Author Danica Davidson is at it again. She’s expanded her list of ‘Unofficial Overworld’ adventures, with an exciting new installment to the series. This marks the sixth story she’s written in the world of Minecraft She also discusses her work outside the Minecraft realm.

LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 15: Mojang’s ‘Director of Fun’ Lydia Winters speaks about ‘Minecraft’ during the Microsoft Xbox E3 press conference at the Galen Center on June 15, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

William Wilson: What brings you back to the Books for Minecrafters series as a writer?

Danica Davidson: I’ve been writing different types of stories as far back as I can remember, but what I really appreciate about the Minecraft game is its creativity and the mythos it’s made for itself. When I was a kid, I liked writing adventure stories and bringing them in to share with my classmates, and this just feels like a continuation of that. Writing books for Minecrafters allows me to write about a world full of detailed monsters and extravagant settings and it really lets the imagination be limitless.

Wilson: What inspires you when you write these stories?

Davidson: A sense of fun and adventure. I try to end most my chapters with a cliffhanger, to keep things exciting. The books are written from the point-of-view of eleven-year-old Stevie, so I always go back and read stories I wrote when I was eleven to make sure I get the right voice.

Wilson: Please tell our audience about your new books. What can new readers and current ones expect?

Davidson: There are six books in total in the Overworld Adventures series: Escape from the Overworld which can be found here, Attack on the Overworld which can be found here, The Rise of Herobrine which can be found here, Down into the Nether which can be found here, The Armies of Herobrine which can be found here and Battle with the Wither which can be found here. The Armies of Herobrine and Battle with the Wither are coming out in September and October, respectively, and the rest are already out.

Danica Davidson Talks ‘Minecraft’, Heroes, Villains And Other Stories

Minecraft snapshot 16w32a is out today, and it mostly has under the hood changes, with the big ones being unveiled at Minecon later this year. However, that doesn’t mean snapshots will be too weak until then – changes will trickle in over the next few weeks. You can check out some of the notable changes below, and the full changelog here.

• Some mobs are now more afraid to get wet in the water
• There are now more spawn eggs for many different mobs and this time they are working properly, so we’ll keep them
• Mob types are now separated like this:
  • Guardian and Elder Guardian
  • Skeleton, Stray and Wither Skeleton
  • Zombie, Zombie Villager and Husk
  • Horse, Skeleton Horse, Zombie Horse, Mule and Donkey
• Changed the duration of hunger and saturation effects
• Broke some bugs so they should not happen anymore
• Resource pack format changed slightly, it’s now using version 3
  • Version 3 resource packs have to use lowercase filenames for everything
• Most commands can now use blockstate definitions instead of a numerical metadata value
• Snowmen are now 10% less derpy
• More robust handling of invalid items and hopefully less duping bugs due to this change
• Lightning storm will now attract less skeleton horses

Minecraft snapshot 16w32a is out, contains small changes

How much of a phenomenon is Pokémon Go? Enough so that it’s started something of a civil war between members of the team behind the video game sensation Minecraft.

See, when the game first launched, Mojang — the Sweden-based game studio that created Minecraft, acquired by Microsoft for $2.5 billion in 2014 — tried to get all employees to unify and join up with Team Mystic, Pokémon Go’s blue team.

But here in America, the Bellevue, Washington-based Minecraft team was more split. Some of them were willing to go along with the Swedes, while others wanted to go with the red Team Valor or the yellow Team Instinct.

Amid the chaos, though, came inspiration: Spencer Kern, an artist with the Minecraft team in Washington, found himself getting very into Pokémon Go.

“After spending hours running around my local park with a few hundred people I knew this was a special moment in gaming history,” Kern writes on a Microsoft Sway presentation explaining his project.

In the original Pokémon games that Pokémon Go is based on, players can run to a handy Pokémon Center in each city to heal up their pocket monsters and get ready for the next battle. In Pokémon Go, the thing that gets hurt more than anything in your smartphone’s battery, as the game chews up power like nothing else.

“I thought it would be fun to re-create a Pokémon Center from the main games and use it as a charging station for trainers to hang out and heal their power drained phones,” Kern writes.

And so he did, building an awesome project that doubles as something of a social hub for Pokémon trainers in real life. Here’s how.

This Minecraft artist loves Pokémon Go so much, he built the most vital accessory for the game ever

Xbox games may one day support interactive streaming, in case your Twitch chat is not nightmarish enough already.

Microsoft has signed up to acquire Beam, “an innovative and interactive livestreaming service that gives viewers the ability to watch and play along with their favorite game streamers in real-time”, for Team Xbox.

What does that mean? It means that livestream viewers will be able to interact with the stream in both subtle and meaningful ways. The examples Microsoft gave were switching between player perspectives in Sea of Thieves (sure, whatever) or spawning items and setting challenges in Minecraft (a bit more dramatic).

“Impossible!” You splutter. “Surely if such technology existed everyone would put it in their games and Telltale’s Crowd Play would work with Twitch and other streaming services I definitely remember right now because the market is not utterly dominated by one brand at all!”

Nah though – it’s not science fiction. Both Rise of the Tomb Raider and indie horror Daylight had interesting Twitch chat interaction, so it’s clearly possible.

