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Here's your first look at Telltale's 'Minecraft: Story Mode' game
The people behind Minecraft just kicked off Minecon 2015 with a bang. At the fan convention's opening ceremony, Mojang's Lydia Winters debuted the first trailer for Minecraft: Story Mode, an upcoming title from Telltale Games. Yep, the same developer that created video game tie-ins for Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead. As you might expect, Minecraft: Story Mode combines the game's blocky aesthetic with a branching, narrative-based adventure. Players will take control of Jesse, who has to find the fabled "Order of the Stone" with his friends to save the world from destruction. There's a panel later today with the Mojang and Telltale folks, so we're expecting to hear a lot more then.
Microsoft is launching a site to help teachers master 'Minecraft'
Minecraft has proven to be an invaluable tool for educators and students. Not only is the game popular with children and adults, but its open, customisable nature means it can be used for all sorts of different purposes. Like learning to code, understanding Britain's geography and reimagining modern art. Microsoft clearly knows this, so it's launching a new portal where teachers can discuss the game and share classroom resources. The full site isn't live just yet, but the trailer below gives you an idea of what Microsoft and Mojang are aiming for. After this and its Hololens demonstration, it's clear the company sees its $2.5 billion acquisition as more than just a game with a guaranteed smash-hit sequel.
Mojang retires its card battle game, offers one more year of playtime
Mojang means Minecraft. But that's not the only thing the Microsoft-owned developer tinkers away at. Scrolls was another project: an online card-based battle game that's available across PC, Mac and tablets. Unfortunately, the title has reached the end of its life, with the developer announcing that it will discontinue work on the game. It doesn't offer up a particular reason for the quiet ending, but we've reached out to see if there was any particular reason -- the developer claimed a legal victory against Bethesda in being able to name the game "Scrolls" in the first place, but was bound from naming any sequels similarly. Mojang promises that it'll keep the servers running for another year, so that's twelve more months to tackle the latest update and levels, which were released only last month. Update: A Mojang spokesperson told us: "The launch of the 'Scrolls' beta was a great success. Tens of thousands of players battled daily, and many of them remain active today. Unfortunately, the game has reached a point where it can no longer sustain continuous development."
Microsoft shows off 'Minecraft' built specifically for HoloLens
At its E3 2015 event, Microsoft has given us a new demo of Minecraft built specifically for its HoloLens augmented reality headset. As we've guessed since the hardware originally appeared, the creative world-building game is a perfect fit for the futuristic hardware. The demonstrator at first controlled the experience with an Xbox One controller, then just used his hands in the air to play, and could peek around, above and through his creations simply by moving around in real space. A little awkward to watch, sure, but the live feed showed us a simulated HoloLens feed so we could follow along. We still don't know when we'll be exploring its combination of real and virtual worlds for ourselves, but Microsoft promises more information at the MineCon event that starts July 4th. If you missed it in the stream, check out our gallery to see how it all looks.
'Minecraft' finally has a free girl character
Lots of girls play Minecraft, but you wouldn't know it from the default character options. Unless you've been willing to pay up or install a mod, your only real choice so far has been Steve, the game's male mascot. At last, though, things are opening up -- Mojang is giving builders the choice of a free girl character, Alex. She's been around before as a randomly assigned character in the computer version, but the move will help female players on all platforms sculpt their dream worlds using a character they can identify with. PlayStation and Xbox gamers will get Alex as of April 29th, while mobile users playing the Pocket Edition should see her this summer.
Play 'Minecraft' wherever you go with this kid-friendly wearable
If you're the type to recreate Westeros in Minecraft, the blocky construction game that's practically ubiquitous, keeping it on you at all times might be pretty attractive. The Gameband + Minecraft gives gives you the chance to do just that. The first-gen Nike Fuelband lookalike has Mojang's cash cow built in (you can play directly from the device by plugging its USB 3.0 end into your Linux, Mac or Windows machine), sports a customizable LED display and automatic cloud uploads for your game files. The basic gist is that you can take all of your work with you wherever you go because everything you need to play in Notch's garden is dangling from your wrist. Oh, and it's aimed squarely at kids so if you have a redstone-obsessed youngster in your life, this might be a solid fit for them. The unit prices out at $80 and it's available at Best Buy, GameStop and Target this very instant.
Minecraft free for every Northern Ireland secondary school
Minecraft has been heralded for its focus on building, creativity and exploration. Players learn about architecture and construction, as well as the simple joy of self expression. The game's open nature has also given birth to countless mods that teach budding builders about coding, geography and art. Recognising its power as an educational tool, a free copy of the game is now being offered to every secondary school in Northern Ireland.
