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Minecraft, mothers and sons all play in Theatre Replacement’s Mine

by Stone Marshall | Nov 29, 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 | 0 comments

Theatre Replacement’s new production uses the computer game Minecraft to start inter-generational dialogue.

Mine
When: Nov. 14-17, various times

Where: Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, 6450 Deer Lake Ave., Burnaby

Tickets and info: From $15, shadboltcentre.com

Theatre Replacement’s latest work Mine is what happens when a performing arts parent gets actively involved in their child’s play — in this case, creator Maiko B. Yamamoto becoming involved in playing Minecraft with her 11-year-old gamer son, Hokuto MacDuff.

Developed over the narratives the two discovered playing the popular video game, the play involves a group of inter-generational gamers/performers between the ages of 10 to 45 enact different stories built up around the game and also transposed into real world events. Or something like that, in this confused digital realm.

“The show was inspired by a conflict I was experiencing with my son who, at around age eight, was becoming completely obsessed with digital screens and the game Minecraft,” said Yamamoto.

“We limited his screen time as we’d been advised, but it was still really hard for him to leave and it became this kind of Grand Canyon rift between the two of us. It was really hard because I didn’t want to be the one taking away this thing he was really into, but zoning out and spending all your time in a digital world isn’t taking care of him either.”

The conflict grew and, in seeking solutions to it, the parents found MCKids Academy, which uses Minecraft for learning positive and safe experiences. For many younger people, the building process is more important than the survival aspect of the game and the creativity exercised in making things in the online environment can become a means to positive play. Eventually, Yamamoto accepted her son’s entreaties to play the game.

“And I was such a newb, could barely walk in a straight line and kept breaking things while he was an expert running circles around me asking what he could show me how to do,” she said.

“He was the expert, but I was still the parent, as he would ask me if he could bring home a dog before he “tamed” one or put his bed next to mine. Suddenly, there was a possible work of theatre coming about.”

Collaborating with game-savvy local theatre artists such as Hong Kong Exile’s Remy Siu and Conor Wylie, as well as a quartet of local gamer/performers ranging in age from 10 to 14, Mine was created. Yamamoto said that slowly the parent-child narrative develop between mothers and sons with an online lens of sorts.

“You watch a group of gamers between ages 10 and 45 enact different mother/son relationships through all of their various moments as well as try to navigate this whole new digital world that we are in,” she said.

“Hokuto is on stage with me and we’re navigating and the hardest thing for me is letting go, letting them/him become this confident human in this new world.”

Using stories ranging from Bambi’s opening between the mother and son to the heavy-handed prophecy of Terminator, the play exposes many sides to the parent-child dynamic. There are a lot of conversations about fears.

“The kids onstage are meant to appear like these gods who can do all these things while the parents are barely able to keep up with them,” she said. “And the wonderful thing is we are always playing the game too. If it’s night time, zombies and creatures will suddenly start wandering in and, in daytime, you have pigs and other animals presenting, it starts raining, odd things happen all the time.”

Mine is something of a huge, unstructured improvisation based around the game and it won’t play out the same each time. As to whether the makers of the game were pleased about it being used in the play, Yamamoto says they were.

“Ultimately, it’s a pretty Minecraft-positive show and we talked to lawyers who made it clear that many others are doing this and you really just need to say ‘this is not an official Minecraft product,’ and it isn’t,” she said.

“We’re not changing the game, we’re using it, and we’re a non-profit, so we aren’t making money on it either.”

But the real question to answer is did the research for the play turn the parent into an obsessive gamer like the child?

“Minecraft became a natural part of our conversation and I became able to see why it’s hard for him to leave at times,” she said.

“He’s in the middle of building a hotel and he needs to focus on it and his response is no different than my own when I go ‘not now I’m busy.’ So now I ask him first about what he is doing and how much time he needs, in the same way he does for me.”

Mine will touch different nerves in different age groups. Where younger players might just see vanquishing a zombie as what you do, parents could think that a child alone in a room obsessively killing characters could be a precursor to some American style school shooting outburst. There are multiple levels to the play and they are designed to foster discussion.

“Theatre Replacement is trying to create a show that adults and game age kids can watch together and then discuss,” she said.

“And they may likely have very different reactions to things taking place. We’ve been able to use our imaginations like never before with this, because you can do that with Minecraft.”

Mine is not an official Minecraft product nor is it affiliated with Mojang. It is touring to London and Cambridge in March 2019.

