Minecraft turns 10 this weekend and fans of the popular-blocky-game are celebrating this big milestone in various ways, like baking cakes in real life or sharing old stories and screenshots.
Last weekend, Minecraft developer Mojang released a new and free map to celebrate the big milestone. However, while that map was cool, it was also a bit early. This weekend (specifcally May 16th) is actually the official 10 year anniversary of the first release of Minecraft.Outstream Video
Beyond this small cake topping, fans across Reddit and Twitter have been sharing tons of videos, photos, builds and more in honor of a decade of Minecraft.
One fan shared a handwritten letter they received from Jeb, a lead developer on the game, from nearly 10 years ago. When he sent his letter and received a response, he was 9 years old and in 5th grade.
A Minecraft player and creator shared some new skins they made in honor of the celebrations. It shows the main default characters of Minecraft holding up cakes. The cake is actually the head and the shoulder is the top of the hands. A very clever design.
A few players across Reddit and elsewhere shared images of some of their first builds or even their very first homes. Like Ryan-1- on the Minecraft subreddit, who shared a screenshot of their first dirt house.
This screenshot reminded me of my first dirt home.
I downloaded Minecraft and watched a short tutorial on how to play the game and jumped in. This was right near the release of the game and I scared of the night. The moment the sun started to slide down the sky, I panicked and dug out some dirt and made a small crappy home like this. After a few days of playing that first world, my small home was a castle. But in the middle of it all, was still my first home and chest.
What memories of Minecraft do you have? Do you remember the first time you built a home? The first time you joined a random server? The first skin you used? Share your memories and stories in the comments.
The first version of Minecraft appeared 10 years ago this Friday, which is a truly terrifying thought. Microsoft and Mojang are marking the occasion with, among other things, a fancy new map that’s free for all players to download. It’s a theme park and museum, put together by the builders at BlockWorks to take you on a trip through the game’s history.
Walking through static exhibits wouldn’t be very Minecraft, so this museum is interactive, complete with rides, puzzles and Easter eggs. It’s also absolutely huge. There are buildings dedicated to displaying every block and creature in the game, gargantuan architectural wonders, giant circuit boards, biodomes and a minecart ride through a decade of milestones. There’s a lot to see.
Mojang has teased some Easter eggs, though I confess I haven’t been looking too hard. I’ve just been wandering around aimlessly, nodding thoughtfully at pretty exhibits and snapping away.
I haven’t played in years, but after popping in for a nostalgic saunter, I’ve found myself eager to stay. I’ve missed a lot of updates, but a quick browse on Reddit revealed plenty of impressive creations and sources of inspiration. I spent a whole year building a retro sci-fi ‘City of Tomorrow’ once and I’ve got the itch again.
A pair of big announcements are also coming on May 17, but all we know about them is that they’ll be better than huggable Creepers. What could possible be better than that?
You can download the map for Java here and for Bedrock on the Minecraft Marketplace. There’s also an anniversary sale going on in the shop, reducing the base game by 50 percent and the top ten items by 10 percent. Minecraft merchandise has been discounted, too.
Ten years of creating, exploring and surviving. Ten years of mobs, mods and magnificent creations. Ten years of being consistently amazed by what you’ve built with our game. Ten years of you digging straight down despite our warnings. Ten years of being endlessly excited to see what you come up with next.
In effect, it’s a simple but functional version of creative mode, and you can’t save your creations.
Can a video game reclaim centuries’ worth of lost cultural heritage in the Middle East? Microsoft’s Minecraft Education Edition is being used to do just that, in league with UNESCO and schools around the world.
History Blocks takes advantage of the educationally oriented Minecraft platform to build virtual versions of ancient monuments — starting with sites that were destroyed by the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq, and by the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The project was conceived and developed by Agencia Africa in Brazil, and put to its first test this February at Escola Bosque, a private school in São Paulo.
“It is surprising to see the level of the students’ engagement in the History Blocks project,” Escola Bosque’s pedagogical director, Silvia Scuracchio, said today in a news release. “At the same time that they solve complex geometry, logic and abstract challenges, it’s possible to see how they get involved with the culture and history behind the monuments and their destruction. For many of them, it was their first contact with concepts such as cultural destruction and ideology oppression.”
Since February, the History Blocks project has been picked up by schools in more than 30 countries using the Minecraft Education Edition.
“Technology is a tool to transform education and bring to life methods that used to be unthinkable when it comes to teaching,” said Daniel Maia, manager for academic projects at Microsoft Brazil. “The project on UNESCO’s world heritage sites opens the door for students all over the world to study important monuments of our history.”
Minecraft and History Blocks are great teaching tools, but if you’re looking for high-fidelity models of heritage hotspots ranging from ancient Egyptian temples to Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral, they’re covered by other software and survey programs.
The International Council on Monuments and Sites, a U.N. advisory panel also known as ICOMOS, is one of the leaders in the effort to document cultural sites. Over the past few years, ICOMOS’ Project Anqa (from the Arabic word for “phoenix”) has been conducting surveys of sites in Syria, starting with six representative buildings in Damascus. You can check out the virtual 3-D models online.
A historical conservation initiative called CyArk is playing a key role in 3-D documentation, for Project Anqa as well as dozens of other survey projects around the world. CyArk’s detailed digital scans feed into Google Arts and Sciences’ Open Heritage Project. For a powerful demonstration of the technology, check out CyArk’s scan of Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota. (But make sure your computer is powerful enough for the task.)
Could virtual models provide enough information to rebuild lost monuments? Historians and architects certainly hope so: They’re banking on surveys of Notre Dame, including a monumental 3-D laser scan and photogrammetric surveyconducted several years ago under the leadership of the late art historian Andrew Tallon, to serve as a guide for the reconstruction ahead.
“Minecraft” creator Marcus “Notch” Persson, who sold the title to Microsoft for $2.5 billion in 2014, won’t be part of 10-year anniversary plans for the game because of his “comments and opinions,” Microsoft tells Variety.
“His comments and opinions do not reflect those of Microsoft or Mojang and are not representative of ‘Minecraft,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Variety.
The spokesperson also noted that Persson hasn’t been involved with “Minecraft” since he sold the studio and rights to the game in 2014.
Persson, once an involved member of the video game development community, has increasingly ostracized himself with his Twitter comments, including transphobic statements and comments about a “heterosexual pride day,” and that “it’s ok to be white.” Persson has about 3.7 million followers on Twitter.
An update to the game last month removed loading screen text on “Minecraft” that referenced Persson. Microsoft didn’t comment about the decision to remove the reference last month.
But speaking with Variety this week, a Microsoft official confirmed that Persson would not take part in a press event at Minecraft studio Mojang in Stockholm to celebrate the May 17. The event will look at the “past, present and exciting future of the decade-old franchise,” according to the company.
“Minecraft” is a seminal video game. With more than 91 million monthly players, the building and survival game is the second best-selling video game in history, behind “Tetris.”
