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. We shouldn't only look at the game's design, but we should also consider the evolving goals of its creators as well as the behaviour of players, and the consequences of these interactions for the game's future development. In this paper, I'll begin by outlining the game's features, and briefly tracing its development process through the Alpha and Beta stages of development. Next, I will focus on the two major gameplay elements - construction and survival. I will also explain how the game's success could have been attributable to the interrelations and tensions between these activities. Finally, I'll discuss how Minecraft's tensions between construction and survival have caused it to be seen increasingly more as a gaming platform, one which is a given by the game's design and which has led to exciting experiments in games to learn, game play as a learning space, and games as playgrounds for the exploration of artistic goals.