Minecraft - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Minecraft | |
---|---|
![]() Logo used since 2022 | |
Developer(s) | Mojang Studios[a] |
Publisher(s) | |
Designer(s) | |
Artist(s) |
|
Composer(s) | C418[g] |
Series | Minecraft |
Platform(s) | |
Release | 18 November 2011[h]
|
Genre(s) | Sandbox, survival |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Minecraft is a sandbox game made and published by Mojang Studios. Originally made by Markus "Notch" Persson in the Java programming language, it started being made over the span of 2 years, from May 2009 to November 2011. More than 300 million copies of the game have been sold.[18] This makes it the best-selling video game of all time.
In Minecraft, players explore a free walkable world filled with many 3D items. Many of these items are cubes, called "blocks". These include basic terrain and resources such as dirt, stone, wood, and sand. There are also items the player can use, such as crafting tables, furnaces, blast furnaces, looms, and stonecutters among others. Players can use these to make new items such as tools and armor, as well as different kinds of blocks.[19] Players can then build structures using these blocks, such as buildings, statues, pixel art, and more.
Minecraft has a large community. It has a lot of user-generated content (things made by players) like mods, servers, skins, resource packs, and custom maps, which add new gameplay features and game modes to the base game.
Minecraft has three main versions: Java Edition, Bedrock Edition, and Education. Java Edition is the first version of Minecraft made, but Bedrock Edition is now used more due to it being multi-platform. Bedrock Edition and Education are written in C++, and Java Edition is written in Java. In the past, special versions of Minecraft were made just for video game consoles.
History
[change | change source]Minecraft was originally created as an experiment to test random generation for caves. Minecraft was inspired by Infiniminer, a game created by Zach Barth. The first version of Minecraft was released for PC players on 17 May 2009 and it was called Cave Game. After going through alpha and beta versions, the full version was released on 18 November 2011. A version for Android was released on 7 October 2011, and an iOS version was released on 17 November 2011.[20]
At first, Minecraft was created only by Markus Persson. Other people started to work on it when Persson started an independent video game company called Mojang Specifications. The company was later renamed simply to Mojang. Later in 2011, a version named Minecraft: Pocket Edition was released for iOS and Android devices. This version was later renamed "Bedrock Edition". In 2012, Persson gave Jens "Jeb" Bergensten the job of being the main developer of Minecraft. In 2014, Microsoft bought Mojang for $2.5 billion USD.[21]
Minecraft has also released on many video game consoles. On 9 May 2012, Minecraft came out on the Xbox 360 as a download through the Xbox Live Arcade. It was available for 1600 Microsoft Points ($19.99). In 2013, Minecraft came out as a disc for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. On 10 December 2013, a Windows Phone version was released.[22] Versions for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 were released in September 2014.[23] A version for the PlayStation Vita was released on 14 October 2014. The Wii U edition was released on 17 December 2015. In 2017, versions for the Nintendo Switch and the New Nintendo 3DS were released. The Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch were later given the Bedrock Edition, which allowed players of these systems to play together.
Gameplay
[change | change source]This section does not have any sources. (July 2023) |
At the start of the game, players are put in a random location in the game world. They can begin breaking blocks to collect resources, such as wood and dirt, which can be used later in the game. Players can use resources to make new tools, such as pickaxes, which let the player gather stone in the caves that they find. Different resources require different tools to collect them. For example, diamonds can only be collected with an iron pickaxe, or one of a better quality.
The game world is mostly endless. As players explore it, the game makes new sections of the world using procedural generation. The game generates different kinds of terrain in biomes. Different biomes have different blocks in them. For example, a taiga biome will have lots of spruce trees and snow, whereas a plains biome will have lots of grass. The player can also find different structures in the world, like mountains and villages.
The game has non-player characters called "mobs" (short for mobile entity). There are many mobs in Minecraft. Some are real-life animals, like cows, pigs, and sheep. Some are based on monsters, such as zombies or skeletons. There are also some which do not exist in the real world in any way, and are unique to Minecraft, such as Creepers, Piglins, and Endermen. Each mob has different things it can do. For example, players can kill cows to get leather, which can make items, and beef, which can be cooked to make food. The Creeper, a hostile mob (meaning it tries to attack the player), will move close to the player and then explode, which usually causes so much damage that will kill the player.
