image: 1tn0w6Minecraft is great. In fact it’s better than great. It’s so great that it’ll crush your other hobbies, ruin your studies and your marriage, and if you’re not married then it’ll ruin something else. It is quite simply a hugely addictive game, unique to its own genre. Minecraft is a game about co-operative construction, exploration and adventure. So broad is it’s palette that it singles out no demographic; ideal for kids and adults alike, Minecraft is able to encapsulate all of the creative activities that humans love.

Developed initially by one Swedish man by the name of Notch, and subsequently his own company Mojang, Minecraft has been a critical and commercial success, selling over 4,000,000 units to date and remember – the game hasn’t even been released yet.

So, what is Minecraft?

Minecraft can be played in one of two ways – Survival or Creative mode – yet the central premise remains the same. Gameplay revolves around cubical blocks comprised of a whole manner of different materials, ranging from wood to water. Any block can be harvested and relocated anywhere, leaving the potential for creation infinite. It’s worth noting that Minecraft cannot be beaten, there is no ‘winning’ – you play until you’ve had enough, which I assure you, will be no time soon.

We’ll begin with Survival mode, as this is the more ‘engaging’ of the options. Upon starting a game the player is thrust into a randomly generated world, one of grassy plains, dense forests, sparse deserts, sprawling hills, vast oceans and most importantly, deep cave networks. You start with nothing but your square fist in a world of square blocks. At first, the world appears a peaceful, if not eerily quiet place, but come sunset and the monsters come out to play. It is therefore your task to build shelter and be able to defend yourself. To do this, you may acquire various different resources to craft tools, weapons and armour, or to cook food, or to build whatever your heart may desire. Initially wood and dirt will be your primary resources, and both are acquired by gathering them with your fist. This can be time consuming at first, but soon you will have gathered enough wood to be able to make a crafting table, an item which when placed upon the ground will enable you to create your first tools, such as a wooden axe, which in turn will enable you to gather wood faster. Thorough instruction manuals on possible craft able items and tools are widespread available on the internet, or for those who prefer a more authentic approach, trial and error will do just fine. It won’t be long before you’ll have made your first wooden pickaxe, and this is when Minecraft really comes into its own. With your pickaxe you will be able to harvest gravel, cobblestone, and later on some rare ores such as coal, iron, gold and even diamond. The rarer the ore, the further down you have to dig, and the sweeter the reward (tools made out of better resources are more efficient at their job and last longer.)

The sun will set and the moon will rise, and so will multiple monsters in your world. Zombies and exploding zombies are your bread and butter and with each passing week the game is being updated with more and more variants designed to make the wilderness at dusk a scary place to be. To combat this, players can either take their trusty sword and start swinging or they can do the smart thing, and build themselves some shelter. Shelter will start off primitive, a few wooden blocks assembled to create a small dark room without an entrance or exit in which players will wait out the darkness until the sun rises and the monsters despawn. However as your time in your Minecraft world progresses, so will your toolset and ambition. The world truly is your oyster and it won’t be long before you’ve built yourself a mansion of your own, complete with electrical equipment, 5 guest bedrooms and your very own dairy farm.

Creative mode on the other hand, is for those who do not desire the challenge of monsters or the effort of gathering their own materials. Instead of going out into the wild and chopping their own wood for a fire or digging their own ore for building, in creative mode you can simply conjure any in-game item directly into your inventory. This enables players to build to their hearts content without restraint and results in some absolutely spectacular creations.

It is too easy to spend hours upon hours gathering, crafting and building to your heart’s content. Everything can be built, and once it’s built it can be improved. Your dream house could always use an extra bedroom; your Empire State Building could use some finishing touches; your roller-coaster needs one more dip, twist and turn.

Do yourself a favour and ruin your social life. Get creative. Get Minecraft.

And if you have any creations you want to show off, post them below!