Why do children like Minecraft?
This is a really weird phenomena, it’s been around since 2011 but looks like it originated in the last century. As you will have seen, it’s a world based around cube-like building blocks and compared with what’s available in some games (graphics wise) it’s really quite basic in a cleaver sort of way. Originally designed by Swedish ‘super nerd’ Markus Persson (known as ‘Notch’) the game had long been in the sights of Microsoft who eventually bought the platform for $2.5 billion.
Children of all ages and abilities play Minecraft regularly, and when I say "all ages" I mean 5 to 70 year old to kids. Minecraft is described as a ‘Sandbox Game’ it has a high degree of autonomy for the player, they design and build their own; houses, castles, tower blocks, in fact the only limiting factor is their imagination. Gamers can build as stand alone players or in a group of (real) friends or on-line friends. It differs from an ‘Open World” game because players create their surroundings and live in their own world. Minecraft doesn’t really have levels, although players will have a personal goal, say to finish a building or machine, but their is no quest or mission.
Depending what the child wants to get out of the game will depend on what ‘mode’ they play in. The game generally starts off in ‘Survival Mode’ players have to scavenge for materials to build structures. Even the tools they use like spades and axes have to be made from items they find around them. Children soon learn to build using the right materials, stone, wood even mud blocks (with limited success). The player can harvest trees to make planks of wood and forge materials in a furnace to make weapons and tools.
In Survival Mode each player has a health and hunger bar, players need to defend their little world from a variety of opponents include marauding villagers, zombies and skeletons. Depending on how well they stay out of trouble or how successful they are at finding food will denote how long they stay in the game. It all sounds a bit gory, but it really isn’t. The wild animals that players encounter will give valuable food and you can trade various elements of what you find and kill with villagers.
Those children who just want to design and build can switch the game to Creative Mode, all the monsters and dangerous beasts will disappear and materials that they fought for in Survival Mode are readably available. Children can let their imaginations run wild. You only have to look on YouTube to see the wonderful structures their little minds have conjured up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krOH_qlFsuQ (although judging by the deep voiced narrator on some of the videos, I don’t think they will see 30 again)
The simplicity of the game makes it easy for children to personalise their world through coding. Easy access to the code can change anything from the materials they use, to the look of their on screen character. The vast amount of tutorials and information on line makes it easy for youngsters to add in lines of code, introducing them to a wide world of possibilities.
It is for this reason that some forward thinking schools have picked up on the possibilities of Minecraft to teach children new skills. Not only to construct and create but for problem solving, this will lead on to an introduction to basic coding, and an understanding of a computer language that will perhaps encourage a passion for computing and electronics in young minds.
The internet is full of weird and sometimes not so wonderful things, but Mindcraft somehow offers something on all levels and its certainly a good introduction to computer based entertainment. But like everything in this world... too much of a good thing, leaves you building Disney Castles in an imaginary world, aged 30.
Take a look.