Minecraft has very few goals. Players can choose how they want to play. They can choose to fight bosses, such as the Wither and the Ender Dragon, or choose to explore the world and build. If the player defeats the Ender Dragon, they can see the credits of the game.[24] Minecraft also has lots of Achievements called "advancements". These can range from simple things like sleeping in a bed for the first time, to complex things like discovering every biome in the game. Both boss fights and advancements are optional.
In addition to the default dimension the player starts in (called the "Overworld"), there are also two other dimensions in Minecraft - the Nether and the End. Both of these can be accessed with special portals. The player can make Nether portals using obsidian and flint and steel, but End portals have to be found in strongholds. While it is not necessary to go to these dimensions, they have lots of different items and enemies which cannot be found in the Overworld. The Ender Dragon can only be fought in the End. After that, the player has a choice of going back to the overworld or to go to the end islands to find an end city and get an Elytra and Diamond Enchanted Armor.
Game modes
[change | change source]Survival mode
[change | change source]In survival mode, players can gather resources found in the world to make lots of different items. Some of the items players can make include new blocks, tools, and armor. For example, players can turn wood into planks at the start of the game, which lets them make lots of things, like crafting tables and tools. Players can also place down these planks to build things, like houses. and other structures
Players have a health bar and a hunger bar in this mode. The health bar is shown as 10 hearts, and the hunger bar is shown as 10 steaks. Each heart and steak are worth two health points and two hunger points, respectively. The health bar depletes when players get attacked by monsters, lose all of their air underwater, walk into lava or cacti, fall from a high place, fall into the void, or if their hunger bar is depleted completely. Players can heal by staying still, drinking healing potions, and/or if they have a full hunger bar. Players will lose hunger by walking, sprinting and jumping too much. If they are low on hunger, they will not be able to sprint. They can fill their hunger bar by eating food.
During the night, monsters come out to fight the player, but players can build a house to protect themselves from these monsters. If a player sleeps in a bed, they can skip the night, and go directly to the next day. However, they are unable to sleep if there are monsters near the bed.
Players can only carry a certain number of items at any time, by holding them in their inventory. If the player dies, they drop their items, unless they have turned on Keep Inventory. Players can get their items back if they can find them before they disappear. They can then respawn, which sends them back to their spawn point, or the place they started the game at. Players can change their spawn point using items like beds. For example, a player can put a bed in their house to respawn there, and in the Nether players can use a unique block called a respawn anchor to respawn there.
Players can play Survival Mode in four levels of difficulty: Peaceful, Easy, Normal and Hard. As the difficulty increases, the more damage monster's deal. In addition, certain mobs will gain certain abilities at higher difficulty levels. When a player creates a new world, the difficulty is set to normal by default. On peaceful difficulty, no monsters spawn, and the only way players can die is by deaths that are not from mobs, such as falling from a high place, being in fire or lava, drowning, suffocating inside a block, or falling into the void.
Hardcore mode
[change | change source]Hardcore mode is like survival mode, but the game is set to the hardest difficulty, which cannot be changed. The player also cannot enable cheats when they create the world and can only do so if they use the "Open to LAN" option in the game menu while they are playing. If a player dies in hardcore mode, they cannot respawn, and can only play the world in Spectator Mode. If cheats are enabled, it is possible for the player to play in survival mode again by using commands to change the game mode. This game mode is only available in Java Edition, but there are plans to bring Hardcore mode to Bedrock Edition. [source?]
Players can also play a special version of hardcore mode known as Ultra Hardcore Mode, which is basically the same as hardcore mode except players do not naturally regenerate health. This mode can be recreated by creating a world in Hardcore mode, enabling cheats using the "Open to LAN" option in the game menu, and using commands to turn off natural health regeneration. The only way the player can regenerate health in this game mode is by using potions, golden apples, suspicious stews, and beacons.
Creative mode
[change | change source]In creative mode, players have infinite items. This is so they can build whatever they want, instead of having to look for resources. They cannot die and do not have a health bar or hunger bar. However, you can kill a person in creative mode (if you have cheats on) with the /kill
command in the Java edition of Minecraft. Players in creative mode can also die if they manage to fall into the void (Not in Bedrock Edition). Players can also optionally fly to reach places they normally could not. Some items players can only get one.
Spectator mode
[change | change source]In spectator mode, players become a "spectator". Spectators can look at the world, but not interact with it, meaning they cannot place blocks or use items. They are invisible to other players.
Spectators can fly around the world freely, or they can look at it from the perspective of other players and mobs, meaning they can see what the player or mob sees, as if they were looking through their eyes.
Adventure mode
[change | change source]Adventure mode is designed for community maps. The player cannot place or break blocks by default.
