Mojang and Microsoft announced a new mobile AR game and they are ready to take over the world of mobile gaming. The new mobile AR project is called Minecraft Earth and like they say “it has the potential to be massive.”
Here is everything you need to know, thanks to WindowsCentral:
The game is effectively split into three distinct experiences. The “overworld,” powered by Open Street Maps, functions similarly to Pokemon Go’s overworld, where you’ll be able to see random “tappable” blocks and goods you can instantaneously add to your inventory. A quick tap on the map will collect them for you, but if you want some of Minecraft’s rarer blocks, such as diamonds, for example, you’ll need to jump into one of the procedurally-generated “adventures” that appear on the map. Once you enter an Adventure, you’ll be in a small Minecraft-like world projected onto the real world, using Android’s ARCore and iOS’s ARKit. The augmented reality experience follows all the same rules as regular Minecraft, based on the Bedrock versions of the game. You’ll be able to mine down into the floor to uncover diamonds, iron, and other materials you’d expect to find underground. You can punch trees and dig up dirt, mine the roads for cobblestone, and using Open Maps, some of the concept art showed how you’d be able to fish in real rivers and lakes in augmented reality. You’ll even be able to breed mobs, build Redstone contraptions, and basically do anything you can do in Minecraft today.
The rarity of blocks plays a big role in Minecraft Earth, similarly to survival mode in the regular version of the game. Just like regular Minecraft, you’ll be able to take your mined materials and build with them. “Build Plates,” as they’re called in Minecraft Earth, are your personal build spaces where you can utilize everything you’ve gathered to make huge crafts of your own. You can condense the plate down to fit onto a coffee table, or blow it up to lifesize. You’ll also be able to invite your friends from anywhere in the world to come and have a look at your creations and help you work on building them. Within a Build Plate, you’ll be able to share your items, too, if you fancy a bit of trading. This is one area where Minecraft has a significant edge over Pokemon Go and other similar games. You won’t need to walk around constantly to get the most out of Minecraft Earth, although the game will provide you with plenty of rewards for doing so. The Adventures you find while out and about will not only contain rare blocks and other crafting materials but will also contain various animals based on ones from the Minecraft universe. In vanilla Minecraft, we have things like different colored sheep, but Earth takes the idea of variants a bit further. I saw a “Muddy Pig” variant which has unique behavior, diving into dirt blocks. Players will be able to collect and showcase these variants on their Build Plates, which they can also set out into the world for players to explore (but not destroy). Those Adventures will not only spawn out and about but also will cycle closer to you, allowing you to play without walking around.
There is no official release date announced, but we know that the game will not be for free and those interested can get it from the Microsoft Store for $9.99.
