We had two levels of student in the group, those with experience of working with Minecraft and those without. Using their knowledge of the site and their academic resources, they set out to recreate the site, while reflecting on the limitations that come with working with 1m 3 blocks throughout. The archaeology students were given a map of the earthworks and a set of artists’ impressions of what might have stood on the Wharram Percy site throughout the medieval period, taken from their textbooks. From there, landscape detail including ruins, ponds, rivers and forests can easily be added in. We did so without leaving the classroom – we recreated in MinecraftEDU using shuttle radar topography mission data available from space shuttle missions, combined with DEM software for viewing 3D models to create a scaled map of the region, imported into Minecraft using WorldPainter. In a recent archaeology undergraduate class, we explored the site of the deserted medieval village of Wharram Percy in East Yorkshire. Motivated and enthused teachers are more likely to motivate and enthuse their pupils, who in turn are more receptive and willing to explore, experiment, test and – most importantly – fail, as part of the learning process. The key to success in the classroom, as any good teacher will tell you, is keeping students engaged. It allows players complete freedom to explore, build and experiment and is often referred to as “virtual Lego”. Minecraft is a creative “sandbox” game where the players dig up blocks in a landscape, craft them in to new materials, then use them to create whatever they wish. The latest edition will make this even easier – but what makes this game such a great tool for teachers? The popular world-building game, Minecraft, provides that opportunity at every twist and turn – something Microsoft has emphasised when announcing the release of Minecraft Education Edition.Īfter buying Minecraft in 2014, Microsoft also recently acquired MinecraftEDU, a modified version of Minecraft developed by Teacher Gaming to help teachers use it more easily in the classroom. Minecraft was released on November 18, 2011, and is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iOS, Android, Raspberry Pi, Windows Phone, Wii U, Nintendo Switch, and Apple TV.I recently told a room full of academics interested in using videogames as a teaching tool that “to play is the biggest freedom we can have as a child, or as an adult”. Players could make it massive and open, or it could be a complete labyrinth to navigate they may just need a slightly beefier PC to see it in all its glory. Perhaps the biggest challenge for this building is designing the interior. While it's not the most complex of designs, the detailing on each of the front-facing walls is impressive, and the way all of the extensions lock together is beautiful. Not to mention, this is just one of many huge buildings. The dimensions of this building exceed 100 x 100 x 100 blocks and will certainly take a while to complete, but it will be a sight to behold once it's finished. With the 1.18 Caves and Cliffs Part 2 update set to literally change the Minecraft landscape, players will be hungrier than ever for impressive, realistic medieval designs to populate the new sprawling plains and unforgiving mountains new world generation will offer.įor players who have more resources than they know what to do with, here is the ultimate challenge in medieval building. They continue to build bigger and better designs as the game adds new blocks with new possibilities. Updated on October 9, 2021, by Ryan Woodrow: As Minecraft passes 10 years since its official 1.0 release, the community is as active as ever. Thankfully, the Minecraft community is a massive and welcoming one, with plenty of fresh ideas out there for players to take inspiration from Generating many different ideas for houses can be tough, though, and new players especially will be looking for house designs that are a little more than pointy boxes of wood and stone. RELATED: Minecraft: Removed Features That Need To Return With the types of blocks Minecraft has to offer and their relative ease to gather, a medieval look is the best fit for the game's style. When it comes to picking an aesthetic for towns in Minecraft, medieval is one of the most obvious choices.
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