When Will Oculus Go Finally Get Minecraft? It’s Still Unclear

Yesterday, YouTube VR was released for Oculus Go. In his tweet about the release, Oculus CTO John Carmack stated that it was one of the two apps people always ask him about, and that there “is also some progress on the other one” – the other one almost certainly being Minecraft.

No upcoming Oculus Go game is anywhere near as anticipated as Minecraft. Minecraft is the highest selling 3D game ever, with over 150 million copies sold. It is available on almost all gaming platforms, with cross platform multiplayer between most of them.

The game is anticipated for Go not just due to its significance outside VR, but because it has been available on the Samsung Gear VR headset for over 2 years now. Gear VR runs the same Oculus mobile store as Go, so in theory porting should be easy. In fact, some YouTubers have even managed to sideload the game into the Go headset, though reportedly only singleplayer works.

Minecraft’s absence was noted at Go’s launch back in May. No statement was given at the time (by either Oculus or Microsoft) about the reason for the absence, a release date, or even if it was coming at all.

Minecraft Was Carmack’s “Quest”

Oculus CTO John Carmack was heavily involved in porting Minecraft to Gear VR back in 2016. Carmack worked directly with Mojang to provide both code and guidance. Facebook’s lawyers warned him that his work would become Microsoft’s property, but Carmack didn’t care – getting Minecraft on Gear VR had become his “quest”. In fact, Carmack went as far as to say that he “would have cried” if the deal hadn’t worked out.

Shortly before Minecraft’s release on Gear VR, Carmack called it “the best thing to come out on Oculus”, even going as far as to say all of Oculus, not just Gear VR.

First Hints Of A Go Port
Carmack first hinted that the game could be coming to Go in June, when he stated that it was “a high priority for sure”, but added the disclaimer that few Go owners would have a gamepad paired. This is relevant because the Go’s included controller does not have enough inputs for Minecraft.

The following month, Carmack hinted that progress was being made, and noted that he cared a lot about getting it:

From ‘If’ To ‘When’
When asked to list his favorite Go apps in September, Carmack ended his response with “When we get Minecraft running on Go it will be back in the list.”

This brings us back to yesterday’s tweet, where Carmack suggested “some progress” has been made.

What’s The Delay?
The Minecraft team have had a very busy year. While the Nintendo Switch version of the game was intended to ship last year, delays meant that it didn’t ship until June of this year. Additionally, the team have had to make fundamental changes to the graphics engine in preparation for the ‘Super Duper graphics pack’, a DLC which will add modern graphical features to the game. This too was intended to be released in 2017, but has been pushed back all the way to 2019.

The delays of these projects mean that a lower priority task such porting to Go may have been heavily deprioritised. With the Nintendo Switch version of the game shipped however and the graphics DLC hopefully shipping soon, Minecraft for Go may be next on the agenda, and this may be what Carmack was referring to in his latest Tweet.

We’ll keep you updated on any further news about Minecraft coming to Oculus Go.

Tagged with: john carmack, Minecraft, Oculus Go

Johannesburg school turns popular game Minecraft into a learning tool

by Stone Marshall | Nov 28, 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 | 0 comments

Cell phones are slowly being integrated into the schooling system in South Africa.

Educational technologist at Educor, Bilal Kathrada says cellphones should be used as a learning tool instead of banning them out of the classroom as that will only get learners to find clever ways to bend the rules.

The popular game, Minecraft is now being used as an educational tool.

Tracy Heath of Brescia House School in Johannesburg explains how the game Minecraft is being used to improve learning in the classroom.

Read: ‘Don’t ban cellphones in schools, rather teach kids how to use them to learn’

Also Read: ‘Don’t ban cellphones in schools, rather teach kids how to use them to learn’

Most kids play it and they love it. And with this generation, we need to take what they love and turn into an educational experience.

— Tracy Heath, PS Senior Management Team and ICT teacher
So Microsoft bought the game and we run it as part of our educational system… They’ve turned the game into an educational app.

— Tracy Heath, PS Senior Management Team and ICT teacher
Most people will tell you that if you are playing a game and you having fun, there is part of your brain that gets stimulated which is active and not passive. You are not just sitting and getting stuff to you, you are engaging with the material.

— Tracy Heath, PS Senior Management Team and ICT teacher

Kamehameha schools ‘Minecraft’ program

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Kamehameha Schools has partnered with Microsoft on educational opportunities geared toward computer science.