Multiplayer
[change | change source]Players can play on the same Minecraft world together by using the multiplayer mode. They can connect to an online server by typing in the server's address (usually an IP address), or by making a game on the local area network (LAN). On Bedrock Edition, Xbox multiplayer can be used. If the player makes a LAN game, only players on the same network can play. Much like the rest of Minecraft, players can choose what they want to do. For example, they can choose to fight each other, or work together and survive. All game modes can be played in multiplayer.
Minecraft Realms
[change | change source]Minecraft Realms are multiplayer servers hosted by Mojang that can be rented by players for a small fee. In Minecraft Realms, there are several "mini games", which are maps/games created by popular Minecraft users. On Bedrock Edition, it is called Realms Plus.
Editions
[change | change source]Minecraft: Java Edition
[change | change source]Minecraft: Java edition was the first version of Minecraft, first released in 2009. It can be played on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Minecraft: Bedrock Edition
[change | change source]Minecraft: Bedrock Edition is a version of Minecraft focused on multiplayer.[25] It can be played on Windows (10 or higher), Chromebook, Xbox, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS and iPadOS. This version is based off the Pocket Edition codebase which uses C++ as it's programming language.
Minecraft Education
[change | change source]Minecraft Education is an edition of the game mostly used for schools. Most features of this edition are in Bedrock Edition, but they need to be turned on before making a world. Minecraft Education is a game-based platform that inspires creative, inclusive learning through play. Explore blocky worlds that unlock new ways to take on any subject or challenge.
Minecraft: Pocket Edition
[change | change source]Minecraft: Pocket Edition was a mobile version of Minecraft for phones and tablets. In 2011, Minecraft: Pocket Edition was released for the Android market as an early version. It was then released for other devices in October 2011. An iOS version was released in November 2011, and a port was made for Windows Phones after Microsoft bought Mojang. The port focuses on the basic building and the survival parts of the game and does not have all the features of the PC version. On his Twitter account, Jens Bergensten said that the Pocket Edition of Minecraft is in C++ and not Java code, because of iOS not being able to support Java code.[26][non-primary source needed] However, there now exists a way to play Java Edition on both Android and iOS devices using unofficial 3rd party launchers.[27][28]
Minecraft: Pocket Edition was replaced by Bedrock Edition on 19 December 2016.
Minecraft: Legacy console edition
[change | change source]Minecraft: Legacy console edition was the edition of Minecraft on consoles before Bedrock Edition. Platforms that still use this edition are the PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, 3DS, and PS4 (using an option in Bedrock Edition available to those who had Legacy Console edition before). It is no longer updated.
Other games
[change | change source]Minecraft Story Mode
[change | change source]Minecraft Story Mode was an interactive animated game/tv series made by Mojang Studios on 13 October 2015. In this, you play as a character who can make choices that impact how the story goes. On 5 December 2018, a Netflix version was added. There is a sequel that is currently not on Netflix. It is now discontinued and removed from Netflix.
Minecraft Dungeons
[change | change source]Minecraft Dungeons is a Dungeon Crawler made by Mojang Studios in 2020. Unlike Minecraft, you cannot jump, mine or build. Instead, you defeat enemies to progress. It is no longer receiving content updates.
Minecraft Earth
[change | change source]Minecraft Earth is a phone game made by Mojang Studios in 2019. It used augmented reality to let players build in real life. You got blocks and mobs from walking around in real life and finding "tappable". The game was shut on 30 June 2021 due to COVID-19.[29]
Minecraft Legends
[change | change source]Minecraft Legends is a real time strategy role-playing game made by Mojang Studios in 2023. Mobs from the Nether dimension would fight people in the Overworld dimension. The player's role is to attack enemies, defend villages, build fortifications, and defeat the piglins. It is the newest Minecraft spinoff game but is no longer receiving content updates due to the game dying in just one year.
Reception
[change | change source]Minecraft received very positive reviews.
Jaz McDougall of PC Gamer said that Minecraft is "intuitively interesting and contagiously fun, with an unparalleled scope for creativity and memorable experiences".[30]
IGN called the blocky graphics "instantly memorable".[31]
Community
[change | change source]Minecraft has a very large community, with many fan forums and multiplayer servers such as Hypixel. The Minecraft community is also one of the largest on YouTube, with 1 trillion views on Minecraft videos so far.[32] Many people upload various types of Minecraft content to YouTube, such as parody songs, animations, gameplay, and more. Content made by other players can also be uploaded to platforms such as Forge. Minecraft Live is another YouTube community event that occurs yearly. Some gamers make jokes that since they've been playing for so long for periods at a time, they must "touch grass" to connect with nature and get a life.
