Earth Day Special Events Abound with Minecraft, Pokemon Go, and More

Earth Day gives us the chance to look back at our home and reflect on how we have treated dear Mother Earth over the year. It also means we get a bunch of really cool special events to tide us over!

For starters, Minecraft has partnered with United for Life to create the We Are The Rangers special lessons for MinecraftEducation–a special edition devoted to bringing Minecraft to the classroom and promoting education. The new partnership will create a world that takes place in a ranger station, a shipping port, and a DNA lab to teach students about the science of animal conservation.

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We also have a special live event from Pokemon Go promoting players to pick up trash in partnership with Playmob and local NGOs. Hopefully, this live event will go over better than previous ones.

Players will receive rewards for working with the local non-profit in cleanup events around their neighborhoods and the joy of a job well done. You can check out what events are near you by checking out the website here.

Rewards include:

  • 1,500 players cleaning up trash:
    • Unlock 2x Stardust when catching Ground-, Water-, and Grass-type Pokémon
  • 3,000 players cleaning up trash:
    • Unlock 3x Stardust when catching Ground-, Water-, and Grass-type Pokémon

Finally rounding up our group of Earth Day events comes from puzzle-RPG mobile game Legendary Game of Heroes, which launched a Slayer event in which proceeds will be donated to Rainforest Trust. The event is wrapping up today and has succeeded in raising its $75,000 donation goal, but there’s still time to log on and obtain event exclusive rewards, catalysts and heroes.

That’s about it for this roundup of notable recent Earth-y events. There are plenty other games doling out some Earth Day rewards in addition to these, so be sure to check out your favorite games for any special events and rewards!

Earth Day Special Events Abound with Minecraft, Pokemon Go, and More

Minecraft aiming to use ocean update to restore real coral reefs

(RNN) – Minecraft, an immersive computer game in which players use blocks to build the world they inhabit, is now trying to build something in the real world.

The makers of the game are using a new ocean update – which will be the first to give players a chance to focus on building underwater worlds – to promote rebuilding actual corals.

The game’s website announced the initiative, the Coral Crafters regrowth project, on Tuesday.

Developers are planning six Biorock installations, fixtures placed in ocean waters around which new reefs can grow. They are said to facilitate far quicker growth than natural reef processes.

They intend to put them off the coast of Cozumel, Mexico.

Biorock structures can be arranged in elaborate designs, and Minecraft’s site said three of its fixtures will be fashioned to look like two of its iconic block characters, Alex and Steve, as well as a sea turtle.

The other three will be designed by popular YouTubers who play the game.

One, Rabahrex, will work with schoolchildren in his native Mexico on a design. Another, Logdotzip, is allowing fans to vote from three designs for the final one he will submit.

Reefs are collections of small marine animals called polyps, which come to host the algae that gives them their fantastic colors in a symbiotic relationship.

According to a recently-updated post on the website for Columbia University’s Earth Institute, 75 percent of the world’s coral reefs face environmental risk and a quarter are already permanently damaged.

Citing a report by the World Resources Institute, 90 percent of coral reefs could be in danger by 2030, and possibly all of them by mid-century.

Reefs are one of the most important habitats for marine species. Fishing and pollution have long threatened them, and now warming waters are frequently resulting in what’s called coral bleaching. That process robs them of their rich colors, and more seriously can lead to disease, reproductive issues and death.

A report published in the journal Nature this week notes that Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest and most famous reef, lost a third of its corals in a bleaching event in 2016. The lead author of the report, Terry Hughes, told The Atlantic that initial research indicates a heat wave last year triggered another bleaching, and the reef has now lost half its corals since 2015.

“We can do something about this – with YOUR help!” the Minecraft post says.

Minecraft aiming to use ocean update to restore real coral reefs

How to avoid Minecraft Virus

An Avast report claims that almost 50,000 computers have been infected by malware in the past 30 days via infected Minecraft skins. The malware is said to package itself as an unsuspecting PNG file, ready for fans of the game to download from the official Minecraft domain. It’s not to be trifled with either, as the malware can cause serious damage to your PC, wiping your hard drive and destroying backups.

Don’t panic, though; here, we explain what the Minecraft malware is, how to avoid it and what to do if you’ve got the Minecraft virus.

What is the Minecraft Virus?

According to Avast data from the past 30 days, there have been nearly 50,000 Minecraft accounts infected with malware that could potentially reformat hard-drives and delete both backup data and system programs.

The Powershell script identified by Avast experts is apparently smuggled onto unsuspecting gamers’ computers via Minecraft skins. The script is created in the same PNG file format used for Minecraft skins, making it hard to identify potentially malicious Minecraft skins on the surface.

Avast has admitted that the malicious code is largely unimpressive, and can be found on sites that provide instructions on creating viruses with Windows Notepad. The simplicity suggests that it’s not backed by professional cybercriminals, though the skins are hosted on the official Minecraft domain.

A Microsoft spokesperson has since said that the company “has addressed this issue and put additional measures in place to protect our community” and that players should “report any suspicious activity to feedback.minecraft.net.”

How can I avoid the Minecraft Virus?

The key thing right now is avoiding the HDD-reformatting malware – the good news is that it shouldn’t be too hard to steer clear. The easiest way to avoid the malware is to simply not download any skins from the official Minecraft domain while Mojang fixes the issue and removes any infected files.

If you simply can’t wait, you could try and avoid any of the skins that Avast claim feature malware. A screenshot of the skins is provided below – just avoid those skins, and any that look like them for now.

If you don’t want to risk it, then why not try one of our favourite Minecraft alternatives?

What should I do if I’ve downloaded malware from Minecraft?

If you’ve found unusual messages in your Minecraft inbox along the lines of “You have maxed your internet usage for a lifetime”, are experiencing performance issues or receiving error messages related to disk formatting, chances are you’ve downloaded a malicious Minecraft skin.

Don’t panic; Avast recommends scanning your machine with free (or paid) antivirus softwarelike Bitdefender Total Security or Avast Free Antivirus. The company claims that most should be able to identify the malicious file and remove it for you, although some users may need to go through a few extra steps. Some users claim that the malware ‘breaks’ Minecraft for them; if this is the case for you, you need only reinstall the game from the Microsoft Store.

Now, if your computer has become completely infected and system files have already been deleted, you may need to completely reset your PC.

How to avoid Minecraft Virus

‘Minecraft’ Developer Issues Fix for Skins Virus

Minecraft” players who like to download customized skins for their character avatars don’t need to worry about malware anymore, developer Mojang said Wednesday. The company said it resolved the issue by releasing a patch that removes all of the information from skin files except the actual image data itself.

