by Stone Marshall | Jul 13, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
File this one under life imitating art.
Minecraft and San Francisco agency 215 McCann have partnered on an initiative to help restore the coral reefs in Mexico in conjunction with the Microsoft-owned game’s Update Aquatic, an expansion that fills the “once-empty Minecraft ocean” with bustling marine life.
Through the Coral Crafters project, Minecraft partnered with some of its most influential players to develop three underwater sculptures, designed in the game and then brought to life as frames then anchored to the sea floor off the coast of Cozumel, Mexico. Another three sculptures, including the game’s iconic characters Steve and Alex, were created by the Coral Crafters team.
The sculptures are specially designed to facilitate the growth of real coral with the aid of biorock—a substance, sometimes known as “seament,” created by the electro-accumulation of minerals dissolved in seawater. The sculptures will allow for the growth of coral colonies for “decades to come,” according to an agency release.
The Minecraft influencers—Rabahrex, Logdotzip and Stacyplays—decided for themselves how to solicit input for their designs. While two of the three based their designs on audience and gamer feedback, Rabahrex enlisted students at a school in Mexico, having them compete to create the best design. The winner? A statue honoring the axolotl, a Mexican salamander.
McCann and Minecraft have also partnered with The Nature Conservancy, a nonprofit that farms and plants coral in the Caribbean, as well as targeting other threats to the ocean. Whenever a player builds coral or buys a custom-made pack from the organization within the game, it triggers automatic donations from Minecraft and Microsoft to the charity, according to the agency.
The campaign will be featured globally in paid media, and Minecraft’s Update Aquatic will be available on Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, Nintendo Switch and mobile devices this summer.
CREDITS:
Client: Microsoft / Minecraft
Taylor Smith
Fergus Lynch
Jessica Freeman
Emily Orrson
Lydia Winters
Nicolette Suraga
Agency: 215 McCann
Chief Creative Officer: Scott Duchon
Creative Director: Neil Bruce
Copywriter: Andy Holdeman
ACD / Art Director: Alper Kologlu
Animators: Carson Bell
Director of Integrated Production: Alex Spahr
Associate Producer: Christina Chin
Director of Business Affairs: Mary Beth Barney
Business Director: Peter Goldstein
Senior Account Executive: Sam Brody
Assistant Account Executive: Robbie Kalish
Director of Strategy: Brian Wakabayashi
Strategy Director: Cassidy Wilber
Engineering and Fabrication: Global Coral Reef Alliance
President and Founder: Thomas Goreau, PhD
Vice President for Design, Power & IT: Thomas Sarkisian
Project Management and Coordination: Marcia Cristina Tessis
Local Subcontractor: Qualti, S.A
Film Production Company: Strike Anywhere
Director: Michael Jacobs
Line Producer: Adrienne Hall
Executive Producer: Cori Cooperider
Underwater Footage: The Jetlagged
Hendrik S. Schmitt and Claudia Schmitt
Editor: Clayton Worfolk
Animator: Tom Yaniv
Illustrator: Rod Hunt
Telecine and Finish: Mission Film and Design
Colorist: Sean Wells
Flame Artist: Mark Everson
Managing Director: Matt Notaro
Original Music: Robot Repair
Recording Studio: One Union Recording
Mixer: Joaby Deahl
Read more here: https://www.adweek.com/creativity/minecraft-let-gamers-design-sculptures-that-will-now-become-artificial-coral-reefs/
by Stone Marshall | Jul 12, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
For years, Minecraft fans have been able to build nearly anything they could imagine using the game's simple, low-res interface and 3D simulated environment. They killed monsters and crafted items, created replicas of the starship Enterprise and even built a working Verizon smartphone.
As of this summer, they're now able to develop under water with the release of Update Aquatic, an expansion to Minecraft capabilities that opens up undersea areas for exploration and populates the oceans with blocky swimming creatures.
Unlike their Minecraft counterpart, the real world's oceans are suffering, as pollution and climate change kill off sea life, especially coral reefs, which supply the infrastructure for some of the world's most biodiverse locations. Enter Coral Crafters, an idea conceived by 215 McCann that enlisted the Minecraft creators community to design a series of real-life sculptures meant to help regrow coral off the coast of Cozumel, Mexico.
Minecraft video creator LogDotZip designed three different pieces, one of which was selected by community to be built. Video creator StacyPlays and her fans were behind another design and students in Mexico landed the third spot, with help from creator Rabahrex.
215 McCann also partnered with The Nature Conservancy, triggering donations from Microsoft and Minecraft when players build coral or buy custom content in the game. The global campaign began running earlier this week. The Update Aquatic will be available on Xbox One, Windows 10, Nintendo Switch and mobile.
