Minecraft is what's called a sandbox game, where the player creates the game themselves by manipulating the world within it. There are no specific steps or goals, so everyone playing the game is having a different experience.
Customizability- Not only can
you make Minecraft look different with skins and resource packs, but you can
also use mods to completely change the game. For example, in Project Ozone 2
Kappa Mode, the modpack (a collection of mods put together for entertainment).
There are vast options from making jet packs, to flying like a bird, to
exploring other planets, to following the quest line, magic mods, tech mods,
computers INSIDE of Minecraft.
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The Player base- Minecraft
computer alone has sold more than 25 million copies. The player base is huge,
therefore increasing marketability in the sense where those 25 million people
tell their friends to buy it.
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Never ending/open world- A
video game with no story line sells very well because you can do whatever your
heart desires.
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Share-ability- The fact that
you can create things for other players and easily post it online is huge. This
creates an online fan base.
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Game Modes-This goes along
with customizability. You can play hardcore, regular survival, creative, and
even download a map to play adventure mode. If that's not enough, you can
spectate friends in spectator mode.
The opportunities are endless. There is so much that you can do. There is
something for everyone, whether you like the underground aspect, gardening,
animals, circuitry (Redstone), playing with others… Whatever you can think of
creating, you can create. You can choose your own journey, goals, and game play
(creative, survival, adventure, spectator). The world is pretty much endless,
and it is full of diversity in biomes, animals, and scenery. There is nothing
that you have to do. Most games give you a story, and you’re supposed to do
what the game tells you to do, then it’s over. Minecraft is different. It
combined the survival aspect of a game, and the creativity to make a game that
holds many people’s attention. That’s how Minecraft became so popular.
Minecraft
totally embraces the fact that its players want to share their experiences and
allows them to build and use their own servers to do so. Forget automatic
matchmaking, Minecraft encourages player’s active engagement in building a
strong community. Minecraft was one of the first games for years that saw
players go out of their way to build and maintain their own servers just to
play together.
Minecraft
sports one of the most vibrant and active gaming communities seen to date.
Gamers are proud of their creations and niche sites will feature especially
amazing worlds. Add to that the thousands of YouTube videos, Facebook fan pages
and numerous fan sites and you see why Minecraft commands so much power in the
gaming world.
Goal-less
gameplay is one of the single most important aspects behind Minecraft’s
success. It hasn’t got any clear or specific goals. The only real goal is that
you as a player enjoy your time in the world. This gives players a feeling of
ownership over the gameplay. The game promotes active engagement and is fueled
by word of mouth – the most powerful form of advertising there is.
Minecraft
became so popular techno giant Microsoft bought it from its original creators
last year for £1.5 billion. As of 2014, Minecraft has sold more than 54 million
copies for computers, consoles, and mobile devices. Merchandise bearing its
logos - hoodies, wallets, necklaces - can be found wherever computer game
spin-offs are sold.
Minecraft
is now more successful than Persson could possibly have imagined. As well as
being played by millions, it is used as an educational tool in schools and has
even been employed by urban planners to see how the public want spaces
developed. Every major games studio now have games lined up which have been
influenced by Minecraft, Larsson says - the most high-profile of which so far
has been the immersive world of Disney infinity from Disney interactive