The studio’s assurances came one day after cybersecurity company Avast claimed hackers were distributing malicious software via skins created in the PNG file format and uploaded to “Minecraft’s” official website. The virus could potentially reformat a person’s hard drive or destroy their backup data. It estimated nearly 50,000 “Minecraft” accounts were infected. That is a pretty low number, though, when compared to the game’s 74 million active players worldwide.

“The malicious code is largely unimpressive and can be found on sites that provide step-by-step instructions on how to create viruses with Notepad,” Avast said. “While it is fair to assume that those responsible are not professional cybercriminals, the bigger concern is why the infected skins could be legitimately uploaded to the ‘Minecraft’ website. With the malware hosted on the official ‘Minecraft’ domain, any detection triggered could be misinterpreted by users as a false positive.”

While people who upload skins could potentially slip extra code into the PNG files, Mojang points out that code can’t be run or read by the game itself. “Additionally, even if you found the code within the file and chose to run it, your antivirus software should detect and block the attempt,” it added.

“Minecraft” is one of the biggest games in the world, having sold more than 144 million copies since its launch in 2009. Microsoft bought both it and Mojang for an estimated $2.5 billion in 2014. Its next big update will add a variety of ocean-themed creatures, blocks, and items. It comes out later this year.

‘Minecraft’ Developer Issues Fix for Skins Virus

REVIEW: PACIFIC RIM UPRISING

Once the Honeymoon effect finally wore off for the new Pacific Rim Movie, and I gradually put together in my head what the sequel’s story was, one important question rang in my head: have we run out of original plot lines? I don’t have anything against Pacific Rim Uprising, as it’s not a movie that anyone (or that I would recommend anyone) goes to watch for its gripping story; there’s about 50 years of giant robot fighting movies with original stories from Japan. However, it is something I do want to address simply because it’s growing increasingly hard for me to work out what audience Pacific Rim is beginning to cater for. The level of nods and winks towards the series’ spiritual past in anime would lead anyone to believe that it’s a nostalgia piece, designed to either bring in current fans of the mecha genre, or even to draw in new fans.

But at the same time, this movie isn’t anything like its acclaimed ‘origins’. If anyone was to watch the likes of Evangelion, the Gundam Series, or even the more recent Aldnoah Zero,based on what theysaw from Pacific Rim Uprising (despite all the emphasis put on reminding us that its roots are inherently Japanese), they’d see a huge difference. I noticed the same disparity watching it; the plot was more hastily put together, and less character development was shown – instead opting for oddly placed monologues.

The surviving characters from the previous movie weren’t developed, but left as stagnant background characters, and the plot wasn’t as much an engaging and cohesive story, but seemed more of a vessel to carry characters to the next giant robot fight. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what I could best relate this series to in relation to the background material it was supposedly derived from – until I was reminded of another robot fighting movie that has its origins in cult animated shows. I’m sure a lot of fans of Pacific Rim are going to get very, very mad at me for making this assumption, but Pacific Rim feels like the Transformers of Evangelion. I’m not saying this is a bad thing: the live action Transformers movies have their place (or at least we infer they have their place based on the profit Michael Bay makes from them), and this ‘place’ is probably not too far from the place the Pacific Rim series currently resides, but the relationship is irrefutable now I’ve seen it.

The previous movie, despite it being ‘A big dumb robot fighting movie’, was an interesting spin on the ‘monster vs robot’ fighting genre. I would have found it hard to hate Pacific Rim no matter what state it came out in simply because one of my favourite directors of all time, Guillermo Del Toro, directed it. He did a decent job with setting up the world, the characters, and the story-line in an engaging perspective of a well-known trope of international cinema, brought to a western audience. This interesting and diverse world also passes over into Pacific Rim Uprising, set several years following the events of the first film, in a world that is slowly recovering and developing from the previous ‘Kaiju’ invasion. As far as excuses to have giant mecha suits fight each other, this is probably the most engaging, if not believable, set-up. The special effects, just like the first movie, are top-notch, and equally the designs of the monsters and the Jaegers deserve commendation. The Jaegers especially seem decidedly… Japanese, while also in-keeping with their own designs and clear influences from other cultures.

John Boyega’s performance was decent, if not a bit cliched. It is refreshing for a movie to avoid ‘Americanising’ its British actors by forcing them to put on contrived American accents; a trait unfortunately found in other blockbusters (I’m looking at you, Star Wars). His supporting actress, Cailee Spaeny also performed admirably in a rather illustrious debut role in cinema. Burn Gorman and Charlie Day, like in the 2013 Original Pacific Rim, once again presented perhaps the highlights of the movie for me in their performance, even if Charlie Day’s performance is essentially Charlie Kelly from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia with a PhD in Molecular Biology. The new additions to the cast (the sci-fi high school starter pack straight out of Ender’s Game) aren’t as well written. To the credit of their actors, they perform the roles believably, but they feel like a generic excuse to have a mentor-student relationship between Boyega and Spaeny’s characters, because that’s still ‘in fashion’ right now. I think the lack of emphasis on their character development is best conveyed when one of them dies in battle, and… that’s it. One other character slaps the floor, and the rest of the cast makes an awkward shuffle, but nothing else. Their death isn’t even mentioned again in the entire movie, so I guess I’ll take that as free rein not to even count it as a spoiler. It must leave a bad taste in your mouth when even the movie you’re acting in forgets you before the end credits have started to roll. Let’s hope the pay check wasn’t forgotten.

The fight scenes are good, and the CGI is top-notch, but let’s be honest, the story isn’t really what everyone goes to watch it for these days, is it? Kind of like Transformers, but with a better plot and more Japan. It is an action movie with explosions, guns and giant aliens that fight each other and somewhere down the line, the earth is in danger for some reason. Sit back, enjoy this very entertaining movie, and bathe in the pyrotechnics, just don’t stare too closely at the bits in-between.

REVIEW: PACIFIC RIM UPRISING

Inaugural HB show fits well with Lego fans

With a laugh Hastings Lego enthusiast and builder Tim Stevens said the most challenging part of working with his two remarkable 1.8m long castle and battle-themed creations was not so much the construction.

“It’s getting them there in one piece,” he said.

Tim Stevens, Hastings, is part of local Lego building group linked to a national group preparing for the first big Lego exhibition to be staged in Hawke's Bay this weekend.
Tim Stevens, Hastings, is part of local Lego building group linked to a national group preparing for the first big Lego exhibition to be staged in Hawke’s Bay this weekend.

“There” is the Taradale High School venue for the inaugural Hawke’s Bay Brick Show 2017 – a Lego exhibition for all ages sponsored by Napier Toyworld which will feature about 30 remarkable and imaginative creations from local Lego aficionados as well as top builders from throughout the country.

