Minecraft Earth, an augmented reality mobile game based on the hugely popular series, is coming to a closed beta later this summer. To tide you over, Mojang released a short video yesterday on that shows off some gameplay. Itâs incredibly charming.
So far, all weâve seen of Minecraft Earth is the admittedly impressive augmented reality and âpeople occlusion,â where players build structures in real life which they can then walk around and into. It blew my mind when I saw it at E3, but thereâs more to this game than just placing and destroying blocks.
When youâre walking around in Minecraft Earth, youâll see a map of your surroundings similar to the ones in PokĂ©mon Go or Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, according to the video. On that map youâll find âtappables,â objects you can tap that can earn you creaturesâcalled âmobsâ in Minecraft parlanceâor different kinds of blocks and objects.
Whatâs more interesting are the build plates. Build plates are the spaces where youâre able to build in Minecraft Earth, which you do in miniature on a tabletop or other flat surface before placing the plate elsewhere. Then, whatever you built becomes life-size. The build plates actually correspond to the different biomes that are available in regular Minecraft. In the video, I saw jungle, arctic, and desert biomes, and the narration said that there will be more biomes to collect.
Itâs still impressive to me how much of Minecraft theyâre cramming into this augmented reality phone gameâit turns out youâll even be able to collect and change skins, just like in the full-size game. If you sign up for the closed beta, which will begin later this summer, youâll also get an exclusive skin. Part of me would rather just be Minecraft Steve, though, just for the sake of nostalgia.
