There are two kinds of people in this world: gamers and non-gamers.
Among the non-gamers, the mindset is that it's a waste of time because there isn't anything to be learned. James Gee refers to this as "problem of content" and that the "important knowledge is content information rooted in, or at least, related to, intellectual domains or academic disciplines like physics, history, art or literature."
And those who game, will tell you that there is much to be learned. Often the skills acquired in video gaming cannot be learned in the classroom. In order to excel (I believe) in the art of gaming one needs to be a quick thinker and decision maker, an adventurer, a story teller and most of all - you need to remain calm. (Maybe this is why I have not excelled in video game playing.)
But a game like Minecraft appeals to both the gamer and non-gamer as it provides two play modes: Creative and Survival.
The Creative Mode will (most likely) appeal to the the non-gamer as you can explore the world at your own pace with no pressure of death, starvation or zombies. However the Survival Mode is made for the quintessential gamer who likes the excitement of living on the edge.
While Minecraft may not provide any lessons in physics or history, I believe that it can teach art and literature. Minecraft is a space where you can create your own world or recreate one that you love. And through your creations, there is your story.
I believe this is one of the reasons why the game became popular, it offers something for every learner/gamer that wants to play. It has been to read what my classmates have stated about the game. I think by reading through the pros and cons of the Creative and Survival Modes you will be able to distinguish the gamers and non-gamers.
Creative
PROS
I was dying and losing my inventory A LOT. In order to prevent myself from losing interest in the game and increase my skill level, I decided to make one world in creative mode. This gave me the opportunity to start building things and test my creativity skills (which I severely lack), and it also gave me the chance to kill zombies with different weapons. I was hunting zombies, not hiding from them in a little hut I'd made wishing and hoping for daylight to break. This mode gave me the chance to explore more than I had while in survival mode because I wasn't...um...surviving long enough to play around.
In creative mode, the challenge is entirely determined by yourself. In survival mode, the computer adds much of the challenge (through time restraints and NPCs).
Although Playing Creative is a bit "lonely," I like it more than the Survival one because you can take your time and create amazing houses. I love creativity, but don't like to take risks much. The Survival Mode is very challenging, and there are also time constraints. You need to accomplish your task within certain time limits. In a way, I see there are benefits of this mode (talking about the Survival one). For example, a player will learn how to be organized and dexterous and take the right steps before it is late.
Creative is safe. No Zombies.
I admit that I ran to creative mode because by the third night I survived on survival mode I was about to get a heart attack and felt very stressed. Survival mode is not the place for somebody that has rarely played any game and screams at the screen every time something suspicious appears. But after I spawned in my quiet little creative world I realized it was no easy task either. While survival mode is challenging on the way that you have to fight for your life, creative mode allows the gamer to play with concepts of space very similar to those of the real world. One has to take into consideration lines, curves,organic and static lines (and even do some math!) and the overall design of what one wants to build. Some gamers have taken it so seriously that they have built replicas of landmarks out of those little blocks Minecraft offers as building material. See below:
CONS
The creative mode provides the user with unlimited and pre-created blocks-- While many may consider this a "pro", part of the Minecraft experience is completely eliminated here! The creative mode allows the gamer to place brick for example, but where does this brick come from? The survival mode answers this question. In order to create a brick block one must first create a pick axe. The pick axe can then be used to mine clay, clay is then placed into a melding oven. The gamer must then find coal, mine it and return it to the oven. Finally one can create a single brick. 5 bricks must be made and ultimately a single brick block is made. This process is integral to understanding the vitality of resources in Minecraft. Perhaps the abundance of blocks in creativity mode contributes to our lack of understanding scarcity in regards to a given resource.
I did start to get a little bored of hunting zombies and seeing no reward for all the additional things I'd begun to collect. So in a way, not seeing an immediate result of my "work" left me feeling unchallenged.
Creative mode feels a little lonely.
There is no reward or instant satisfaction in playing creative mode that could com from killing zombies, here the reward is the building process and the final result.
Survival
PROS
It is much more challenging for the player: You see the progress of your work, you can die, you are much more afraid of the dark, killing zombies feels much more gratifying.
Survival mode is like living the life of a human; we have to seek food when hungry and gather the materials we need if we want to build something. Having access to all materials at all times would bore me very quickly.
I never played the creative mode of Minecraft, I began my Minecraft journey in the survival mode and I am very happy I did. Pinch me!! Did I say that I pushed through it and now find not only enjoyment but actually want to play more!! I believe if I would have started in the Creative mode, I would have stayed there and never challenged myself to go further. I must say that I have grown to like the Survival Mode and Minecraft!!!
Here the user is left to explore combinations of minerals and fuel. One might assume that coal is the only viable fuel when shaping tools, ingots etc. However, one may find that saplings and lava are adequate sources of fuel. This poses real world opportunities-- oil has become a scarce resource. Perhaps
CONS
Increased heart rate and anxiety (haha); lots of frustration and yelling at the screen; not living long enough to "do" anything; no real opportunity to explore at my own leisure to figure things out for myself--I turned to many youtube tutorials to help guide me through this process step by step.
The Survival Mode is very challenging. One has to take lots of risks (i.e. build a house or shelter before it gets dark, kill monsters when necessary, know how and where to find the resources, and at the same time be creative). The major drawback of this mode, however, is that it might be very frustrating to lose because of the monsters when one has spent so much effort building a beautiful house.
Among the non-gamers, the mindset is that it's a waste of time because there isn't anything to be learned. James Gee refers to this as "problem of content" and that the "important knowledge is content information rooted in, or at least, related to, intellectual domains or academic disciplines like physics, history, art or literature."
And those who game, will tell you that there is much to be learned. Often the skills acquired in video gaming cannot be learned in the classroom. In order to excel (I believe) in the art of gaming one needs to be a quick thinker and decision maker, an adventurer, a story teller and most of all - you need to remain calm. (Maybe this is why I have not excelled in video game playing.)
But a game like Minecraft appeals to both the gamer and non-gamer as it provides two play modes: Creative and Survival.
The Creative Mode will (most likely) appeal to the the non-gamer as you can explore the world at your own pace with no pressure of death, starvation or zombies. However the Survival Mode is made for the quintessential gamer who likes the excitement of living on the edge.
While Minecraft may not provide any lessons in physics or history, I believe that it can teach art and literature. Minecraft is a space where you can create your own world or recreate one that you love. And through your creations, there is your story.
I believe this is one of the reasons why the game became popular, it offers something for every learner/gamer that wants to play. It has been to read what my classmates have stated about the game. I think by reading through the pros and cons of the Creative and Survival Modes you will be able to distinguish the gamers and non-gamers.
Creative
PROS
CONS
Survival
PROS
CONS