I’m too old to enjoy streaming (get off my lawn, etc) but it’s clearly one of the most important realms in modern gaming, so this is exciting news for Microsoft. It’s nice to see Team Xbox climbing aboard the social bandwagon Sony and the PS4 ran away with this generation (dat Share button); let’s see how badly it gets messed up by Microsoft’s obsession with OneDrive and gatekeeping

Xbox snaps up interactive streaming tech, name drops Minecraft, Sea of Thieves

You can step into your Minecraft creations starting next week — if you own an Oculus Rift.

Mojang employee Tommaso Checchi confirmed on Twitter that an update for the Windows 10 version of Minecraft will add Rift support, and that the update is coming next week, according to WinBeta. This means gamers will be able to put on the Rift headset and walk around the world of Minecraft using an Xbox One controller.

The new feature will only be added to the Windows 10 version of Minecraft, but don’t worry about not having that version. If you already purchased Minecraft, you can get the Windows 10 version for free by logging on to the Mojang website and redeeming your copy in the Windows Store.

Microsoft acquired Mojang, the company behind Minecraft, in 2014. By making Rift support exclusive to the Windows 10 version of Minecraft, Microsoft is giving gamers a reason to try out the Windows Store, which might help that struggling platform gain traction.

But the business angle on this story isn’t nearly as interesting as the opportunity to fully immerse yourself into the pixelated world of Minecraft. The first-person building game seems like a perfect fit for virtual reality, especially when you consider all the crazy creations people have made in the game over the years. There’s certainly a whole lot to explore.

Of course, Minecraft is far from realistic: Its famously blocky graphics looked nostalgic even back in 2011, when it was first released. But simple graphics don’t make this game any less immersive, and the creativity of its users is no small part of that. We look forward to what VR can bring to this game on the Rift.

But if you can’t wait a week for VR Minecraft, the Pocket version of the game already works with Minecraft Gear VR. These are exciting times for brick builders everywhere!
Also watch: Oculus Shows Off Oculus Medium 3D Sculptures

‘Minecraft’ takes big step into VR, will add Oculus Rift support next week

There have been lots of speculations going on around Rockstar Games’ upcoming title, GTA 6, from the new features it will offer down to the locations it will introduce. Now, latest rumors have surfaced pointing to the possibility of the new installment arriving with VR capability. Apart from that, it is also said to introduce a massive map that covers all of the ones found in previous GTA titles.

According to Game & Guide, GTA 6, once it arrives, will have a VR (that is Virtual Reality) feature — something that a good number of fans have been clamoring for. And indeed, if it becomes a reality, it will present a new kind of excitement for the fans to experience.

Aside from the aforementioned feature, GTA 6 is also rumored to introduce the biggest map in the franchise. This gameplay map, for lack of a better term, is deemed to be a combination of all the maps from previous titles in the franchise. Of course, it remains a mystery as to how it will be made accessible in the game — let alone the truth about its existence.

As for the GTA 6 setting, a handful of locations have been placed on the list – from Japan to London to San Diego. However, the one that intrigues the community the most is London. That, according to Ecumenical News, Rockstar might possibly take the new title to Europe — particularly in the aforesaid country.

But of course, London is not something new to the franchise. It has already been utilized in the past — specifically in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. The only catch, however, is that it was set in year 1961. The speculation about GTA 6 being set in the aforementioned location stems from the number of British staff involved in developing the game.
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Although it holds true that Rockstar has yet to confirm these rumors, there is every inch of possibility that either one of these rumors might come true. As for its release date, GTA 6 is believed to be released sometime between 2018 to 2020.

GTA 6 News & Rumors: Talk Of Possible VR Gameplay And Japan Or London Map On The Rise

Usually, when players are bored, they opt to playing short but oddly satisfying mini-games. It is perhaps to kill some time, or at least give themselves a fresh perspective. And for “Minecraft” fans, they should expect this to happen!

According to Tech Times, the titular developer “Mojang” recently announced that they are set to roll out a set of mini-games for “Minecraft” (Console Edition). The said games are expected to arrive some time in June this year.

It should be noted that mini-games are not new to “Minecraft” gamers, particularly for PC owners. However, this will be the first ever treat to console owners, allowing them to get hold of the game’s short yet oddly satisfying mini-games.

The “Minecraft” Console Edition basically allows players to come up with their own set of rules. They can even create new ways to communicate with other players. But as far as the mini-games are concerned, they can set foot directly into the competition without even worrying about setting rules. Through this, they will not be wasting even a second just to decide who will keep the score.

PCMag, on the other hand, notes one of the interesting “Minecraft” mini-games to come and is called “Battle.” Simply put, it is where players get to engage with their friends and/or strangers in a battle to death. But what is cool about it? It does not require any setup!

“Battle,” in one way or another,” is the “Minecraft” death match. It is deemed as a very competitive multiplayer bout for survival. But make no mistake — strategy and speed (and even luck) are key to winning it.

A total of 4 “Minecraft” players are allowed to play in the mini-game called “Battle.” But if they play via the Xbox Live, they are allowed to join up to 8 players. If an unfortunate player dies, he/she can still watch the fight in a free-roam camera perspective.

“Minecraft” Console Edition mini-games are expected to arrive in June. It shall include the aforesaid “Battle,” along with three brand new maps for players to try out.

Meanwhile, enjoy these other minecraft mini-games before June, as per The Top Tens.

