Notes

Minecraft shouldn't ever Feel Clingy, Mojang Says



Minecraft shouldn't feel clingy, Mojang says

Mojang continues to pay attention to the success of other survival games.



Just before the most recent Minecraft 1.19 (opens in new tab) update launched, I inquired of Mojang what the future of Minecraft looks like. Agnes Larsson, game director and Nir "Ulraf"Ulraf Vaknin, developer, weren't willing be feature-specific about the next major update. It's not a surprise that they're likely to save that for the next Minecraft Live showcase. Instead, we talked about how they continue to learn from other crafting competitors and how they intend to "keep the magic and awe of Minecraft" for 10 more years.



Minecraft's launch of the alpha version in 2010 put survival and crafting on the map. There have been thousands of other crafting games, many of which are also made using voxels. However, Minecraft remains the benchmark for sandbox-based creativity. It would be easy enough to Mojang to become smug after having worn the crown for long enough, I think that they would become solitary and source ideas only from its own players and developers.



Larsson and Vaknin both insisted that they wouldn't declare Minecraft superior to the others. (I would, though. It's not a risk to sound boastful coming from me). They do say they know what makes Minecraft unique and therefore can maintain it.



Larsson said it was intrinsic motivation. Larsson called it intrinsic motivation.



Vaknin agreed that asking players to be self-motivated is the area where Minecraft excels: "A lot of games are veering away from that because lots of players really want to be more directed, and that's fine."



Over the years, I have played a variety of survival crafting games. Most recently it's been the viking craft in Valheim which enticed me for a few months, a session-based survival game in Icarus for a couple of weeks and then vampire crafting in V Rising for a couple days. Even Valheim which was my favorite game for over 100 hours, and that I helped to lobby for to be our game in 2021 (opens in new window) hasn't stopped me from coming back like Minecraft.



Vaknin stated that he has been keeping up with competition. Games He was also interested in how hunger and food in Valheim work. It made me think about the way I viewed food. In Minecraft, for example I was not allowed to skip food systems or treat all food items equally. He states, "I spend time thinking about it and thinking about whether there are any lessons to be learned from it."



"V Rising has a very interesting goal and boss tracking system," Vaknin also said in reference to the fact that you must track a boss across the map to find them. It reminded me of the way you locate the End stronghold in Minecraft with the eyes end.



Vaknin hopes Minecraft will not chase its users, even though it learns from Minecraft.



"Minecraft is really not clingy," is how he said later in our chat as he compared it to an old friend who will be there for you even when you decide to leave and return months later.



Vaknin spoke about a common occurrence in the Minecraft community that is playing for a long period of time, and then returning to it on a regular basis when the mood strikes. It's a way I have employed for years and it's a method that Mojang is confident in cultivating.



"So many games that you play can draw you in a bit too hard and then you don't want to see it end. I love that Minecraft doesn't do that. It is so important to me that this is maintained."



"One thing recently added to our core values is that you play Minecraft because you want to, not because you feel pressured to," Larsson added.



As I start looking ahead to the impending announcement of Minecraft version 1.20 It's nice to know that the people in charge are confident enough to keep up with all the latest trends in survival and crafting without necessarily chasing them.


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