Minecraft 0.12.0 PE release date in August
We have some useful information for Minecraft Pocket Edition players now. One of the developers at Mojang has confirmed that the highly anticipated Minecraft PE 0.12.0 release date will not be in July and will instead be out in August.
Tommaso Checchi has confirmed this on his Twitter account, revealing that the team had initially planned to go live on July 29.
However if they did, the 0.12.0 build would not have the Enchantment table, music and controller support so this is the reason why they will now release in August.
There’s no set date yet, but most of you should be happy now that a release has been scheduled officially by the developers.
Hopefully the team will be able to get the next version out in the beginning of August, but it depends on how difficult it is to get the three above areas into Minecraft PE with minimal bugs.
Are you happy that Minecraft PE 0.12.0 for Android and iOS is now coming for sure in August, or disappointed that it didn’t make a July release? As always we’ll keep you updated with the release if anything changes from now until next month.
Mondays: Marvel Future Fight, Shadow Blade, Soccer Spirits, Pako, and More
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. It’s a light one this week, friends. I don’t know about you, but that suits me and my poor typing fingers just fine once in a while. That said, what’s here is pretty good, if you ask me. 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!
Angry Birds Seasons, $0.99 If you’re peeved about Angry Birds 2 going free-to-play and just want another dose of premium pig-popping pleasure, the bizarre NBA tie-in with Angry Birds Seasons has yielded seven more new levels, based around the NBA Finals. Still not used to this strange cross-over yet. And yes, I say that knowing full well about all of the other strange cross-overs this series has had.
The Executive, $4.99 The Executive is one of the cooler games released this year, in my opinion. This update is more of a fixer-upper update than anything else, but there’s at least one nice new feature. You can now start a new game without uninstalling the app. Aside from that, it’s mostly UI fixes, translation touch-ups, and a few bug fixes.
Ramboat: Hero Shooting Game, Free The latest update to Ramboat includes references to the John Travolta/Olivia Newton John classic Grease in its patch notes, so I’m obligated to include it here. I guess there’s possibly a new boat patterned after Greased Lightning? Additionally, certain difficult stages have been made easier, and the prices of items in the shop have been lowered.
Temple Run 2, Free The game with the weirdest roster of playable characters keeps on hanging in there. In addition to the usual bug fixes and optimizations, this Temple Run 2 update also includes a new uniform for Usain Bolt in honor of his World Championship race. Either that, or in honor of him giving up his 1,000 chicken nuggets per week diet. You pick! Anyway, looking dapper, Mr. Bolt!
KingsRoad, Free It looks like KingsRoad has set its event schedule for the next few weeks. The Adamar Ascended event runs from August 6th to the 20th, and includes the usual new appearance set to collect. Starting from tomorrow, the Rising Shadow tournament starts, where you can collect nine rare tokens and earn special rewards. That event runs through the 18th. Other than that, it looks like bug fixes and performance improvements.
Pinball Arcade, $0.99 Pinball Arcade‘s newest table is Safe Cracker. Originally released in 1996, it was designed by Addams Family designer Pat Lawlor. It’s a fun table with some interesting rules to it, and usual is available as a $4.99 IAP within either of the Pinball Arcade apps. This update also addresses bugs with several tables in tournament mode.
Heavenstrike Rivals – A Monster Tactical TCG!, Free We don’t talk about it much at TouchArcade, but Heavenstrike Rivals is actually a pretty decent F2P game from Square Enix. The latest update is a big one, adding in raid battles, local multiplayer, video sharing, and setting up content for upcoming events that will bring characters from Secret Of Mana and the Final Fantasy series to the game. It’s about time!
Looney Tunes Dash!, Free Frankly, I’m surprised it took this long for hats to come to Looney Tunes Dash!. With Bugs making liberal use of them in the classic shorts, it’s been kind of weird seeing him not wearing the occasional chapeau. This update also includes a new episode with 15 levels that take place in the tropics. This runner seems to be pretty popular with a certain set. It’s not my cup of tea as it lacks in essential Spider-Mans and nutrients, but good on it for finding a fan base.
1849, $4.99 This week sees the addition of some free content to 1849. Free? Hey, that’s pretty nice of you, SomaSim. The content includes two epilogue chapters that take place after the gold rush, showing the state of California somewhere between its period as a gold rush capital but a bit before its period as an acting rush capital.
Pako – Car Chase Simulator, $0.99 Talk about covering your bases. The third map pack for the glorious car chase sim Pako adds a trailer park, a shuttle launch site, and … the Moon? Trains, tanks, and aliens, oh my! There are also three new songs to accompany the action, and of course some new secret achievements to seek out.
Soccer Spirits, Free The totally wild Korean space soccer card game Soccer Spirits got an update this week that includes a bunch of new content for players to enjoy. A club system has been added, along with a new skin system, which I’m guessing allows you to customize the appearances of various characters. But looking at the art for the game, it could refer to a totally different kind of skin system. Other improvements and additions include a better tutorial, improved load times, new music, added events, and more.
Shadow Blade, $1.99 You know, friends, I really like Shadow Blade a lot. And I like it even more now that it has 10 new levels and iPhone 6 family support. More of a good thing is rarely a bad thing, after all. If you kind of squint, Kuro looks like Spider-Man, and that’s why I’m happy to give Shadow Blade the highly-coveted Update Mondays Most Spider-Mans Of The Week award. Just remember to finish up all of your assassinations before you drink your metaphorical celebratory vermouth, my ninja chums! It’s got some whammy.
Skyline Skaters, Free While Subway Surfers is busy with its reunion tour, Skyline Skaters is continuing to open up new frontiers. Well, okay, a level set in Hawaii isn’t exactly the stuff of innovation, but you know what? It looks really pretty and they use a surfboard/surfer motif for their event character. That’s not bad as low-hanging fruit goes.
Aliens Drive Me Crazy, Free Aliens Drive Me Crazy is a fun game, but that alone isn’t enough to survive in the highly competitive App Store anymore. So, it’s now a free-to-play game, with ad support and new IAPs. If you paid for it and kept it installed, nothing will change for you apart from seeing the new IAPs, but if you uninstalled it, you’ll probably have to suffer the ads if you want to play it again. From forum reports, there don’t seem to be a ton of ads popping up anyway, so it might be alright.
