Minecraft Beyond Construction And Survival

Minecraft is an alluringly moving target to try to pin down, and so in order to assess how it is "well-played"-well-designed and iteratively well-redesigned, in this particular case-we need to think more broadly about the approach the developers have taken toward the creation of the game in addition to its formal game mechanics. That is, we can't assess only the design of the game itself but must be aware of the changing goals of the game's creators as well as the actions of players in the game, and what interactions between the designers and players mean for the game's evolution. This paper will outline the game and follow its progress through the Alpha and Beta stages. Then,  I'm Here 'll isolate the two main player activities within the game-construction and survival. I'll then explain how the game's success can be attributed to the interrelations and tensions between these two areas of play. In the final part, I'll explain how Minecraft's tensions between construction and survival have caused it to be viewed more as an entertainment platform, one that is explicitly facilitated by the game's design, and which has led to exciting explorations in games that teach games, game play as an instructional space and games as playgrounds to explore artistic goals.