Krissi Reichenberger's review of Minecraft
Date last edited: 05-31-2024 at 12:34AM
Rating: Everyone 10+
Review:
Video game
Title: Minecraft
Developer/Publisher: Microsoft and Mojang Studios
Genre: Survival
ESRB rating: Everyone 10+
My rating: 5/5
Primary audience: Everyone
Year of release: 2011
Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux, Xbox One, Xbox Series S and X, PlayStation 4 and 5, Nintendo Switch, Fire OS/TV, Android, iOS, Windows Mobile, and Samsung Gear VR
Minecraft Websites describe the game as, "A game made up of blocks, creatures, and community. Blocks can be used to reshape the world or build fantastical creations. Creatures can be battled or befriended, depending on your playstyle. Experience epic adventures solo or with friends, there’s no wrong way to play.Unless you’re digging straight down" (Discover Minecraft). Minecraft is a game that can either be played in survival or creative mode. Either way, you try to build the best world for youself. You can encounter villagers, animals, or, if you play online, other players as well. There are many different blocks you can place and it is very interesting to find out what using one thing with another will do. This game is sometimes called a "sandbox" game because it is almost entirely up to you what you do when you play this game!
First Media Key: Balance
The first media key Dr. Gan describes in his book, Infinite Bandwidth, is balance. The main thing to worry about with balance while playing a video game is temperance. Dr. Gan writes, "It [temperence] is necessary for practicing the key of balance" (Gan, pg. 31). Temperence is defined in the Catechism. "Temperance is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods. It ensures the will's mastery over instincts and keeps desires within the limits of what is honorable" (CCC 1809). So, to apply a game to the first media key, we must look at it with restraint. We have to keep our priorities in a right order so as not to put a game first. I think Minecraft helps to regulate how much one uses it, as it is built in a non-addictive sense. There is no "next-level" which one must beat. There is not a goal that one has to reach. You simply play and have fun while doing it, trying to stay alive. One could argue, of course, that the game is about building and therefore there is a goal in mind. But those are personally set goals and can, not only change by person, but have to be regulated by each person as that was not what the game was built for.
Second Media Key: Attitude Awareness
The second media key is all about what the media is trying to get across to the users. Dr. Gan writes, ""They [media-makers] have a point of view, a purpose, a goal. And because of that, every piece of media carries some kind of message" (Gan 52). While this may not seem the case with Minecraft as there is no goal, the developers themselves write what their goal is. They say, "Our Build a Better World initiatives come in all shapes and sizes, and each one achieves something unique and valuable in its own way. Over time, we've learned that Minecraft and our amazing community achieves great things in three focus areas that are especially important to us: Education, Equity, and Sustainability" (Discover Minecraft). We can see Education to be true certainly. One religion teacher, Mr. Michael Sabala, taught using Minecraft. He used it to teach his students how big Solomon's temple was. With each block equaling a cubit, the students say they remembered easily how big the temple was, and even had fun doing so. Equity is shown through Minecraft through their having something for everyone. No matter your playstyle or background. Their message of sustainability is written in their website as, "Using our global reach to educate, inspire, and promote sustainable ways of living, while activating initiatives to help protect our planet" (Discover Minecraft). Minecraft's message is in accord with what is true, good, and beautiful and leads us to better things.
Third Media Key: Dignity of the Human Person
The third media key is important because it is one of the most important things about humanity itself. Dr. Gan writes, "All media should reflect, uphold, and enhance human dignity" (Gan 65). This includes video games. I think this video game is between respect and disrespect of the human dignity. On one hand, there is killing of other humans and villagers. There are also zombies and skeletons which are generally understood to have once been humans which degrades the soul in and of itself. On the other hand, when one is killed, there is no blood, guts, or screaming. A simple grunt and whatever is being hit turns red briefly. However, it in no way can be understood to reflect, uphold, and enhance the soul, which is a key part of human dignity. While, arguably, it is hard to do that in a video game, if we don't hold our media to a higher standard, we will settle for less than God Himself made us to be.
