A primary school in Cambridgeshire is using Minecraft in the classroom to teach pupils all about history.
According to the BBC, the children at Haslingfield School have been playing the popular computer game to design a Bronze Age city which has helped them to learn more about yesteryear.
The school has also been assisted by a group of experts from the University of Cambridge in order to design the city accurately.
The game, which ultimately allows players to build with a variety of different cubes in a 3D procedurally-generated world, has gained much success since it was first developed back in 2009.
Although the demo is free, it actually costs to pay and many more editions have been released since.
TEL AVIV, Israel, Dec. 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Just in time for Christmas, there's a new Minecraft game from the Israeli start-up company TOYA, which develops games for girl-empowerment. “My Snowy Journey” is an awe-inspiring trip up Mt. Everest where players follow in the footsteps of and are assisted by the first woman ever to reach the summit, Japanese climber Junko Tabei.
My Snowy Journy inspired by Junko Tabei
12 Days of Minecraft – My Snowy Journey
“Junko Tabei was an amazing woman,” said TOYA CEO Anat Shperling. “Although at the start of her career she had no help from her government or male mountaineers, she climbed not only Mt. Everest but the Seven Summit peaks – the highest mountains on seven continents.”
“As a role model for the millions of gamers playing Minecraft, especially girls, Junko is very special. She did things her own way, resisting and overcoming all obstacles. We were inspired by her personal passion for climbing, and created a game that enables you to climb Mt. Everest while experiencing fun and challenging gameplay.”
“My Snowy Journey” takes players up the mountain through a series of challenges, including three giant ice walls that increase in difficulty. With tools and the help of Whysa, a rather unpredictable old lady who appears in every TOYA game, gamers interact with Junko and each other as they climb to the top – where, like real mountaineers, they can leave their own permanent messages. The game is available for purchase at http://bit.ly/2Bv1PNW
“Making Everest look like its gigantic self, while not intimidating young gamers, was a design challenge we had to overcome,” said Yifat Anzelevich, TOYA's COO. “We wanted girls to experience the immense, icy world of Everest while understanding how Junko's personal approach of not being intimidated by the mountain was what enabled her to master it!”
TOYA was founded by Shperling and Anzelevich, women entrepreneurs, to create a brand of digital games and media designed to inspire and motivate young girls to realize their full potential, and expose boys to the accomplishments of women who changed our world. The small start-up is developing new Minecraft games designed to be an alternative to the typical “pink” games about fashion, pets and homecare targeted to grade-school-age girls.
The games are important for boys, too: research indicates that there is only one female for every five male characters in video games, and 76% of solo video game heroes are male, despite the fact that half of online gamers are female. The Minecraft games' playful learning experience enables gamers to become explorers, adventurers and all sorts of heroes through experiencing the accomplishments of exceptional women from around the world. The company's first Minecraft game, inspired by the work of renowned gorilla researcher Dian Fossey, was released in November.
“My Snowy Journey” will be featured on Microsoft's “12 Days of Minecraft” and its skin pack will be available to play for free on December 29th. The game will be available for purchase starting December 19th. Toya is one of Microsoft's few Minecraft content-creator partners and is the only one developing games that focus on phenomenal women achievers around the world. Most of the games include subtle encouragement for players to develop and use STEM skills, from understanding animal biology to figuring out the geology of mountain-climbing.
Minecraft itself is a gaming phenomenon, with a user base of more than 130 million gamers around the world, 40% of whom are female. The game's popularity is rooted in its creative, non-violent approach, and in its graphics, both the users and their surroundings are made out of blocks, allowing unlimited choices in representation and creating new worlds.
“From the textures and colors of this game to the ability to join an online “community” of gamers who have completed the game successfully, ‘My Snowy Journey' is a unique addition to the Minecraft universe,” Shperling said. “It's another landmark for the TOYA approach: fun and interesting but with the serious purpose of empowering girls around the world.”
In 2018, TOYA will release a series of adventure games inspired by extraordinary women from Brazil, Egypt, the UK and Japan, and is expected to expand its content to linear media as well.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi has lit the internet up with both praise and critique, an overflow of love and hate. It’s actually pretty poetic, considering a theme of the movie is about finding a balance between light and dark. As the debate continues a large petition circulating online right now focuses on Luke’s actions and argues the portrayal of the Jedi is so horrid, Disney should scrap the record-breaking box office hit from the official canon and completely redo the story. These people are wrong.
Watch out! Spoilers below! Photo: Player.One
WARNING: Full The Last Jedi spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.