Gangstar Vegas, Free After spending some time in Sin City, there’s really only one place to go: the home of sin itself, hell. In an update which I’m sure is in no way inspired by Saint’s Row, seriously what are you talking about you weird people, you have to venture into hell to get your soul back from the devil. The new update encompasses four missions that obviously take place in a new location. There is of course new gear themed around the whole fire and brimstone thing, and you can record your trip to hell with the newly-added Kamcord support.
Legend of Grimrock, $4.99 It’s always a bummer for our iPhone-owning friends when a great game comes out as iPad-only. In my experience, iPhone users are willing to put up with even nightmarish UIs if it means they get to play the newest and hottest. Luckily, Almost Human figured out a sensible UI for smaller screens, and Legend Of Grimrock can now be enjoyed by all.
DomiNations, Free Machine guns! Tanks! Biplanes! Zeppelins! The Industrial Age is here, and a whole bunch of people are going to die! And the survivors will build lovely wonders such as the Eiffel Tower and the Statue Of Liberty. It’s a big update for this surprisingly enjoyable free-to-play strategy/sim from the designer of Rise Of Nations.
MARVEL Future Fight, Free Well, now that just about everyone has forgotten that Ant-Man ever existed, I guess we can roll on with the usual updates in Marvel games. This one brings team-up play to the game with a new three-player co-op mode. Five of the games heroes are lucky this time around in that they get six-star ultimate skills. If you’re using Captain America, War Machine, Blade, Ghost Rider, or Iron Man, you’re all set. I detect a notable lack of Spider-Mans in these updates, Netmarble. I detect it and I do not like it.
Plants vs. Zombies™ 2, Free Plants Vs. Zombies 2 did the whole free-to-play sequel before it was cool with everyone else, thank you very much, Angry Birds 2. Well, wait, I guess it’s still not that cool with everyone else. Anyway, here’s what your continued support gets you this time, friends: a special limited Strawburst plant, seven summer-themed zombies, explosive fireworks pinatas (which seem to be crossing a couple of signals but okay), five new costumes, and a special summer Vasebreaker mode where you get sparklers every time you smash something, just like in real life.
Heroes of Steel RPG Elite, $3.99 Let’s finish up this week with an update from the Trese Brothers, who we haven’t seen in Update Mondays in at least a few weeks. The subject this time is Heroes Of Steel, and it’s a whopper. Episode 4 has a bunch of new content, along with reopening some older content. There are lots of balance fixes, and the UI has received some minor improvements. From there it’s a bug-squashing jamboree, finishing with a few added story events to cover unusual cases at certain locations. Pretty impressive to see the Trese Brothers pull off these updates while they’re finishing up their newest game!
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: Marvel Future Fight, Shadow Blade, Soccer Spirits, Pako, and More
Minecraft PE 0.12.1 update features for build 4
Mojang are now progressing with the Minecraft PE 0.12.0 update on all platforms. Right now, Android users can brace themselves for the Minecraft PE 0.12.1 beta which Mojang will be releasing as build 4.
With this in mind, we look ahead to the features that you most want to see added in time for the next full update after the betas and alpha periods have ended.
Mojang is now accepting entry for the Minecraft 0.12.1 beta via Google Play. As normal, you’ll need to be a member of the community before you have the chance to join up and test upcoming features.
Meanwhile Windows Phone users have been given an exclusive build to enjoy with Minecraft PE 0.12.2 that is yet to become available on Android or iOS.
You can keep track of the features introduced to the Pocket Edition as of Minecraft 0.12.1 Alpha by heading to the Wiki page here.
It won’t be long until the next full version of the game is available, so tell us what you are hoping to see added in by the developers.
Are you starting to get confused with the multiple versions and builds available across different mobile platforms?
‘Terraria’ Beats Minecraft To Wii U And 3DS
Capitalizing on the absence of Minecraft on both the Wii U and 3DS, Re-Logic’s 2D sandbox game Terraria is coming to Nintendo platforms in the first quarter of next year.
Publisher 505 Games recently announced that both versions will feature touch-screen controls and also support online multiplayer – 8 players on Wii U and 4 on 3DS. However it’s the local multiplayer of the console versions of both Terraria and Minecraft that have hooked families fastest.
On that front the Wii U version will support up to four players in its split-screen local multiplayer mode.Terraria offers a similar open world experience to Minecraft. Launching on PC in 2011 it then headed to Xbox 360, PS3, Vita, iOS and Android in 2013. In November 2014 it came to PS4 and Xbox One.
It will be interesting to see how the developer makes use of the Wii U’s touch screen interface. This has the potential of leaving more screen real estate for the action while offering constant access to menus.
In my family Terraria has eclipsed Minecraft in terms of popularity with the children preferring the more story-led game-play despite the more limited two dimensional play-field. This, combined with the four player split screen collaboration has proved a compelling experience. You can follow their progress with the game via their Let’s Play Terraria video series.
Either way, Nintendo owners will be keen to get on board with Terraria with Minecraft not forthcoming on the playform. Terraria on Wii U will be on demo at Gamescom next week, I’ll check back with a hands on report.
Here’s how to get Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta for free
Microsoft launched Windows 10 today, which means that Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition‘s beta is now available. As developer Mojang announced during Minecon 2015 earlier this month, the Windows 10 Edition Beta will be available free to the 20.3 million people who have bought the original PC/Mac edition of Minecraft, and Mojang detailed the process in a blog post yesterday.
The steps are pretty simple. If you own Minecraft, log in to your Mojang account, where you should see a “Redeem” button. (Mojang said in an update today that it is “still rolling out” the button, so don’t panic if it hasn’t shown up yet.) After hitting Redeem, you’ll have to sign in to your Microsoft account and follow the instructions to claim your free copy of the Windows 10 Edition Beta.
Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta is also available to purchase for $9.99 in the Windows Store — as long as you’re running Windows 10. For more on Windows 10, check out The Verge’s review.