1. Hide and Seek — The player should “pick the right spot to blend in.”

2. The Walls — The player waits for the walls to come down

3. Skywars — One way to knock the opponents is to use to a snowball while they are Void-building.

4. Spleef — Just block and break legs!

5. Super Craft Brothers — This is a “super smash” brothers’ brawl.

‘Minecraft’ Update: Console Edition Mini-Games Coming This June

Mojang is surely in greater heights, after its titular “Minecraft: Pocket Edition” reached a new milestone. The mobile version of the highly celebrated PC and console game has now become the top paid app in Canada.

According to App Annie, “Minecraft: Pocket Edition” acquired the number one spot, becoming the most paid game apps for iPad and iPhone in the aforementioned country. The chart covered the week of May 23 to May 29.

Mojang’s latest title was among the highly anticipated mobile games when it was yet to be released. In fact, fans are now eagerly waiting for “Minecraft: Pocket Edition” update 0.15.0 to arrive. It is said to be the biggest update that the game will receive since its release.

“Minecraft: Pocket Edition” is being followed by Warner Bros.’ “Heads Up!,” while Ndemic Creations’ “Plague Inc.” took the third spot. “Geometry Dash” from RobTop Games AB and Rovio Entertainment Ltd.’s “Angry Birds” fell at the fourth and fifth spots, respectively.

The Chronicle Herald mentions “Bloons TD 5” from Ninja Kiwi in the sixth spot, while Lightricks Ltd.s’ “Facetune” followed at the seventh spot. The “7 Minute Workout Challenge” (Fitness Guide Inc.) and “Goat Simulator Waste of Space” (Coffee Stain Studios) nabbed the eighth and ninth places, respectively. Microsoft Corp.’s “Halo: Spartan Strike” took the last spot.

“Minecraft: Pocket Edition” conquered both the Top Paid iPhone and iPad Apps category. On the other hand, “Snapchat” ruled the Top Free iPhone Apps, with Facebook Inc.’s “Messenger” taking the second spot.

Meanwhile, below are the full list of Top Free iPad and TV apps:

Top Free iPad Apps

1. slither.io (Steve Howse)

2. Tank.ai – Tank.io Edition (Peter Nguyen)

3. YouTube (Google Inc.)

4. Messenger (Facebook Inc.)

5. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Legends” (Ludia)

6. Netflix (Netflix Inc.)

7. Facebook (Facebook Inc.)

8. “Barbie Dreamtopia — Magical Hair” (Budge Studios)

9. “Mr. Crab 2” (Illusion Labs)

10. The Weather Network for iPad (Pelmorex Media Inc.)

Top Free TV Apps

1. Netflix (Netflix Inc.)

2. YouTube (Google Inc.)

3. The Weather Network TV App (Pelmorex Media Inc.)

4. shomi_ (Shomi Partnership)

5. CBC News (CBC)

6. CraveTV (Bell Media Inc.)

7. Sportsnet (Rogers Media)

8. TED (TED Conferences)

9. Crackle (Sony Pictures Television)

10. Vevo (VEVO)

‘Minecraft: Pocket Edition’ And Other Top Apps In Canada

When it comes to listing one of the best games in this generation, it is almost impossible not to enlist Minecraft Pocket Edition. After all, it is a title celebrated by lots of players worldwide.
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Now, things will become more interesting, as the game’s so-called Oculus Rift Support for Android devices is already available. And yes, fans can begin downloading it in Google Play Store.

According to GameNGuide, the availability of the Oculus Rift Support feature will allow Minecraft Pocket Edition players to experience better graphics. More enhanced 3D building modes are expected, while adventures are believed to be more intense than ever. Apart from that, various improvements are said to be introduced.

The aforementioned feature for Minecraft Pocket Edition also arrives with a couple of updates. From jungle to temples to texture packs, among others, players can expect lots of changes. Xbox live support is also believed to be part of the new changes, as reported by Neurogadget. The said support capability, however, is only intended for Minecraft Realms where players can build their own worlds and play alongside with their friends.

Of course, the most interesting part of the new Minecraft Pocket Edition update is the integration of Oculus Rift. With the VR headset’s capability, players will surely have a new way to explore and experience the game’s vast environment. It will certainly take the game into a whole new level.

It should be noted, however, that Minecraft Pocket Edition players need to have an Oculus Rift headset in hand first. So for those looking to purchase it, they can expect their orders to arrive within 2 to 4 business days.
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Furthermore, the Oculus Rift support for Minecraft Pocket Edition will only work alone with the game’s PC version. But of course, players will have to ensure that their computers are equipped with the latest Microsoft Windows 10.

Minecraft Pocket Edition Gets Oculus Rift Upgrade, Other New Features Revealed

Hello everyone, and welcome to the week! It’s time once again for our look back at the noteworthy updates of the last seven days. At long last, we’ve got a relatively healthy-sized Update Mondays again. I’m all finished moving, the updates are flowing, and all seems to be well for our little corner of the TouchArcadiverse. Of course, you can keep an eye out for updates yourself using AppShopper Social [Free], the watchlist in the TouchArcade App [Free], or by participating in the TouchArcade forums, but this weekly summary is here to fill in the things you might have missed. Let’s dig in!

Pokémon GO, Free The Pokemon giveth, the Pokemon taketh away. So, good news, everyone! Niantic has addressed issues with the game’s tracking and the battery saver mode. They addressed them by removing both features. Got any other complaints? Because there’s a whole lot more they could strip out, if you catch what we’re saying here. Oh, but at least you can change your avatar’s appearance whenever you want now. That’s a fair trade.