Read more here: http://creativity-online.com/work/minecraft-coral-crafters/54920
by Stone Marshall | Jul 12, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
Microsoft today announced two new Xbox One console bundles. Available starting today are the Xbox One X PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds Bundle and the Xbox One S Minecraft Bundle.
The $499 PUBG Xbox One X Bundle has a download code for PUBG and one-month trial passes for Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass. Meanwhile, the $299 Minecraft Xbox One S Bundle has a download code for Minecraft, a code for Season One of Minecraft: Story Mode – The Complete Adventure, a one-month Xbox Game Pass trial pass, and a two-week Xbox Live Gold trial pass.
Both bundles feature the standard console and controller color schemes with no added styling specific to their respective games.
Microsoft and Nintendo recently co-released a plug for Minecraft's cross-play abilities, a feature Sony refuses to implement on the PlayStation 4.
As a PC and Xbox One exclusive, PUBG doesn't have to worry about that particular issue. PUBG has a few problems of its own, however, as players discovered an exploitable glitch in the recently released Sanhok map and inspired PUBG Corp. to change PUBG's Event Pass after an online outcry.
Read more here: http://www.ign.com/articles/2018/07/03/microsoft-announces-xbox-one-pubg-and-minecraft-console-bundles
by Stone Marshall | Jul 11, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
Nintendo has announced a new trio of 2DS XL models themed after some of the platform's most popular games: a Minecraft 2DS with a face plate that looks like a Creeper, a Mario Kart 7 2DS with red-and-black theme, and an Animal Crossing 2DS with the series' iconic leaf symbol. The Animal Crossing edition includes a pre-installed copy of Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Welcome Amiibo, the updated version of New Leaf that includes Amiibo support.
All three were announced through the Nintendo's Japanese site, and Nintendo of Europe promptly followed with a tweet advertising the Animal Crossing model. However, Europe hasn't confirmed the Minecraft or Mario Kart versions, and none of them have been announced by Nintendo of America. So depending on your region, we may be seeing announcements soon, or you could have to import your version of choice.
The New Nintendo 2DS XL is essentially a 3DS body–including the clamshell design not found in standard 2DS models–but without the 3D functionality. The GameSpot review called it the best 3DS/2DS family design yet, even coming late as it was to the generation. Nintendo's newly named president, Shuntaro Furukawa, recently said the company is considering a 3DS successor.
Nintendo has been keen on marketing the 2DS XL to collectors, with special editions themed after certain fan-favorite games and franchises. On top of the launch Black/Turquoise and White/Orange versions, it has Pikachu, Poke Ball, Dragon Quest, and Zelda themed version, along with these new additions.
Read more here: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendos-cool-new-2ds-models-celebrate-mario-kart/1100-6460160/
by Stone Marshall | Jul 11, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
It didn’t take long for Nintendo and Microsoft to become the industry’s new power couple — a pair of best friends who hang out together, rubbing it in the face of spoilsport Sony. Not only does the updated Minecraft for Nintendo Switch allow for cross-platform play with Xbox One, an unprecedented partnership that transcends first-party lines, but Nintendo is also now paying even larger tribute to the Microsoft-owned franchise.
A trio of New Nintendo 2DS XL systems are heading to Japan this summer, and the star of the show is the Minecraft Creeper Edition. It’s a beautiful, blocky green handheld that’s the spitting image of Minecraft’s mascot. And based on its box art, it looks like the Microsoft-owned Mojang had a hand in the design.
While the Nintendo 3DS version of Minecraft doesn’t have the same Xbox connectivity afforded by the Switch release, the special edition handheld is still a show of support from Microsoft’s new pal Nintendo. Third-party companies have commissioned their own limited-edition 3DS handhelds before, but for one first-party company to collaborate on hardware for another? That’s pretty huge.
If you’re not so into Minecraft, there are two other sweet options to chose from. One is a red-and-black Nintendo 2DS XL that will come as part of a Japanese Mario Kart 7 bundle released in July, which looks lovely:
And there’s an Animal Crossing edition that has some embossed Animal Crossing details that I’m already drooling over. It also has a pre-installed copy of the amiibo-upgraded version of Animal Crossing: New Leaf.
No sign yet on if any of these are coming stateside, but we can only hope they make it here soon.
Read more here: https://www.polygon.com/2018/7/3/17531098/new-nintendo-2ds-xl-colors-minecraft
by Stone Marshall | Jul 10, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
The new version of Minecraft is out on Nintendo Switch which allows for cross-play with friends on Xbox One, Windows 10 or Mobile.
Read more here: http://www.ign.com/videos/2018/06/21/minecraft-cross-play-trailer-for-nintendo-switch