Here’s how to get Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta for free
Get Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta for free!
Update: This is still rolling out, so don’t panic if you can’t see the button on your account page yet! Check back later!
Hello!
Windows 10 – Microsoft’s shiny new operating system – launches tomorrow. As announced at MINECON 2015 a few weeks ago it features a brand-new Edition of Minecraft. We’re calling it Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta.
If you’re one of the 20 million(ish) players who already own Minecraft for PC/Mac, you get the new version for free. Completely free!
To download your copy, first log into your Mojang account (My password is significantly more complex than those dots so don’t bother trying, criminal person).
Next, click the “Redeem” button on your account page, sign into your Microsoft account, and follow the instructions that follow. That’s it! You’ll be playing Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta in a jiffy.
Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta will be available to download in the Windows 10 Store.
Have fun with Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta, kind crafters! And enjoy fiddling about with your swanky new operating system!
Minecraft 1.9 is coming to cut your head off in The Combat Update, first snapshot released
Hope they take a good look at Terraria
When not diving into their Scrooge McDuck-style pools of money, the folks over at Mojang have announced they’re working on Minecraft 1.9, dubbed The Combat Update. Three guesses as to what it’s going to be about.
Alongside the obvious and so greatly needed changes to melee combat; shields, new unannounced blocks, potions; and subtitles are going to be brought into the game in the near future. Oh and you’ll be able to respawn the Ender Dragon. Yeah, that thing everyone fought once and then totally forgot it existed.
The first snapshot of 1.9 has been released, however a lot of the stuff Mojang is promising hasn’t been added just yet. Interestingly, what is new in the snapshot isn’t being discussed, so venture forth and discover:
“I’m not going to tell you what’s new, but I will tell you what isn’t new… yet.”
You can read the full announcement on Mojang’s website.
Is this enough to get you back into Minecraft? Did you ever even stop?
Minecraft 1.9 is coming to cut your head off in The Combat Update, first snapshot released
Movie News Wrap Up: ‘Minecraft’, ‘Star Trek Beyond’ and More
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Rob McElhenney will direct the Minecraft film; Fast & Furious 6 actor Joe Taslim will appear in Star Trek Beyond; Angelina Jolie will direct a film for Netflix; an Independence Day: Resurgence writer will adapt The Reckoners book series for the big screen; and Roland Emmerich’s gay rights drama Stonewall has secured a fall 2015 release date.
Mojang – the video game developer for the hugely successful Minecraft – has announced that Rob McElhenney will direct the upcoming film adaptation of the game. McElhenney is best known for his role of Mac on hit comedy series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which is expected to return for season 11 this fall or early 2016.
The Minecraft film will mark McElhenney’s first directorial feature, though he has been an instrumental creative force on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. In addition to his acting role, he has served as a creator, developer, executive producer, writer, and director on the show.
Joe Taslim – who appeared as a minor villain alongside Luke Evans in Fast & Furious 6 – will reunite with director Justin Lin for next year’s Star Trek Beyond. While details about the actor/martial artist’s role are scant, it is said to give him plenty of screen time with the new villain, played by Idris Elba.
Taslim also previously appeared in director Gareth Evans’ action extravaganza The Raid: Redemption, but Star Trek marks only his second high-profile franchise role. He’ll join Elba, Sofia Boutella, and returning cast members Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, Karl Urban, and John Cho. Star Trek Beyond hits theaters July 8, 2016.
Angelina Jolie will direct an adaptation of Loung Ung’s First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers for Netflix. The book centers on Ung’s account of surviving the deadly Khmer Rouge regime, who assumed power over Cambodia in 1975. What followed was a four-year reign of terror and genocide that claimed the lives of two million Cambodians.
The film’s script was adapted from Ung’s 2000 book by both the author and Jolie. Jolie will serve as producer alongside Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh, best known for the Oscar-nominated foreign film The Missing Picture. The project will begin filming in late 2015, and Africa – another of Jolie’s directorial projects – was postponed as a result. First They Killed My Father will premiere on Netflix in late 2016 and be submitted to major festivals internationally.
Carter Blanchard – who’s writing next year’s Independence Day: Resurgence – is writing a film based on Steelheart, the first book in what is known as The Reckoners series by Brandon Sanderson. Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum) is reportedly in line to direct the film, which is being eyed to become a franchise.
The story centers on a group of powerful beings known as Epics, wherein one such creature named Steelheart has become emperor. A group of rebels – known as Reckoners – is devoted to defeating them, and an eager new recruit with revenge of his mind could be integral to that victory.
Roadside Attractions will release Stonewall – the new film from director Roland Emmerich – on September 25, 2015. The film chronicles the riots that took place when police raided the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village of June 1969 and the LGBT rights movement that followed.
The project marks a dramatic change of pace from Emmerich’s usual fare, which includes big-budget blockbusters like Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow and 2012. Stonewall stars Jeremy Irvine, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Ron Perlman, and Jonny Beauchamp.
Movie News Wrap Up: ‘Minecraft’, ‘Star Trek Beyond’ and More
Mario Looks Very Sharp in Unreal Engine 4
If you always wanted Nintendo to make a 3D Mario game using some of the best technology in the games industry, you’re going to want to watch this video.
“All the environment assets were taken from the Unreal marketplace, all the character actions were scripted using blueprints only, all animations were re-created from scratch as well as the PBR ready textures,” aryoksini said in the video’s description.
It’s pretty cool to see Mario running around environments that look as sharp as the best looking PC games out there, but Mario, of course, is more than just his looks. You’d have to make those environments fun to play before you’ll get a proper game, and don’t expect anyone to take up that task anytime soon.
Recently, a Super Mario 64 fan project that made the game playable in your browser was, unsurprisingly, been shut down by Nintendo. Any projects that use Nintendo’s IP without permission will inevitably be taken down as well.
Minecraft Xbox One, PS4 Gets Greek Mythology DLC “The world is your square oyster!”
New DLC based on ancient Greek mythology is now available for the versions of Minecraft.