Phoenix II, Free The long-awaited Phoenix 2 is out and while certain points of the game are getting a mixed reaction, the fundamentals are as good as ever. This quick update appears to mainly address some balance issues with certain weapons and ships. Well hey, that works for me. I’d personally like to see an extra mode that isn’t tied to daily challenges, though.

Minecraft: Pocket Edition, $6.99 Well, I guess we’ll be seeing more updates like this now that the big targets have been taken care of. By that, I mean updates that just have some new cosmetic items to buy. This one is a pack of villain skins, so you can embrace your inner bad guy. It’s $1.99 and it gets you 17 different skins, which isn’t a bad deal for this kind of thing.

Miitomo, Free Ha ha, remember Miitomo? Ah, that was a fun week or two. I guess it’s still available or something, because here’s an update. There’s a new mini-game that lets you finally put that candy to some use, effectively letting you exchange it for game tickets. In turn, the old use for candy, hearing your friends’ answers, is now free. Speaking of, you can finally choose which friends you’ll hear answers from and which ones will stay forever quiet, in the awkward zone between “I don’t want to offend you by unfriending you” and “I don’t really want to hear what you have to say”. Nintendo! It’s a cereal!

Dungeons of Chaos UNITY EDITION, $3.99 I’m including this here not so much because it’s a spectacular update on its own. I mean, it’s cool. It adds an auto-fight action to help you manage your rogues and fixes a number of issues. But I’m including this more because ever since this version of the game hit, the developer has been working seemingly tirelessly on updating it based on player feedback. That shows excellent dedication, certainly enough to earn the coveted Update Mondays Most Spider-Mans of the Week award.

Thumb Drift – Furious One Touch Car Racing, Free The extremely fun Thumb Drift has a new update with two new cars to take for a ride. The Street FX WTF-96 and the OzzyMan Drifts join the line-up, giving you some new wheels to wear out on the road. I’m avoiding making a lot of puns here, so I hope you all appreciate my restraint.

Shooty Skies – Endless Arcade Flyer, Free I have no idea what Cute Cuddle Chaos is supposed to be, but whatever it is, Shooty Skies now has 10 new pilots, a new boss and some new enemies, a brand-new weapon, and a whole mess of fixes and performance improvements. You’ll have to do some searching to unlock it all, so get on it. And see if you can find out what Cute Cuddle Chaos is. I have a feeling, or perhaps more accurately an ever-present sense of dread, that Hanson will one day reform. This could be it.

Shadow Fight 2, Free Not much to talk about here, but fans of the enjoyable Shadow Fight 2 should be happy to see a new boss to square off against. Plus, there’s now a sixth dan rank to achieve. This update also adds in some new, more difficult daily quests. So keep on boxing those shadows, friends. Something good will come of it all, I’m sure.

Pinball Arcade, $0.99 This month’s new Pinball Arcade table is Frank Thomas’ Big Hurt, a baseball-themed board from 1995, originally manufactured by Gottlieb. Designed by Bill Parker and Jon Norris, it’s not the most exciting of machines around, but if you like baseball or are just on the look-out for a new pinball table to play, you’ll probably get your $4.99 worth out of this. The prime gimmick on this table is the moving catcher’s mitt that sits at the back of the play area, but otherwise, it’s fairly typical of Gottlieb tables of this era.

True Skate, $1.99 This new version of the game adds an IAP to buy the classic Love Park, a once-beloved destination for skaters that has, I’ve heard, fallen off in recent years. Well, you can enjoy it in its prime in True Skate. This update also includes some new grab moves, among a few other things. It’s weird how much is packed into this game now. Add a few models and button controls and this could have easily sold for full price on consoles back in the day.

Dungeon Link, Free Dungeon Link, he come to dungeon town, come to save, the dungeon princess Ze- oh, it’s not that Link? Well, excuse me. This update includes two new areas, a new story hero who is an Ancient Dragon, a new sub-story to play through, and some new guild emblems. Naturally, there are also bug fixes and performance improvements, so you might want to break out the expensive plates for this special occasion.

Disney Crossy Road, Free It looks like Disney has spent all of their lame live action movies for the next month or so. That means this Disney Crossy Road update is free to add in a classic world and some characters to go with it. Pirates of the Caribbean is somehow still kicking as a movie series, and this new version lets you travel through a new world based on it. There are 14 new figures in the prize machine, and they include pretty much all of the major characters from the films. On top of that, there are six secret characters to sniff out. You’d best start believing in Update Mondays, Disney Crossy Road. You’re in one!”

Hungry Shark World, Free Uh, okay, so that whale from Free Willy, who I guess is named Willy, has escaped from a theme park and is now on a bloody rampaging, destroying and devouring all that stands in his path. Since nobody knows what happened to Jason James Richter, there is no apparent means of quelling his rage. Well, I mean, they don’t say that it’s THE Willy, but come on. You put a killer whale in your game and say he escaped from an aquatic park, we can put two and two together. And that’s the update!

Temple Run 2, Free Cleopatra is one of the most famous queens in history, if not the most famous. All of her efforts and hard work are finally paying off, however, as she is now a guest character in Temple Run. Oh, and King Imhotep, too, but who cares about that guy? Elizabeth Taylor never played him in a movie. I think. I guess there are some special limited time artifacts to collect, too. If you get enough of them, you’ll earn the Championship Wreath. Hey, any reason to take a run.

