerts simply mean that no matter how many patches you install, nothing will make two mods you've got installed work together properly.
Updates are probably the most obvious one of the three - they let you know when there's an update available for a mod you're using.
The mockup shows what every screen that lists mods would look like. However, when you open the store, you'll see a screen showing featured mods/maps/texture packs. Items would become featured for getting a high amount of downloads, being extremely well polished or for getting a high rating (more on that later).
A pretty much essential part of any store, the search box would let you find the sort of thing you're looking for. There's not really much you can say about a search box...
Of course, there's much more to a store than a front page. Here's what the page to download a mod would look like (accessed by clicking on the mod's name/icon on the front page):
Nice and self explanatory, the creator of the mod/map/texture pack would write a short description of what their content is, what it does, what it's about etc.
The amount of stars shown is the rating that upload currently has. If you click the button, a box would popup, letting you rate the mod for yourself. It's just a little way to say what you think of a mod, and to help make it featured if lots of others like it too.
Do I really need to explain what this does?
Clicking this would bring up a box where you can type feedback that's only visible to the creator of whatever you're leaving feedback for. It's basically for things like bug reports and compatibility issues.
Lets you share the content via email, Facebook, Twitter or one of the other 9000 different sites that exist now-a-days.
Client updates are basically what we already have - eg: 1.4.5 - 1.4.6. However, they could be turned into part of the store, so people only had to update if they really wanted to. While this should really be on the other screenshot - you'll probably get the idea.
However, if shown on a mod's page, it means that you need to update your client to use the mod.
So, that's how players can download what they want. However, I've still not covered how creators would upload their own content. Well, time to fix that!
As maps are created in-game, they can be uploaded in game too! An "upload" button would be added to the "Single Player" menu on the title screen. You'd just click the map you want to upload, click upload, confirm your Mojang account email and password and the map would be available to download automagically.
A custom description and banner could be added from the Creator Console though (which is about to be described). If a custom banner wasn't added, then a screenshot of where you last were would be used as the banner.
The Creator Console would be a website (eg: creator.mojang.com) where mods and texture packs packaged as a .zip file could be uploaded. You'd login using your Mojang account, and anything you upload would be tied to that account.
From the site, you'd be able to see stats of your content (eg: downloads, ratings, feedback), add a banner/description to stuff you uploaded and upload content.
Unfortunately, not everyone in the world is honest - and some people might decide to upload other's work to the store. However, I've come up with a few preliminary ways to prevent this - although I'm not too sure how practical any of these are, as I have absolutely 0 experience with any of them.
Before anyone is allowed to upload to the store, give developers of large mods, or creators of popular maps the ability to upload to the store before anyone else can - giving them the chance to claim their content. Sure, after this period anyone else could, in theory, upload the mod again as their own, but at least people would be able to flag it to get it removed and have the thief banned.
Similar to what PMC has, add a button saying "flag as unoriginal" to each mods page. Mojang staff or "Store Moderators" would then be able to see which pages have the highest number of flags - and remove the page if required.
An automated system could be added due to the sheer amount of people using the store. For example, 500+ flags = automatic takedown until the mod is checked.
Any content where the creator has been verified as the original creator would have a star indented on it's banner - and the flag button would be disabled - making it obvious that the page you are looking at is indeed the one for the "real" mod/map/texture pack.
I'm no coding expert, but I think that there's probably a way to check how original a mods files are, or the placement of blocks in a map. Texture packs could be checked in the same way that Planet Minecraft checks skins for originality too - although the same problems of people changing a single pixel could occur unless the system was made to be more "intelligent".
If content was determined to not be original, then it would be hidden unless it was verified as original by a staff member.
Require each person who uploads content to agree that if they upload someone else's content, their premium status could be revoked. It wouldn't stop everyone, but a reminder on the upload page saying "If you upload non-original content, your paid account will be banned" would probably stop a fair few people.
With all of these put together, I think the amount of people uploading unoriginal content would be reduced significantly.
Analysis
Right now, it's a bit of a pest to add new stuff to your Minecraft. While adding a map to your game sounds simple, in reality, it's a lot harder than it should be. Right now, you have to find the map on a site like PMC, download it, unzip it and put it into your saves folder. However, with this system, you'd just have to click on the map and it would be there, waiting for you to play.
Another benefit to it is that piracy would be hit as they'd miss out on this new feature. If people knew it would be easier to add more stuff to their game, then they might decide to buy that game. Let's be honest, what would you prefer to do: use an old, clunky, outdated method to do something, or use a much newer and simpler one in exchange for paying a small fee.
Let's be honest - when you first tried to install a mod you probably failed miserably. With this, you wouldn't have to work out what on earth you are doing and "why doesn't it just work like Steam?" - you'd just click and play. Right now, you pretty much have to be a coder to install mods. It shouldn't be that way.
Tough. Maybe you'll actually buy the game and enjoy it properly with this in place. Pirates don't deserve the good stuff.
You may like them and that's fine. There'll be a donation link so hopefully you'll still make money though!