“Build a pantheon fit for the gods, trap the Minotaur in an elaborate maze, or set sail for adventures across the sea–the world is your square oyster!” Mojang said.
The new Minecraft Greek mythology skins include:
- Satyr
- Cyclops
- Minotaur
- Hephaestus
- Erinyes
- Medusa
- Helen of Troy
- Minos
- Harpy
- Dryad
- Cerberus
- Siren
- Spartoi
- Prometheus
- Hydra
- Heracles
- Achilles
- Theseus
- Odysseus
- Perseus
- Jason
- Zeus
- Hades
- Aphrodite
- Poseidon
- Apollo
- Ares
- Artemis
- Athena
- Hera
- Hermes
- Argonaut 1
- Argonaut 2
- Sea Monster
- Trojan Warrior
- Atlanta
- Medea
- Stygian Witch
- Cadmus
Minecraft continues to be a big money-maker for Microsoft, which bought the franchise last year for $2.5 billion. Just this past week, Microsoft said revenue from the game helped lift the Xbox platform overall.
Minecraft Xbox One, PS4 Gets Greek Mythology DLC “The world is your square oyster!”
Minecraft coming to Nintendo consoles?
Mojang’s COO, Vu Bui, has claimed that there could well be a possibility of Minecraft coming onto Nintendo consoles in the near future, stating that their flagship game should be available “for all players.”
The possibility of Minecraft coming to Nintendo was seemingly squashed by Microsoft’s purchase of the company in 2014 for a fee of $2.5billion. Reason being, we’re pretty sure that Microsoft would love to have some of Nintendo’s best-selling content such as the Super Mario franchise, but Nintendo is keen to keep that exclusive to themselves.
On the other hand, it would seem Mojang’s COO is looking at the future of Minecraft on a much broader scale. During a recent interview with MCV at Minecon 2015, Mr Bui said the following:
“If I had my way, we’d be on everything,” Bui stated in the interview. “We want to continue to be available to all players, and that means being on new platforms because everyone uses something different. I’ve never heard a reason why we haven’t ended up on Wii U or 3DS. It just hasn’t happened yet.”
However exciting this might sound, Nintendo has previously warned that they would not favour the arrival of Minecraft unless it never got in the way of their first-party titles, such as “Super Mario Maker.”
This interview might not confirm the arrival of Minecraft to Nintendo consoles, although it does ensure all gamers that this idea is seemingly still on the table.
On a side note, we previously reported that Minecraft is trying to work its way into the education market and during this interview Mr Bui seemed confident with these developing plans.
“I don’t really see a limit for Minecraft in Education. I want to enable people to use Minecraft to enhance education, because people are already doing that. What we want is to inspire it to go further. I guess we’d eventually run out of schools to go into, but there is really no limit” he added.
Minecraft used to create 3D geological models of locations across Britain
I half suspect that the British Geological Survey’s continued Minecraft experiments are just an excuse to play Minecraft in work. “It’s educational,” they probably tell their bosses, before closing their latest 3D model and loading in to a Dropper map.
A year after creating the entirety of Britain and its geographical features in Minecraft, the BGS is back with a new project. They’ve now created 3D geological models of three sites across Britain: West Thurrock, York and Ingleborough.
“They show how the geology rises and falls, overlaps and folds at different depths,” explains BGS’s press release. “You are now able to see the rocks beneath north London, the soils that were deposited by ancient glaciers in York and how the ground is dissected by faults beneath the hilly slopes of Ingleborough.”
The three maps use a variety of tinted glass blocks to see the exact composition of different geological units under the surface.
Your level of interest probably depends on how much you care about a) Minecraft, or b) geology. Still, I do think Minecraft’s continued use as an informative or educational tool is neat. You can download the maps from this page on the BGS site.
Minecraft used to create 3D geological models of locations across Britain
Building a future with Minecraft mania
If your children are always jabbering on about creepers, spiders, spawning and mining for redstone, chances are good that they’re among the more than 100 million registered users of Minecraft, a player-directed computer game in which you build a world out of pixel-like cubes.
Minecraft brings you into an open-ended world of adventure and creation, in which every day lasts 20 minutes. You mine, forage or hunt for resources such as wood, iron, gold, and seeds, which you keep in your inventory and use to create buildings, make vehicles or other objects, grow crops and clothe or feed your game character. You can play in five modes: creative, survival, hardcore, adventure and spectator.
Kids are drawn to Minecraft because of the power they possess to shape this universe, and to interact with friends and strangers through online servers and modifications to the game — called “mods” — that they can download. Since an early version of the game was released in 2009, Minecraft has sold about 54 million copies across all platforms and launched an entire industry of third-party servers that allow multiplayer games, fan sites and YouTube channels. Microsoft purchased the Danish company that developed Minecraft, Mojang, for $2.5 billion in 2014.
“My daughter has devoted all her screen time to Minecraft,” says Rebecca Blouin, 42, mom of Gretchen, 11. “She stopped watching television three years ago.”
Gretchen and her brother Thomas, 8, can spend hours creating their own worlds, visiting servers and watching YouTube videos of other people playing Minecraft. Blouin prefers the creativity that the game unlocks to more passive video games or television, and loves that Gretchen has started talking about a career as a graphic designer and wants to learn computer programming.
Experts and parents of other Minecraft -obsessed kids agree that the game can be used to inspire, educate and build skills that can help children in school and their future professions. The logical next steps might be to explore software development, engineering, architecture, interior design, video editing, graphic design or even entrepreneurship. But the repeated process of gathering resources, planning a new creation and executing the project can apply to almost every career field.
“Minecraft is a very different game than almost everything else out there,” says Joel Levin, the co-founder of TeacherGaming, a gaming company partially founded by teachers whose officially supported MinecraftEdu is designed for classroom use. “When kids are playing Minecraft, they’re confronted with an almost endless number of challenges and goals, and most of it is self-directed.”
Cynthia Liu, Los Angeles-based founder of K-12 News Network, does her best to channel her 11-year old son’s interest into creative directions, playing alongside him and asking questions to understand what he’s doing. His interest in third-party servers, which make money from players visiting their worlds, led him to write a 30-page business plan for his own server, part of a fourth-grade school project. He also wrote and published an e-book to explain Minecraft basics to kids and their parents.