Asphalt 8: Airborne, Free You know, I’m surprised we aren’t getting buried in Olympics updates yet. Asphalt is the first big one I’ve seen so far, and it’s tangential at best. Basically, Rio is a new location in the game, so you can take in all the sights without worrying about the debilitating mosquito viruses, nasty water, and crumbling infrastructure. Yes, just you, a digital car, and the cleaned-up sights. Some new events and cars are coming, too. The Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe, the Cadillac ATS-V Coupe, the Fenyr Supersport, and the Donkervoort D8 GTO. Today, I learned there is a car company named Donkervoort, and friends, I think I’m in love.

World of Tanks Blitz, Free It’s not every day that World of Tanks Blitz gets a new game mode. This update brings the Supremacy mode to the game, where you have to earn 1,000 victory points before the other team does. How does one earn such points? Eh, the usual tank ways. Blowing up enemy tanks, taking flags, that kind of thing. You do not earn victory points for: shooting your own teammates, getting in the way of everyone else, or driving around in circles randomly shooting at rocks. Trust me on this one. For good measure, the developers also updated the Falls Creek map and adjusted the profitability of a number of vehicles.

Land Sliders, Free Universally agreed upon by the TouchArcade staffers to be the greatest piece of entertainment in this era, Land Sliders nevertheless maintains its humble demeanor, updating with cool stuff on a semi-regular basis. This one adds 11 new characters to the game, including a sheriff, a showgirl, and tumbleweed. Yes, it’s an Old West theme, and that’s rare enough to get my attention at least for a few minutes. And hey, there’s even some Old West levels to go with those new characters.

Rodeo Stampede – Sky Zoo Safari, Free Riding on the backs of weird animals is a pretty fun and noble pursuit. You can do it safely in this game, and now the selection is broader than ever. This new version puts 42 new animals in the game, most of which are connected with mountains. That has potential, friends. There’s a new mountain environment to go with that, and the Sky Zoo has been expanded to accommodate all the new animals. As a side thing, the jungle area now has new music.

SimCity BuildIt, Free Let’s finish things off with a look at the new update for SimCity BuildIt. It’s a summer-themed update, with each week bringing new sports venues to add to your bustling metropolis. Get all of them, and your virtual city will probably be quite fit to host the Olympics, which is more than we can say for… oh wait, I think I already did that joke this week. Well, whatever. The developer has also increased the area you can build in by 10% and added the ability to store specialized buildings, which should make things more manageable for those who were pushing up against boundaries in more ways than one.

That about wraps it up for last week’s significant updates. I’m sure I’ve missed some, though, so please feel free to comment below and let everyone know if you think something should be mentioned. As usual, major updates will likely get their own news stories throughout this week, and I’ll be back next Monday to summarize and fill in the blanks. Have a great week!

Update Mondays: ‘Pokemon Go’, ‘Minecraft: Pocket Edition’, ‘SimCity BuildIt’, ‘Dungeons of Chaos Unity Edition’, and More

Minecraft that is also called as sandbox video game was originally created by a Swedish programmer named Markus “Notch” Persson, it was later published and developed by Mojang. Minecraft enables players to build constructions out of textured cubes in a 3D generated world.

Minecraft is now available on Android Apps on Google play, their recent updates includes jungles, temples, texture packs, Xbox live support and a brand new service called Realms. Realms is the easiest way to play with your friends all over the world where you can explore randomly generated worlds and build amazing things

According to CDA News, Microsoft recently announced that it is rolling out Mincraft support to Facebook’s Oculus Rift. Oculus Rift is a virtual reality headset that is developed and manufactured by Oculus VR, it was launched last March 28 2016.

Oculus Rift Support for the popular Minecraft game means that Redmond will be using one of its most loved brands to make the PC owners upgrade to its latest desktop OS. Microsoft hopes to get many users on its new PC operating system as possible.

After months of waiting, the window maker is finally ready to give Minecraft video game users a taste of virtual reality. The Minecraft support could help ensure that there are many interesting things to do to justify the price tags of the virtual reality visors and the powerful computers required to run them.

Soon the popular Minecraft will be playable on Oculus VR’s visors. Minecraft Windows 10 Edition Beta will be getting the Oculus Rift VR support for the next few weeks. The VR version of the headset will feature all of the main methods of gameplay available on PC. Stay tuned for more news and updates for the popular sandbox video game Minecraft.

‘Minecraft’ Latest News & Update: Game Now With Oculus Rift Support! Pocket Edition Now Available on Android Apps

Mojang yesterday announced the new Villains Skin Pack for Minecraft Pocket and Windows 10 Edition. This new Villains Skin Pack is available as part of 0.15.4 update of Pocket and Windows 10 edition along with several bug fixes and improvements. Find the full change log below.

New Features:

• Villains skin pack!

Tweaks:

• More localization fixes.
• Fixed the HUD moving when riding an animal in VR.
• Fixed a few texture issues.
• Some tweaks to Gear VR edition performance & experience.
• Increased draw distance for Win 10 edition.

