Minecraft mods

Minecraft mods are independent, user-made additions to the 2012 original Mojang video game. Thousands of these mods exist,^[1] and users can download from the internet for free. Using additional software, several mods are usually able to be used consecutively to enhance the gameplay and create an entirely different experience from standard issue Minecraft.^[2][3] Mods are credited as one of the foremost reasons why Minecraft became as successful as it did,^[4][5] with the Minecraft modding community itself mentioned as one of the most active modding communities in gaming.^[6]

Minecraft mods are available for the PC and mobile versions of the game: console versions cannot be modded.^[7][8]

Technical feasibility

Minecraft is a video game particularly known for its adaptability for modifications.^[9] Over the course of the years, many independent programmers have made use of that in order to create additional content for the game, known amongst their users as 'mods'.^[9][10]

Minecraft can be modded in two different ways: there is single-player modding and server modding.^[11] The first variant requires a player to modify his game files by inserting new files or installing a mod loader like Forge,^[12][13] the second one leaves the player's Minecraft installation untouched and only changes installation files on a server, to which the player can then log on. The latter one is reportedly much easier to set up.^[11]

Single-player mods are sometimes grouped together in so called 'modpacks', which can then easily be downloaded and played by the end user, without requiring the player to have extensive knowledge on how to setup the game.^[14][15]

History

Although the very first PC version of Minecraft was released in mid-May 2009,^[16] client-side modding of the game did not start in earnest until the game reached its alpha stage. The only mods that appeared in the beginning were server sided mods which would give server owners more control over their Minecraft environments.^[6]

The first client-sided mods which began to appear along with the alpha version of Minecraft added relatively simple things, like other textures or amending the in-game compass.^[6]

In 2010, these mods gradually began to have more content as Minecraft was preparing to move into its beta phase. Household names like IndustrialCraft, Railcraft and BuildCraft started their development cycles. As opposed to their predecessors, these mods had the potential to change the entire games instead of simply tweaking minor aspects.^[6]

During this time, the mod Forge was released. Forge didn't add new gameplay features to Minecraft, but rather allowed players to be able to run several client side mods consecutively. Before becoming compatible with Forge, IndustrialCraft and BuildCraft wouldn't run together, because both mods were known to edit the same Minecraft base Java files. Forge ended the necessity to edit these files, allowing separate mods to run together without requiring them to touch the base source code.^[6]

When Minecraft had its first full release in November 2011, a new burst of mods was released with developing mods for Minecraft now being more popular than ever.^[6]

In February 2012, Mojang hired developers of the Bukkit addon to work on a modding API, allowing mod developers easier access to the Minecraft game files.^[17] In May 2015, Mojang announced on social media to be "still working" on this API, despite announcing it over three years ago.^[18]

After Microsoft acquired Mojang in late 2014, the modding community worried for a while that Minecraft's new American owners would put an end to Mojang's practice of giving free rein to mod developers.^[19] Despite the uproar, Microsoft has not announced changes to Mojang's policies.^[19]

In April 2015, Microsoft announced that it was adding a Minecraft Mod Developer Pack to Visual Studio, allowing users of their software an easier way to program Minecraft mods with it.^[20] Microsoft released the new Pack open source and free of charge, amidst a drive to push towards more open source software.^[20][21]

In mid-2015, a new Windows 10 version of Minecraft was announced. Which, in contrast to the Java version – would be developed in C++ rather.^[22] Many players of the mods were reportedly worried that the original Java version would be phased out for the new Windows 10 version. This would severely hamper the production of mods, since C++ is not as "reverse engineerable" as Java is known to be. Precisely for this reason, Mojang is holding off on that, according to a developer.^[22]

As of early 2016, Mojang is getting ready to release version 1.9 of Minecraft.^[23] The company has promised that this update would significantly simplify the creation and updating of mods.^[18] Previous updates were known to break available mods, forcing creators to spend considerable time updating them.^[18]

Controversies

Over the course of the years, there have been two major mod related controversies with Minecraft. One of these had to do with GregTech, which aims at making Minecraft harder.^[24] In 2013, its developer – Greg – saw some of its added recipes changed by another mod called Tinkers Construct.^[15][25] Because that annoyed the author of Gregtech, he deliberately inserted code into his mode which would crash the game client if it found another mod (like Tinkers Construct) added changes to the game. The authors of both mods later settled their dispute.^[25]

Another controversy dealt with the mod Bukkit, which is an API which enables others to install server-side mods.^[26] Due to the project frequently switching hands, several developers past and presents had begun to argue about who presided over the rights to the project.^[6] In the end, one of them pulled the rights to use his code in the game, effectively forcing Bukkit to fall in a state of disrepair.^[6]

Mod content

Because of the sheer number of Minecraft mods – the total number is hard to calculate, but repository website Curse features over 1,500 of them.^[15] – the sort of content added by these modifications takes on many different forms.^[3]