It’s not advisable that you let your kids play Minecraft unsupervised and consider it educational. They may join a violent-themed server and spend their time trying to “kill” total strangers — many of them adults. In most of these player-versus-player worlds, a live chat overlays the screen and is often laced with profanity as well as racist and sexist comments.
As with many dangers to our kids, the best defense includes open lines of communication supported by regular spot checks. Discuss appropriate and safe online behavior with your children as well as the difference between passive and active play.
Monitoring your children’s Minecraft usage will also give you an opening to encourage them to develop 21st century skills like coding, video editing and design — or even to find ways to be a creator rather than just a consumer in the Minecraft realm.
So if you have a child who adores Minecraft, it’s OK to encourage and embrace their interest. It just might pay dividends later in the real world.
The first-ever new ‘Minecraft’ game is ambitious, risky, and looks like a ton of fun
‘Minecraft’ is one of the most popular games on the planet. Microsoft spent $US2.5 billion on it back in September and it has millions of fans.
This is our first new ‘Minecraft’ game, and it is quite a departure from what fans know, here is what Telltale games says about the new iteration of its game:
Minecraft: Story Mode is an adventure game, by Telltale Games, set in a Minecraft world. It is a five-part episodic series that will take you to the Nether, the Farlands, the End, and beyond! You will drive how the story flows through the decisions you make: what you say to people (and how you say it), and what you choose to do in moments of thrilling action.
Players will control protagonist Jesse throughout the season, as portrayed by actor Patton Oswalt. Jesse and his group of friends revere the legendary Order of the Stone; four adventurers who slayed an Ender Dragon. The Order is the very best at what they do: Warrior, Redstone Engineer, Griefer, and Architect. While at EnderCon, Jesse and his friends discover that something is wrong… something dreadful. Terror is unleashed, and they must set out on a journey to find The Order of the Stone if they are to save their world from oblivion.
Available to download soon for PC, Mac, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, compatible iOS devices, and Android.
The first-ever new ‘Minecraft’ game is ambitious, risky, and looks like a ton of fun
The founder of Minecraft has been hosting wild parties since he bought his mansion for $70 million
Markus Persson, a Swedish video game programmer best known for creating Minecraft, famously dropped $70 million for a 23,000-square-foot Beverly Hills mansion in December 2014.The purchase was a record for the area, and Persson reportedly outbid Beyonce and Jay-Z, who had visited the home a number of times.
The home is completely over the top, with a 16-car garage, home gym, giant infinity pool, and lots of designer decor worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Persson — or “Notch” as he’s known in the gaming community — has certainly been enjoying his new digs.
Happy Independence Day yawl 🇺🇸
A photo posted by Nonames (@nonamesfbs) on Jul 5, 2015 at 1:14am PDT on Jul 5, 2015 at 1:14am PDT
A photo posted by rukes (@rukes) on Jul 5, 2015 at 4:34pm PDT on Jul 5, 2015 at 4:34pm PDT
@martingarrix doin his thang! 😱🎶🎹 #failingatmacarena
A video posted by Madelene Bajric (@madsbajric) on Jun 18, 2015 at 9:46pm PDT on Jun 18, 2015 at 9:46pm PDT
A photo posted by rukes (@rukes) on Jun 14, 2015 at 11:41pm PDT on Jun 14, 2015 at 11:41pm PDT
From Tony and I, have a safe and radical 4th of July!
A photo posted by Michael Rubin (@mike_n_ike1) on Jul 4, 2015 at 7:39pm PDT on Jul 4, 2015 at 7:39pm PDT
A photo posted by Madelene Bajric (@madsbajric) on Jun 14, 2015 at 8:25pm PDT on Jun 14, 2015 at 8:25pm PDT
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Happy Independence Day yawl 🇺🇸
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Players use Minecraft blocks to exercise creativity
Avid Minecraft computer game players Xavier Roundy, 12, (right) and his brother, Lincoln Roundy, 7, play the game in the children’s computer area at the Grand Island Public Library. The building game is about placing blocks to build anything that can be imagined. (Independent/Barrett Stinson)
Nicci Roundy, a Grand Island mother of three, doesn’t understand Minecraft, a popular video game.
“I tried playing Minecraft. I don’t get it,” she said, smiling.
But Roundy doesn’t mind her two sons, Xavier, 12, and Lincoln, 7, playing Minecraft and another game, Skylanders.
She likes Minecraft for her sons because it’s challenging. “They have to be creative with it,” she said. “They actually create their own worlds.”
The two boys fill those worlds with buildings, roller coasters and other objects of their own design. They can come back and add to those worlds as long as they use the same computer. In addition to houses, Lincoln has also designed flying saucers.
Roundy doesn’t let her sons play any of the shooting games that are popular, such as “Call of Duty.”
She and her husband, Antone, also have a 10-year-old daughter, Zoey. She’s not very interested in video games. But that doesn’t mean they appeal only to males. Xavier and his mother know girls who really like Minecraft.
Xavier and Lincoln are both members of the summer Minecraft Club at Grand Island Public Library. The coding and gaming class is led by Ben Marten, who teaches at Walnut Middle School.
The sessions at the library are more challenging than just playing the game, said Roundy, who works at the library. Marten teaches the young people how to solve problems.
“It’s a little different than just playing the game,” she said. “They’re actually trying to figure out how to do stuff.”
Blocks are very important in Minecraft. Watching them at work, Roundy notices differences in the boys’ personalities just in how they design buildings.
Why doesn’t she understand a game that her sons like?
“I don’t think I’m as creative as they are. I think that’s probably a large part of it,” Roundy said, laughing.
Even if other games come along, Xavier plans to stick with Minecraft “because it’s so much fun,” he said. “I just like playing it. Sometimes it’s hard, and sometimes it’s easy. You just have to be really creative.”
Right now, Minecraft and Skylanders are probably tied for first place among Xavier’s favorite games. There are lots of levels in Skylanders, he said. As you play it, you can unlock some of those levels.