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed comfort issues caused by rain & snow in your face in VR.
• Lead lines no longer disconnect from the hand when jumping in Immersive Mode in Gear VR.
• Leads now display the correct texture & don’t cause crashes in Gear VR.
• Fixed a crash on the inventory screen.
• Horse container screen now keeps labels visible.
• Bone meal and spawn eggs now consumed in Survival mode.
• B button to quit from main menu works on Win 10 edition now.
• Fixed a crash when creating or entering a new world.
• Fixed a crash when traveling the world with render distance set to maximum.
• Worlds with UTF-8 symbols in their name are now displayed in the Play tab for Win 10.
• Fixed some issues with players creating new realms.

Minecraft team is aware of a possible crash when you set your draw distance to maximum on the 32-bit Win 10 edition if you have a discrete graphics card. They are working on it to fix it as soon as possible.

Mojang releases new 0.15.4 update for Minecraft: Pocket Edition and Windows 10 Edition

Minecraft for Windows 10 will be adding support for the Oculus Rift VR headset in the “next few weeks.” Microsoft and Mojang announced the news on the one-year anniversary of Minecraft’s release on Windows 10, confirming that it will be a free update. Windows isn’t the first platform to enable Minecraft in virtual reality — that would be the Samsung Gear VR, where a VR edition of the game launched in April. But the Oculus Rift, which features things like external camera tracking, will allow for a different and possibly more comfortable experience.

We’ve tried VR versions of Minecraft on both the Rift and the Gear VR, and our impressions have varied — some of us love it, others find it disorienting. If you own an Oculus Rift, it’s worth trying simply because there aren’t that many long, complex games for the platform. There’s more information available on the Minecraft site, though we don’t know the exact release date yet.

One other, minor note: we also don’t know what’s going on with the Touch motion controller on the Minecraft VR page. We’ve only seen the game using a standard Xbox gamepad on the Rift, and it’s likely to stay that way, given how much work adding motion controls could involve. But with Oculus Connect coming up in October, anything is possible.

Minecraft will get Oculus Rift support in next few weeks

Want to play Minecraft in virtual reality on your Oculus Rift? Well, we’ve got some good news for you – Microsoft has announced that Windows 10 users will soon be able to do so.

In a blog post celebrating the fact that Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta is now a year old, Microsoft thanked players for their support, and said that a free update was on the way for the game to make it playable with the Oculus Rift. It’ll be available in the next few weeks, apparently, so we’ve not got long to wait.

Redmond also released a new rollercoaster map which is a twisty-turny, up and down experience as you’d expect, and something which will show off the game’s new VR chops with suitable aplomb.

Deadline day

Naturally, Microsoft didn’t fail to take the opportunity to remind folks that if they want a slice of Minecraft virtual reality on their PC, and they haven’t upgraded to Windows 10 yet, the deadline is about to expire (the free offer ends today).

This isn’t the first virtual reality outing for Minecraft, mind you, as it was made available for the Gear VR a few months back.

Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition has seen some 15 updates in the past year, and Microsoft said that it has fixed over 6,000 bugs in that time.

Developer Mojang also said that apart from the VR update, some fresh add-ons are planned for the Windows 10 Edition, and these will let players “dramatically” change the rules of the game, by all accounts. So there’s plenty to look forward to.

Oculus Rift support for Minecraft is just around the block

If you have computer-savvy kids at home, odds are they play Minecraft—or know someone who does.

Now owned by Microsoft, the Swedish indie program has become one of the biggest computer games of all time, with more than 70 million copies sold. In other words, if your kid has access to a computer, phone or tablet and isn’t playing Minecraft yet, it’s probably just a matter of time.

Parents may be surprised to find out that Minecraft can help teach kids about all sorts of things, from math and science to problem solving, collaboration and history. In fact, many teachers now embrace Minecraft as an important tool in the classroom.

What Is Minecraft?

If you’re unfamiliar with the basic concepts behind the Minecraft phenomenon, it’s hard to do it justice in a short article (How To Geek offers a 15-part introduction to Minecraft that just begins to scratch the surface).

Here’s a very simple explanation: players appear in a randomly generated land (map) where there are different landscapes (biomes), populated by friendly and unfriendly creatures (mobs). Players can dig (mine) and build (craft) with natural resources (blocks) to create simple items or astonishingly complex buildings and cities. Users can share their world with other players—locally on Wi-Fi or globally on servers (some servers are specifically for kids or families).

You can do anything you want, limited only by your imagination.

In Minecraft, there are no levels to pass or tasks to fulfil—instead, you can do anything you want, limited only by your imagination. This means some players just want to build castles (or recreate their actual homes), while others want to explore forests, oceans and caves (and, yes, some want to fight other players or the computer-controlled monsters.)

There are different ways to play Minecraft. Many kids find creative mode is an ideal fit, because it eliminates game threats like nighttime beasties, hazardous terrain and even hunger; instead, it just lets them explore or build—two activities kids have loved for millennia. But beyond this sense of fun (and the camaraderie of sharing adventures with friends online or in the real world), what do kids learn when they play Minecraft?

Unlimited Potential

Andrew Forgrave teaches grades three and four in Eastern Ontario. He’s been playing Minecraft for about four years—ever since his sons introduced him to it. He compares Minecraft to “unlimited Lego with unlimited friends.”

Now, his students research life in early Ontario or medieval times and share their learning by constructing annotated “virtual village museums” in Minecraft. They also study isometric drawings to re-create the game’s characters in art class.

“Once you understand what [Minecraft] is and how it works, the options are virtually unlimited. I liken Minecraft to a pencil—once you get the basic grip and put point to paper, what you create is influenced by your focus, your thoughts, the others you are working with,” explains Forgrave, who shares his experiences with other teachers at the annual Educational Computing Organization of Ontario conference and has attended numerous grassroots-organized #edCamps to talk about the game.

