Understanding Minecraft: Essays on Play, Community and Possibilities

Understanding Minecraft: Essays on Play, Community and Possibilities

Since its official release in 2011, Minecraft has sold over 48 million copies across all gaming platforms. The premise of Minecraft is simple: destroy, collect, build and interact in a world made entirely of colored cubes. Unlike Lego blocks or other construction toys, Minecraft 's digital play space allows for virtually limitless creation without the cost and limitations of physical building materials. Developer Mojang's generous policies toward modification and other uses of their intellectual property also engender enthusiasm and creativity from fans who make music, art and animation inspired by the software. The first essays in this collection cover Minecraft 's origins, describing its relationship to other video games and toys and examining the learning models implicit in its design. Later essays describe and theorize the various ways players interact with the software, which simultaneously presents them with structural constraints and limitless possibilities. NOT OFFICIAL MINECRAFT PRODUCT. NOT APPROVED BY OR ASSOCIATED WITH MOJANG. “an engrossing and thorough read for gamers...exhaustively researched and thoroughly cited...the reading is lively and active with an approachable tone and style”― Library Journal . Since its official release in 2011, Minecraft has sold over 48 million copies across all gaming platforms. The premise of Minecraft is simple: destroy, collect, build and interact in a world made entirely of colored cubes. Unlike Lego blocks or other construction toys, Minecraft's digital play space allows for virtually limitless creation without the cost and limitations of physical building materials. Developer Mojang's generous policies toward modification and other uses of their intellectual property also engender enthusiasm and creativity from fans who make music, art and animation inspired by the software. The first essays cover Minecraft's origins, describing its relationship to other video games and toys and examining the learning models implicit in its design. Later essays describe and theorize various ways players interact with the software, which simultaneously presents them with structural constraints and limitless possibilities. NOT OFFICIAL MINECRAFT PRODUCT. NOT APPROVED BY OR ASSOCIATED WITH MOJANG. Nate Garrelts is a professor of English at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan.