Minecraft – sandbox construction indie video game

Last Updated on July 11, 2021

Minecraft is a sandbox construction indie video game where you can build anything imaginable. It is also about blocks and collecting. The game is inspired by Infiniminer, a block-based digging/building game, Dungeon Keeper and Dwarf Fortress.

The game involves players creating and destroying various types of blocks in a 3D environment. The player takes an avatar that can destroy or create blocks, forming fantastic structures, creations and artwork across the various multiplayer servers in multiple game modes.

The game offers two different game modes. In the creative game mode you can build and destroy blocks to make any sort of object. With an infinite amount of each block to build, players can build huge structures such as skywalks, castles, and buildings. The other game mode is called survival and represents the main focus of development. In the survival mode, players can build shelters to fend off spawning enemy mobs.

The game is written in Java and has been in development since May 2009.

Features include:

  • Simple controls make the game extremely playable.
  • Focused on creativity and building.
  • Complex systems can be built using the in-game physics engine.
  • Game world is procedurally generated with no hard limit to the gaming world.
  • Community-made modifications that alter the gameplay.
  • Over 100 different types of blocks which are integral to the in-game environment. They include Air, Stone, Grass, Snow, Dirt, Water, Water Source, Lava, Lava Source, Sand, Sandstone, Gravel, Gold Ore, Iron Ore, Diamond Ore, Redstone Ore, Lapis Lazuli Ore, Clay Block, Coal Ore, Bedrock, Ice, Wood, Birch Wood, Pine/Spurce Wood, Leaves, Cactus, Sugar Cane, Pumpkins, yellow and red Flowers, brown and red Mushrooms, dead and living Shrubs and Tall Grass.
  • 14 unique mobs. The term “mob” is short for “mobile” and has been used as generic term for moving entities in games since the first MUDs were created:
    • Allied: Wolf (tamed).
    • Passive: Chicken, cow, pig, sheep, squid.
    • Neutral: Zombie Pigman, Wolf (wild).
    • Hostile: Creeper, Ghast, Skeleton, Slime, Spider, Spider Jockey, and Zombie.
  • Texture packs to change the in-game textures of blocks, items, mobs and the graphical user interface.
  • Custom textures.
  • Crafting.
  • Throwable eggs.
  • Server-side inventory.
  • Leaf decay.
  • Single and multiplayer games.

Website: minecraft.net
Support:
Developer: Mojang
License: Proprietary

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