One of the ways they’re doing it is through the popular video game, Minecraft.

The video game is being used as an educational tool for students to learn more about Native Hawaiian Issues.

‘Overwatch’: Sombra Is Definitely Online In This Cosplay

by Stone Marshall | Nov 27, 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 | 0 comments

Sombra is a unique hero in Overwatch, a double agent that has her own agenda and is a total wiz at hacking. With Overwatch continuing to prove it’s a force to be reckoned with in the gaming community, it’s no wonder that there are so many phenomenal cosplays of this particular character. This one, however, has got to be one of our favorites.

This particular cosplayer is from Korea. Pion Kim is no stranger to bringing characters to life in stunning detail, but her take on the sleek hacker is just too good not to share.

SLIDE 1 of 5
“SOMBRA ONLINE”

SLIDE 2 of 5
“EVERYTHING CAN BE HACKED, AND EVERYONE”

SLIDE 3 of 5
“SEE YOU LATER”

SLIDE 4 of 5
“LOOKING FOR ME?”

SLIDE 5 of 5
MORE ON THE CHARACTER:
Sombra is known for taking information and using it against those in power. She came from the ashes of a tortured past, left orphaned following the Omnic Crisis. Though her country was destroyed, she picked herself up and taught herself skills that could help her survive and thrive.

After being taken in by the Los Muertos gang, she aided in rebuilding Mexico – though her means were dubious to some. After her security came into question, Blizzard mentioned “She later reemerged as Sombra, upgraded and determined to find out the truth behind the conspiracy she had uncovered. Sombra launched an even more audacious string of hacks, and her exploits earned her no shortage of admirers, including Talon. She joined the organization’s ranks and is believed to have contributed to its massive cyberattacks against corporations with strong ties to their governments. These efforts incited a popular revolution in Mexico against LumériCo and breached the security of Volskaya Industries, the manufacturing arm of Russia’s anti-omnic defense.”

Overwatch is now available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.

‘Fortnite’ and ‘God of War’ Win Big At 2018 Golden Joystick Awards, Full Winner List Here

This past week, we’ve been learning small tid-bits about who won that coveted trophy at the Golden Joystick Awards this year, including how Fortnite beat out Red Dead Redemption 2 for the ‘Ultimate Game of the Year’ award. A huge surprise to be sure, but we still didn’t know the final tally of winners. At least until now.

The biggest highlight was FromSoftware’s Hidetake Miyazaki winning the Lifetime Achievement Award. Miyazaki mentioned in a recent press statement, “To receive such a prestigious award from the Golden Joysticks fills me with great surprise and a sense of great honour. I am tremendously grateful to everyone who has played, enjoyed and appreciated our games. Rather than myself, this award goes to the many people who have built these games with me, and shared their passion with me over the years.”

God of War and Fortnite seemed to be the two biggest contenders, with Overwatch taking home the gold for esports game of the year.

For the full winner list:

Best Storytelling: God of War
Best Competitive Game: Fortnite Battle Royale
Best Cooperative Game: Monster Hunter: World
Best Visual Design: God of War
Best Indie Game: Dead Cells
Best Audio: God of War
Still Playing Award: World of Tanks
Best Performer: Bryan Dechart, Detroit: Become Human
Esports Game of the Year: Overwatch
Best VR Game: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR
Studio of the Year: SIE Santa Monica Studio
Best New Streamer / Broadcaster: Bryan Dechart and Amelia Rose Blaire
Mobile Game of the Year: PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Mobile
PC Game of the Year: Subnautica
PlayStation Game of the Year: God of War
Xbox Game of the Year: Forza Horizon 4
Nintendo Game of the Year: Octopath Traveler
Breakthrough Award: Unknown Worlds
Most Wanted Game: Cyberpunk 2077
Critics Choice Award: Red Dead Redemption 2
Lifetime Achievement Award: Hidetaka Miyazaki
Outstanding Contribution: Xbox Adaptive Controller
Ultimate Game of the Year: Fortnite Battle Royale
What do you think about the winners listed? Do you feel like the right games one, or do you feel like a particular title got the shaft? Join in on the conversation in the comment section below! You can also watch the Golden Joystick Awards 2018 on the Golden Joystick Awards Twitch Channel, broadcast live from London from 3pm GMT / 7am PST / 10 am EST.

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