Minecraft shouldnt be a Clingy Thing Mojang Says
Mojang is paying attention to the other survival games making right.
Just before the most recent Minecraft 1.19 (opens in a new tab) update launched, I inquired of Mojang what the future of Minecraft will look like. Game director Agnes Larsson and developer Nir "Ulraf" Vaknin weren't willing to be feature-specific about the next major update. No surprise, they're likely saving that for the next Minecraft Live showcase. Instead, we talked about how they're still learning from other crafters and how they'd like to "keep the fun of Minecraft" for the next 10 years and more.
When Minecraft's alpha launched in 2010, it placed crafting and survival on the map. Other crafting games include a thousand later-many also made from voxels-Minecraft remains the gold standard for sandbox creativity. It's easy to Mojang to become smug after having worn the crown for many years, I can imagine, becoming insular and sourcing ideas only from its own players and developers.
Larsson and Vaknin both insisted that they wouldn't call Minecraft better than the others. (I would, though. It's not risky to sound boastful from me). They do however say that they know what makes Minecraft unique and therefore can keep the uniqueness of Minecraft.
Larsson said it was intrinsic motivation. Larsson called it intrinsic motivation.
Vaknin agreed that asking players to be self-motivated is where Minecraft excels: "A lot of games aren't doing this because a lot of players want to be more directed and that's fine."
Over the years, I've tried many survival crafting games. I was recently drawn to Valheim's viking crafting, which I thoroughly enjoyed for several months. I also enjoyed the session-based survival in Icarus and V Rising's vampire crafting for a few days. Even Valheim that I was obsessed with for over 100 hours and helped lobby for as our game of the year (opens in a new tab) in 2021, hasn't kept me returning the way Minecraft has.
Vaknin stated that he has been keeping up with the competition. Like me, he was interested in the way food and hunger work in Valheim. It got me to genuinely consider food as part of my gear and I was not allowed to ignore food systems or treat all food items as equal-in so many other games for crafting, such as Minecraft. fake root "I think about it and wondering about what we can take lessons from that," he says.
"V Rising has an interesting goal and boss tracking system," Vaknin also said, referencing the way that you need to follow a boss around the map to locate them. It reminded me of the way you locate the End stronghold of Minecraft using the eyes of the ender.
While Minecraft grows without having to follow trends, Vaknin hopes it won't ever be chasing its players.
"Minecraft is really not clingy," is how he said in the course of our conversation as he compared it to a friend who will be there for you, even if you choose to leave and come back months later.
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Vaknin spoke about a typical experience within the Minecraft community: playing heavily for a time years ago and now returning on a yearly basis as the mood strikes. It's a way I have used for years and it's a method that Mojang is at ease with.
"So many games that you play can draw you in a bit too hard and you're then unable to wait for to let it end. I am so happy that Minecraft does not do this. It's so important to me to keep that."
Larsson said, "One thing we recently added to our guiding principles is that you play Minecraft because you want to, and not because you feel you have to," Larsson added.
As I look ahead to Minecraft version 1.20, I am happy to hear that the people in control are confident enough to keep up-to-date with all the latest survival and crafting trends, without having to follow them.