'Minecraft' might get banned in Turkey for being too violent
In a move of absolute ridiculousness, Turkey wants to ban Minecraft because its Family and Social Policies Ministry's deemed it too violent for kids. Yes, a game where you build fortresses and punch trees is getting called out for its content, because in Survival Mode, you have to defend yourself from the zombie-like Mobs and that sometimes means killing them. As the region's Hurriyet Daily News reports, the Ministry also says that some kids could confuse Minecraft's blocky, pixelated landscapes for the real world which would make them think that torturing animals was totally fine. Sure; okay. The reason for the outfit casting its gaze at Microsoft's $2.5 billion purchase in the first place? To see if the game encouraged violence against women. At least its heart was in the right place at the outset.
'Minecraft' no longer risks opening a big security hole on your PC
As a matter of course, Minecraft has required that you install Java's run-anywhere code base -- a big problem when that tends to introduce security exploits and annoying adware. However, the construction game should be considerably safer thanks to a low-key update in recent weeks. The Windows edition of Minecraft (OS X is coming later this year) now installs a standalone version of Java that's used only while you're playing. If you want, you can scrub the full version of Java without losing access to your blocky masterpieces. And the kicker? If you haven't been keeping on top of your software updates, the game may run smoother at the same time. It's not urgent that you get the upgrade, but it's definitely worth considering if you only bother with Java for the sake of living in Mojang's virtual world.
Here's how 'Minecraft' creates its gigantic worlds
Have you wondered how Minecraft can produce massive worlds that are still chock-full of little details, like elaborate cliff faces and waterfalls? PBS' Game/Show is more than happy to explain in a new video. As you'll see below, Mojang's game relies on procedural generation, which automatically creates environments and objects that are at once random, but guided by rules that maintain a consistent logic. Mountains are always rocky and sprinkled with snow, for example, while the low lands are typically full of grass and trees.
Minecraft getting in-game name changes, Pocket Edition sells 30 million
Minecraft players will be able to change their in-game name soon, development studio Mojang has announced. The process is set to go live on February 4, and looks to be pretty straightforward; once the name-changing system is in place, players can change their in-game name simply by logging into their account. Any name that is not being used by another player will be available, but players will have to wait 30 days before they can change again. If you're worried about someone swiping your name while you wait said 30 days to come back to it though, don't be: it takes 37 days for an old name to become available for someone else. So if you were to change your name from, say, "MinecraftMasta" to something else, we wouldn't be able to swipe MinecraftMasta for ourselves before you had a chance to reclaim it. Changing names does not change inventory or character status, meaning if someone has blocked you, changing your name won't allow you to circumvent said block. Mojang also announced that to date, Minecraft: Pocket Edition has sold a combined total of more than 30 million copies. Pocket Edition surpassed 21 million copies back in April, and expanded its reach to Windows Phone users in December, though Mojang did not share how many of the 9 million new sales were due to releasing on a new platform. [Image: Mojang]
Minecraft: Pocket Edition is officially 'hotter than the Sun'
How popular is the mobile version of Minecraft? Pretty dang popular, according to developer Mojang's latest blog post. According to the company -- which, by the way, was recently acquired by Microsoft -- Minecraft: Pocket Edition is bigger than Texas, 23 times hotter than the Sun, and "more than the entire observable universe." Of course, if you're looking for actual statistics, Mojang has one of those, too: 30,000,000. That's the number of times the pint-sized version of the game has been purchased. Debuting long before the free-to-play trend became a "thing," Minecraft: Pocket Edition sells for a whopping US$6.99 on both the iOS App Store and Google Play, and has never really had any price adjustments, which means the game has generated around $210 million in revenue. That's a whole lot of cheddar, and with its lofty App Store ranking, it's probably going to keep bringing in the cash for a long, long time.
Minecraft was YouTube's second-most popular search query of 2014
Mojang's breakout hit Minecraft took second place in a Google-issued list of the most popular YouTube search queries of 2014, ranking immediately behind the word "music" in terms of search frequency. According to Google, the word "Minecraft" was more frequently searched on YouTube in 2014 than the term "movies." Gaming personality PewDiePie also ranked among the service's most popular searches in 2014, trailing queries for Disney's Frozen and for artists Drake and Beyonce.
PSA: Xbox versions of Terraria currently 40 percent off
As part of Microsoft's ongoing Countdown to 2015 digital games sale, a new Daily Deal has appeared that cuts 40 percent from the prices of both Xbox One and Xbox 360 versions of Terraria. If that name's unfamiliar, imagine Terraria as a 2D, pixel-heavy fusion of side-scrolling adventure-platforming game elements (a la Cave Story) and the granular resource gathering and crafting systems found in sandbox hit Minecraft. Unlike Mojang's game, however, Terraria offers a more pronounced focus on adventuring, killing giant boss creatures and discovering new, color-coded loot. The end result is a game that's initially bewildering in scope, but quickly becomes addictive in a way that makes the normally mind-numbing act of digging holes somehow entertaining. Thanks to this temporary discount, the Xbox 360 version of Terraria can be purchased for $5.60, while the Xbox One game is now priced at $12. Because it's a Daily Deal though, these discounts will vanish at the end of the day. [Image: 4J Studios]
'Minecraft' is geting a story-based game from the studio behind 'The Walking Dead' and 'Game of Thrones'
Minecraft's silent landscaper Steve is exiting his blocky world and stepping into Telltale's world of stories: Minecraft is getting a "narrative-driven" game from the folks behind The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones games. Like Telltale's other work, Minecraft: Story Mode will be episodic and available on a wide variety of platforms when it launches "some time in 2015." Apparently Microsoft's promise to keep Minecraft multiplatform is holding, despite the acquisition.