He likes Minecraft because you can “build anything you want.”
Lincoln also likes a game called Roblox.
Xavier is going into seventh grade at Walnut, where his favorite class is science. At this point, he’d like to be an astronomer when he grows up. Lincoln and Zoey attend Howard Elementary School, where Lincoln is in second grade and Zoey is in fifth grade.
Xavier said he plays video games at least two hours a day. The boys are supposed to get their chores done before they’re allowed to play, their mother noted.
In addition to video games, Xavier likes to read. He likes the Percy Jackson series, his mother said.
“And Lincoln likes to draw,” Roundy said. “He’s a really good artist. That’s another reason why Minecraft is really something he enjoys doing.”
Xavier likes to play the NCAA college football video game. He also likes playing with footballs and basketballs, as well as watching football, he said.
The Roundy kids have always liked Legos, their mother said. One of the first video games they grew attached to was a Lego video game.
In addition to playing Minecraft themselves, the boys also like a YouTube Minecraft series hosted by a British animated cat named Stampy. Xavier said he likes those videos because Stampy is funny and he builds cool stuff.
A good thing about Minecraft, Xavier said, is that he can play the game with other people. In some cases, he plays with them. In others, he’s against them.
One version of Minecraft is similar to “The Hunger Games” in that the last player alive wins. Players also hunt characters called Ender Dragons.
So there is some shooting in Minecraft.
“At least it’s not gory,” Roundy said.
Minecon 2015: day two of the annual Minecraft conference – live
That’s a wrap for this liveblog. There is a closing ceremony to come, but I have two young Minecrafters of my own who I’ve promised I’ll be home in time to read a bedtime story to, and it’s a long-ish journey ahead.
The thing that’s hit home this weekend, though, is that Minecraft is much more than just a game that children (and adults – someone was telling me the other day that the average player age is 28, although I haven’t had that officially from developer Mojang) play. For many children, Minecraft is their entertainment – and the YouTubers who make Let’s Play videos with it are their pop stars.
I haven’t written nearly enough this weekend about the crossover between Minecraft and education – from the efforts of Mojang’s new parent company Microsoft to the Wonder Quest education series launched recently by Stampy to the various initiatives exploring whether Minecraft can be used to help children learn and practise programming skills.
That’s something to watch closely in the months ahead. Anyway, off I go, leaving an audience behind me happily waving their foam diamond swords and cuboid balloons. And as for the children…
Updated
fyi Daniel wanted to be a policeman when he was younger, his favourite colour is blue, and he doesn’t speak any languages other than English. And the final question, from one bold youngster: “Will you come to my house?” He might pop round for a cup of tea.
So now you know.
Middleton has just punched a man off the top of Big Ben. “Oh no! I’ve done a terrible thing!” Meanwhile, it has started raining in virtual London. And punching the man has solved the quest, for reasons nobody seems quite sure of.
But regardless, he’s now giving the jewels to the Queen because London. There might be an MBE in this for him one day. Oh, he’s taking a virtual selfie with her. Maybe not.
And now questions from the audience. What does he like best: pugs or Minecraft? He can’t choose. How much Minecraft does he play a day? About six or seven hours. What’s his favourite video on his own channel? DanTDM Gets Sick:
What would he be doing if Minecraft didn’t exist? “If YouTube was still around as a thing then I’d like to think I’d still make video on something. But something in video or music production, as that’s what I did my degree on.” Favourite block in Minecraft? Diamond blocks, although he flirts with the idea of saying the slime blocks.
Who inspired him to do YouTube? “I started watching Minecraft videos like Sky Does Minecraft and VanossGaming,” he says. His favourite mob? A villager, with pigs coming in second. Who’s his favourite YouTuber? VanossGaming, again.
It’s striking how naturally he answers the questions – which are all coming from young children – no talking down or fake-wackiness. “PS my mum’s best friend loves you!” says one questioner, drawing a big laugh from the parents in the room.
Updated
Anyway yes, Middleton is playing an adventure set in London, searching for a missing bus sign, then solving a jewel robbery – all with plenty of audience participation. Fans are shouting the answers whenever he asks a question, while parents give one another “I don’t understand this but at least we have seats for an hour, remember Peppa Pig World NEVER FORGET” glances.
It’s an interesting contrast to what you’d think of as traditional children’s entertainment, though: no exaggerated slapstick or shouting from Middleton – he really is just sat behind a laptop playing Minecraft and chatting about it with a fairly relaxed drawl. But his audience is rapt.
In other news I’m about four rows from the front to watch Daniel of The Diamond Minecart spend an hour playing Minecraft live – along with at least 3,000 other people. What scenes!
There was an extremely grumpy boy sat behind me complaining loudly about not being able to see. He’s moved now. That’s one of the awkward things about being a grown-up at Minecon: wherever you sit, there’s the risk that you’ll end up blocking the view of a six year-old who’s not afraid of calling you names.
‘You don’t need to be scared of YouTubers. We’re as scared of you!’
I heard the quote above while eating lunch earlier, from a woman sat behind me who was obviously famous enough on YouTube to have children nervously approaching and asking for her autograph. She was joking to reassure them, but it did neatly sum up the curious situation that gaming YouTubers find themselves in, when they get popular.
A lot of the ones I’ve met remind me of, well, me as a 21 year-old: gamers keen to communicate their passion to a wider audience. Except that while for me the main option was to take a staff writer job at a magazine publisher like Future Publishing or Dennis here in the UK – I did exactly that with Official Dreamcast Magazine back in the day – for them it’s about online video and audiences in their millions. But also the pressures that brings.
These gamers are stars for their audience – somewhere between children’s TV stars and pop stars on the scale of fan fervour. They have gaming skills and video-making skills, but they’re also having to develop the kind of people skills required when every other child you see wants your autograph and/or a selfie and/or a deep chat about a specific element of a certain Minecraft mod or video. Celebrity skills, I guess you’d call it.
And all the time, they’re uploading videos every day, getting involved in conversations on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, and having the kind of direct relationship with fans that a lot of traditional TV, film or music stars didn’t. They’re a fascinating new layer of pop-culture stars that, I suspect, the media still hasn’t quite gotten its head around.