The crux of the argument for the petition is that The Last Jedi depicted Luke Skywalker, and therefore the entire Jedi order, as less than pure good. “ It completely destroyed the legacy of Luke Skywalker and the Jedi. It destroyed the very reasons most of us, as fans, liked Star Wars,” the petition argues. “[R]e-make Episode VIII properly to redeem Luke Skywalker's legacy, integrity, and character.”
The problem, if you haven’t seen the movie and are still reading this article, is Luke attempted to kill Ben Solo back when he was training his young nephew. Luke’s justification for this move is because he saw the evil lurking in Solo, and wanted to eradicate it before it could spread. Ironically, Skywalker’s actions further fueled Solo’s quest for power and was the driving reason for Solo to turn into his alter ego Kylo Ren.
If that moment felt off to you, like Luke was abandoning the ways of the Jedi and becoming evil, then congratulations. That’s how you’re supposed to feel. Luke even feels this, which is why he decided to run away to a small corner of the galaxy and hide for the rest of his life. He knew he did something wrong, and couldn’t face the repercussions of his actions, especially from Han and Leia.
This point is driven home even further when Rey shows up, asking what happened to the legendary Luke Skywalker. The rebellion is failing and the Ultimate Hero is needed once again to come save the day. However, Luke knows he isn’t what people want him to be. He can’t be the force of pure good people think he is, because of his actions in the past. He’s flawed, he’s human.
If this makes you stop and look critically at who your heroes are, that’s a good thing. Allegations against many notable people like Louis C.K., Al Franken and Matt Lauer have made us rethink if those we look up to should be put on pedestals and trumpeted as our favorites.
The petition ends with the line “let us keep our heroes.” Maybe our heroes know they have reason to not be seen as such. Maybe it’s time to make some new heroes.
So what do you think? Are you still upset with what The Last Jedi did to Luke Skywalker? Do you like the flawed portrayal of a man who is capable of error? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below, but please keep it civil.
Movie releases and casual mobile games seem to go hand in hand these days, so it's no surprise the new Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle film has a companion mobile game. In my experience, the majority of movie-themed mobile games turn out to be uninspired money grabs, so I went into Jumanji with some tacit eye-rolling. However, after spending a little time with the game, I was happy to discover it isn’t half bad. In fact, once I got a handle on the rules, it became downright fun..
Jumanji: The Mobile Game manages to pull the best parts of Monopoly and apply them to a mobile CCG that's surprisingly fun to play. Photo: Player.One
The best way I can describe Jumanji: The Mobile Game is a mashup of Monopoly and Hearthstone, but simpler. While the combination may sound terrible, it actually comes off quite well in Jumanji. The game board consists of 12 spaces. 10 of them are like Monopoly properties you can purchase and then set up camp. Each time you pass START, you’ll earn income off these properties, so acquiring as many as you can becomes a central goal. The other two spaces are special features, similar to the corners in Monopoly. These change as the game progresses. Sometimes they are punitive and landing on them will cause you to be imprisoned and miss a turn. Others can give you boosts like gold coins or the ability to move to any spot you choose on the board.
Like Monopoly, the object of the game is to monopolize the board, forcing your opponent into bankruptcy. What makes Jumanji ingenious, however, is that it solves a major Monopoly gameplay problem that puts many people off. When you first start playing Monopoly, it can be fun, but once a player has gained control of the board, the outcome is unavoidable and inevitable. If you are the loser, you’ll be subjected to hours of tedious torture as your opponent slowly bleeds you dry of your resources.
In Jumanji, when landing on an opponent's property you can either pay a toll or attack. Photo: Player.One
Jumanji solves this problem by offering more options for what can happen when you land on an opponent’s property. Players have the option to pay a toll or attack the other player. If they choose to attack (which everyone pretty much does), then players move to an RPG-style dice battle. If your attack is higher than your opponent’s defense score, you win the fight and with it, not only steal that player’s property, but also some of his or her gold.
But the battle isn’t solely dependant on the toss of a dice. In fact, attacks are where the Hearthstone -like CCG elements come into play. Going into a game, each player takes with them a deck of six cards. These cards make up your team and each have varying amounts of attack and defense points, as well as special skills. When you purchase a property, its base defense level is the same as your team’s combined defense points. In the same way, when you make an attack, your base attack is equal to the combined attack points of your team. When an attack occurs, your base points are added to your dice roll and whichever player’s total is higher wins the match. When a game ends, whichever player wins will be awarded a backpack full of resources, including new cards you can unlock or duplicates used for upgrading cards.
