For this assignment I decided I finally had a good excuse to enter the virtual world of Minecraft. Minecraft is a java based video game that allows its users to enter a world where they can build anything they want including but not limited to virtual houses, farms, rollercoaster’s, castles, and giant replica’s of real world items. Minecraft is similar to Second Life because of its building capabilities however it differs from Second Life because it is not massively multiplayer. This means that other users can interact with each other over Minecraft but they must specifically be invited or given an i.p. address to join another person’s world. The graphics of Minecraft are also of lower quality than Second Life but in return the game can continuously generate landscape and terrain effectively creating a virtual world as large as Earth.
Because this was my first time playing Minecraft I set out on a simple task of building my first virtual home. I was invited to join my friend’s world which only had 3 users, 4 including me. Building in Minecraft is simple enough; you harvest materials (I used wood for my first house because it’s easy to find) and in return are given blocks which you can place on the ground and use to build objects. You can also build a work bend or furnace to build or smelt more complicated objects. For anyone unfamiliar with Minecraft a good comparison would be its like Lego building blocks. The users on the server helped supply me with materials so that I could complete my house quicker and pointed me out to a landscape that was next to a house they had already built.
My first house came out pretty bad and my friend had a couple of laughs at my expense but I was happy with it. Because I was new to the game I wasn’t really able to tap into the full potential of the program. After seeing some videos on YouTube I was amazed at some of the complicated objects being build compared to what I made (YouTube search Minecraft mega buildings if you’re interested).
the virtual tour: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oR4DUXvLy3E
I always wondered what this game was about. I get the appeal of it but the game looks too ugly. But then again, it is beta. But yea, we may not be able to build things in the real world but the game gives us the ability to construct to our creativity's content.
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