“It is the first one to be staged here and it is going to something pretty special,” Mr Stevens said.

Tim Stevens prepares one of his two major displays for this weekend's big Lego show in Napier. Photo / Warren Buckland
Tim Stevens prepares one of his two major displays for this weekend’s big Lego show in Napier. Photo / Warren Buckland

The show has been organised by about 30 members of the Hawke’s Bay branch of Well-LUG (Wellington Lego User Group) which has branches in the greater Wellington region, Palmerston North, Wairarapa and now the Bay.

“We started the branch here about a year ago,” Mr Stevens said, adding that now being able to stage a national-scale show of the world’s most popular building brick would cement it in place – and likely attract more members.

Like most, he got the Lego bug when he was only 3 or 4 and like the creations he began to build, it grew from there.

“I remember standing in a store staring at all the sets on the wall and wishing I could have everything.”

He couldn’t, but has ended up with about “a thousand men and a couple of hundred horses” – he has always been drawn toward the battle themes and “castle stuff” with figures and horses.

“I’m not the best builder. Some of what people will see at the show is quite incredible.”

There will be everything from a giant train set, Minecraft and Lord of the Rings settings as well as what the club terms ‘MoC’s – my own creation.

“There is no limit to what can be built and there are going to be a lot of different things to see.”

As well as the displays the show will feature a Lego play area for kids to get creative in.
Lego, Mr Stevens said, was a good “hands-on” physical way for youngsters to get creative and learn design and build general motor skills in understanding art, shapes and construction.

And as he explained, it didn’t take a lot of four-by-two blocks (two attachment studs on one side and four on the other) to make something different.

As the Lego sites illustrate, if you have just two of them they can be arranged in 24 different ways.

But if you have six blocks you can arrange them 915 million different ways – yep, 915 million.

“No I haven’t worked that out myself,” Mr Stevens said with a laugh.

“I think they used a computer to come up with that.”

The Hawke’s Bay Brick Show 2017 will be open on Saturday and Sunday at Taradale High School between 9am and 5pm with a $2 admission, and kids under 3 free.

Inaugural HB show fits well with Lego fans

Minecraft and Lego help students prepare for emergencies

Students at Maraekakaho School have been using two popular children’s pastimes to help their community become more prepared for an emergency.

The students have been using online video game Minecraft and Lego building blocks to map their community; locating its hazards, vulnerabilities and resources that could be useful in an emergency.

This is part of a research project to trial the use of these two popular pastimes for disaster risk reduction and explore if these are effective tools for children to use.

Researchers from the University of Auckland, Auckland University of Technology (AUT) and East Coast LAB (Life at the Boundary) developed a series of lessons and activities for the students to learn more about natural hazards, vulnerabilities and resources.

Year 6 student Raiha said they had started off in the classroom “mapping our hazards and resources on really big maps using lots of stickers, pins, and string”.

The students were then divided into groups to build their maps using Minecraft and more than 10,000 Lego blocks.

“I really enjoyed playing on Minecraft to build the map of our school and learning about the hazards that have affected us in the past,” Year 5 student Jodi said.

A group of 12 students have been documenting the process on video. It will be released online once the project has been completed.

Researchers are also working with other members of the community to help develop a Community Resilience Plan with the Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence emergency management group.

This is part of a two-year research project funded by the Resilience to Nature’s Challenge strand of the National Science Challenge.

For more information visit: www.eastcoastlab.org.nz/our-science/our-projects/participatory-technology/

Minecraft and Lego help students prepare for emergencies

Real-world Minecraft mod: How the popular video game is transforming parks and other public spaces

Where there was once a derelict market in the Sunny Hill neighborhood of Pristina, Kosovo’s capital, now sits a skate park. Rollerblades, skateboards, and BMX bikes make a constant clatter as kids and teens roll up and down the half-pipes, quarter-pipes, and ramps. The popular public space is very much a brick-and-mortar endeavor, but it owes its existence to Minecraft, whose parent company was bought by Microsoft in 2014. In the process, the Redmond, Wash., company absorbed an innovative social project involving the United Nations.

The $2.5-billion acquisition made waves in the video game industry as Microsoft moved in to scoop up the immensely popular world-building platform from Swedish company Mojang. Despite initial fears in the rabid Minecraft community, the game continued to grow in popularity and spun off a deeply discounted education version for schools.

The pedagogical potential is precisely what captured the attention of Deirdre Quarnstrom, who was intimately involved with the acquisition as chief of staff to Phil Spencer, the head of Microsoft Xbox. She is now the general manager of Minecraft Education, and an early booster of one of Mojang’s Minecraft side projects: Block by Block.

Deirdre Quarnstrom, Director of Minecraft: Education Edition demonstrates the new Code Builder feature at the Microsoft Education event at Center 415 on Tuesday, May 2, 2017, in New York. (Andrew Kelly/AP Images for Microsoft)

The $2.5-billion acquisition made waves in the video game industry as Microsoft moved in to scoop up the immensely popular world-building platform from Swedish company Mojang. Despite initial fearsin the rabid Minecraft community, the game continued to grow in popularity and spun off a deeply discounted education versionfor schools.

“It’s somewhat unique in the gaming industry to have a very popular videogame reaching outside the entertainment space and being involved in things like urban planning,” she told GeekWire.

In 2012, before the acquisition, a Swedish architect and the parent of a Minecraft devotee came to Mojang with an idea. What if Minecraft, with its digital Lego-like tools making for easy mock ups of buildings, were used in an urban design workshop with everyday people? Architect software like Google Sketchup or AutoCAD is far too sophisticated for laypeople, but they are the ones whose input urban planners are always seeking when it comes to new designs for infrastructure, whether a new mass transit station or a proposed public park.

Minecraft-as-civic-participation went so well in Sweden that the architect brokered an introduction between Mojang and UN-Habitat, the United Nations lead agency for cities. The result was a memorandum of understanding whereby Mojang would help UN-Habitat deploy Minecraft in cities where the agency was coordinating the renovation or creation of public spaces. They called it Block by Block.

“We were amazed that people were interested in using a video game for something that felt so serious,” Mojang COO Vu Bui told GeekWire.

Since then, UN-Habitat has used the platform for 40 projects in 35 cities in 25 countries, like the market-turned-skate park in Pristina. The software has traveled far and wide to help redesign fishing docks in Haiti, a park for immigrant children in Anaheim, and a Mumbai slum.

A concept design created using Minecraft.

