What is Minecraft and why does everyone talk about it?

In this time, everybody around the world is talking about Minecraft as a tool in education. The release of Minecraft: Education Edition has made many interested in the game, which from now on will have its own version specifically designed for the classroom. After we can talk about the benefits that this game give to classmates, there are many who continue to have a crucial question: Really, what is Minecraft? How can be possible that a simple game can help in education? For those who do not know what it is about or for those who have never seen it in action, today we are going to unravel the details of Minecraft, which in itself was considered by many to be one of the most successful titles in the history of video games.

An open world based on blocks

Minecraft catch the attention in the very first moment it came to light. Not only its figures – officially have sold 22.4 million units, and only counting the PC / Mac version – are impressive, also the essence of the game will attract attention.

The graphics are very simple, unlike the most common trend of the large franchises in the market. In Minecraft everything is pixelated, which gives it a special charm while allowing it to run without problems on computers that are not the latest generation.

The world of Minecraft is infinite and is based on blocks, the vast majority of them cube-shaped and of the same dimensions. And yes, we say well, infinite, because you could start to cross it without ever reaching the edge.

Any world is the same, because each time you start a new game a new world is created, different from the previous one. Although your vision is limited, you can go walking around the world to discover different things: villages of people, animals, natural events (volcanoes, caves, faults, etc.), and most interesting of all: you should go picking materials to go advancing in the game, building new objects or improving the ones you already have.

One of the main objectives of Minecraft is precisely this: to discover new objects, recipes and possibilities with which, for example, you can substitute your wooden sword for an iron one, and then a steel one. Only in the original game there are hundreds of objects that you can – you must – discover.