Innovative Design With A Little Inspiration From Minecraft
Anyone who’s spent time with kids over five has heard of Minecraft. This game started as a small, pixelated game on a webpage and has evolved over the years, adding special effects, better graphics, and a better user experience. Minecraft has become extremely popular with kids and adults who play regularly. Its popularity stems from the fact that it’s a customizable world for people who want to play a game they build themselves.
In addition to its popularity, Minecraft offers two modes - Creative and Survival. It also provides single or multi-player features so you can connect with friends and create a fantastic world together. So, how does this fit in with engineers and manufacturing? Of course, you know that engineering and manufacturing develop prototypes of new products to offer the industry. Let’s examine how Minecraft helps engineers and manufacturers create stunning designs and leverage world-building games to develop products people love!
Minecraft In Engineering
As Minecraft continues to update and offer additional modules for individuals, one specific type of individual finds it extremely helpful for their jobs. Employers screen candidates by having them do a mock-up project to evaluate their abilities and fit for the position. In addition to the job market, colleges and universities are starting to offer special classes that help manufacturers create models for new and innovative consumer products.
University of Texas Dallas Professor Walter Voit began implementing Minecraft into his engineering classes to create real-world structures with new materials and architectural structures. Students learn what materials best suit specific items, creating innovative structures with real-world impact.
Minecraft In Education
Educators from kindergarten to college use Minecraft to increase STEM participation and elevate children and adults. Because Minecraft is so embedded in students' lives, it's the perfect tool to allow individuals to understand the boundaries of physical buildings. What began as a way to teach spatial awareness, Minecraft has flourished in the educational space. By encouraging collaboration, students learn how to manipulate different game materials and implement them in the real world.
STEM programs in grade and high schools encourage students to use their knowledge of science and technology to customize their worlds. They even learn how to code! When students use modding (altering the game’s original code) and enhance their personal experience. Designing mods use Java, giving kids real-world skills that translate into their future careers.
Minecraft Education Edition
Somewhat similar, Minecraft Education Edition is explicitly developed to be used in an educational environment. Minecraft developers Mojang created the Education Edition with features and controls not available in the typical game, with blocks designed for coding and communication.
Because the Education Edition is constantly updated, this version involves tutorials and instructions that allow both child and adult beginners to code and modify their games. With the Code Builder, Minecraft can open in one app and code in the other, allowing users to see changes in real time.
Can Anyone Download Minecraft Education Edition?
Sadly, the Education Edition is officially only available to schools, libraries, museums, and individuals participating in recognized home-school organizations. To use the Education Edition, some qualifications must be met before an institution can purchase the edition, including eligible institutions:
You must be a full- or part-time staff member at an academic institution
You must have a school-specific email address
An organization has to be officially recognized as an educational institution, a free public library, or a museum.
A home school that provides K-12 education and written proof of belonging to a nationally recognized program or is recognized by the local school district as an acceptable alternative.
Coding In Minecraft
One of the most exciting things about Minecraft is that it teaches players to code. Users can use Java to customize and create unique worlds, materials, and tools as an open-source platform. Because Minecraft uses a simple 1x1 block structure to create worlds and objects, it’s easy to translate into a programming language of 1’s, and 0’s that control what the program does and how it runs. Then, the binary language communicates to the computer through lines of coding.
As we’ve discussed, Minecraft uses Java as its programming language. Java is a popular programming language because of the simple nature of the code and the features it offers:
Versatility: Java has been the de-facto programming language for creating web apps, android apps, and software development tools. Its versatility helps developers create tools that people use worldwide.
Development Tools: The Integrated Development Environment (IDE) is one of the most intriguing features of Java. The Java IDE is a collection of automation tools, editors, and debuggers.
User-Friendly: Java uses English-like grammar, which makes it ideal for beginners. There are two stages to learning Java - core Java and advanced Java.
Excellent Documentation: Java is an open-source programming language that is free to use. Java is well-documented, allowing beginners to experts the ability to learn the codex and find answers to questions quickly.
Robust API: Java only has about 50 keywords, but its API is comprehensive with various methods that can be used directly in any code.
Community Support: Community support is a significant driver behind its popularity. Java has the second-largest Stack Overflow community.
Engineering Mods
As we discussed, modding is the way to customize Minecraft. Players use Java to create new tools, materials, and items within the game. However, many mods are out there to provide additional customizations and target the game to a specific purpose (Did someone say engineering and manufacturing?).
Skills Miner
Skills Miner, built by Enginuity, provides Minecraft mods for employees, educators, and professionals to educate, entertain, and evaluate skills. With games and lessons, Skills Miner challenges engineers to tackle challenges, solve problems, and gain insight into what it takes to become an engineer.
Skills Miner is developed for COP 26 to encourage green engineering skills through a familiar, domestic world, and the lesson poses power and energy challenges. Even though Skills Miner is primarily aimed at 12-14-year-olds, individuals of any age looking to explore engineering and coding can play and gain insights about the world around them.
Tinker’s Construct
Tinker’s Construct is one part of a larger modpack but offers customization without impeding gameplay. It introduces new ores and materials that are smelted in a furnace. Players can create casts by stenciling tools' heads and handles, allowing them to mix and match parts and create a custom tool set.
Adding to the adventure, each material has unique traits, both positive and negative. For example, Pigiron can drop bacon when used or the blue slime, which spawns slimes.
Applied Energistics 2
The Applied Energistics 2 mod is expensive in terms of in-game items like Gold, Redstone, and Diamonds. In addition, you must spend a lot of time mining meteors to uncover Skystone Chests, which hold four Presses, each required to craft the Circuits you need. Once the resources are gathered, users have to access machines to not only sort and store thousands of items. Still, they can be programmed to craft entire factories using the mined goods automatically.
Thermal Expansion
Built on the original Thermal Foundation mod, the Thermal Series is a set of mods that add ores and machines necessary to the rest of the pack. The Thermal Expansion is the main mod that works off the Foundation, allowing energy production from Redstone Flux. A lot of this mod involves automating processes. For example, you can produce great crops while retaining fertilizer and creating potions. The mod even picks up items after itself to keep the factory floor tidy.
The main differentiator of Thermal Expansion is how easy it is to get into a new world. Each machine has tiers, like Pickaxes, and higher tiers offer more perks as you progress through the world. You can also use Redstone Flux to power items in your inventory to wirelessly charge your gadgets.