“In project after project I am amazed how quickly people can learn the tool and start expressing themselves,” UN-Habitat’s Pontus Westerberg told GeekWire. “Even people with no previous computer experience can pick it up in half a day or less. We’ve worked with people from slums all over the world. It’s a great empowering experience for them.”

While anyone can learn Minecraft — the team was impressed that older Haitian men redesigned their fishing docks with no prior computer experience — tech-savvy youth have a natural advantage. That gives them a more powerful voice compared to traditional public input processes. “If we have a couple of teens paired with adults in their 30s or 40s, usually the one sitting at the keyboard holding the mouse is one of the young ones,” Bui explained.

He recalled one of the Haiti projects as particularly empowering for young women, where teenage girls stood up at the public meeting to defend their proposal. “We push that their must be youth and equal gender representation,” Bui said. “We don’t want our workshops to be middle-aged men.”

Once Microsoft took over, the tech giant shepherded the ad-hoc arrangement between Mojang and UN-Habitat into a formally incorporated 501(c)3 non-profit, the Block by Block Foundation. Both Quarnstrom and Bui sit on the board of the foundation, which now operates with a roughly $2 million annual budget funded by royalties from Minecraft merchandise sales, settlements from Minecraft licensing disputes, and individual donations — Microsoft employees chief among them.

Quarnstrom is a hands-on board member, visiting sites around the world, including the Pristina skatepark, to personally vet projects before signing off on the roughly $100,000 that Block by Block contributes in licenses and funds for consultants to run the public meetings.

In Anaheim, she watched the children of immigrant workers build a vision for a neighborhood park in two hours. In Hanoi, she listened to teenage girls articulate a vision for better lighting on their route to school.

“It’s pretty eye-opening to the architects, landscape architects, and city planners to see how valuable and enthusiastic the input is from the community,” she said. “Even in the developed world when running a public input process, it’s hard to make the connection with blueprints, but when you provide them with a 3D virtual model of the space [the audience] becomes much more engaged.”

The journey from the virtual world to the real world sometimes leaves Quarnstrom bewildered at Minecraft’s versatility. “Sometimes it feels a little surreal to me when I’m on the phone with three or four city planners as the representative of a video game,” she said. “But it’s because the game does have an impact.”

Real-world Minecraft mod: How the popular video game is transforming parks and other public spaces

Free beginner Minecraft camp held at MSU

Kids who have never experienced the online gaming platform Minecraft can apply for a free summer camp called Minecraft 101. The camp, which will be held at Montana State University, is for youth who will enter grades 4 through 7 this fall.

Minecraft is known as a fun and interactive platform that increases creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Students will be led through hands-on design challenges that allow them to practice spatial skills while they craft their own online worlds and explore science, technology, engineering and math.

Minecraft 101 is free for accepted applicants. However, no travel funds or overnight lodging is provided. The camp lasts from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on two consecutive days.

Two identical sessions will be offered on Aug. 14-15 and Aug. 16-17. Students can indicate which session is better, but instructors cannot guarantee placement in a specific session.

The camp is hosted by the MSU departments of education, electrical and computer engineering, and physics; and the Montana Engineering Education Research Center (MEERC), with funding from the National Science Foundation. To download an application, visit MSU Academic Technology and Outreach at ato.montana.edu/minecraft. The deadline to apply is Friday, May 11.

For more information, contact Nicole Soll with MSU Continuing, Professional and Lifelong Learning at Nicole.soll1@montana.edu or 406-994-6550.

Free beginner Minecraft camp held at MSU

Minecraft console commands and cheats every player should know

Whether it’s to copy an existing build, change the gamemode, or flat out cheat your way to glory, Minecraft console commands are an important part of playing the game day-to-day. While there are a lot of different commands out there, all varying in complexity, we’ve got a run down of the ones you need to know, and, of course, the ones you can use to troll your friends. Because what’s Minecraft without a bit of friendly griefing?

If you’re wondering how to enter the Minecraft console commands listed below, all you need to do is hit the forward-slash key (/) and that’ll bring up a small window. Input the code and hit enter and your command will activate.

Shorthand Codes

Below are the shorthand codes to save you from typing in different player names. These are worth memorising so you don’t have to type in names like “Sniper_Kitty_Bruv_91” every time some jobber joins your game.

The clone command

/clone <x1> <y1> <z1> <x2> <y2> <z2> <x> <y> <z>

Clones a selection of blocks to another location. Very helpful if you’re building a city space and want to duplicate multiple buildings to different areas. “<x1> <y1> <z1>” is your start point. “<x2> <y2> <z2>” is the end point. And “<x> <y> <z>” is where you want the cloned blocks to spawn.

Example: /clone 100 234 -10 200 100 0 300 200 100

How to change the difficulty

/difficulty <difficulty>

Changes the in-game difficulty. Replace the latter section of the code with one of the following:

Example: /difficulty peaceful

Add an effect to yourself or someone else

/effect <player> <effect> [seconds] [amplifier] [hideParticles]

Adds a status effect to the targeted player. “[seconds]”, “[amplifier]”, and “[hideParticles]” are all optional conditions, so feel free to ignore them unless you want to change the length, how strong the effect is, or whether the effect shows as particles or not. If you want to remove an effect from a player, type “/effect <player> clear”.

Example: /effect PCGamer water_breathing 30

Enchant an item

/enchant <player> <enchantment ID> [level]

Adds an enchantment to the item the player is holding. So that’s smite, bane of the arthropods, sharpness—any enchantment you’d pull from a book or enchant table. Here’s a list of Enchantment IDs.

Example: /enchant PCGamer minecraft:smite 1

Exp modifier

/xp <amount> [player]

Gives the targeted player an amount of experience points. If you just want to add levels instead, which is easier for enchanting, try “/xp <amount>L [player]”.

Example: /xp 100L PCGamer

Change the gamemode

/gamemode <mode>

Changes the gamemode for everyone in the session. Add a player’s name to the end of the code to alter the mode for different players. Replace “<mode>” with one of the following options:

Example: /gamemode Survival

Give an item or items

/give <player> <item> [amount]

Drops an item into the player’s inventory. Perfect for if you want to start a run with a full set of diamond gear. Just keep in mind the amount section only works for stackable items. You can’t give yourself 100 diamond swords in one go, as cool as that’d be. For a full list of item IDs, head here.

Example: /give PCGamer diamond_sword 1

Help if a command isn’t working

/help [command name]

Offers additional information about any console command. If you’re trying a command and it isn’t working as it should, type the above command before the name of the command that isn’t working and you’ll be treated to more details about how it works.

Example: /help kill

Turn keep inventory on

/gamerule keepInventory true

Changes the game rules so should you die, you keep all the items in your inventory. Replace “true” with “false” to turn it off again.

