What Minecraft Is Doing To Save The World

Video Games Are A Big Deal Now-A-Days

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The New Religion Of Our Generation

Untitled-5Instead of spending my Sundays at Church, like most of my generation, I was investing countless hours into honing my video game skills.  I still can’t quite explain it, but there was something urgent about saving that princess.  Looking back on all those years, I am in a haze as to whether I learned anything at all.  I’m sure I did, but not having a direct and concrete answer worries me.  Was I being mislead by a new religion?

sshot4ee0d7003d679Recently I came across a video game called Minecraft.  It brought back memories from long ago, seeing my cousin play this crappy game with lousy graphics.  Well that “crappy game with lousy graphics” turned out to be Minecraft.  Despite its lack of visual appeal it has risen in popularity, to somewhat of a cult phenomenon.  People just can’t seem to get enough, mining and crafting their way to the top of the video game world.  Their fans are loyal and as it would turn out, they are ready to save the world.

  Tools Of The Tradetools

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You begin with nothing but the clothes on your back in a big, seemingly empty map.  You spend some time running around punching trees and you wonder to yourself, “how could anyone play this? There’s nothing here?”.  And that’s when it hits you… there’s Everything.  Soon after, you find what your looking for, coal  and iron ore, you heat it up in the furnace and make yourself an iron axe. 

goldYou can now mine deeper and faster than ever before, it wont be long until you find gold.  It will come in the form of ore, but you now know that all it takes is a little bit of heat and all things can be worked into something new.  You are beginning to gain confidence in this new world. It is not the strange place you started in, no, it is the opposite, it is a world you know and understand.  With this new found knowledge, you are free to create.

 

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From The Flames A New World is Born

new worldA new world emerges from the ashes.  Each individual player brings their own flavour and style to the landscape, the map soon fills up with amazing landmarks.  In this online world players can create anything their hearts desire, all that it will take is some time invested.  Everything is readily accessible to those who know how to do it, the only true limitation is the lack of knowledge of the world. This game encourages players to actively seek out information, because it has a direct impact on there pleasure inside the Minecraft universe.

 What Do We Learn ?

Geology And What the Earth Is Made Of

Ores_VanillaThe world is a mysterious place, daunting to those who lack the understanding of her treasures.  This world is bountiful and full of full things to learn and new things to discover.  Minecraft captures humanity’s curiosity, in its purest form.  You are free to run, chop, dig and mine your way around, all the while learning about different parts of the earth matrix.  Where to find coal deposits, how to locate a veil of gold in the earths crust, and how to dig deep enough to find diamond ore.

Transformation Of Natural Resources

minecraft-stuffJust like in the real world, all these fantastic materials can be transformed into new exciting creations.  Through the use of a wood working table, furnace and stone cutting block, Minecrafters are then equipped with the endless array of possibilities.  This teaches gamers real world interactions that go on everyday to make the world around us.

Traditional Architecture Using Traditional Skills

traditionArmed with this kind of vast knowledge, a new generation is spending their leisurely hours sculpting wood, blacksmithing, stone cutting and masonry.  When was the last time you saw an 8 year old worried about if he has enough coal to make iron?

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Scarcity In Finite Resources + Resource Based Economy

23_logo_edited-1Money doesn’t grow on trees, but of course money does come from trees.  In Minecraft you quickly learn to hoard that gold for later use.  Rushing to use any resource before determining how much there is, is an unsustainable practice.  Use all your diamonds to make a Diamond shovel? Well, sure you’re going to make grandmothers everywhere jealous with your gardening swag, but now there are no more diamonds left.  It would appear that children as old as 5 are understanding this concept, through the medium of Minecraft.

How To Use Your Imagination

imaThe most important thing anyone can learn.  Creating things that never were, is the magic humans have been graced with.  With this power we have shaped our world into what we desired it to be.  Through the use of imagination we can achieve amazing things.  Minecraft allows players to play freely in the sandbox, this open world is there’s to make of it, as they wish.

And Most Importantly, How To Deal With Zombies

kzone-minecraft-emerald-diamond-gold-15-8-13-530x305No learning experience is complete without survival skills and tactical zombie training.  Go into any dark place and theres sure to be monsters waiting to jump you.  Have no fear, Minecraft teaches you to stay claim and build yourself a weapon.  armed with your weapon of choice, no goul stands in your way.

What Can We Expect From Minecrafters?

e847_minecraft_pickaxeNext time you see a kid hunched over a bright screen, take a moment and  ask yourself……

Is that child building a log cabin with locally sourced wood? is that a cobblestone walk way?! Is that your livestock?!?!

 

There is a lot of good that comes with this game. In a world that sometimes likes to focus on the negatives, here is a prime example of positive solutions in a place you wouldn’t expect.  This game has grown in immense popularity.  That says a lot about the times we live in, children are willing to settle for less visual graphics, if it means they can be free to explore, learn and create.  Everything taught in Minecraft originates in our world, therefore all knowledge is useful and applicable to those who choose to use it.  I truly believe that Minecrafters have the skills to save this world, and they have been practicing since a young age.

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3 thoughts on “What Minecraft Is Doing To Save The World”

  1. Thanks Germ for giving me another perspective just when I was beginning to think my grandson was only gaining skills to be a gamer. However, I still see the enthusiasm lacking to transfer knowledge gained in minecraft to the physical world.

  2. yea, this is a great video game about survival and knowledge of resources.. but this sounds more like an excuse rather than it being beneficial. go Camping for a few weeks thats the type of experience people need.

  3. Well reading both of these comments reminds me how most of us could use a bit more time breathing in the fresh air outdoors. That said, at 33 having played video games as far back as I can remember Minecraft stands out as one of the only examples of truly positive video games that are actually fun to play. I’m 33, my wife is 38, my daughter is 13 and my son is 3, we all play Minecraft.
    I think the Netherlands use Minecraft in school curriculums, as does Minecraft Teacher here in the U.S. (Minecraft Teacher is his name in Minecraft). It’s an interesting social phenomenon.

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