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Minecraft
Minecraft Logo
Basic Information
Type(s)
Series
Mojang Studios
Mojang Studios, Microsoft Corporation
Sandbox
Digital Download
Android, Fire TV, iOS, Microsoft Windows, Java, New Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Windows 10, Xbox 360 and Xbox One
United Nations International Release Date(s)
Microsoft Windows, macOS and GNU/Linux
November 182011

Minecraft is a sandbox game created by Swedish game developer Markus "Notch" Persson and released by Swedish video game company Mojang Studios in 2011. The game allows players to build with a variety of different blocks in a 3D randomly generated world, requiring creativity from players. There are multiple game modes that alter gameplay - including but not limited to Survival Mode (players must acquire resources to build the world and maintain health) and Creative Mode (players have unlimited resources to build with). On November 6, 2014, Minecraft and all of Mojang's assets were acquired by Microsoft for US$2.5 billion.[1]

The gameplay is inspired by Dwarf Fortress, Dungeon Keeper, and especially Infiniminer.[2][3]

The game is split into four modes: survival, hardcore, creative, and adventure. In Survival, the player needs to eat food to regenerate health, and fend against monsters that appear at night. In Hardcore, the game is locked at the highest difficulty and the player only has one life. In Creative, the player has unlimited resources and the ability to fly and create whatever they desire. In Adventure, blocks cannot be broken unless a proper tool is used.

Minecraft was developed for about a week before its public release on May 17, 2009 on the TIGSource forums, where it gained a considerable level of popularity. It has been continually updated since then.

Java Edition is the original computer version of Minecraft developed by Mojang on the Java programming language.

Bedrock Edition is the multi-platform family of editions of Minecraft developed by Mojang AB and Xbox Game Studios. It encompasses the iOS, Android, Windows 10, Gear VR, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Fire TV platforms. Bedrock Edition was initially released as Pocket Edition for Android on August 16, 2011 and for iOS on November 17, 2011 until the release of version 1.2 (dubbed the "Better Together Update") on September 20, 2017 combined those versions as well as the digital Xbox One, Windows 10, Gear VR, Fire TV, and Nintendo Switch. The final platform to join Bedrock Edition is PlayStation 4, which was released on December 10, 2019.

Legacy Console Edition is a series of Minecraft editions for consoles, was first released for the Xbox 360 as Xbox 360 Edition; December 17, 2013 for the PlayStation 3 as PlayStation 3 Edition; September 5, 2014 for the Xbox One as Xbox One Edition; October 14, 2014 for the PlayStation Vita as PlayStation Vita Edition; and December 17, 2015 for the Wii U as Wii U Edition.

Several spin-offs have been made, including Minecraft: Story Mode, Minecraft Earth, Minecraft Dungeons, and the most recent release, Minecraft Legends.

Purchase and availability[ | ]

Java Edition can be purchased through Minecraft's official website, and gift codes can be bought for others.

Bedrock Edition can be purchased from the Google Play Store, Apple App Store, Amazon App Store, Microsoft Store for Windows 10, Oculus Store, Xbox Games Store, Nintendo eShop, PlayStation Store, and the Fire TV App Store.

Gameplay[ | ]

Minecraft is a 3D sandbox game that has no required goals to accomplish, allowing players a large amount of freedom in choosing how to play the game. However, there is an achievement system, known as "advancements" in Java Edition, "trophies" on the PlayStation ports, and "achievements" on Bedrock Edition and the Xbox ports. Gameplay is in the first-person perspective by default, but players have an option of choosing third-person perspective. The game world is composed of rough 3D objects - mainly cubes and fluids called "blocks" - representing various materials (i.e. stone, dirt, ores, tree trunks, water, and lava). The core gameplay revolves around picking up and placing these objects. These blocks are arrangeable in a 3D grid, while players can move around freely throughout the world. Players can "mine" blocks and place them elsewhere, allowing them to build things. The game also contains a material called "redstone", which can be used to make primitive mechanical devices, electrical circuits, and logic gates, allowing for the construction of many complex systems.