Kill everyone or everything

/kill

Kills everything, including the player. But should you want to kill another player, use “/kill <player>”. And to kill a certain type of mob, “/kill @e[type=mobType]”.

The play sound command

/playsound <sound> <player>

Plays a specific sound file. Great for if you want to use a command block to play a sound when someone opens a door. Who doesn’t love a good doorbell? Take a look at all the sound file names here.

Example: /playsound minecraft:entity.elder_guardian.ambient voice @a

How to check the world seed

/Seed

Displays the seed for their current world should you wish to replay the seed again from scratch or pass it along to a mate.

Set the world spawn

/setworldspawn

Changes the world spawn to wherever the player is standing. If you don’t want to do that, you can also set it to a predetermined location with “/setworldspawn <x> <y> <z>”

Example: /setworldspawn 100 80 0

Stop time from changing

/gamerule doDaylightCycle false

This completely turns the daylight cycle off so it’ll always be the current time of day. To reenable the cycle, replace “false” with “true.”

Spawn a mob

/summon <entity_name> [x] [y] [z]

Summons a mob to a specific location. Remove the “[x] [y] [z]” section at the end to have the mob spawn right on top of you. Just remember if you’re spawning the Wither you’ll need to leg it as fast as possible.

Example: /summon creeper

Teleport

/tp [target player] <x> <y> <z>

Teleports the targeted player to a designated location. And yes, you can indeed teleport a friend into the sky and laugh as their body flails back down to earth.

Example: /tp PCGamer 100 0 10

Alter the in-game time

/time set <value>

Sets the in-game time. Add one of the following numbers onto the end to change the time of day to something else:

Change the weather to something nicer, or worse

/weather <clear/rain/thunder>

Changes the in-game weather to a different type. I.e. “/weather thunder” would start a thunderstorm. This one’s a must if you’re going after charged creepers. Nobody’s got time to sit around waiting for it to thunder.

Minecraft console commands and cheats every player should know

Man recreates Point Pleasant Beach boardwalk in ‘Minecraft’

POINT PLEASANT BEACH –

A former New Jersey man says that he missed the Jersey Shore so much that he spent years recreating the Point Pleasant Beach boardwalk using the video game “Minecraft.”

Kevin Domenic tells News 12 New Jersey that his family once owned a beach home in Point Pleasant Beach and that he has many happy childhood memories there. But he says that he moved away to Missouri to be closer to his wife’s family.

“[Point Pleasant Beach] is my favorite place in the world,” Domenic told News 12. “I thought, ‘Why not try to recreate it in ‘Minecraft?’’”

Domenic documents the process in a series of YouTube videos set to slow piano music. Even the smallest details, such as the color of pavers in some walkways, were copied.

New 12 New Jersey showed the recreation to some Jersey Shore residents, who said that they were impressed by the level of detail.

“The Jersey Shore has a huge impact on people from childhood,” says Point Pleasant Beach resident Lynn Krohn. “It’s a memory you have, being here, smelling the salt water and obviously it had a huge impact on him. I mean, this is incredible.”

Domenic even recreated the Minard Lane bungalow that his family once owned.

Man recreates Point Pleasant Beach boardwalk in ‘Minecraft’

Nearly 50,000 ‘Minecraft’ Accounts Infected With Malware Thanks to Modified ‘Skins’

Thousands of “Minecraft” accounts were recently infected with malware that can potentially reformat hard drives and delete backup data and system programs, according to cybersecurity company Avast.

The malicious software is apparently distributed via “Minecraft” character skins created in the PNG file format and uploaded to the game’s official website by fans. Skins modify a player’s avatar and they’re quite popular. Avast estimates nearly 50,000 “Minecraft” accounts have been infected.

“The malicious code is largely unimpressive and can be found on sites that provide step-by-step instructions on how to create viruses with Notepad,” Avast said. “While it is fair to assume that those responsible are not professional cybercriminals, the bigger concern is why the infected skins could be legitimately uploaded to the ‘Minecraft’ website. With the malware hosted on the official ‘Minecraft’ domain, any detection triggered could be misinterpreted by users as a false positive.”

“Minecraft” is one of the biggest games in the world. It’s sold more than 144 million copies since its launch in 2009. Microsoft bought both the game and its developer, Mojang, for an estimated $2.5 billion in 2014. In a recent interview with PopSugar, Helen Chiang, the new head of “Minecraft” at Microsoft, said the sandbox game now has 74 million active players worldwide. This makes it a ripe target for hackers, but Avast said only a small percentage of the player base actively uploads modified skins, which has kept infection numbers low.

Avast said anyone who downloaded modified skins should run an antivirus scan. Some might need to reinstall the game or, in extreme cases, restore data on their hard drives. Infected users might also receive unusual messages in their inboxes with subjects like “You Are Nailed, Buy A New Computer This Is A Piece Of Sh*t,” “You have maxed your internet usage for a lifetime,” or “Your a** got glued.”

Avast said it contacted Mojang and they are working on fixing the vulnerability.

Nearly 50,000 ‘Minecraft’ Accounts Infected With Malware Thanks to Modified ‘Skins’

‘Pacific Rim’ Box Office Disaster Shows Why ‘Tron 3’ Is A Bad Idea

Pacific Rim: Uprising has earned just $55 million. At this juncture, it should top out a bit over $60m domestic, which is well short of the $102m domestic gross of the first Pacific Rim back in 2013. And while it’s doing a little better overseas, Legendary’s $150m-budgeted sci-fi sequel isn’t making up for lost ground, not even in China. While the sequel arguably only exists because Pacific Rim earned $113m in China five years ago, this time out Uprising scored a $66m debut, terrible word of mouth and a swift decline to under-$100m. With $267m worldwide, it’ll be lucky to top $280m. It’s a big miss.

This shouldn’t be a surprise since Legendary (and distributor Universal/Comcast Corp.) violated the most obvious rule of all: Don’t make a sequel if folks didn’t flock to or love the original. As a general rule, sequels happen when a movie earns a lot of money or grosses a figure that is A) noticeably higher than the production budget and B) has a somewhat leggy, buzzy run which in-turn leads to a vibrant post-theatrical lifespan. Sequels are supposed to be a reward for a movie that is a big hit and (theoretically) has another story worth telling. If the first film bombs, you shouldn’t get a sequel.

That’s what made a second Pacific Rim so intriguing. Guillermo del Toro’s monsters versus robots flick earned mixed reviews and didn’t really break out beyond the hardcore nerd crowd, earning $101 million domestic from a $38m debut and $411m worldwide on a $190m budget. Yes, $411m+ worldwide is pretty solid, especially for an original live-action feature, but that was still barely over double its budget. And with marketing costs being what they are, 2.5x-the budget is usually the magic spot for eventual profitability once VOD, DVD and other post-theatrical revenue streams are tabulated. So, Pacific Rim: Uprising was a big-budget sequel to a big-budget flop.