Another thing that could be implemented is an advert while downloading a mod/map if the creator chooses to show one. All adverts would be through a specially created service, with similar rates to adfly - the 5 second wait could even be included! In a nutshell, Mojang/a third party for Mojang could create an advertising service, similar to adfly that allows content creators on the store to publish things and still make money in the way that they used to!
Yes, they do. Mojang could just get new servers to fix this. However, even in the current implementation of adding mods to Minecraft, I wouldn't recommend trying to add one while their servers are down. After all, how would you force update if you messed up?
This system wouldn't stop you from installing mods the old way or from external sites. It would just make it easier to add the more mainstream ones to you game.
Also, a system that adds a "private uploads" menu could be added, that contains non-public mods. Only players who had been tagged by the uploader would be able to download/view a mod in this section.
Then don't use it.
For quite a long time, I've wondered why Minecraft doesn't have a sensible system to add mods, texture packs and maps to your game. Sure, there's Planet Minecraft, Minecraft Forums and other sites out there, but let's be honest, it would be much better for the system to be in-game. So, that's what I designed.
Basic Concepts
I wanted the system I was going to create to be as simple and as user friendly as possible. The first thing I decided is that I wanted to make the option to download additional content as obvious as possible. And there's no-where more obvious than on the main screen that you see when you start your game, so that's where the button went.
It would probably look something like that, and would glow the first time you launched Minecraft after the update, making it extra obvious that it had been added as a new feature.
The next thing I wanted to do was to chose how people actually got new mods, texture packs and all that jazz. I knew I wanted it to be in-game, but I wasn't quite sure what it would look like and how it would work. Then I had a great idea.
The DLC "Store" Itself
Pricing
Everything in the "store" would be completely free - mainly because that's pretty much how mods are currently. However, mod creators would be able to add donation links to their "dev pages" and on the mod's page itself.
Authentication
Obviously the mod creator would need some form of account to be able to upload their mod/texture pack to the store. However, I decided that I'd take it a step further and if this was to be created, it would require you to login using a mojang account that has paid for Minecraft. Hopefully, this would encourage people to buy the game instead of pirating it.
Design
I wanted to the store to be as easy to use as possible, so I came up with this design:
Obviously, where the colored squares are, an icon for the mod/map/texture pack would be uploaded by the creator.
Click to reveal
Account Info
The account info box is there to make it obvious which account you're playing on, and whether or not it's premium. If it's not premium, then a box like this would appear instead:If the account wasn't premium, then the download button for each item would be disabled too.
Categories
Each type of content would have different types of categories (after all, what's the use in a "Inv. Management" section for maps?) that DLC would fit under. When a content creator uploaded something, then they'd be asked to categorise their creation.
The "Official Mojang" category is there for Mojang to release their own content. For example, they could allow you to change the version of your world generator from inside the store, or to create some extra official texture packs.
Updates, Incompatibilities & Patches
Things such as Modloader and ChickenCodeCore would still be needed to make mods actually work with your Minecraft (not requiring them is a whole other suggestion...) - but the store would let you know if you needed to download one to run a mod correctly with the patches alerts.
Incompatibility alerts simply mean that no matter how many patches you install, nothing will make two mods you've got installed work together properly.
Updates are probably the most obvious one of the three - they let you know when there's an update available for a mod you're using.
Featured Content
The mockup shows what every screen that lists mods would look like. However, when you open the store, you'll see a screen showing featured mods/maps/texture packs. Items would become featured for getting a high amount of downloads, being extremely well polished or for getting a high rating (more on that later).
Search [Not Shown]
A pretty much essential part of any store, the search box would let you find the sort of thing you're looking for. There's not really much you can say about a search box...
Of course, there's much more to a store than a front page. Here's what the page to download a mod would look like (accessed by clicking on the mod's name/icon on the front page):
Click to reveal
Banner
Where there's an orange box, the content creator can upload a banner to represent what they've created. The face off their skin will automatically be added to the bottom left corner to give the name of the creator a face - hopefully making people remember who they've downloaded from in the past a bit more.Description
Nice and self explanatory, the creator of the mod/map/texture pack would write a short description of what their content is, what it does, what it's about etc.
o o o o o Button
The amount of stars shown is the rating that upload currently has. If you click the button, a box would popup, letting you rate the mod for yourself. It's just a little way to say what you think of a mod, and to help make it featured if lots of others like it too.
Download Button
Do I really need to explain what this does?
Leave Feedback Button
Clicking this would bring up a box where you can type feedback that's only visible to the creator of whatever you're leaving feedback for. It's basically for things like bug reports and compatibility issues.
Share Button
Lets you share the content via email, Facebook, Twitter or one of the other 9000 different sites that exist now-a-days.
Client Update
Client updates are basically what we already have - eg: 1.4.5 - 1.4.6. However, they could be turned into part of the store, so people only had to update if they really wanted to. While this should really be on the other screenshot - you'll probably get the idea.
However, if shown on a mod's page, it means that you need to update your client to use the mod.