The game world is virtually infinite and procedurally generated as players explore it, using a map seed that is obtained from the system clock at the time of world creation (or manually specified by the player). There are limits on vertical movement, but Minecraft allows an infinitely large game world to be generated on the horizontal plane. The game achieves this by splitting the world data into smaller 16 by 16 sections called "chunks" that are only created or loaded when players are nearby. The world is divided into biomes ranging from deserts to jungles to snowfields; the terrain includes plains, mountains, forests, caves, and bodies of water or lava. The in-game time system follows a day and night cycle, with one full cycle lasting for 20 real-time minutes.

When starting a new world, players must choose one of five game modes, as well as one of four difficulties, ranging from "Peaceful" to "Hard". Increasing the difficulty of the game causes the player to take more damage from mobs (non-player characters), as well as having other difficulty-specific effects. For example, the Peaceful difficulty prevents hostile mobs from spawning, and the Hard difficulty allows players to starve to death if their hunger bar is depleted. Once selected, the difficulty can be changed, but the game mode is locked and can only be changed with cheats.

New players are given a randomly selected default character skin out of 9 possibilities, including Steve or Alex, but the option to create custom skins was made available in 2010. Players encounter various mobs, such as animals, villagers, and hostile creatures. Passive mobs, such as cows, pigs, and chickens, can be hunted for food and crafting materials. They spawn in the daytime, while hostile mobs—including large spiders, skeletons, and zombies—spawn during nighttime or in dark places such as caves. Some hostile mobs, such as zombies, skeletons and drowned (underwater versions of zombies), burn under the sun if they have no headgear. Other creatures unique to Minecraft include the creeper (an exploding creature that sneaks up on the player) and the enderman (a creature with the ability to teleport as well as pick up and place blocks). There are also variants of mobs that spawn in different conditions; for example, zombies have husk and drowned variants that spawn in deserts and oceans, respectively.

Dimensions[ | ]

Minecraft has two alternative dimensions besides the main world, called the Overworld: the Nether and the End.

The Nether[ | ]

The Nether is a hell-like underworld dimension accessed via either a player-built obsidian portal or one of the Ruined Portals randomly generated throughout the world. It contains many unique resources and can be used to travel great distances in the Overworld, due to every block traveled in the Nether being equivalent to 8 blocks traveled in the Overworld. Water cannot exist in the Nether, as it vaporizes instantly. The Nether is mainly populated by pigman-like mobs called piglins and their zombified counterparts, plus floating balloon-like mobs called ghasts. The piglins are considered particularly noteworthy because of their bartering system, where the player can give them gold ingots and receive items in return. The player can also build an optional boss mob called The Wither out of materials found in the Nether.

The End[ | ]

The End is reached by underground portals in the Overworld. It consists of islands floating above a dark, bottomless void. A boss dragon called the Ender Dragon guards the largest, central island. Killing the dragon opens access to an exit portal, which, when entered, cues the game's ending credits and the End Poem, a roughly 1,500-word work written by Irish novelist Julian Gough, which takes about nine minutes to scroll past and is the game's only narrative text and only text of significant length directed at the player. At the conclusion of the credits, the player is teleported back to their respawn point and may continue the game indefinitely.

Game modes[ | ]

The game features five game modes, each focusing on the core mechanic in a different way: Survival, Hardcore, Creative, Spectator, and Adventure.

Survival mode[ | ]

Survival mode gives the player a health meter and limits on the number of blocks they can carry or place. Blocks must be acquired in the world before they can be used.

Hardcore mode[ | ]

Hardcore mode is a variant of survival mode in which, upon death, the player may only view the world in spectator mode or delete the world entirely. This is only available in Java Edition.

Creative mode[ | ]

In creative mode, players have access to nearly all resources and items in the game and can place or remove them instantly. Players can toggle the ability to fly freely around the game world at will, and can not take damage nor be affected by hunger

Adventure mode[ | ]

Adventure mode is a variant of survival mode with possible restrictions added by a creator of a map.

Development[ | ]

Minecraft title

The original Minecraft logo and menu.

Minecraft went through five phases of development (Classic, Indev, Infdev, Alpha, and Beta) before being fully released in November 2011.

Indev, Infdev, Alpha and Beta are no longer available, supported or updated, and the official game has become the main version of the game, with the free version being renamed Classic.

Classic[ | ]

Classic is the first version of Minecraft. It was dubbed "Classic" to distinguish it from Alpha.

It features a bare-bones version of the creative mode found in later versions, allowing players to build and destroy any and all parts of the world, either alone or in a multi-player server, without the need to worry about being attacked by mobs or avoiding hazards like lava or steep falls. It also lacked the crafting system found in later versions.

