Minecraft is a game that is very popular among children and young people. On Radmag we read that Minecraft has already been sold 250 million times. That makes it one of the most popular games in the world. Parents van Nu praises the game: it stimulates your creativity and improves your school performance. Time to interview a real player. I asked Imme, 14 years old, about Minecraft. What exactly is the game, how does Minecraft work and whether it is suitable for children.
What exactly is Minecraft?
In Minecraft everything consists of blocks. With those blocks you build all kinds of things: houses, castles, roller coasters or boats: the limit is your own imagination. You will find yourself in a world where you can discover everything (nature, villages, animals, etc.) and also build everything.
How long has Minecraft been around?
Minecraft was launched in May 2009. The game is now more than 11 years old. In 2019 Minecraft celebrated its tenth anniversary .
How Minecraft works
Minecraft has two game modes: survival and creative. In survival mode you have to survive, where you are susceptible to the influences of the game world. Creative is the free mode, in which you have all the resources at your disposal. You can build almost unlimited in the creative game world. Below an explanation of each mode: Survival
If you play the game in survival mode, you have to survive. For example, you use wood from trees to make planks and sticks. You can make a wooden sword and a wooden one. Then you can cut stone with pickaxe and sword: now you can make a stone sword and a stone pickaxe. For example, you always have to collect resources yourself to advance in the game.
You can also collect food (you slaughter animals for that) and look for villages. In the villages you can find boxes that contain useful things to keep you alive longer (food, tools, weapons, that sort of thing). You can trade things with the villagers (characters, no real other players in normal mode): for example, you trade grass for an emerald. Those emeralds come in handy: later in the game you can trade them for things that make it even easier to survive.
Creative
You also have the Creative game mode, in which you can use all blocks indefinitely. This mode is useful if the player likes to create large structures, design things or just build houses. I used to play in Creative more often, but nowadays I prefer to play Survival.
It’s not scary to watch. The images are always in blocks, so that’s not that exciting.
Is Minecraft a violent game?
No, the only thing you see when you kill an animal is that it turns red for a moment, and then it falls and you have the flesh. You also encounter enemies, but you can fight them easily and without heavy images. You tap them with your stick, and then they turn red for a moment and disappear. Everything in the Minecraft squares, without blood or something.
It’s not scary to watch. The images are always in blocks, so that’s not that exciting.
Sometimes it gets night in the game, which is a bit scary: monsters are walking around (spiders, skeletons and creepers – these are kind of bombs). I usually flush through the night, by going to sleep in the game, it passes quickly.
Contact with other players
In Minecraft you can interact with other players. You can buy a server (that costs a fixed amount per month). You can then create a world in which you play with your friends. There is also a chat function on such a server. I’ve never done that myself. You can also open Minecraft to LAN: if you are on the same Wi-Fi network as another Minecraft player, you can visit each other’s world. You only do that if you trust that other player. Furthermore, you have no contact with other players.
You also have Skywars: then you come to an island and fight against other players with the items you have found on the island. But I’ve never done that either.
Minecraft players come together on a server.
Is Minecraft Free?
You cannot play Minecraft for free. You have to buy the game for your laptop or pc, playstation, X-box or smartphone. In the game you can also make purchases: you can buy packs, for example a Chinese world. But without those purchases, the game can also be played very well.
How do you learn Minecrafing?
There is a tutorial (an explanation video where you can also try things), which is included in the game itself. Here you will find answers to questions such as: What do the cows eat in Minecraft, How to build a house in Minecraft, How does survival mode work. Furthermore, you learn best by just starting. I’ve also watched videos on YouTube to learn new things. It is not difficult to learn, it is mainly the basic things you need to know: where do you find what, and how does the control work.
How old can you play Minecraft?
Minecraft itself indicates that it is a 9+ game, I think that is mainly due to the complexity and the fact that you do not want young children to be gaming all the time.
That’s one thing about Minecraft: it’s a really cool game, so it will take you a few hours. It is best if you agree fixed times with your parents. Then you know how long you can play and you do not spend all day sitting behind your laptop, PlayStation or smartphone. Minecraft has been popular for quite some time, partly because well-known YouTubers such as Enzo Knol and PewDiePie pay a lot of attention to it.
Can you play it with your parents too?
Yeah, if they like that, it would be really fun to do. You can build new houses, villages, tame animals and explore the world together.
