B y: Jeff Kepner

Emergent Game play:

                Minecraft started out as a game with very few obvious mechanics. At a very low level, Minecraft can be described as a sandbox game. However, unlike other sandbox games, Minecraft has no quests or missions other than those that you make for yourself. In other words, Minecraft is a game where your own enjoyment is determined by your own creativity. If you think about it, Minecraft is a digitized version of Legos. You find different blocks and each block has its own uses. Minecraft takes “Legos” to a new level; there are mechanics like redstone that allow for unlimited creativity. Redstone allows for the transfer of a signal much like a bus in computing. As the player, you can create Boolean logic gates, triggering mechanisms, and automated systems. From simple yet flexible mechanics, players are able to create virtually anything, which is where modpacks come in. Modpacks are clear evidence of the emergent game play that Minecraft’s mechanics offer. Through the basic mechanics that are present in vanilla Minecraft all these modpacks were modeled after what other people thought Minecraft should feel like. Mods are a clear indication that some form of emergent gameplay exists. I think that game designers should take a detailed look at low level mechanics and see what makes a game “fun“ and addicting.  I feel that, through emergent game play, game designers can create a community that acts as a co-developer to the game and allows for the community to extend the life of the game and continue the sharing of creativity throughout the entire player base for the purpose of creative expression.