Mojang is paying close attention to the other survival games making right.
Just before the most recent Minecraft 1.19 (opens in a new tab) update was launched, I asked Mojang what the future of Minecraft looks like. Game director Agnes Larsson and developer Nir "Ulraf" Vaknin weren't willing to be feature-specific about the next major update. It's not a surprise, they'll probably save that for the next Minecraft Live showcase. Instead, we talked about how they're still learning from other competitors in the crafting industry and how they want to "keep the fun of Minecraft" for another 10 years and beyond.
When Minecraft's beta launched in 2010 it brought crafting and survival on the map. Servers Other crafting games include a thousand later-many also made from voxels-Minecraft remains the gold standard in sandbox creativity. It would be easy enough to Mojang to get complacent after having worn the crown for many years, I can imagine that it would become insular and source ideas only from its own developers and players.
Larsson and Vaknin both said they would not declare Minecraft better than all the rest. (I would, though. I don't want to be a smug naive, but it doesn't hurt. They do say they know what makes Minecraft unique and therefore can maintain it.
Larsson described it as intrinsic motivation. Larsson called it intrinsic motivation.
Vaknin agreed with the statement that Minecraft's success is due to asking players to be self-motivated "A many games are veering from that because a lot of players want to be guided and that's fine."
Over the years, I have tried many survival crafting games. Recently, it was viking crafting in Valheim which enticed me for a couple of months as well as session-based survival in Icarus for a couple weeks and then vampire crafting in V Rising for a couple days. Even Valheim, which was my favorite game for over 100 hours, and which I helped lobby to become our game of 2021 (opens in a new window) hasn't stopped me from going back to Minecraft.
Vaknin said that he's been keeping up with the competition. Like me, he was interested in the way that food and hunger interact in Valheim. It got me to genuinely treat food as part of my gear as opposed to being able to skip food systems-or treat all food items as equal-in so many other games for crafting, such as Minecraft. "I spend time thinking about it and wondering what we can take lessons from that," he says.
Vaknin said that V Rising has a very unique goal and boss tracking system. He also talked about the necessity of tracking bosses on the map in order to locate them. It reminded me of how you find the End stronghold in Minecraft by using the eyes of the ender.
While Minecraft learns without necessarily chasing trends, Vaknin hopes it won't ever chase its players either.
"Minecraft isn't really clingy," is how he stated later in our chat, likening it to a long-time friend who will be there for you even when you decide to leave and come back months later.
Minecraft update What's new? Minecraft skins: Minecraft mods beyond vanilla: Spotlight Minecraft seeds. New worlds Minecraft texture packs. Pixelated Minecraft servers. All cheats
Vaknin spoke about a common occurrence within the Minecraft community which is that you can play for a long time and then returning to it on a regular basis when the mood strikes. It's a strategy I've used for a long time and one that Mojang is comfortable cultivating.
"So many games that you play can draw you in a little too hard and you're then unable to wait for it to end. It's incredible that Minecraft does not do that. It is very important to me that this is maintained."
"One thing recently added to our core values is: you play Minecraft because you want to not because you are forced to," Larsson added.
As I prepare for Minecraft version 1.20 I am pleased to hear that the people in charge are confident enough to keep up-to-date with the latest survival and crafting trends, without having to follow them.
No comments yet