Someone Built a 4D Minecraft Clone
Video games usually come in one of two dimensions: you have 2D side-scrollers or, more often, your typical 3D adventures. You rarely see a game that goes beyond these dimensions, because we live in the third dimension. Why then does a Minecraft clone exist in 4D?
At first glance, 4D Miner looks just like Minecraft . You enter an endless procedurally generated world tasked with mining land in order to survive as long as possible. Until then, Minecraft . That is, until you move the scroll wheel on your mouse and shit starts popping out of thin air.
Whenever you scroll in 4D Miner , your world changes drastically. Elements that are directly in front of you disappear, while others are revealed. The ground that you thought was solid opens up, revealing hills and pits, and the walls of the cave diverge into deep chasms. The thing is, none of these things actually change. From a 4D perspective, whatever you see while scrolling is actually always there. We simply cannot see it because we are limited by our 3D world view.
Imagine a 2D creature like Mario in the original Super Mario Bros. They can see left, right, up and down, but are limited by this two-dimensional view of the world. If you put them in 3D, they won’t be able to see the extra dimensions of space. Instead, they will see a two-dimensional cross-section of our three-dimensional space, which will show only part of the world that we see in its entirety. Move this cross section and they will see a different view of the space while some elements from their original perspective will “disappear”. All this time we see the same as they do, and the world as it is.
If this explanation doesn’t make any sense to you, I completely understand. This is complex stuff and much easier to explain visually. Take a look at the 4D Miner demo video that effectively demonstrates this concept:
A 4D game like 4D Miner takes this concept and flips it on us. We are now two-dimensional beings, except that we are experiencing a three-dimensional section of a four-dimensional world. To a 4D observer, the world looks completely normal, with all the trees, caves, lava flows, and bodies of water visible at all times. We, however, can only see what our current cross section allows: as you scroll, you move that cross section and reveal another slice of the 4D world.
This mechanic adds another dimension to the Minecraft exploration that we all know so well. Instead of just scavenging for supplies, you need to dive through different planes of the fourth dimension. You might think that no items were dropped when mining a tree, but by scrolling through 4D space, you can find a tree branch that was previously hidden from view.
Similarly, you will find that cave diving is much more difficult than in Minecraft . To find cave entrances at all, you will probably need to scroll through the fourth dimension and keep scrolling once inside. Otherwise, you will miss elements, paths, lava and enemies.
Oh yes, enemies. In this game, your enemies are 4D creatures, which means you might not even be able to see them if you’re not in their correct angle. You’ll also never be able to see their full form: you can scroll through the planes to see different sides of the enemies, but their full shape will always be hidden in 4D space that you can’t see. It seems the first enemy you will face is a 4D arachnid hyperspider. If the idea of a spider hiding in another dimension makes you arachnophobic, I won’t blame you.
As you play, you will be able to create tools to help you navigate this 4D world. For example, 4D glasses show the outlines of objects and enemies that you would not see from your current vantage point. All of a sudden, these spiders are no longer so scary. You can also create a 4D compass to help you track your current location and better visualize a 3D cross section of a 4D world.
You will need these tools because doing anything in 4D Miner is much more difficult than in 3D Minecraft . Even something as simple as building a shelter becomes a challenge as you quickly realize that your 3D crafting skills don’t account for all the 4D walls you need to build. Your first hideout will be full of gaping 4D holes if you’re not careful. Suddenly, the spiders are scary again.
4D Miner is currently available for free as a demo on Steam , with an official release scheduled for November. It won’t be the first 4D game to hit the market, but according to this list from Wikipedia , it’s the first 4D game of 2022 and only the third to be released since 2020. still fun to play. Another interesting concept is 4D Toys , which allows you to play with different shapes in 4D space. As with the 4D Miner , you are limited to a 3D cross section, so you will watch these toys change shape and disappear as you move.