A new craze has swept the world. Originally released May 17th, 2009, Minecraft has become a internet phenomenon. There is a free “Classic” version of the game, as well as a “Beta” version that currently costs 14.95 Euros ($20.66). The game is simple to understand: Everything in the game world is made of equal sized blocks, and the game is played from a first-person perspective. In the “Classic” version, the player is able to freely create and destroy as many blocks as he wants with a left or right click of the mouse, and there is no danger of death from enemies or the environment. In the “Beta” version, the player has to collect resources to create tools and blocks, and is in danger of being attacked by enemies or dying from falling, lava, and drowning.
But is this game good enough to replace Bubble Shooter, one of the most addicting time-wasting games that students are playing, as the dominant time-waster?
“Minecraft challenges you to be creative, while bubble shooter is just shooting bubbles,” says Senior Dalton Lammers, one of many students addicted to Minecraft, “It’s fun to take time and see how limitless your imagination actually is.”
Bubble Shooter is a game everyone knows, so there’s no need to explain it here. Plenty of students spend there time on school computers playing this game instead of doing there work.
“I started playing about 3 months ago, but I prefer to play it in my Ipod,” says Junior Becca Skelly, one of many students already addicted to Bubble Shooter, “I play it any chance I can get. I play it 30 minutes before I go to sleep, every day.”
Minecraft is a unique game. There is only one goal in the “Classic” version: Create. There is only one rule in the “Beta” version: Survive.
If Minecraft will ascend to the level of addictiveness that Bubble Shooter has achieved is up to debate, but considering how easy it is to learn how to play, we won’t have to wait too long to find out.