Thanks to the 24-hour news cycle and the clickbait-driven media, we get all kinds of buzz about continuations to every franchise under the sun. Chris Pine joshingly responds in a positive way to the notion of a third Princess Diaries movie and it gets reported as if it’s a greenlit picture. Folks are asked about Fantastic Four and they act like it’s something that’s actively being considered. But no matter how much Karl Urban talks about playing Judge Dredd again on the big screen, we are no closer to getting a sequel to Dredd than we are of getting MacGruber 2, Terminator Genisys 2 or John Carter 2.

But Pacific Rim 2 actually got made. Sure, this all started in 2014, when Universal had recently joined forces with Legendary (the first Pacific Rim went out as a Warner Bros./Time Warner Inc. release) and when Universal was lower on stockholder-friendly franchises. But as Universal’s 2014 slate of record profit margins (in a year sans tentpoles) led to a market share-winning 2015, Pacific Rim: Uprising became less an essential IP and more of… something from a bygone era. Pacific Rim 2 was a lot less necessary in 2018 than it was in 2014. In retrospect, Pacific Rim could have been treated as a “dodged a bullet” one-and-done.

Universal was planning to toss Kristen Stewart out of her own franchise before Snow White and the Huntsman even opened in June of 2012. Taking a female-led hit, and it did earn $156 million domestic and $394m worldwide on a $170m budget, and creating a male-driven spin-off was both a bad idea in terms of why the first film did well and oddly cruel. But the appeal of saying “Hey, we’ve got a new franchise!” was too much to resist after Battleship bombed and The Bourne Legacy slightly underperformed. Yet, by early 2016, Universal needed The Huntsman: Winter’s War as much as Disney needs Tron 3.

Disney has threatened to make a third Tron movie in one form or another over the years. Tron: Legacywas more successful than the other “next Pirates of the Caribbean” or “Disney’s Avatar” titles (The Sorcerer’s ApprenticeJohn CarterThe Lone RangerPrince of Persia, etc). The Joseph Kosinski-directed sci-fi sequel has its cult following (it’s still terrible but Oblivion is good and Only the Brave is a new classic). But once Disney started kicking butt with Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar and Walt Disney Animation, plus those live-action fairy tales doing their thing, there was zero need to take a risk on a third Tron movie.

Pacific Rim sequel became riskier and riskier with every year that went by, as the new installment now presented itself not as a sequel to a recent hit but as a long-gestating sequel to a film that wasn’t all that fondly remembered or (depending on viewer awareness) an outright original. And once Guillermo del Toro jumped ship, you somewhat lost the fan loyalty that almost justified the project in the first place. Unless Steven S. DeKnight had created a new classic on par with, I dunno, Edge of Tomorrow or Fury Road, this was always a huge risk, even with a winning John Boyega in the lead role.

Pacific Rim: Uprising was a sequel to a box office miss, borne of a notion that having IP was in itself valuable to the overall portfolio no matter if that IP had any worth. You don’t get and shouldn’t expect sequels to truly underperforming originals. You can get sequels to surprise blowout hits like Ted or leggy cult favorites like Pitch Perfect or John Wick. Yes, you can have breakout sequels, but those have to originate from films that earned good reviews, profitable global box office (preferably with a leggy run) and post-theatrical interest. Pacific Rim was 0-3, and you can’t will a franchise into being.

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery was a hit ($68 million worldwide on a $17m budget), so the production of The Spy Who Shagged Me shouldn’t have been a surprise. Unbreakable was a minor disappointment, earning $96m domestic and $256m worldwide on an $80m budget, so it’s no surprise that a sequel didn’t come until M. Night Shyamalan released Split and then made Glass into a 2-for-1 sequel Unbreakable/Split sequel 18.25 years after the first superhero drama. And even if you argue that Tron: Legacy was a minor hit, nostalgia magic didn’t strike twice for Blade Runner 2049. A movie isn’t more appealing because it’s a sequel.

Unless you’re Batman Begins and you earn $371 million on a $150m budget but with rave reviews, superb legs, great word-of-mouth and strong post-theatrical, your next chapter isn’t going to be The Dark KnightPacific Rim: Uprising was a big budget sequel to a big-budget predecessor that wasn’t remotely an outright hit. So if you’re wondering why we don’t have Tron 3 or why Universal is gun-shy about a third stand-alone Hulk movie, well, look at Pacific Rim. They didn’t need Pacific Rim: Uprisingany more than they needed The Huntsman or Disney needed Tron 3. Having no franchise is better than having a poor franchise.

Universal will be fine (go see Blockers), but what could have been a box office game changer instead becomes an all-too-apparent cautionary tale. In the end, the lesson of Pacific Rim: Uprising, a movie that I actually enjoyed on its own pulpy merits, is pretty simple: Don’t make a sequel to a box office bomb.

‘Pacific Rim’ Box Office Disaster Shows Why ‘Tron 3’ Is A Bad Idea

Watch this AI figure out how to place blocks in Minecraft

Artificial intelligence doesn’t compare favorably to humans when it comes to problem solving. Ask any eight year old child to place a few blocks on a grid in Minecraft and they’ll almost certainly be bored by the task. A computer, on the other hand, doesn’t grasp such difficult concepts so easily.

Stephan Alaniz, a researcher with the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Technische Universitat Berlin, yesterday published a white papertitled “Deep Reinforcement Learning with Model Learning and Monte Carlo Tree Search in Minecraft.” In his paper the scientist explains his efforts to create a superior method for training an AI to perform simple tasks based on visual input.

If we’re ever going to have robots that can live and work among humans seamlessly without damaging us or our property they’re going to have to understand how to interact with the environment using visual context. One of the most popular ways to train AI for this task is using video games with simple controls.

We can judge an AI’s effectiveness at completing specific tasks in a structured environment, like Minecraft, by comparing it to human efforts.

Watching the above video, it’s apparent that AI – even one that’s shown to be more effective than other agents trained to perform similar tasks – isn’t very good at doing simple things yet. But developing cutting-edge technology takes time — though advances in machine learning techniques are happening at a terrifying pace.

Future research will drive training times down, effectiveness up, and generate new ideas for algorithms that further blur the lines between artificial and human intelligence.

But for now, it’s interesting enough to watch an AI process hundreds of different moves as it tries to figure out a simple block placing challenge in Minecraft. It might be worth remembering, in the future, how simple these things were when they began learning.