Assessing a card's skills becomes important in deciding which to add to your deck. Photo: Player.One
In the first stage of Jumanji, this is as complex as the rules get, but Stage 2 introduces to skills, which add a greater element of strategy to the game. Each card in your deck comes with a particular skill that is either passive or active. Passive skills go into action under certain conditions (ex: increase defense by 1 during the day), while active skills can only be used once during a game. These include everything from destroying an opponent’s base to stealing coins and more. Some of these skills prove quite useful and become a key factor in putting together your team. You also get to choose one of four heroes for your game, each with a starting perk like additional coins or heightened attack scores.
Since Jumanji is meant to be played in five to 15 minutes, the developers have added two additional ways of winning the game if you can’t manage to bankrupt your opponent. 1) Gain control of all properties in a set, creating a monopoly or 2) have the most money at the end of 12 rounds.
My biggest complaint with Jumanji is the opening tutorial lacked information about how to play and the strategy behind the game, which could be off-putting to new players. If you stick in there though, you’ll soon discover that Jumanji is a satisfying online multiplayer game. If you enjoy casual games that combine both luck and strategy this one is worth checking out. You can download Jumanji now for free on either the Apple App or Google Play store.
Every conversation, every scene in The Gifted has a larger meaning. It’s what makes the X-Men series feel so big, despite being filled with lesser known characters. The fall finale was no different. The Stepford Cuckoos make their debut, telepathically forcing more than a dozen Sentinel Services agents to open fire on one another. This happens only hours after Agent Turner’s lengthy, and somewhat enlightening, conversation with the Strucker parents that culminated in an agreement to transport the captured Mutant Underground’s allies away from Trask Industries where Dreamer was murdered.
“It was very important the conversation included the wives,” series star Emma Dumont told Player.One. “We’ve seen conversation between Jace and Reed. It’s bigger than just these men and their egos, there are bigger risks. And it foreshadows that the X-Men say a war is coming — this scene specifically shows it may not just be a war between two parties. What does that mean for the mutant underground and the Struckers, and what does it mean for Lorna? There are so many factors that we get into in the last three episodes.”
Sonia aka Dreamer was Lorna's best friend. Dumont says her death will greatly affect Polaris in the upcoming episodes. Photo: Fox
At this point in the series, we don’t know much about the deadly “7/15” event that is tied to the disappearance of the X-Men and the Brotherhood, but the nature of the Stepford Cuckoos’ introduction was so ruthless, so dark, there’s no doubt Agent Turner is done hearing out the Mutant Underground.
“We can talk about 7/15 all day long and obviously understand what it’s a reference to, but until we actually see a mutant commit a horrible crime like this, we aren't gonna understand why Jace is the hero of his own story,” she said. “The fact that this sweet little blonde girl could make armed, trained men do these things — it's terrifying. But not only can she can do it, she will do it. We could kill each other every day of our lives, but we don't, because we have empathy. That's what makes us different than other animals. But to see someone who really doesn’t have that… The audience needed to see it.”
Esme revealed herself as one of the Stepford Cuckoos and murdered dozens of Sentinel Service agents to save her sisters. Photo: Fox
Dumont explains the scene highlights The Gifted’ s ongoing exploration of prejudice. You cannot blame an entire group, especially an entire minority group, for the terrible actions of one person. But for Polaris, the incident was particularly jarring because the Stepford Cuckoos actions are sort of an irrational version of her own Magento-esque mutant code. It’s a kill-or-be-killed world, but there are rules.
“If you are using your mutant ability, using mayhem and violence and chaos, and you are not saving someone… Lorna thinks it’s fine, kill Hitler, it’s totally fine, but if you are doing things that don't benefit other people, that is disgraceful. Reed, in her mind, isn't helping anyone. Putting those mutants away, ripping up families, those are bad things and they are not redeemable,” Dumont said. “However, if someone like Magneto were to kill one bad human and save hundreds of innocent mutant lives, that is okay with her, she sees the good in that. It’s a very sketchy fine line, but to her it’s very clear thinking. Lorna thinks it makes total sense.”
Eclipse and Polaris have been dating for many years, but that's not to say they are on the same page. Photo: Fox
Eclipse doesn’t see it that way, and his relationship with Polaris illustrates the dynamic between Professor X and Magneto (and their real life counterparts) from the comics and cinematic universe.
“It’s an exact parallel to Professor X and Magento. Marcos wants peace. He will sit by and have change happen slowly. He thinks any change is good change, and Lorna won’t have it. She definitely believes if we all started acting a lot more, using our powers and taking a stand. If that means violence than so be it. But if things continue the way Marcos wants them to continue, then things will never change,” Dumont continued.
