The game Minecraft is known worldwide and is extremely popular with children. Surprisingly, it is also very popular with adults. Including me! From time to time, I will open up Minecraft on my laptop and just mess around.
The reason that Minecraft is so popular with such a large range of people is because it is more than just a game. The “game” requires you to learn and use many different skills; keeping players engaged while still being entertaining.
I have broken Minecraft into five major skills that are needed while playing.
Social Skills
One of the best ways to enjoy Minecraft is to play with your friends. Teaming up with your friends to take down the Ender Dragon or just building a house together forces the player to communicate. Working together on a project is a very important life lesson and will come in useful when working in a team at the office or in university.
Programming Skills
Minecraft is an open world game. There are very few rules. You can do whatever you want. There is a base story, but you are not required to follow it. Using the in-game item called, “Red Stone” you can build some amazing things. Such as automatic doors, elevators, and you could even make a calculator.
Command Blocks are another amazing feature. These blocks allow you to type Minecraft commands (code) into a console and have the command run under certain conditions. For example, when the player is 5 blocks away, make a firework launch into the sky.
Using Red Stone and Command blocks are a great introduction to programming.
Design Skills
There are two main modes in Minecraft; Survival and Creative. When you start a new game you select which mode you would like to play in. For those people who do not like the stress of adventuring, scavenging, and dying, creative mode is what you should choose.
This is my daughters favorite mode. You are given everything. So you just have to open up a menu, select the blocks you want to use and start building things. I personally have made a replica of Tokyo Sky Tree and my daughter has made some amazing things too! Such as a Princess Peach statue, shopping centers, aquariums, and so much more.
The sky is the limit! Literally….
Managing Skills
If you choose Survival mode, you need to learn how to manage your items. Taking down enemies, “Mobs,” and collecting the dropped items. Digging through the Earth to find rare items such as diamonds. Using a treasure map to search for enchanted goods. All of these things force you to be resourceful. You must save and conserve everything. Your tools break over time, so you need to watch out and be prepared. You don’t want to be stuck in a dark cave without any torches and a pickaxe that is about to break.
Crafting Skills
As the name Minecraft clearly states, there is Mining and Crafting. Crafting teaches the player how to follow instructions. You need to know how many of each item is required, what order to put them in, and even wait for the process to finish. It feels almost like cooking from a recipe.
