Minecraft

Minecraft is a 2011 sandbox video game created by Swedish game developer Markus Persson and later developed by Mojang. It allows players to build with a variety of different blocks in a 3D world. Other activities in the game include exploration, resource gathering, crafting, and combat. It was released on 18 November 2011 and since then there have been 3 different versions. These consist of a PC and Mac version, an Xbox version and a mobile phone version. Originally, Minecraft was a pretty simple video game. The goal you’d originally have when launching Minecraft was to spawn in, survive, and build a few structures. When Minecraft started out, you could really only place and break blocks. There was very little you could actually do. The additions to Minecraft like running and Redstone were added at the perfect time. Players felt the game was too slow without running and too simple without Redstone. After everybody seemed like they understood Redstone fully, Command Blocks were added to further complicate the process. As the structures players created were getting more and more complex, so did the updates that came out. New mobs were being introduced alongside new blocks, biomes, and even new dimensions like the Nether and The End. These various additions to the game shaped the way that players have created their new structures and have impacted the way they play. Minecraft tends to be played by children in the age range of about 7-15, whilst also some adults the ages of 30-45 also play the game due to their new found interest, but also because games such as Minecraft where not around when they were children. The majority of players tend to be male, yet there are some females who play Minecraft.

The game can educate people on how to code and create circuits whilst playing which helps teach  the players some skills they may not have had before they started the game. It also creates a community in which people can gain friendships and connect with other people with the same interests as them. There are some advantages of Minecraft being owned by Microsoft, such as it means that more money can be put into the game to make it better due to Microsoft's wealth. However, Microsoft's previous products have been made for an older target audience so many worry that they may make the game less fun for the younger target audience.