At certain points in history, several teams of hackers created hack clients that allowed users to get the location of other players.
Updates
[change | change source]Minecraft has had many new updates since it first released. These updates are usually announced before they are released. They add lots of new features into the game, such as new blocks, mobs, and items.
Mojang releases smaller development versions called "snapshots" which players can choose to play on Minecraft Launcher. These snapshots have a few new features in them and are released as the developers are working on the new version. This is so players can try out new features before the full version is released. On Bedrock Edition, these are called previews.
Version number | Official name | Date |
---|---|---|
rd-131655 | Cave game tech test | May 13, 2009 |
0.0.11a | Early Classic | May 17, 2009 |
0.0.15a | Multiplayer Test | May 31, 2009 |
0.24 SURVIVAL TEST | Survival Test | September 1, 2009 |
0.28 | Late Classic | October 27, 2009 |
Indev 0.31 20091223-1 | 0.31 | December 23, 2009 |
Indev 20100206 | Minecraft Indev | February 6, 2010 |
Infdev 20100227-1 | Minecraft Infdev | February 27, 2010 |
Alpha 1.0 | N/A | June 30, 2010 |
Alpha 1.2 | Halloween Update | October 30, 2010 |
Beta 1.0 | N/A | December 20, 2010 |
Beta 1.8 | Adventure Update (Part 1) | September 14, 2011 |
1.0 | Adventure Update (Part 2) | November 18, 2011 |
1.1 | N/A | January 12, 2012 |
1.2.1 | N/A | March 1, 2012 |
1.3.1 | Jungle Update | August 1, 2012 |
1.4.2 | Pretty Scary Update | October 25, 2012 |
1.5 | Redstone Update | March 13, 2013 |
1.6.1 | Horse Update | July 1, 2013 |
1.7.2 | The Update That Changed The World | 25 October 2013 |
1.8 | Bountiful Update | September 2, 2014 |
1.9 | Combat Update | February 29, 2016 |
1.10 | Frostburn Update | June 8, 2016 |
1.11 | Exploration Update | November 14, 2016 |
1.12 | World of Colour Update[33] | June 7, 2017 |
1.13 | Aquatic Update[34] | July 18, 2018 |
1.14 | Village and Pillage[35] | April 23, 2019 |
1.15 | Buzzy Bees[36] | December 10, 2019 |
1.16 | Nether Update[37] | June 23, 2020 |
1.17 | Caves and Cliffs Part 1[38] | June 8, 2021 |
1.18 | Caves and Cliffs Part 2[38] | November 30, 2021 |
1.19 | The Wild Update[39] | June 7, 2022 |
1.20 | Trails & Tales[40] | June 7, 2023 |
1.20.5 | Armored Paws[41] | April 23, 2024 |
1.21 | Tricky Trials[42] | June 13, 2024 |
Mobs
[change | change source]See main article: Minecraft mobs
Passive mobs, such as cows, pigs, and chickens, can be hunted for food and crafting materials. They spawn in the day, while hostile mobs—including large spiders, witches, creepers, skeletons, endermen, and zombies—spawn during night 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 nothing on their head, such as armour. Other creatures in 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.[43]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Sarkar, Samit (6 November 2014). "Microsoft officially owns Minecraft and developer Mojang now". Polygon. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- ↑ "Minecraft: New Nintendo 3DS Edition". nintendo.com. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- ↑ "Minecraft". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
- ↑ "Minecraft – Pocket Edition – Android". IGN. Archived from the original on 16 November 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
- ↑ "Minecraft: Pocket Edition". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
- ↑ Brown, Mark (22 March 2012). "Minecraft for Xbox 360 release date announced, amongst others". Wired UK. Archived from the original on 18 December 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
- ↑ "Minecraft Raspberry Pi". Mojang. Archived from the original on 27 March 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
- ↑ "Amazon's first Fire TV games include in-house titles and Minecraft (update: video)". Engadget. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
- ↑ Pitcher, Jenna (3 September 2014). "Minecraft PS4 Edition Release Date Confirmed". IGN. Archived from the original on 1 October 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
- ↑ "Minecraft for Xbox One to launch on Friday". CNET. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
- ↑ "Minecraft: PS Vita Edition Release Date Revealed for North America". IGN. 10 October 2014. Archived from the original on 12 October 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
- ↑ "Minecraft Comes to Windows Phones". Mojang. 17 July 2019. Archived from the original on 30 December 2014.
