“I continued to work on Minecraft, and “We saw that the game wasn’t slowing down at all. A year later, I was responsible for the design and development of the game, and it has continued to grow. This is the 15th anniversary, and it’s more important than ever.”
The key to the appeal of Minecraft It’s its creativity that sets it apart from so many other games that have distinct goals or quests.
THE Minecraft The world is made up of blocks of materials that you can mine, combine, create, and build on however you like, and there is an element of persistence, in that changes you make to your world can be permanent.
The 2009 version of the game is quite sparse and is now playable for free in browsers under the name Minecraft Classic.
Another key element is the social element; from the very beginning, Minecraft The game could be installed on servers, so that multiple people could connect and play it together over the Internet. Since its first commercial release in 2011, the game has seen constant updates and has been enriched with all sorts of community modifications, which has further increased interest.
In 2014, the game’s creator, Markus Persson, tweeted that he wanted to sell his rights and move on. Later that year, Microsoft acquired Mojang and Minecraft for $2.5 billion ($3.7 billion). Today, the game is available on almost every computer and console, and comes in both a modern “Bedrock” edition and a Java edition based on the original. You can still run it on your own server, or pay to rent one, but you can also just use Microsoft’s architecture for online multiplayer like any other game.
Unusually for a 2009 game, Minecraft seems to always attract new generations of users. The average age of Minecraft players is 24, which is much younger than the age of players in general. Bergensten said that this is partly because the game never acts its age, but it also goes beyond that.
The game can be greatly expanded using community-created mods, skins, items, and adventures, which are sold for real money and have earned approved creators hundreds of millions of dollars.
“With its simple graphics, it has managed to become timeless. But also, for children, the sense of exploration and adventure while being creative is an open-mindedness,” he said.
“I call it emergent creativity. You just play the game, but then you build something. You did it block by block, and it’s your unique creation, which makes you very proud. It’s also worth talking about because it’s your story.”
The game helped popularize the sandbox and survival genres, as well as the low-fi voxel aesthetic, which arguably paved the way for games such as Fortnite And Roblox.
Elements of Minecraftincluding the zombie-like Creepers and the default protagonist Steve, have become cultural icons and can be seen on almost every piece of clothing, stationery, or bookstore. The game has been inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame, has had several spin-off games, and is set to get a film adaptation next year, starring Jack Black in the lead role.
The latest official update, Tricky Trials, adds challenging vaults for players to navigate.
Among its derivative versions, Microsoft has long offered Minecraft Education as part of its subscription software offering for schools. It allows students to interact with each other in a virtual world and includes hundreds of free lessons in subjects such as history, maths and coding. Kelly Pfeiffer, education manager at Taronga Western Plains Zoo, said the ability to create bespoke lessons on the platform made it a valuable tool.
“By using Minecraft Education “Classroom learning improves student motivation and engagement, making learning more enjoyable and accessible,” she said. “This significantly strengthens skills such as creativity, collaboration, critical thinking and problem solving.”
“OUR Green Detectives The game teaches them how to restore biodiversity by solving problems in their virtual ecosystems. [It] “Not only does it raise awareness of species and habitats, but it also promotes concrete environmental actions, with support activities for teachers and students.”
But despite all its various offerings, Bergensten is adamant that the base Minecraft The game remains an open platform for creativity.
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“Players want more MinecraftThere are always more things to do and explore, more tools and more systems. We have a lot of ideas, but we try to find ways to maintain the value of Minecraft “while expanding,” he said.
“We want Minecraft feel like Minecraft. That’s why we’re careful to make sure that quests and stuff give you a sense of purpose. Once you get into that mindset of just doing tasks, it’s very hard to get out of it. We want players to give their own meaning to why they’re playing.
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