The player is given an unlimited number of blocks with which to build, and can place and remove blocks instantly regardless of type. Classic is free to play, though it is not updated.

An official version of the Classic server software is available from the Minecraft website, but several fans have created their own custom servers with extra features.

In Classic, placed sponge repels water, unlike in later versions. Additionally, all water is infinite.

Indev[ | ]

Indev added a number of new features, including an inventory, a crafting system, dynamic lighting, third-person view toggle via the F5 key, farming, and a day-night cycle.

Infdev[ | ]

Infdev added an almost infinite playing surface, as well as more craftable items, more complex cave systems, a dynamic fluid system, and dungeons.If You Went 12550800 blocks away, A glitch called the farlands would Appear It was the edge of the infinite World and formed Very Strange Terrain.

Alpha[ | ]

Only featuring a survival mode – albeit with single and multiplayer variants – Alpha required that the player use the building and mining mechanics as a method of protection from hostile monsters, and as a way to uncover useful ores in the ground. Alpha also included limits on the number of blocks that can be held by the player, using an inventory system, and required that all blocks be mined first rather than giving the player an unlimited supply as in Classic's creative mode.

Different blocks can be crafted into items such as chests, minecarts and tracks, and buckets. There were also plants and animals, which can be farmed and hunted for other resources. The player had an inventory in which to hold blocks and items, as well as a health meter. Health can be restored upon eating certain items and is lost from long falls or attacks by monsters. Upon death, the player respawns at their original spawn point with an empty inventory, though items can be recovered if the player reaches the point of death before they disappear.

Alpha also placed a heavy emphasis on creativity. Players must devise methods of building functional and navigable structures that can withstand the nightly assault from various monsters. The player's short reach and short jumping ability forces players to plan structures carefully, lest they trap themselves or fall to their death during construction. More advanced players can create complex traps and mechanisms using the game physics as well as primitive electrical circuits and logic gates.

Alpha allowed for an effectively infinite horizontal playing surface, though limits existed on vertical movement both up and down. The game world was procedurally generated as the player explores it, with the full size possible stretching out to be nearly eight times the surface area of the Earth before running into technical limits dubbed the "Far Lands". Alpha can be played either with a stand-alone client or in a browser and in either single or multiplayer mode (which is still under heavy development). Minecraft Alpha was expected to move out of alpha status into beta soon, along with a name change.

Some of the features introduced in Alpha include Redstone circuits, the Nether dimension, biomes, new sounds and music, and improved AI pathfinding and spawning

Beta[ | ]

Features in Beta included achievements and statistics, the reintroduction of Creative mode, weather effect (rain and snow), new lighting mechanics, new graphical effects, new combat mechanics, a hunger bar, new naturally generated structures such as strongholds and villages, and maps. In Beta 1.8 the Farlands (mentioned in the infdev Section) Were Removed.

Official[ | ]

On November 18, 2011, Minecraft was officially released under version number 1.0.0. This phase of development continues to receive updates and improvements, and as of December 2023, the current version is 1.20.4.

Editions[ | ]

Java Edition[ | ]

The original platform of Minecraft that runs on Windows, MacOS, and Linux and started through its launcher. The game was initially released for an "early private singleplayer alpha" on May 16, 2009, with the full version being released on November 18, 2011.

Bedrock Edition[ | ]

The Bedrock Edition (also known as the Bedrock Platform, Bedrock Codebase, or Bedrock Engine) refers to the multi-platform family of editions of Minecraft developed by Mojang and Xbox Game Studios. The engine originated with the Pocket Edition, and has been referred to as "MCPE", "Pocket Edition", or "Pocket/Windows 10 Edition".

Minecraft, with no subtitle, is the title of all Bedrock editions of Minecraft. It includes the Windows 10 Edition, Pocket Edition (for all mobile platforms), Gear VR Edition, and Fire TV Edition.

It was initially released for the Xperia PLAY as exclusive on August 16, 2011 for US$6.99; later it was released for other Android devices on October 7, 2011, and for iOS on November 17, 2011. On September 13, 2012 the Pocket Edition was made available for purchase on the Amazon Appstore. The Windows Phone version was released on the Windows Store on December 10, 2014, followed by a Windows 10 version on July 29, 2015, a Samsung Gear VR version on April 27, 2016, and a version for Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV on December 19, 2016.