Uploading Content
So, that's how players can download what they want. However, I've still not covered how creators would upload their own content. Well, time to fix that!
Maps
As maps are created in-game, they can be uploaded in game too! An "upload" button would be added to the "Single Player" menu on the title screen. You'd just click the map you want to upload, click upload, confirm your Mojang account email and password and the map would be available to download automagically.
A custom description and banner could be added from the Creator Console though (which is about to be described). If a custom banner wasn't added, then a screenshot of where you last were would be used as the banner.
Mods/Texture Packs - The Creator Console
The Creator Console would be a website (eg: creator.mojang.com) where mods and texture packs packaged as a .zip file could be uploaded. You'd login using your Mojang account, and anything you upload would be tied to that account.
From the site, you'd be able to see stats of your content (eg: downloads, ratings, feedback), add a banner/description to stuff you uploaded and upload content.
The Originality Problem
Unfortunately, not everyone in the world is honest - and some people might decide to upload other's work to the store. However, I've come up with a few preliminary ways to prevent this - although I'm not too sure how practical any of these are, as I have absolutely 0 experience with any of them.
Click to reveal
Early Invite Access
Before anyone is allowed to upload to the store, give developers of large mods, or creators of popular maps the ability to upload to the store before anyone else can - giving them the chance to claim their content. Sure, after this period anyone else could, in theory, upload the mod again as their own, but at least people would be able to flag it to get it removed and have the thief banned.
Flagging System
Similar to what PMC has, add a button saying "flag as unoriginal" to each mods page. Mojang staff or "Store Moderators" would then be able to see which pages have the highest number of flags - and remove the page if required.
An automated system could be added due to the sheer amount of people using the store. For example, 500+ flags = automatic takedown until the mod is checked.
Any content where the creator has been verified as the original creator would have a star indented on it's banner - and the flag button would be disabled - making it obvious that the page you are looking at is indeed the one for the "real" mod/map/texture pack.
Automatic Content Checks
I'm no coding expert, but I think that there's probably a way to check how original a mods files are, or the placement of blocks in a map. Texture packs could be checked in the same way that Planet Minecraft checks skins for originality too - although the same problems of people changing a single pixel could occur unless the system was made to be more "intelligent".
If content was determined to not be original, then it would be hidden unless it was verified as original by a staff member.
Harsh Punishments
Require each person who uploads content to agree that if they upload someone else's content, their premium status could be revoked. It wouldn't stop everyone, but a reminder on the upload page saying "If you upload non-original content, your paid account will be banned" would probably stop a fair few people.
With all of these put together, I think the amount of people uploading unoriginal content would be reduced significantly.
Analysis
Why is this a good idea and should be added?
Right now, it's a bit of a pest to add new stuff to your Minecraft. While adding a map to your game sounds simple, in reality, it's a lot harder than it should be. Right now, you have to find the map on a site like PMC, download it, unzip it and put it into your saves folder. However, with this system, you'd just have to click on the map and it would be there, waiting for you to play.
Another benefit to it is that piracy would be hit as they'd miss out on this new feature. If people knew it would be easier to add more stuff to their game, then they might decide to buy that game. Let's be honest, what would you prefer to do: use an old, clunky, outdated method to do something, or use a much newer and simpler one in exchange for paying a small fee.
Let's be honest - when you first tried to install a mod you probably failed miserably. With this, you wouldn't have to work out what on earth you are doing and "why doesn't it just work like Steam?" - you'd just click and play. Right now, you pretty much have to be a coder to install mods. It shouldn't be that way.
Why "downsides" aren't really so
"But I play cracked and would want to use this!"
Tough. Maybe you'll actually buy the game and enjoy it properly with this in place. Pirates don't deserve the good stuff.
"I like my adfly links though!"
You may like them and that's fine. There'll be a donation link so hopefully you'll still make money though!
Another thing that could be implemented is an advert while downloading a mod/map if the creator chooses to show one. All adverts would be through a specially created service, with similar rates to adfly - the 5 second wait could even be included! In a nutshell, Mojang/a third party for Mojang could create an advertising service, similar to adfly that allows content creators on the store to publish things and still make money in the way that they used to!
"But Mojang's servers crash all the time!"
Yes, they do. Mojang could just get new servers to fix this. However, even in the current implementation of adding mods to Minecraft, I wouldn't recommend trying to add one while their servers are down. After all, how would you force update if you messed up?
"What if I wanted to make private mods and only share them with friends?"
This system wouldn't stop you from installing mods the old way or from external sites. It would just make it easier to add the more mainstream ones to you game.
Also, a system that adds a "private uploads" menu could be added, that contains non-public mods. Only players who had been tagged by the uploader would be able to download/view a mod in this section.
"I don't like it!"
Then don't use it.
Click to reveal
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2 Update Logs
Added The Originality Problem : by ElectricHamstar 12/23/2012 10:15:07 amDec 23rd, 2012
Thanks to Giraffestock for pointing out the problem to me - hopefully this would correct it as much as possible. ;)
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