Minecraft is a famous game in which the user will have to build their own world and defend themselves from monsters. This software product is very popular among children. It is for this reason that a large number of programming courses have been developed on the basis of Minecraft, in which children learn how to create individual elements in the game and various scenarios themselves. In this article, we'll talk about what programming language Minecraft is written in, and we'll also look at the process of learning to program using this application.
Java or C++?
Minecraft was originally written in Java. By the way, this is almost the only game created using this programming language. It is precisely because of this that Java, which is an enterprise language, has become even more popular. Many people came to the programming world through this game.
In addition, many modifications of Minecraft were written in Java, which also increased interest in both the language itself and the game. However, in 2017, it became known that the basic version of Minecraft would be in C++. What is the reason for this?
The fact is that Java was great for this game until the developers decided that it was necessary to combine all versions, including those for mobile devices. As a result, users will be able to play Minecraft on various platforms, including iOS. This is where the main problem lies. The thing is that Java doesn't support iOS. And to be fully cross-platform, developers needed to change the basic language in which the application is written.
As a result, Minecraft will now be available in two versions — the main one is written in C++ and the additional one is Java Edition.
Why do kids like Minecraft so much?
If you've never played Minecraft, but you've seen kids enthusiastically do it, you've probably wondered what's so interesting there? After all, Minecraft looks completely different from most modern games with smooth textures and sophisticated effects.
Minecraft is a riot of pixels and cubic models. At first glance, an inexperienced gamer may seem that you have been transported back in time to the days when players rushed through the back streets of an unknown planet in Doom.
But in fact, Minecraft has nothing in common with the first 3D shooters. Moreover, this is not a shooter at all. Minecraft is a whole world where you have to change the landscape, extract items and build your own buildings from simple huts to real palaces.
Minecraft is more of a digitized Lego maker without any instructions, which is also very popular with children. You can build any building, as long as you have enough resources for this. Why do kids like Minecraft so much?
- An endless flight of imagination. The child can do anything in the game. The whole Minecraft world is completely destroyed, including water. That is, children can do their own landscape design as they see fit.
- Freedom of action. In Minecraft, no one restricts a child's actions. The player can walk around the map, dig their own tunnels, drain rivers and lakes.
However, all this has its drawbacks. The Internet is full of articles about how children get used to playing and about addiction. If a child spends too much time playing, his school performance may deteriorate, apathy may develop, and this is not all the negative consequences.
Instead of preventing kids from playing Minecraft, you can make Minecraft really useful. And programming lessons will help with this.
Minecraft and child programming
Why do many online programming schools offer this game today? The fact is that it is popular with children. It is much easier to interest a child if he does what he loves.
As part of the lessons, children combine business with pleasure. They create their own characters and locations, which allows them to incorporate creative touches into the learning process as much as possible.
A special development environment, Scratch, is used for work. This is the most adapted platform that will not cause difficulties for the child to work in. It offers ready-made modules that will allow children to complete various teacher assignments.
The main essence of this training is to teach children to think logically, learn what algorithms are, get acquainted with simple functions and understand what development is in general.
What are the main advantages of Minecraft as a tool for teaching children to develop?
- Kids love this game very much and are ready to spend a lot of time in it. So you don't need to persuade your child to write an algorithm. Children are usually willing to develop on the basis of this game themselves. Moreover, all training takes place in such a way that the child seems to be playing himself. That is, knowledge and skills are transferred unnoticed during the game.
- Minecraft is understandable for children. There are characters here who can perform certain actions. During the learning process, the child will learn how to program the character's behavior algorithm. Moreover, initially these will be the simplest programs. Subsequently, children will be able to write a chain of more complex commands combined into functions.
- Minecraft is designed for training. There is a special version of the game that was developed exclusively for educational purposes by professional programmers. Moreover, it is constantly updated and supported, and new functionality is appearing. The developers are doing everything possible to make children learn as much as possible about programming through the game.
Will a child be able to understand the basics of programming with Minecraft?
In this article, we talked about the language in which Minecraft is written. But do not be afraid that the child will be taught to write something like this from the very first lesson. In this case, Minecraft is not the goal of learning in itself, but only as a tool that is easy, understandable and accessible to the child.
This is a kind of opportunity for an adult to speak the child's language. Of course, if you offer children the same modern development environments and just start writing code together, the kid will quickly get tired and disappointed. Because it's hard and you'll have to write a lot of code before you achieve any visual result.
Everything in Minecraft is much easier and more interesting. Children can see the result right away. Moreover, they won't have to write code themselves. All blocks are now ready for use. You just need to learn how to arrange them correctly to get the desired result.
Programming is, first of all, building various algorithms and logical chains. This is exactly what children do as part of learning how to develop with Minecraft. Ready-made blocks form certain sequences of commands that force the character to take certain actions. It's actually very interesting and exciting. And, as practice shows, it is really useful when children learn basic programming knowledge.