The Windows Phone version and the Apple TV Edition is discontinued as of September 2018.

Legacy Console Edition[ | ]

Main articles: Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition, Minecraft: Xbox One Edition, Minecraft: PlayStation 3 Edition, Minecraft: PlayStation Vita Edition, Minecraft: Nintendo Switch Edition

Legacy Console Edition refers to the edition of Minecraft for consoles, which was continuously updated by 4J Studios. It was initially released for the Xbox 360 on May 9, 2012, and has since been expanded for Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, and Nintendo Switch. As of December 10, 2019, Legacy Console Edition has been discontinued.[4]

New Nintendo 3DS Edition[ | ]

An edition of Minecraft for the New Nintendo 3DS and New Nintendo 2DS was released on September 13, 2017 developed by Other Ocean Interactive. It was available on the Nintendo eShop. Multiplayer is limited to local play. The New Nintendo 3DS Edition was discontinued on January 15, 2019.

Minecraft Education[ | ]

Minecraft Education (previously Minecraft: Education Edition until January 2023[5]) is specifically designed for classroom use, and is available for Windows 10, macOS, Android, iOS, and Chrome OS. It is developed by Mojang Studios and Xbox Game Studios, and was fully released on November 1, 2016.

Minecraft China[ | ]

On May 20, 2016, a localized edition of Minecraft for China was announced, dubbed "Minecraft China", where it was released under a licensing agreement between NetEase and Mojang. The PC edition of the game was released for public testing on August 8, 2017. The iOS version was released on September 15, 2017, and the Android version was released on October 12, 2017. The PC edition is based on Java Edition, whereas the iOS and Android mobile version is based on Bedrock Edition.

Other versions[ | ]

There are a number of other versions of Minecraft, most of which have been discontinued or no longer supported.

Minecraft 4k is a simple version of the game in the style of other "4k" Java games (everything is packaged in 4 kilobytes) that Notch has entered in contests.

Pi Edition was a free ported version of the 0.5.0 version of Pocket Edition for the Raspberry Pi,[6] which was intended as an educational tool for novice programmers. It allowed users to manipulate the game code and supported multiple programming languages; however, it was discontinued in January 2016.

Reception[ | ]

Critics[ | ]

Minecraft has received critical acclaim, praising the creative freedom it grants players in-game, as well as the ease of enabling emergent gameplay.[7][8][9] Critics have praised the game's complex crafting system, commenting that it is an important aspect of the game's open-ended gameplay. Most publications were impressed by the game's "blocky" graphics, with IGN describing them as "instantly memorable". Reviewers also liked the game's adventure elements, noting that the game creates a good balance between exploring and building. The game's multiplayer feature has been generally received favorably, with IGN commenting that "adventuring is always better with friends". Jaz McDougall of PC Gamer said Minecraft is "intuitively interesting and contagiously fun, with an unparalleled scope for creativity and memorable experiences". It has been regarded as having introduced millions of children to the digital world, insofar as its basic game mechanics are logically analogous to computer commands.

IGN was disappointed about the troublesome steps needed to set up multiplayer servers, calling it a "hassle". Critics also said that visual glitches occur periodically. Despite its release out of beta in 2011, GameSpot said the game had an "unfinished feel", adding that some game elements seem "incomplete or thrown together in haste".

A review of the alpha version, by Scott Munro of the Daily Record, called it "already something special" and urged readers to buy it. Jim Rossignol of Rock, Paper, Shotgun also recommended the alpha of the game, calling it "a kind of generative 8-bit Lego Stalker". On 17 September 2010, gaming webcomic Penny Arcade began a series of comics and news posts about the addictiveness of the game. The Xbox 360 version was generally received positively by critics but did not receive as much praise as the PC version. Although reviewers were disappointed by the lack of features such as mod support and content from the PC version, they acclaimed the port's addition of a tutorial and in-game tips and crafting recipes, saying that they make the game more user-friendly.