Watch this AI figure out how to place blocks in Minecraft

Rabbids Peach Dances To Beyonce In Just Dance Trailer

The release of Just Dance 2018 for the Nintendo Switch opened up a lot of possibilities for the console, including crossover content from some of Ubisoft’s other games. More specifically, there’s a video showcasing a crossover of the Rabbids version of Princess Peach from Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle dancing to Beyonce’s “Naughty Girl”.

The video of the Rabbids Peach was posted up over on the official Nintendo YouTube channel. It’s only a minute long and starts off with Rabbids Peach doing a similar kind of dance routine to what you would expect from Beyonce.

The background is littered with other Rabbid backup dancers, shuffling and moving their hands and feet to the beat of the music, while Princess Peach’s castle stands erect in the background, and the washing machine-looking portals are nestled on the other side of the screen.

The gameplay is still typical Just Dance, requiring players to stay in sync with the rhythm of the music, and manage the beats of the dance routine to the song. The dance icons scroll through at the bottom of the screen, with the character silhouettes being represented by outlines of the Rabbids.

Players are required to pull of the motions depicted in the images. Those who manage to perform the moves in rhythm to the beat of the music will acquire higher scores.

Beyonce’s “Naughty Girl” is just one of 300 songs featured in Just Dance 2018, which came out last fall in 2017 for home consoles. The Ubisoft dance title is just the latest in a long line of games that have come out within the franchise.

The comment section on the video isn’t entirely happy about the inclusion of the Rabbid dance trainer, mainly because Rabbid Peach doing rather exotic dances to Beyonce’s “Naughty Girl” has already mentally scarred some people who just weren’t prepared for the kind of imagery present in the video above.

Nintendo allowed Ubisoft to use the Super Mario characters and themes in Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. The game sold well enough for what it is and I suppose Nintendo allowed Ubisoft to go a step further by using the Mario-themed characters from the turn-based RPG in Ubisoft’s other title, Just Dance 2018.

Not everyone was mentally unprepared for the crossover in the multiplayer dancing game. Some gamers were quite thrilled to see the characters hopping from one game to the next and bringing some levity and hilarity to the dancing game. And besides, if everyone is having a good time being goofy and enjoying themselves dancing, then isn’t that the whole point? I’m sure seeing those swinging hips of Rabbids Peach is well worth the laughs that come with the crossover… right? Right?!

Rabbids Peach Dances To Beyonce In Just Dance Trailer

The First Two Shenmue Games Are Being Rereleased

With Shenmue 3 set to launch sometime later this year, it looks like folks hoping to catch up on the series’ story up to this point are in luck. According to Sega, remastered versions of the original two Shenmue games are on the way.

SEGA

@SEGA

You’ve asked, we listened and we’re extremely excited to finally announce that Shenmue I & II are coming to PS4, Xbox One and PC in one package! Both games will feature Japanese and English voice overs, the choice of classic or modern controls and more!

The above tweet comes directly from Sega, who have officially revealed a launch of Shenmue and Shenmue II on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. The best news is that these spruced up versions of the games will be launched as a single package, allowing folks to get the full narrative in a single purchase. It’s also noted that players will be able to enjoy both the Japanese and English voiceovers, as well as choose between classic and more modern controls. Other tweaks are mentioned but not detailed.

Of course, this is the internet, so rather than be excited to get playable versions of the first two Shenmue games, many of the comments gripe that folks would also like remade versions of games like Jet Set Radio or Skies of Arcadia. And then there are of course the obligatory “what about Switch?” comments.

We’re excited to see this news, even if we’re not exactly surprised. The original Shenmue and Shenmue II launched on the Dreamcast at the turn of the century, a console most folks in the U.S. didn’t own. Also, another issue was that, if memory serves, Shenmue II came out on the original Xbox here in The States rather than the Dreamcast, which wasn’t exactly an ideal scenario. After that Xbox launch in 2002, things went quiet for the series.

Several years back, director Yu Suzuki announced during the Sony E3 press conference that he would be taking the series’ third chapter to Kickstarter, hitting its $2 million goal almost instantly. The latest launch window has Shenmue IIIarriving later this year and, given all of the attention the series has received in recent years, it makes sense that Sega would want to make the original games available, too. We’re sure there’s a decent recap of the first two games available on Youtube somewhere, but this move means folks can choose to simply play the games and get the story firsthand instead.

It’s worth noting that this isn’t just the result of a third game finally arriving for the series nearly two decades after the plot was left dangling. A while back, Sega held a poll asking players what old-school games they’d like to see remade for modern consoles. At the top of that list was Shenmue, so this can also be seen as Sega offering some nice follow through.

So what do you think, folks? Are you excited to finally have the chance to play the original Shenmue games on modern consoles? Drop your thoughts into the comments below.

The First Two Shenmue Games Are Being Rereleased

Classic Sega Titles Are Coming To The Nintendo Switch

A recent Sega event in Japan is turning up all kinds of interesting news for the publisher, including the fact that a collection of Genesis and Master System games are heading to the Nintendo Switch. Get ready to party likes it’s 1985.

It’s been a busy weekend for Sega, what with the announcements of the Shenmue I/II rerelease and another micro-console heading our way. But for folks gaming on the Switch, the biggest news is likely this new collection of retro games being called “Sega Ages.” According to a report from Polygon, the collection will include 15 titles from the Sega Master System and Genesis, though only a trio of titles have been announced so far. Those include the original Sonic the HedgehogPhantasy Star and Thunder Force 4. Since M2 is working on these titles, we have a feeling they will be direct ports rather than remasters. However, that does not rule out additional bells and whistles like art galleries, save states, the ability to rewind gameplay, etc. None of that has been confirmed at this point, I’m just listing examples of some of the modern touches a lot of rereleases have been getting these days. The good news is that M2 has already worked on bringing plenty of 8-bit and 16-bit Sega games to more modern platforms, so we’re expecting some solid work out of the Sega Ages lineup.

We also know that the games will arrive sometime this summer, though nothing more specific than that has been listed at this point. We’re kind of curious what 12 games will make up the remainder of the collection. Since there are only 15 total, we figure they probably don’t want to do all three Sonic games when they could give up those two spots to other Sega classics. Then again, all three Sonic games are playable on about every platform known to man at this point, so maybe it makes sense that they all three make their way to the Switch.

As the original post points out, this could also be taken as a bad sign for some Switch fans, as it sure makes it seem like an alternative to the Virtual Console. Then again, maybe Nintendo simply isn’t worried about bringing outside consoles to a Switch Virtual Console. We know that something has to be in the works for first-party titles, as classic games are a part of their premium online plan. But that also doesn’t mean that games other than those offered through the plan will ever be made available. That would seem like Nintendo was leaving an awful lot of money on the table, but we’re basically done trying to figure out how the company thinks.