For instance, there are mods that add new dimensions that can be visited by the player. There is Galacticraft, which allows players to build a rocket in order to fly to the Moon and several planets,^[27][28] while the Twilight Forest mod enables players to go a fantasy-style forest and hunt for treasures.^[28][29][30]

Some mods mainly focus on technology, and add an assortment of machines that can help the player to automate the production of certain in-game materials. BuildCraft is known for its many machines, pumps and pipes,^[31][32][33] while IndustrialCraft also adds metal tools and nuclear reactors.^[6][34] In addition to IndustrialCraft's metal weapons, other projects allow for an even wider range of available weaponry: Flan's mod has modern style warfare including guns, tanks and grenades,^[27][31][32] while Tinkers' Construct allows players to forge their own swords in a foundry that also has to be constructed by the player.^{[29][30][15][34]}

Other mods attempt to customize the natural elements in Minecraft, with a mod called Natura adding new trees and crops.^[30][34] Mo' Creatures – on the other hand – focuses rather on allowing more animal species into Minecraft^[31][32][35] and Pixelmon takes it one step further by supplementing the game with monsters and mechanics from the Pokémon franchise.^[15][36] Fossils & Archaeology provides for dinosaurs,^[33][37] while CustomNPCs gives the player a hoe with which he can spawn customized NPC's.^[12][29]

Not all mods will add gameplay elements, though. Some just tweak the GUI by adding a map,^[12][35][27] try to smoothen the game rendering^[12][32][30] or allow the player to browse through all the items in the game – both added by the standard game as well as other mods.^{[32][33][30][15]}

Official recognition

The official stance of Mojang with regards to the modding phenomenon is that they do not officially support modding, but in 2012 they claimed to be working on a modding API as well as a repository for Minecraft mods.^[38] Their help website does list video tutorials that teach the player how to install and play Minecraft mods.^[38]

Influence

Minecraft itself

Mods have influenced the main Minecraft game on three occasions. Mod developer Dr. Zhark added horses to the game through the Mo Creatures mod. Later on he helped Mojang adapt horses for use in standard issue Minecraft.^[39][40] Pistons were also originally a part of a mod too, but impressed Minecraft's creators so much that they added the feature to the main game.^[41]

In 2012, Mojang admired all of the work done on server side modding API Bukkit. In the end, the Swedish company decided to hire the leading developers of the project.^[6]

Education

Minecraft mods are credited for being a gateway for children to pick up coding and programming,^[42] something which is also encouraged by the project ComputerCraftEdu, which adapted the 2011 mod ComputerCraft for educational purposes.^[43] Programming classes utilizing Minecraft were also started by the University of California, which aims to teach children aged 8–18 how to program applications.^[4][44]

MinecraftEdu—the mother project of the aforementioned ComputerCraftEdu—takes on a wider scope and sells Minecraft mods to schools in order to teach a wider variety of subjects including language, history and art.^[45]

In The Parent's Guidebook to Minecraft, author Cori Dusmann denotes that homeschooling and Minecraft make for an interesting match, as creating simple mods can be an "illustration of scientific principles," to which homeschooling providers are receptive.^[46]

Critical reception

PC World's Nate Ralph calls installing mods for Minecraft "a somewhat convoluted process", but does admit it could serve the player who desires "a little more out of the experience" of playing the game.^[11]

Max Eddy of PC Magazine also makes a point out of it the processing of setting up a game augmented with mods, claiming "it seems rather complicated" and that at first he was "too afraid to mod Minecraft at all", but learned to appreciate it when he realized that modding Minecraft is "pretty forgiving".^[47] Eddy does nevertheless mention that he feels Mojang's fast development pace regarding the main game has slowed down the progress of the most popular mods.^[47]

Similarly, Benjamin Abbott of Metro agrees that adding mods to Minecraft is "a thorough pain in the backside", he also concedes that "the result is usually worth it".^[7]

Matt Smith of MakeUseOf says he is disappointed with most of the Minecraft mods available, claiming they don't modify the game "in a way most people would care to enjoy," or have "bugs that grind the experience to a halt".^[34]

At San Jose Mercury News, George Avalos claims that mods are definitely suited for "mainstream enthusiasts", but does warn that precaution must be taken in order to avoid downloading "dangerous and spammy software" when looking for Minecraft mods. Avalos also remarks that installing mods will probably require adult attention,^[10] even though Minecraft typically appeals to children.^[48]

References

Bibliography

• Rogers Cadenhead, Absolute Beginner's Guide to Minecraft Mods Programming, (Indianapolis: Que Publishing, 2014). ISBN 0-133903-22-2
• Cori Dusman, The Parent's Guidebook to Minecraft, (San Francisco: Peachpit Press, 2013). ISBN 0-133521-91-5
• Lars van Schaik and Ronald Vledder (eds.), De ultieme gids voor Minecraft, (Doetinchem: Reshift Digital, 2015). ISBN 82-261-0074-7

External links

• Minecraft mods on the Minecraft Forum
• Minecraft mods at Curse
• Minecraft mods at Planet Minecraft