Growing With Minecraft

By Alex Samano, Staff Writer|November 8, 2021

Windowscentral.com

Minecraft Live mob votes keep longtime players engaged.

Open game. Load a new world. 

Just like that. You are transported into the blocky world of Minecraft, where you can do anything. Minecraft is a game that I have been attached to since 2015, when I discovered it from the wondrous world of YouTube. At first, I just wanted to explore the game on my own after watching a few videos. After that, I wanted to try everything I could about it. Mining for materials, villager trading, building, Redstone, PVP, and even extensions to the game called mods. I was hooked on the simplistic nature of the game and the endless possibilities. 

Minecraft is a sandbox game initially made in 2011 by a Swedish developer named Notch. Mojang studios are currently developing it. At its core, it is a game made up entirely of blocks. There’s no actual goal in the game, and the goal is what the player decides is the goal. From making working computers to just mining, it is all possible. That is why I have grown up with this game for as long as I have.

That’s where Minecraft Live comes in. Minecraft Live is a yearly Livestream meant to give updates on the current version of the game. It has become an annual event that never fails to make me excited about the improvements being made to the game. 

The most community interactive part is the mob vote. A mob vote is an event in which the community can vote on Twitter for one mob to add to the game, with only the fundamental aspects of each mob being told.

This year’s mob vote was another close call. The mob immediately out of the vote was the Glare. While it was popular due to its cute bush-like appearance, it was ultimately useless for java users. The Glare’s ability to tell players if hostile mobs could spawn in an area was a novel idea if F3 (F3 allows you to see many things about the game, one being the light level.) didn’t exist.

Mob Vote

The next mob was the Copper Golem. Its purpose was to give copper a purpose outside of aesthetics. While random AI seemed cool for non-Redstone users, most Redstone users were not so impressed. Redstone users have spent years perfecting that exact idea.

The winner of this year’s mob vote was the Allay. A mob with the ability to bring back more of any item you bring it. It will be beneficial for people who specifically like to gather a lot of materials. For example, instead of going back and forth to a chest and back when mining for stone, you can get the little ghost-like creature to do it.

Part 2 of the 1.17 update contains the new world generation. The world of Minecraft will get both higher and lower, with landscapes having a lot more variety. While the new terrain is undoubtedly exhilarating, I still hope the plains are relatively flat as they’ve always been. 

The plains biome is the coldest biome in Minecraft. I’m sure that anyone who has touched the game has a distinct memory of choosing to build their home in it because of its flat terrain. It’s simply the easiest to build on and is great for users who do not care for the building. I hope that this aspect of the game stays the same. 

In a previous Minecraft Live, it was announced in passing that there would be a future swamp and desert update. That future is now within our reach. The previously bland biome, made up of tiny islands surrounded by water, just small enough to feel inconvenient to build in, is now being upgraded. Swamps are soon getting mud, frogs, tadpoles, fireflies, and most excitingly, Mangrove trees. For the first time in Minecraft history, there will be a tree able to grow underwater with visible roots. 

This update will drastically improve the feeling of the swamp. The concept images made the swamp biome feel more like an actual ecosystem rather than copying and pasting the plains biome with a few changes. The only thing left about this update is whether or not they’re going to change the bland design of the witch hunts. Precisely, changing the design from Oakwood to Mangrove wood would fit the new design of the biome. 

The most exciting update is the deep dark update, which was sadly pushed back. The concepts of the update make it entirely worth it. The Warden, a blind mob with an insane amount of strength, is looking more incredible than ever now, spawning from the ground itself in the deepest parts of the caves.

The Warden has been something I’ve been very excited about since it was announced. The idea of a mob that looks like a rejection for a horror movie for being too cute meant to be avoided then killed is very appealing. Added with the fact that it can kill a player extremely quickly no matter what armor they are wearing, it will undoubtedly be a different and fun aspect for players to experience.

Along with the Warden, there are also new blocks in the deep dark that all work and grow together, called Shulk. While little is known about these blocks, they are shown to be quite promising, specifically for XP farms. These blocks can collect XP and release it when broken. This can revolutionize the way XP farms work with the ability to store XP for long periods.

I can give no genuine advice to other plays since each player’s experience in Minecraft is different. I cannot tell anyone what is right or wrong in a game for people to make their own decisions. 

Overall, Minecraft is one of my favorite games and will continue to grow with me for years to come. It has been able to stay relevant in both my and others’ lives for so long due to its flexible nature and constant updates to the game still happening to this day. 

Minecraft is a game truly able to grow with people.