Fourth Media Key: Truth
The fourth media key is dependent on what one describes as truth. It is, in fact, different than accuracy. For one can be not accurate but still truth-filled. It doesn't have to exclude all things fantastical, it just has to be filled with that which is real. Dr Gan writes it best when he says, "Even though they are not real, they are realistic; for they are made of the very stuff of human life" (Gan 84). This game does not fit well into this key as, while the basicallity of human nature, what we can and cannot do with the things given to us, is shown by giving us all these things of real life and teaching how they go together to form other things, the very stuff that makes humans who they are, are not included in this game. There is no emotions, no loving or hating, being joyful or filled with pain, or even feeling anxious or peaceful. There are no experiences which make up human experiences from all times and places. There is no falling in love, getting hurt, watching a sad death, or any of the other things that make a human what they are.
Fifth Media Key: Inspiring
A good viedo game, or any piece of media, is supposed to lead us to better things and bring us closer to Him who is on high, namely God. To do so, it must, of course, be filled with truth. As we mentioned earlier, this game is very low on truth, thus the best thing it can inspire us to do, is go learn how to create things in the real world. While truth can be taught using this game, as earlier stated in the case of Mr. Sabala, the game itself has no truth to inspire users to be inspired by. There is no, once you set the controller down, a decision to go make the world a better place, or even to subconciously do so.
Sixth Media Key: Skillfully Developed
Minecraft is certainly well developed, and has been gradually getting better as the years go on and new versions come out. There are all kinds of features for all kinds of wants in a game. If you're not looking to play long, there are mini games such as Hanglider, Battle, or Snowball Fight. If you'd rather just build without all the hassle of surviving along with it, there is creative mode, where it supplies you with all the blocks in the game. Survival mode is the tough one, trying to navigate building shelter, finding food, and defeating monsters all at once. There are so many blocks to choose from and many unique ways to use each one. The quality has gotten better and even what you can do with each animal. Minecraft is so far advanced, you can tame a horse and then, if you have a saddle, you can ride the horse for faster speeds. If you are in creative mode, you can fly to reach places faster. The game even has a handy tool, the map, where you can hold it while you travel around the world, either to find your friends or where your home is. They have all types of animals to choose from: sheep for wool and meat, cows for leather and beef, pigs for pork, wolves to befriend and help you hunt, cats, fish to eat and get bones to befriend wolves, horses to ride, spiders to run from and make a bow out of their string, etc. The list goes on with all of the characters and blocks working very intricately with each other, even the monsters and what killing each of them will get you. The game also very helpfully provides a tutorial mode which will walk you through all the basic functions of the game and provide you with what you need to get started.
Seventh Media Key: Motivated By and Relevant to Experience
This key is important because it relates to how much one learns, or takes from a certain piece of media. Not to mention, the more relevant a game is, the more one could enjoy playing it. Dr. Gan writes, "It [media] also succeeds because it gives us an experience" (Gan 139). Minecraft certainly gives one an experience as they go through the classic "survival of the fittest." A player goes through things every human might need to in real life daily. They must eat constantly or they run out of energy, they cannot be underwater for too long, and if they sleep the night has gone by. This makes a player feel as though they are just going through everyday life with a little something extra to start an adventure and make it fun. This makes the game easier to play because it feels as though there is a meaning to one's Minecraft game as there is to one's real life. You can tell this game was certainly motivated by human experience as evidenced by all the things previously listed. Thus, it speaks to the players, once again, on a more personal level as it relates to them in their mundane life.
Minecraft will certainly engage, but not addict players to its usage. It is very well developed with something for all ages. It has a message to get across that it does a fine job promoting. Simply, the game is one for all ages to enjoy, perhaps even as a family with its multi-player feature. It can relate to personal experiences, making it funner and, although it is difficult to find something in the game to inspire us to live our lives more truthfully, beautifully, and well, it does provide a certain oppurtunity for simple, clean fun on a rainy day.
Seven Keys:
Balanced:
Attitude:
Personal:
Truth-filled:
Inspired:
Skillfully Made:
Experienced:
Overall Rating: 28/35
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