In June, Microsoft’s vice-president of worldwide education shared a list of how Minecraft is used in schools around the globe, including U.S. middle-schoolers who researched religious landmarks and rebuilt them block-by-virtual block and Scottish kids who learned about city planning and engineering by redesigning their hometown’s waterfront in practical ways.

Vickie Morgado, an elementary school teacher in the Greater Toronto Area, also uses Minecraft in her classes.

“In Grade three, teachers can have students build structures in [the] open world and communicate about them—there are lessons here about engineering and physics. I’ve even seen teachers ask students to demonstrate their understanding of the different levels of soil through the game,” she says.

She’s had students recreate pioneer villages and employ math skills to calculate the perimeter and volume of their buildings.

She’s had students recreate pioneer villages and employ math skills to calculate the perimeter and volume of their buildings. However, Morgado herself isn’t a Minecraft-devotee.

“I wouldn’t describe myself as someone who really enjoys playing Minecraft, but I can…link it to the curriculum to engage students. If it helps them learn, then I embrace it,” she says. “I think more teachers want to do it, but sometimes they feel they have to know the game inside out. That is not the case. The kids know how to play it. We design the ideas and then take a co-learning stance.”

Minecraft As A Learning Tool

Despite positive responses from parents and other teachers, Forgrave is aware of concerns about excessive screen time, always-on mobile devices and the depersonalization of communication.

“As an educator, I am mindful of the need to balance all areas of learning for children. I have seen ‘gamified’ technology activities for children that have a very limited effect, given the time invested. I try to be a mindful critic in looking at technologies and assessing their relative value.”

In other words, Minecraft is not replacing traditional classroom learning—it’s a fun tool that helps complement other teaching methods. Many parents whose kids play at home also find the game’s immersive nature means it is important to set boundaries over when (and for how long) their children play.

Learn More About Minecraft

To learn more about Minecraft, check out books like Visual Guide to Minecraft: Dig into Minecraft with This (Parent-Approved) Guide Full of Tips, Hints, and Projects! or visit a site like MineMum—it offers special FAQs for parents and tips for offline Minecraft-inspired activities.

For teachers looking for more, gamingEDUs.org provides workshops and hosts weekly play-and-learn events online.

The game is also now part of Hour of Code, a worldwide initiative that aims to teach kids computer programming. There are also camps and workshops across Canada. Many local libraries even offer Minecraft classes.

MinecraftEdu is a collaboration of educators and programmers who work with developers to offer schools discounted licenses to make Minecraft more affordable and accessible. The group offers a modified version of the game that allows teachers to control what kids can do, whether it’s special challenges or opportunities to create specific buildings or lands. Guided by teachers, the game can be tailored to reinforce more traditional lessons about math, English or computer programming.

Do you or your kids enjoy Minecraft? What do you think of its educational possibilities?

What Kids Learn When They Play Minecraft

‘Minecraft: Story Mode’ Episode 7, ‘Access Denied’, Is Ready for Download

Museum uses ‘Minecraft’ to visualise the Great Fire of London

Now available in Europe and Japan, with a North American release likely happening later today, Minecraft update 1.31 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita adds support for the latest DLC, fixes Battle Mini Game issues, and fixes other issues with the game.

Here’s the full list of patch notes for today’s new update:

• Added Battle Map Pack 2 (Atlantis, Ruin and Siege).
• Added the Redstone Specialists Skin Pack.
• Made changes to some item textures in the City Texture Pack, Fantasy Texture Pack and Greek Mythology Mash-up Pack, so that they are more easily identifiable in Battle mini games.
• Battle Mini Game: Fix to display player names above crouching players when in Showdown mode in a Battle mini game.
• Battle Mini Game: Fix to allow thrown potions to go through non-solid blocks (e.g. Vines, Tall Grass).
• Battle Mini Game: Fix to stop non-solid blocks obstructing player attacks.
• Battle Mini Game: Fixed a couple of holes in the Cove Battle mini game map.
• Battle Mini Game: Fix to remove all Mob heads from the player’s inventory, except any that are currently being worn, when transitioning from the Lobby to a Battle mini game map.
• Battle Mini Game: Fix to automatically replace Mob heads in the armour slot, when a Helmet is collected in a Battle mini game.
• Battle Mini Game: Disabled “Take Everything” in the Lobby.
• Battle Mini Game: Added Select All / Deselect All tooltip(s) to the Select Maps menu.
• Fix for an issue with hills generation.
• Fix for an issue causing some Blazes to not perform their attacks after becoming aggressive towards the player.
• Fix to allow renamed items to be traded with a Villager.
• Fixed a duplication bug.
• Fix to remove the redundant option for creating White Wool within the crafting menu using 1x White Wool to create.
• Fix for an issue where a Pig struck by a lightning turns into a Zombie Pigman without a Golden Sword.
• Fix for an incorrect death message when the player is killed by lightning.
• Fix for some issues with trophies (including Passing The Time trophy).

The latest update is also available for Xbox One and Xbox 360, with a Wii U release happening later this week.

Looking at the new DLC, Battle Map Pack 2 for the Battle Mini Game includes the three maps – Atlantis, Ruin, and Siege – and is priced at $2.99 USD, “and comes with guaranteed good times.”