Minecraft: Story Mode game series from Telltale, Mojang
Minecraft: Story Mode - A Telltale Game Series is an episodic, narrative-driven game series based in Minecraft's blocky world, coming in 2015 to PC, Mac, mobile devices and what Mojang calls "Xbox consoles" and "PlayStation consoles." We've reached out to Telltale for clarification on platforms. The game has an original storyline that is influenced by the choices players make, similar to Telltale's other offerings, Tales from the Borderlands, Game of Thrones, The Wolf Among Us and The Walking Dead. "Telltale's game series will mix new characters with familiar themes, in an entirely original Minecraft experience, inspired by the Minecraft community and the game that continues to inspire a generation," Telltale writes. Mojang offers a little more detail about its approach to story on its blog: "We're not intending on creating an 'official' story for Steve, or explaining the world of Minecraft in detail. It will be a cool game." Mojang revealed the collaboration with a mini-game called Info Quest 2 (which is fairly adorable). Microsoft completed a $2.5 billion acquisition of Mojang in November. [Image: Telltale]
Director Shawn Levy on why he left the Minecraft movie
Night at the Museum director Shawn Levy has left the Minecraft film adaptation, citing creative differences with the game's developer, Mojang. "[Warner Bros.] asked me to develop how might this ever be a story for a movie, because it's a non-narrative game," Levy told the Wall Street Journal. "We came up with an approach that felt good to us, and I discussed it with Mojang ... and they were like, 'That doesn't sound like what we want ... If we're going to see a movie get made, we don't know what we want but that doesn't feel right.'" Levy claims he had four other movies in various stages of pre-production at the time, and that instead of moving forward with the Minecraft film, he opted to pursue those other projects. Despite his choice to walk away, Levy realizes how important the property is to its fans and how much goodwill (not to mention money) is riding on a feature film adaptation of the beloved sandbox game. "I feel like I've let the children of America down," Levy laughed, before pointing out that another director will likely take his place at the helm of Minecraft very soon. [Image: Mojang]
Scrolls shuffles out of beta, cuts price to $5
Minecraft developer Mojang launched its latest game, Scrolls, in full today. Scrolls is now available on PC, Mac and Android tablets, with an iPad version expected to arrive "some time in the new year." The card hoarding game pits players against one another on a hexagonal battlefield, earning gold and acquiring spells, enchantments and other strategy-boosting goodies. Scrolls entered open beta in June 2013 for $20, though the developer officially dropped the price of the full game to $5. It announced plans to shift the game's price in September, affirming that those who already bought the game will receive the $20 shard package, giving those players the ability to purchase decks, avatars and new scrolls without any additional cost. Mojang also began offering a free trial version of Scrolls today on all three platforms, for those interested in checking the strategy game out firsthand. [Image: Mojang]
Microsoft unearths a Windows Phone version of Minecraft
Minecraft is already available on myriad platforms ranging from its native PC to the PlayStation 4 and the iPhone, and now the hyper-successful sandbox exploration hit can also be found on Windows Phone devices. Like other versions of Minecraft: Pocket Edition, the game is abridged in comparison to its PC and console predecessors, but does include both Survival and freeform Creative modes as well as multiplayer support via local wifi. Microsoft (which recently acquired Minecraft developer Mojang) also claims that this version of Minecraft: Pocket Edition includes a number of items recently added to Minecraft's PC incarnation including new biomes, creatures and "infinite worlds" for players to explore. As with all versions of Minecraft, that "infinite" claim is only as strong as the technical capabilities of your device, so you shouldn't expect expansive realms to rival the PC game on your Windows Phone. Prospective virtual miners will find Minecraft: Pocket Edition on the Windows Phone store at a price of $7. [Image: Microsoft]
Classic Star Wars skins make the jump to Minecraft for Xbox
Did the teaser for JJ Abrams' Star Wars: Episode 7 - The Force Awakens ... ahem ... awaken within you a burning nostalgia for the Star Wars franchise? If so, you're in luck: skins designed after Galactic Civil War-era Star Wars characters are now available for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Priced at $2.99, the Star Wars Classic Skins Pack features Han Solo, Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca and a lot of others (seriously, check out the full list after the break, 'cause it's 55 skins long). There's even a Jawa skin if you're feeling so inclined. Utini!