- ↑ "Announcing Minecraft Windows 10 Edition Beta". Archived from the original on 9 July 2015.
- ↑ Makuch, Eddie (7 December 2015). "Minecraft Wii U Confirmed, Coming Very Soon". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 7 December 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
- ↑ Jones, Owen (19 December 2016). "minecraft.net – Apple TV Edition released!". Archived from the original on 27 December 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
- ↑ Pereira, Chris (13 September 2017). "New 3DS Version Of Minecraft Announced, Release Date Set For Today". GameSpot. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
- ↑ Persson, Markus (17 May 2009). "Minecraft 0.0.11a for public consumption : The Word of Notch". Tumblr. Archived from the original on 16 July 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- ↑ Boddy, Zachary (15 October 2023). "Minecraft crosses 300 million copies sold as it prepares to celebrate its 15th anniversary". Windows Central. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
- ↑ Ashdown, Jeremy (11 November 2010). "This is Minecraft". IGN. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
- ↑ "Minecraft Earth: Improved challenges and play from home". 12 November 2019.
- ↑ "Microsoft Near Deal to Buy Minecraft". The Wall Street Journal. 9 September 2014.
- ↑ "Pocket Edition comes to Windows phones". mojang.com. Archived from the original on 11 December 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ↑ "Minecraft PS4 Edition Release Date Confirmed". IGN. 3 September 2014.
- ↑ Chatfield, Tom (9 January 2012). "Ending an endless game: an interview with Julian Gough, author of Minecraft's epic finale". Boing Boing. Archived from the original on 12 January 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
- ↑ Davies, Marsh (20 September 2017). "THE BETTER TOGETHER UPDATE IS HERE!".
- ↑ "jeb_: PE is in C++". 8 October 2011. Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2012 – via Twitter.
- ↑ "PojavLauncher | PojavLauncher". pojavlauncherteam.github.io. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ↑ "How to play Minecraft Java Edition on Android & iOS with Pojav Launcher". XDA. 27 December 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ↑ https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/article/minecraft-earth-coming-end Staff - MINECRAFT EARTH COMING TO AN END
- ↑ Jaz McDougall (25 December 2011). "Minecraft review". pcgamer. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
- ↑ Gallegos, Anthony (24 November 2011). "Minecraft Review". IGN. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
- ↑ Sherr, Ian. "Minecraft crosses 1 trillion views on YouTube, most popular game ever on platform". CNET. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
- ↑ Bergensten, Jens (6 July 2017). "WORLD OF COLOR IS RELEASED!".
- ↑ https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/updates/aquatic Promotional Page for the Update Aquatic
- ↑ https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/updates/village-pillage Promotional Page for the Village and Pillage update
- ↑ https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/updates/buzzy-bees Promotional website for the Buzzy Bees update
- ↑ Stone, Tom. "EVERYTHING WE ANNOUNCED AT MINECON LIVE 2019". Retrieved 18 January 2023.
- ↑ 38.0 38.1 https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/updates/caves-and-cliffs Promotional Page for the Caves and Cliffs update
- ↑ https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/updates/the-wild-update Promotional Website for The Wild Update
- ↑ "The Trails & Tales Update | Minecraft".
- ↑ Anderca, Christina (23 April 2024). "Shy friends and Armored Paws | Minecraft". Minecraft. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
- ↑ Austin, Sophie (26 April 2024). "1.21 Update Officially Named Tricky Trials | Minecraft". Minecraft. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
- ↑ Milton, Stephanie; Davies, Marsh; Jones, Owen; Marsh, Ryan (2017). Minecraft: guide to exploration (First U.S. edition ed.). New York: Del Rey. ISBN 978-0-399-18201-3. OCLC 962016760.
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Notes
[change | change source]- ↑ Ports to consoles developed by 4J Studios;[1] New Nintendo 3DS port developed by Other Ocean Interactive[2]
- ↑ PC/Java, Android, iOS, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch
- ↑ Xbox 360, Xbox One, Windows Phone, Windows 10 Edition
- ↑ PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita
- ↑ 2009–2011
- ↑ 2011–present
- ↑ Samuel Åberg, Gareth Coker, Lena Raine, and Kumi Tanioka have also contributed since release.
- ↑ Minecraft was first publicly available on 17 May 2009,[17] and was fully released on 18 November 2011.
Other websites
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