Still, whether it’s through a Virtual Console or not, it looks like 15 classic Sega games are heading to the Switch. What titles would you like to see included in the lineup? Let us know in the comments below.

Classic Sega Titles Are Coming To The Nintendo Switch

Minecraft On The Nintendo Switch Will Award Xbox Live Achievements

The release of Minecraft on the Nintendo Switch has a weird caveat: in order to use the online multiplayer mode for cross-play, you need an Xbox Live account. Well, for that reason, it turns out that playing the game on the Switch can also earn you Xbox Live achievements.

Polygon is reporting that starting later this year, Nintendo Switch owners will be able to unlock Xbox Live achievements. This was spotted by Patrick Maka over on the True Achievements website, where a list of achievements for the Nintendo Switch version of Minecraft were spotted.

The achievements also apply to the PC version of the game and the iOS and Android versions of the game as well. Obviously, the PlayStation version of Minecraft relies on the trophies instead of achievements, so that’s why it doesn’t appear on the achievement list.

The reason for the tie-in between the Nintendo Switch and the Xbox Live is because in order to enable the cross-play functionality between the PC, Xbox One and the Nintendo Switch, gamers on the Switch needed an Xbox Live account. There’s no word yet on if this will still apply when the premium version of the Nintendo Network gets underway later this year.

What we do know is that a spokesperson for Mojang told Polygon that this wasn’t a mistake or a fluke, but that Nintendo Switch owners will be able to legitimately link up their Xbox Live accounts and unlock achievements for their account by playing Minecraft through the Nintendo console…

We can confirm that Minecraft players on Nintendo Switch will soon be able to earn achievements tied to Xbox Live once the Bedrock update is released,

The Bedrock update is scheduled to launch at some point later this year. Last year, the update enabled Xbox, iOS, Android, PC and even owners of VR headsets like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive to play with each other using cross-platform compatibility.

The game has already been out and available for the Nintendo Switch, but this particular update will enable the ability for gamers to unlock achievements on the Switch.

PlayStation gamers have been unable to join in on the fun due to the fact that Sony has denied gamers the ability to engage in cross-platform compatibility. The company cited console security concerns as the reason why there wouldn’t be any support offered for cross-platform compatibility. However, Sony does allow PS4 and PC gamers to play with each other, despite the fact that PC gamers actually can undermine security and utilize cheats in games.

Even still, Switch and PS4 gamers won’t be playing with each other anytime soon. Switch and Xbox gamers will share a much different relationship, though. What’s more is that Switch owners who have Minecraft and their Xbox Live account enabled will be able to earn achievements when the update goes live later this year.

I do wonder if this will also work to lure more Switch gamers over to the Xbox or if it will lure Xbox gamers over to the Switch, maybe to play a portable version of the game?

Minecraft On The Nintendo Switch Will Award Xbox Live Achievements

Xbox Live Achievements are Coming to Nintendo Switch Version of Minecraft

In what is perhaps the strangest story of the week, it seems that Minecraft players will soon be able to earn Xbox Live achievements while playing the game on Nintendo Switch.

Patrick Maka was one of the first to notice this odd revelation over on Twitter where he tweeted out a screenshot of the achievement listing. Much like the iOS and Android versions of Minecraft, it seems that the Switch version will boast the same achievements as every other platform that the game has appeared on.

Polygon was able to later confirm what Maka found by reaching out to Microsoft. A representative from the company responded and stated:

“We can confirm that Minecraft players on Nintendo Switch will soon be able to earn achievements tied to Xbox Live once the Bedrock update is released.”

One of the underlying factors that made this situation possible was likely due to the fact that the Switch doesn’t have a native achievement system tied to the console. The PS4, on the other hand, does not boast these achievements due to the use of the console’s trophy system.

As of now, we don’t have a timetable for when the Bedrock update will be rolling out for Minecraft on Switch, but it likely won’t be too long considering the update has already released for other platforms. Once it does release though, all you’ll have to do is simply login to your Xbox Live account on the Switch to start earning those achievements for yourself.

Ashland Teacher Using Minecraft To Enhance Learning In Class

ASHLAND, OH – An Ashland High School English teacher is using Minecraft to engage students in the literary worlds they are reading about in class.

Minecraft, a sandbox video game that was released in 2011, gives players the freedom to build anything they want in the game’s world. Microsoft bought the intellectual property in 2014. Since then, Microsoft has produced an “Education Edition” in order to implement the game in the classroom.

When Ben Spieldenner, English Teacher at Ashland High School, told his students that they would be playing Minecraft to further their learning, he didn’t have to worry about them being rusty.

“It’s like riding a bike, you know?” Spieldenner said. “They are very familiar about how it works, they are very familiar with how to construct, all those kinds of things.”

Ben got the idea to implement the game into his classroom after playing it with his kids. He recognized that the game did not have a win/lose system, instead it rewards players with the freedom of creation and exploration.

“I’ve been teaching english for a number of years, and so selfishly, I really wanted to plan the worlds that we have been reading about.” Ben Spieldenner said. “I wanted to use Minecraft to create an experience they would not have gotten in the real world.”

When students were able to get hands-on with the game in class, they were structured into teams. One team was tasked with creating, while another was tasked with destruction. Due to limited resources, this brought forward discussions on how to best utilize the resources they have, as well as plan how they wanted to create the worlds that they have been reading about.

Different worlds were built from many english texts from authors such as William Shakespeare, Ayn Rand, Charles Dickens, and more.  Students found out quickly that the more they read in the book, the more likely they are to find secrets hidden in the world.

Ben states that having the game help visualize the worlds of the books they have been reading helps them better understand the subject. It’s a tool that not many kids have at their disposal.

“We assume that kids have the tools necessary to be able to understand what they are reading,” Ben explained. “Not all kids have those tools.”

Ben Spieldenner grew up with video games, his parents would often tell him that he would have to read for one hour in order to be able to play video games for an hour. Ben says that this is probably what led him to become an english teacher. This is something that he wants students to experience, the joy of combining two worlds together.

Public perception of using video games in the classroom is mixed, but Ben says that the benefits are endless.

“Sometimes its just a matter of showing that it’s not necessarily about the game itself… it’s about what games can do for your class.” Ben stated. “It’s a different way to look at education, it’s a different way to look at the classroom… I think when they see how excited kids are to be there and to be playing again in class… I think that’s exciting.”

Ashland Teacher Using Minecraft To Enhance Learning In Class