Learning Games

New Minecraft Game Will Add Story to the Sandbox

It’s no secret that we’re big fans of Minecraft here at Learning Liftoff. We love the game for the creativity kids exercise when they play, and for the many ways that teachers and parents can use the game in the classroom and at home to facilitate learning. So we were excited to hear the news that a new Minecraft game will be coming sometime next year.

Minecraft: Story Mode is being developed by another game company, Telltale Games, in partnership with Mojang, creators of the original. The game will add an episodic narrative to the Minecraft world, “driven by player choice.”

While many of the familiar elements of Minecraft are said to still be present in the upcoming game, we do have to wonder whether Story Mode will offer the same educational benefits to students. After all, the beauty of Minecraft is that it is an open-ended “sandbox” of a world in which, without a true story line, players are free to explore, build, discover, and learn. We’ve seen kids use Minecraft to explore everything from history and math, to quantum physics and programming.

Will the new Minecraft: Story Mode still offer these same opportunities for free exploration and creative building? We’ll have to wait until sometime in 2015 to find out. In the meantime, we’ll also be anxiously awaiting details about the Minecraft movie, which Shawn Levy, director of the popular Night at the Museum series, is said to be working on.

Do your kids play Minecraft? What are your thoughts on the new Story Mode game? Please tell us what you think in the comments.

Image © Telltale Games via Twitter

 

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