“The difference between slavery and current-day hate crime, it’s a difference but we are still living in a world where horrible things happening to minority groups — innocent people being hurt and killed — and it's not okay. And Marcos sees those two time periods and says, ‘Oh, but look how different it is now? Now, people don’t own mutants, they just abuse them and hurt them.' But to Lorna that's an awful way of thinking. She thinks if you stand for nothing, you’ll fall for anything. She has a very Magento way of thinking politically. In the eyes of justice, that's the right thing to do.”
Dr. Roderick-Campbell is a researcher for Trask Industries and wants to learn more about the Strucker children's powers. Photo: Fox
Like Magento, Polaris isn’t even sure there is a place for people like Strucker — who have only recently displayed a willingness to understand the mutant cause — to be part of the way society moves forward to create equality.
“Someone that’s been raised up in bigotry, who now works for the government, not only do they do that because they are passionate about ‘protecting the general public,’ they are paid to do this. They get paid to hurt people. So, of course, the end goal we all say is to make this a peaceful environment for mutants and humans to live in together. But Lorna doesn’t know if that is possible. She’s almost to the point where she thinks these people need to be taken away,” she said.
Sentinel Services Agent Jace Turner's daughter was killed in the 7/15 incident. Photo: Fox
The X-Men universe is defined by what exists between love and hate. Mutant discrimination never stops, political initiatives are never enough to incite real social change, the scientific experiments only get more invasive — and The Gifted will be no different.
“There will never be a happy ending, especially in the X-Men universe,” said Dumont. “The fall finale was heartbreaking in every way imaginable. On an individual level, people start to get what they want, but then in the overall goal of making peace between mutants and humans, it sort of falls apart.”
Dumont teases big things for the last few episodes, including an internal struggle about her character’s place in surviving such an oppressive world — a story arc Dumont isn’t shy to compare to that of Magneto. With a child on the way, Polaris will finally come to terms with what she believes needs to be done.
“She has this reputation, but finally now she’s at a place where she doesn't care. She doesn't care if you don't like things about her because she is right. And she hates that she’s right — we will see this in the last few episodes — she hates that Magneto was right. She wishes it wasn't this way, but it is, and she has to do what she has to do.”
The Marvel’s Wanted pilot starring Lance Hunter and Mockingbird didn't pan out, yet thankfully, Agents of SHIELD has found a way to bring a beloved team member we haven't seen since Season 3 back to the series. Nick Blood will return as Hunter in episode 5, “Rewind.”
The new promo reveals Hunter’s return, and that Fitz has been held in captivity for six months. We don’t know who these people are (they look like military), but they have forced Fitz to help them find the missing SHIELD agents. Fitz has yet to come up with any plausible theories — the only thing he can come up with is that they’ve been abducted by aliens.
“You want to find them to bring them to justice, I want to find them so I know they are okay.”
Bring who to justice? It seems like a lifetime ago, but if you remember back to the Season 4 finale and the whole AIDA framework ordeal… there’s no question government officials need answers about what happened. Before the team was abducted, Fitz even offered to take the blame for messing with the Darkhold. But before he and Coulson can finish their discussion, the bald guy appears and next thing you know, everyone except Ftiz is in space. Even though AIDA and the Framework is Fitz’ fault, SHIELD is still on the hook and it appears the government officials are convinced they are on the run. And when Fitz said he thinks SHIELD was abducted by aliens, the woman tells him to enjoy spending his life in a cell.
Thankfully, Lance Hunter comes to the rescue. According to Blood, Lance and Fitz are integral to helping the team return from space.
“Oh yeah, I don’t think Fitz could have managed it without him — or at least that’s what I think Hunter tells himself ,” Blood told TV Line. “Fitz is very grateful to see him, despite the fact that some of his ideas don’t go quite according to plan.”
Unfortunately, it’s unlikely we’ll see Mockingbird join the fight. Adrianne Palicki is busy in The Orville, but who knows, maybe ABC is saving her return as a surprise. Blood did reveal his characters is at least still in touch with Bobbi.
“Well, he’s been up his usual tricks, doing some mercenary work and bickering with Bobbi… He doesn’t necessarily have access to all the bells-and-whistles and gadgetry that S.H.I.E.L.D. did, so he has to use his charm and his wit to break down doors, and call in a few favors from his dodgy friends — who at times are quite unreliable!”
The next episode of Agents of SHIELD airs at 9 p.m. on Friday. Are you excited for Lance’s return? Let us know in the comments.