I do hope they’re getting good support and advice, though: I can’t imagine the 21 year-old me being plunged into this kind of environment – where fandom crosses the digital-physical divide – and not finding it overwhelming at some point.
I’m assuming this has been announced before, but hadn’t seen it written about: Mattel is making a Minecraft-branded quadcopter drone based on the Ghast character (but you’ll have to wait until Autumn 2016 to buy it):
There’s an online TV show broadcasting from Minecon, with interviews shown live on nearby screens. Here’s Daniel Middleton, who runs the Diamond Minecart channel on YouTube, having his say.
Out of shot there was a growing crowd of children with foam swords and pickaxes, ready to seek an autograph as soon as he dares set foot on the expo floor.
Minecon 2015: day two of the annual Minecraft conference – live
This is Minecon: the biggest ‘Minecraft’ fan convention
Inside the main convention hall, children scurry left and right with foam diamond swords raised high above their heads. Eyes wide and mouths agape, some of them rush toward a blocky reimagining of Big Ben, where Minecraft‘s formidable Ender Dragon can be found wrapped around the clock face. Below, parents wander between life-size character statues and trees with cube-cut canopies, a mixture of fascination and bemusement etched onto their faces. For one weekend in July, 10,000 of the most dedicated Minecraft players have descended upon London’s Excel Exhibition Centre for Minecon, a fan convention celebrating the blockbuster sandbox building game. With panels, signings, tournaments and merchandise, it’s the Minecraft equivalent of Disney World and Comic-Con.
Minecon 2015
Minecraft is an anomaly in the video game industry. The first version was released by Markus “Notch” Persson in 2009 and was quickly championed by the press and indie game community. With no marketing, the desktop version surged in popularity as players embraced the primitive, colorful aesthetic and non-linear gameplay: Build a home, survive the night and then do whatever you like. Even now, it takes time for beginners to learn how to craft different items, and the randomly generated worlds always provide a fresh challenge. The game is unique and, surprisingly, no developer to date has managed to copy the experience and its commercial success.
More than six years after its debut, the game continues to sell. Persson is no longer attached to the project and the studio he founded, Mojang, was bought by Microsoft for $2.5 billion. Most developers would have released a sequel by now, but instead the team has busied itself with console ports and updates for the “vanilla” game. Minecraft has many older fans — the average player is 29 — but in the last few years, the game has clearly benefited from an influx of younger players. They’ve helped Minecraft form a diverse gaming community spanning different ages, genders and geographies.
That expansive player base was clearly reflected at Minecon. Not just in the attendees, but also in what was offered to keep them entertained. Many of the younger Minecraft fans wanted to see famous YouTubers like Joseph Garrett, otherwise known as Stampy. Videos of his daily adventures have attracted more than 6 million subscribers and led to an online animated series called Wonder Quest. On the first day of the convention, he held an hour-long show on the main stage that featured a slew of Minecraft-themed games and activities. One, for instance, saw him teaming up with a fellow YouTuber who was trying to play the game blindfolded — a second pair picked from the crowd then raced the duo to complete challenges in the world. At the same time, the crowd was encouraged to cheer and shout out their suggestions. “Go to the meadows,” one boy screamed from the top of his lungs. “No, not there; right a bit; right a bit,” a girl farther back muttered dejectedly.
It wasn’t just Stampy whipping the crowd into a frenzy though. Some fans raced to see members of Mindcrack, a community of YouTubers and Twitch streamers that play Minecraft online. “Just meeting a couple of them was really amazing,” Nelson Jansen, a Minecraft buff who’s been playing since the very first version said. “So far, that’s easily the best thing that’s happened.” Internet personalities are an obvious draw, but for some, the event was just a once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet fellow fans.
More than 70 million copies of the game have been sold, so you would be forgiven for thinking that every schoolyard is filled with Minecraft addicts. But in reality, that’s not always the case. “At my school there’s only a few people that play it,” said Lewis Walmsley, a student from Manchester. “So it’s nice to meet other people that play — obviously they have different ideas that you can share.” Jurrien Brondijk, a fellow Minecraft player felt the same way: “It’s a big event with a lot of people that enjoy Minecraft and those sorts of things. So that’s very appealing, just to meet all those people and talk about the game.”
Internet personalities are an obvious draw, but for some, the event was a once in a lifetime chance to meet fellow fans.
Fancy dress has become a massive part of convention culture, and Minecon was no exception. At every panel, booth and queue, players would feverishly compare polystyrene pickaxes and swords covered in signatures from their favorite developers, modders and YouTubers. Some of the attendees went even further, making outfits that resemble classic monsters from the game. Unlike most video game conventions, however, the enthusiast “cosplay” scene wasn’t really apparent. Almost all of the fans in dress-up were young children and there was a rough, heartwarming feel to everything they had made. One little girl had decorated a dress to make it look like her personal Minecraft world, topped with glitter and stars for some personal flair. None of them were professional cosplayers, or hobbyists that relish the challenge of perfectly recreating their favorite character’s outfit. Instead, these were fans that just wanted to show their appreciation.
“You know you can come here and walk around with your diamond sword and no one will have a problem with it,” Sam Walker, a Minecraft player hooked on community mods, said. “While if you take it on the London Underground, you might get a few shifty looks!”
Even after hours, Minecon was an impressive sight. Huge fortresses were erected in the corners of the main convention hall, lovingly painted to look like stone, ice and sand. Statues of blocky builders guarded their entrance, while a pair of Iron Golems stood watch in the building’s central hallway. Near the back of the convention, you could wander through a series of farmyard pens filled with sheep, pigs and other Minecraft animals. During the day, there was even an opportunity to have your picture taken atop one of the horses, if you didn’t fancy leaning over the fence for a quick selfie.
“Our one and only priority is just that everyone that comes here has a good time and gets to celebrate Minecraft,” said Matt Booty.