The Redstone Specialists skin pack is also priced at $2.99 USD. “As always, everyone gets a few of these skins for free,” Mojang adds.

Minecraft Update 1.31 Today for PS4, PS3 & PS Vita Adds DLC Support and Fixes Issues

The same hacking group that took over Mark Zuckerberg’s Twitter account has now found a way to break into accounts connected to the hit game Minecraft.

The group, OurMine, made the claim on Tuesday in a video demonstrating its hack. The attack is aimed at the user login page run by Minecraft’s developer, Mojang.

OurMine isn’t revealing all the details behind the hack. The group said it works by stealing the Internet cookies from the site, which can be used to hijack any account. All that OurMine needs is the victim’s email address.

To test the hack, IDG News Service created a user account on Mojang, emailed OurMine and asked the group to break into it, which the group did. To show proof, the group renamed the user profile to “OurMine Team.”

The hack could allow the group to change the account’s password, too, OurMine claimed. But the hacking team says it has no malicious purpose in exposing the vulnerability.

“We found this exploit because we don’t want other hackers to know it,” the group said.

Mojang hasn’t responded to a request for comment.

The hack specifically targets the user account system that customers rely on to access the PC and Mac versions of the game. OurMine said it will reveal the entire hack to Mojang once the developer contacts the group.

The hackers have offered little information about themselves, but they’ve become best known for taking over the social media accounts of high-profile tech executives, including Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

In emails, the group has said it merely wants to help the public become aware of today’s cybersecurity problems, including the use of weak passwords.

The group’s recent hack of Mojang highlights the vulnerabilities with Internet cookies, which can store information like site preferences or user account credentials for site authentication.

If those are stolen, a hacker can use the cookies to impersonate the victim’s online identities. Security flaws found in browsers and credit-card sites in the past could expose cookies to easy theft.

Some security flaws found in the past in browsers and credit card sites also have made it easy to steal cookies.

In OurMine’s case, the hackers somehow cloned Mojang’s user account site as a way to extract the stolen cookies. OurMine says on its website that it sells services where it will examine a user’s Internet accounts and websites for weaknesses.

OurMine is now hacking into Minecraft accounts

The learn to code space is packed with ideas. But when it comes to what children want to do online, towering over everything else is the build-it-yourself Microsoft-owned Minecraft platform. All lesser virtual, creative playgrounds are doomed to be overshadowed by this pixellated silhouette.

Minecraft is clearly great fun for kids, but less great if you’re a startup trying to build your own learn-to-code gaming environment… But, as the saying goes, if you can’t beat them, join them. So that’s exactly what London-based Code Kingdoms has been doing.

The startup launched its own learn-to-code game out of beta back in April 2015. And while it’s still working on that platform, it’s also since shifted efforts to focus on serving the Minecraft modding community with a subscription service to help kids learn JavaScript.

It’s also placing its eggs in the BBC micro:bit basket — aka the programmable single board computer gifted to one million UK schoolkids by public service broadcaster the BBC earlier this year.

At this point Code Kingdoms estimates some 4,900 UK schools are using its micro:bit software, and a further 30 are using its software for Minecraft modding. While the original Code Kingdoms game is being used by around 1,200 schools.

“Making an entertaining game alongside offering an intensive coding environment for kids and making strong video content was/is a real challenge,” admits co-founder and CEO Ross Targett. “Now we focus on teaching kids to design and code things using existing IP i.e. Minecraft, micro:bit, rather than making our own from scratch. It has made the business easier to manage and allowed us to focus on our strengths.”

Targett says the startup sees its core strength as being its educational content along with the code editor it’s designed to get kids writing code. This JavaScript teaching platform targets the six- to 13-year-old age-range.

“We place great emphasis on educational value and this is what we’re good at,” he adds.

Code Kingdoms closed a $1.4 million seed round at the end of 2015, led by Initial Capital and Blenheim Chalcot — which it’s only just announcing now, having been focused on stealthy product dev, according to Targett.

It had previously raised around $410,000 in pre-seed funding, including from U.S.-based seed fund SparkLabs Global Ventures. As part of the most recent funding round Initial partner Tarek Abuzayyad has joined its board.

The seed is primarily for growing the team and focusing on “product/market fit within our current model”, says Targett.

Code Kingdom’s newest product — CK for Modding — is a Minecraft-popularity-piggybacking subscription service that teaches Java through interactive videos and its online code editor. Pricing is £9.99 ($14.99) a month, for which kids get access to 40+ hours of coding course materials, a fully customisable Minecraft server and access to the web based code editor.

“We’re already close to achieving [product/market fit] and thus the focus has shifted into expanding into new regions, offering B2B services to expand revenue and soon offer a wider product range,” adds Targett.

Despite its London base and an initial focus on UK schools, Targett says the majority of Code Kingdom’s business is outside the UK, with the US and Canada being its biggest markets — so it’s planning a rapid expansion of its direct to consumer subscription modding product there.

For its b2b camps product, Targett says it’s been seeing “significantly more traction” in Asia, including in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong.

“Our assumptions are on these economies are investing heavily both financially and culturally into STEM subjects and particularly Computer Science in order to transition their economies as modern and highly productive service exporters. This coupled with a highly competitive generation amongst parents when it comes to education has meant the opportunity is both highly lucrative and growing,” he adds.

Learn-to-code startup CK targets the Minecraft modding craze