Cats Lurking in Minecraft’s Sandbox

By Jesse Proctor · The Mainstream
Published Fubruary 22, 2012

Minecraft is a sandbox video game featuring a massive virtual environment. It’s a game for creative people because, like all sandbox games, it has an open environment that users can shape any way they see fit. There are no rules. Users make the game; that’s what “sandbox” refers to.

Minecraft’s environment is made of different biomes or ecosystems. Among these biomes are forests, mountains, deserts and, now, the new jungle biome.

Minecraft’s jungle biome includes massive trees and dense ground foliage. Unlike other biomes, the jungle biome’s ground is almost completely covered in tree leaves. It is also home to the game’s newest creature, the ocelot.

The ocelot is a tamable creature which came out a couple of weeks ago in a free snapshot (a developer’s preview of the updates that may be coming).

The creature follows players around on their adventures much like the game’s wolf. Getting close to the ocelot is difficult because moving the cursor around too swiftly causes the ocelot to sprint away. Users have to avoid sudden movement.

Once tamed, the ocelot will transform into one of three randomly chosen domestic cats: orange tabbies, tuxedo cats or Siamese cats.

The AI, or artificial intelligence, for many of the monsters in Minecraft is changing. For example, zombies in Minecraft will now bang on the door if they detect the player behind one, like in the horror movies. And, they will be able to break down doors.  This adds a whole list of new problems because doors are used in the game to keep monsters out. When those doors get destroyed, buildings open to other more terrifying monsters.  One of those monsters is the Creeper.

The Creeper is terrifying because of is its ability to explode. It gets close to players and blows up, killing them and destroying whatever is nearby.

The only warning the monster gives is an audible hiss just before it blows up, much like the fuse on a stick of dynamite.

Minecraft is not only a sandbox game, it also falls into a genre of games called indy games. Indy games are made by small companies and individuals. The popularity of indy games is increasing as more people begin to make games on their own.

Another reason for the popularity of indy games is the low cost, especially when compared to games made by some of the major game developers. Minecraft only costs about $25 compared to games made by big corporations like Nintendo and Sony costing $50 or more.

Some indy game design companies even include the user in the design process. This community involvement gives users an experience that they cannot get from any other games. Minecraft does this with their weekly snapshots (see below).

Watching a game evolve over time while it is being played is quite a rewarding experience. Minecraft and their weekly updates is one of the ways that you can experience this. To purchase Minecraft or to find more information, visit the official Minecraft website at www.minecraft.net. The weekly snapshots can be downloaded at the Mojang website www.mojang.com/author/jeb/.

Weekly Snapshots

Minecraft is releasing weekly snapshots once again. These weekly snapshots for Minecraft give players a chance to preview the new changes before the official 1.2 patch is released in the near future.

The snapshots not only provide the player with a preview of the new content, they also give the players a chance to give feedback to the developers about game mechanics and issues with de-bugging.

Some the features introduced in these snapshots include tamable cats, a new biome, some bug fixes and few new features. Not all snapshots feature upgrades; for instance, the Feb. 9 snapshot labeled 12w06a did not feature any major content but did add a few minor features like cat sounds and a few bug fixes. These snapshots are optional and have to be installed manually, unlike automatically installed updates. These snapshots are exciting, but they don’t come without risks. Snapshot 12w07b created new bugs like underground caves not spawning and underground lighting does not work. Make sure the risks are known before downloading and installing a snapshot.