Philip Rosedale and I were just discussing the challenge of creating user interfaces for virtual worlds, and this post on pass-through technology by my colleague futurist Amber Case, really helps crystalize why Minecraft's UI is so powerful (and successful):
All Minecraft’s on-screen UI functions are based around the game’s initial core purpose: Use your creativity and gathering skills to Survive a night against the Creepers — in-game enemies that you must build defenses against in order to have another day of gameplay.
That way, players can remain focused on learning all the game’s functions and how they relate to each other, all for the purpose of surviving and defeating the Creepers and the world’s other attacking beasts. It’s only after this that players realize that the UI they first learned for survival purposes can also be leveraged to thrive — creating beautiful and ambitious homes for themselves, or even the collaborative artworks with other players, all of which helps make Minecraft enormously popular over a decade after launch.
Minecraft's user interface is actually pretty complicated, but its singular purpose makes it become, with repeated usage, intuitive and pass-through:
Continue reading "Why Minecraft is an Example of Pass-Through Technology: Amber Case" »
How Linden Lab Could Create a Minecraft-Style Game Mode in Second Life
Last week's Comment of the Week included the toss-off line "Second Life cannot be changed to be like Minecraft," but reader Will Burns has this week's Comment of the Week arguing just the opposite:
Yes. In Second Life's early days, the damage-enabled Outlands had much of this spirit and consequently, had a vibrant culture of its own. It really wouldn't take much effort or cost for Linden Lab to experiment with creating a whole new Gamer continent, and see if it gets any traction. And there's already numerous Second Life users building Minecraft-type content. One or two developers could do this in a year or two, so what's the downside?
Posted on Tuesday, November 20, 2018 at 11:34 AM in Comment of the Week, Minecraft | Permalink | Comments (6)
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