Minecraft was an independently developed and published video game. It can not be denied its crown as the most successful indie game of all time. Since it’s humble beginnings it has spawned a global fan base. You can buy Minecraft t-shirts, lunchboxes, bed linen, toys, books and watch endless tutorials on you tube. If you’re asking, “but what is it?” maybe we can help.
But what is Minecraft?
It’s basically a whole world made of blocks. The game is completely open ended. You can build and craft your 3D environment and work towards simple goals. This is known as a Sandbox video game, one in which the players can modify the world about them. Your main character is a guy called Steve. You use him in either creative mode or survival mode, to either build the world around him or find food, fight off baddies and try to stay alive.
What is the Minecraft language?
Fans will know the terms “biome” and “creeper” whilst outsiders will probably have no clue what that means. Part of entering the world of Minecraft is to understand its terminology. Like all good clubs and societies, commonly understood naming conventions helps build the world and strengthen the bonds between fans. A creeper is a nasty monster that sneaks/creeps up on players and explodes. These baddies can ruin all your hard work by damaging your creations or killing you. Biomes are the terrains in Minecraft – areas like jungles or deserts.
Is Minecraft educational?
The game can aid with cognitive reasoning skills. It requires some creativity and even collaboration can come from the community aspects. It encourages players to solve problems using geometry and spacial awareness. However, like all fads, kids (and adults) can become obsessed and spend hours and hours playing this game. Like anything, playing in moderation is probably best.
Global Fame
According to Statista, since its release in 2011 over 126 million players are active in the world of Minecraft. This game is a definite cash cow. In 2018 it generated 110million US dollars in global revenue. This is a staggering amount for a game that started life as one man’s creation. Half Finnish, half Swedish Markus Alexej Persson is the man behind Minecraft. The games was designed under Mojang Studios which he founded in 2009 and has since been bought by Microsoft in 2014. Can you guess how much Microsoft paid for Mojang? $2.5 billion!
Microsoft has since distanced itself from Persson after he tweeted unacceptable comments. He has made racist, fascist, transphobic, homophobic, sexist and right wing comments comments and was subsequently excluded from Minecraft’s 10 year anniversary. He also promoted QAnon but has since deleted his twitter account. This whole aspect has really tarnished the good story behind Mine Craft. However, it has not damped the creativity of it’s fans.
Players have been making amazing creations for others to enjoy, including a 1:1 model of the Taj Mahal, and MC Disney World. The game has been celebrated in June 2020 by being welcomed into the World Video Game Hall of Fame.