Sales[ | ]

Awards[ | ]

Controversies[ | ]

2014 EULA changes[ | ]

Account migration[ | ]

In 2020, Mojang Studios revealed that it would begin the process of requiring that Microsoft accounts be used in order to log into the Java Edition of the game, and that older Mojang Studios account would be discontinued. The move to Microsoft accounts also required Java Edition players to create Xbox network Gamertags. Mojang Studios defended the move to Microsoft accounts by saying that improved security could be offered, which included Java accounts being able to use two factor authentication, players could block cyberbullies in chat, and improve parental controls. The community responded with intense backlash against this announcement, particularly taking issue to the various technical difficulties encountered in the process and how account migration would be mandatory, even for those who do not play on servers. As of March 10, 2022, Microsoft requires all players to migrate in order to access the Java Edition of Minecraft.[10][11]

Java Edition chat reporting[ | ]

In June 2022, Microsoft and Mojang announced a player reporting feature in all future builds of Java Edition, where players could report other players on multiplayer servers for sending messages that are prohibited by the Xbox Live Code of Conduct. Report categories include substance abuse, hate speech, threats of violence, and nudity (a profane language category was included but later removed). If a player was found to be in violation of Xbox Community Standards, the player would be banned from all servers for a specific period of time or permanently.

Microsoft and Mojang received major backlash and protest from the community, with common complaints including players being banned from all multiplayer servers with no way for server owners to opt out of the global ban network, and the effects that this feature would have on servers used exclusively by small friend groups. Others took issue to Microsoft increasing its control over its player base and exercising more censorship of players.[12][13]

The update containing the report feature was released on July 27, 2022.[14]

Notable Events[ | ]

In September 2010, PayPal froze Notch's account due to "a suspicious withdrawal or deposit". At the time, Notch said there was about €600,000 in the account (about 750,000 US dollars).[15]

As of September 12, 2010, the account has been unlocked.[16]

Herobrine[ | ]

Herobrine is a fake NPC rumored to be Notch's dead brother and also claimed to be a bug. It is claimed that Herobrine is capable of mining and building structures, making 2x2 tunnels, large cobblestone pillars, large 5 block tall, 3 block long letter "E"s out of Glowstone and pyramids filled with torches and deathtraps.

The legend of Herobrine began as a creepypasta but has mushroomed in popularity since then. Although the official Minecraft version changelogs refer to having "Removed Herobrine" from a number of versions, Notch (and later, Dinnerbone) has plainly stated on a number of occasions that Herobrine was never in Minecraft and there are no plans to add him.

References[ | ]

  1. Yes, we're being bought by Microsoft. Mojang (September 15, 2014). Archived from the original on September 15, 2014
  2. Persson, Markus. Credits due. Tumblr. Published May 26, 2009. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  3. Handy, Alex. Interview: Markus "Notch" Persson Talks Making Minecraft. Gamasutra. Published March 23, 2010. Retrieved September 5, 2019
  4. Howard, Kelsey (December 9, 2019). Bedrock is coming to PS4. Minecraft.net. Mojang.
  5. Meet Minecraft Education. Minecraft.net (17 January 2023). Retrieved on 17 February 2023
  6. Minecraft is coming to the Raspberry Pi. Mojang (24 November 2012). Archived from the original on 27 November 2012
  7. Rossignol, Jim. "Building-block World". PC Gamer UK. No. 204.
  8. Hindes, Daniel. "Trouble Down Mine". PC PowerPlay (169)
  9. Reinhart, Brandon (28 July 2010). Is that an Equalizer in your pocket?. Valve Corporation. Archived from the original on 5 July 2011
  10. Coles, Jason (March 14, 2022). Microsoft's Minecraft migration meets a mixed response. PCGamesN.
  11. Rich, Rob (February 10, 2022). Microsoft Gives Minecraft: Java Edition Players A Deadline To Migrate Accounts. SlashGear.
  12. Orland, Kyle (June 24, 2022). Microsoft will start banning players from all private Minecraft servers. Ars Technica.
  13. Bellingham, Hope (June 23, 2022). The new Minecraft update can totally ban you from all online play. GamesRadar+.
  14. Hedberg, Mikael (July 27, 2022). Minecraft Java Edition 1.19.1. Mojang.
  15. Quintin Smith. PayPal Freezes MineCraft Dev’s 600k Euros. Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved on 2010-09-10
  16. PayPal called. They're going to require a 5% "reserve" of all sales. Unacceptable. But at least they're going to unlock my account. – @notch on Twitter

External links[ | ]

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