The amazing decorations didn’t stop there. To match its London setting, Minecon offered a “Minepark,” which resembled London’s eight Royal Parks. The leafy escape had artificial grass, park benches and a bridge overlooking a river and swan. Families could gather at the tables and log stools for lunch, before wandering down the strip to take in some carnival attractions. These were, of course, all Minecraft-themed, with names such as Tic-Tack-Inventory, Creeper Catch and Mine Racer. Some were devilishly tricky, but others were simple enough so that everyone walked away with a prize.
“Our one and only priority is just that everyone that comes here has a good time and gets to celebrate Minecraft,” said Matt Booty, Microsoft’s general manager for the Minecraft team in Redmond. “I think that’s different for everybody. For some people, that means getting to meet their favorite YouTubers; for others, that’s going to be getting to meet Jens (Bergensten), the creative director from Mojang. For others, it’s going to be coming and getting to go to the panels. So I think it’s just that everybody comes away feeling that they got to somehow participate in their favorite game and got to be a part of the community.”
For Minecraft maniacs, Minecon is a special event. But the game’s popularity does beg the question: Why hold a convention at all? Minecraft is selling well and the community will grow regardless of whether Minecon is a success. Well, according to Booty, none of that really matters. Minecon is about thanking the fans and proving that Microsoft isn’t about to meddle with a winning formula. “Our approach is very much a partnership, so we’re just working together with Mojang and not looking to come in and radically change things, or try to turn them into something more Microsoft-like,” Booty said. “We mostly want to make sure that we’re a great resource and they continue to succeed.”
Microsoft and Mojang have a surplus of player feedback from social media, Reddit and the Minecraft forums. But sometimes, it’s easier to record and act upon this information by meeting people in person. Over the weekend, Microsoft hosted competitions to win one of 25 golden tickets and a rare HoloLens briefing. With this augmented reality headset, you can project and manipulate digital images in the real world, similar to Minority Report and Iron Man. Microsoft has only shown it on a few occasions and one of its most impressive demos to date incorporated Minecraft. At E3 in Los Angeles, the player was seen projecting a virtual TV screen onto a blank wall and later pulling the entire Minecraft world onto a table. In the latter mode, he could view the landscape from an aerial perspective, follow other players and interact using various voice commands. Few people outside of the press have tried it, but Minecon was the perfect place to put it in the hands of the public. “Giving players the opportunity to see something like HoloLens — I don’t know where else we could do this,” Booty said.
Minecon wasn’t just for the fans — delighting them re-energized Mojang and Microsoft employees too. The positivity inside the Excel Exhibition Centre was infectious; every panel ended with rapturous applause and during the closing ceremony, some children said they were the best days of their lives. “We all come away from this excited about working on Minecraft,” Booty said. “It’s hard to sit in the big room for the main stage or be on the show floor and see how excited everybody gets, and not come away excited yourself.”
Minecon is unusual. It’s now the largest convention dedicated to a single video game, beating events like EVE Fanfest and Summer of Sonic. But this year’s event was still small and surprisingly peaceful. Ten thousand tickets might sound like a lot, but it’s a slither of the attendees now turning up for MCM London Comic Con. Not that it really matters. Unlike most conventions, Minecon has never been about making money. It’s a celebration of Minecraft, and a way for both the fans and its creators to say thank you. A humble event for what started as a humble game.
So Is Every Game Just Going to Be Minecraft Now?
While all we have so far by way of information is a single screenshot, it’s looking fairly clear that Builders takes the seminal Japanese role-playing game series and applies its distinctive veneer of teardrop-shaped Slimes and adorable dragons to Minecraft‘s magical $2 billion build-stuff-out-of-pixelated-blocks formula.
Dragon Quest practically invented the console role-playing game, and is one of Japan’s biggest game franchises (you can eat at a Dragon Quest cafe and outfit yourself entirely in Slime-themed clothing should you desire), but the tail’s been wagging the dog for some time now—Dragon Quest‘s trappings have been applied to action games, music games, and now a Minecraft-like, but not so much with the actual RPGs, which are much more costly and time-intensive to make these days.
So if you’re going to chase other popular genres, why not chase Minecraft? It’s all the rage with the kids these days and it’s likely that this take on the block-building genre will do fairly well for Square Enix worldwide, which will probably cause other third-party publishers to ask themselves why they don’t have similar games in their catalogs. Sort of like how the early success of Call of Duty made every publisher believe it had to have a World War II period shooter out there somewhere.
The difference (and the reason this should give you some sort of hope for the future) is that while game publishers are always going to chase the leader, the leader now no longer has to emerge from one of their studios in the first place. Minecraft‘s ascension from indie game obscurity into the world’s most popular videogame may be a one-in-a-million shot, but you’ve got to figure the next big breakout hit from an unknown developer isn’t too far away. And years down the line it’ll be Minecraft that’s the sort of catch-all nostalgia brand, being applied to anything that seems like it might work.
Minecraft Beta Version to be Released with Windows 10 on July 29
Mojang announced the release of Minecraft’s newest version together with Microsoft’s Windows 10 Edition during the last Minecon. The Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition will be released on July 29.
Minecraft for Windows 10 is the beta version of the earlier Minecraft games. Its release was also posted on Mojang’s blog article last July 4.
According to the blog post, the new Minecraft will be released complete with the 1.9 update. It will still include some features from its earlier PC version, but this time with the aim to allow its players to enjoy gaming with mobile and console users.
The multiplayer feature of the beta version will only allow a maximum of eight players for PC and Xbox Live. The new version will still include both survival and creative mode where players get to build their world and enjoy character abilities.
Players will also get the chance to record their gameplay with the DVR feature. More gamers are recording their gameplay to either provide tips to other gamers or to simply get feedback which can help them improve their play. The DVR feature will make this task easier for them.
Part of the announcement posted on Mojang’s blog was Microsoft’s desire to further develop the said game. The previous version was known as “Java”, which later on included an edition for mobile users.
The developers called the newest Windows 10 edition as “beta” to note their desire to further improve the game. The company further noted that they will be adding up new features and other updates in the future.
Upon release, those with PC versions will get the update of the newest Minecraft for free. For those who haven’t had the previous version, they can acquire it at US$10 (AU$13.38) while it’s still under beta.
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