Minecraft, the world of blocks
Launched in 2009 by Mojang Studios, Minecraft has become a global success, inspiring character designs and artistic styles. Developed in Sweden by Markus Persson and Jens Bergenstein, the game is accessible to children via a computer, and is the subject of an annual convention called Minecon.
The ultimate sandbox game
Minecraft belongs firmly in the category of sandbox games. This is a rather special category of video and PC games (some say "non-games") where there are no predetermined objectives. Players can create their own world, explore it in open-world mode, and set their own goals. They can also interact with each other: fighting, competing, or just admiring each other's achievements.
The first sandbox games were developed from existing games, such as Elite or Sim City. Later, specific licences were developed, such as Second Life or Garry's Mod. Today, the two best-known sandbox games are Minecraft and Fortnite.
What do you have to do in Minecraft?
In a typical Minecraft game, the player controls a character who moves around an environment made up of blocks, a bit like Lego. They have to explore the surrounding area and extract resources and tools.
With these tools, the player can then build... anything they want. It could be a small pile of earth, or an oriental palace... the only limit would be the player's imagination.
But any child who plays with Lego knows that after building comes the more imaginative play phase: the child imagines stories or adventures in his little world of plastic blocks.
In Minecraft, these adventures become "real". It all depends on the game mode chosen by the user:
- Construction mode: as the name suggests, players build whatever they want and have unlimited resources at their disposal.
- Survival mode: in survival mode, the character has a life bar and loses points when attacked by the monsters that populate the world of blocks. You can build structures to protect yourself or trap the monsters, and you have to hold out as long as possible.
- Hardcore: in this extreme mode, if the character dies, it's impossible to replay the same universe.
- Adventure mode: imagine survival mode... without the ability to build! You're back in a classic video game, exploring a world and surviving the bad guys.
- Spectator mode: you can fly around all the Minecraft worlds and observe what the other players are doing, without being able to interact.
Stories of skins, biomes and cubic monsters
Minecraft universes are generated automatically and can be divided into biomes. Each biome is a natural environment, such as a mountain, desert or jungle.
To explore these universes, the player receives a character with a skin: an appearance. There are nine basic skins: Steve, Alex, Noor, Sunny, Ari, Zuri, Makena, Kai and Efe. They represent characters from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, allowing everyone to identify with the game. Players can customise them and create new characters from them.
In these worlds, which are punctuated by day and night in 20-minute cycles, players can encounter animated beings known as mobs: villagers, farm animals and... monsters. Monsters inevitably have evil intentions and are generated during the night. The main ones are :
- Zombies, with a variant of zombies that live at the bottom of the water.
- Spiders, with their eight red eyes
- Skeletons
- Creepers, a kind of robot that comes close to exploding
- Endermen, dark humanoid characters who can move blocks and teleport.
Fortunately, zombies and skeletons are destroyed by daylight... unless they're wearing head protection!
Minecraft worlds
The main game takes place in the Overworld. It contains all the biomes, as well as passive and hostile mobs. But there are two other worlds, accessible via secret paths.
- The Nether: if the player finds a ruined portal or builds an obsidian portal, they can enter the Nether, a kind of underground hell. The Nether allows players to move more quickly from one place to another, and also to trade gold ingots for resources or tools from piglins, hybrids of humans and pigs.
- The End is a parallel world accessible via underground portals in the Overworld. It is a kind of classic video game objective: in this world made up of islands floating above nothingness, you can find the end boss, the Ender Dragon. Killing him gives you access to the end credits and a poem written by Julian Gough. You then return to the Overworld and can continue playing normal Minecraft.
Beyond the game: must-have products for all fans
For Minecraft fans, our geek shop offers an impressive range of merchandise that captures the essence of this world of blocks. Check out our selection of figurines, including replicas of the Creeper and other iconic creatures from the game. Available in a range of versions and sizes, these figurines will delight collectors of all ages. For a unique atmosphere, explore our Minecraft nightlights and lamps from Paladone, perfect for adding a playful touch to bedrooms or play areas.
In addition, we have goodies such as t-shirts, mugs, water bottles and home decoration items, all inspired by the pixelated world of Minecraft. These products are regularly updated to include the latest releases, ensuring that stock is always fresh.
With fast and reliable delivery, order now and add a touch of creativity and adventure to your everyday life. Whether you're a seasoned gamer or a new Minecraft fan, our range of official and licensed products is here to immerse you even deeper into this captivating world.