Business Buddy sees benefits of Minecraft
EVERY parent has that moment when they wish their kids would get off the damn computer and go and play outside – but are
all games as bad as older generations think?
The Business Buddy team has watched their children become engrossed in Minecraft and argue the game may look like it is
little more than digital Lego but there is a lot of learning happening – especially about the fundamental principles of
trading and economics.
Minecraft is an international phenomenon that anyone younger than 25 with a computer or smart device has probably played
– if not been obsessed with for a period.
So much so, it has just been announced Minecraft will be supplied to 200 secondary schools and 30 libraries and
community organisations In Northern Ireland.
For many, the appeal of Minecraft is its open-ended format, referred to as “sandbox” gaming, which gives players
creative freedom to manipulate the world they are playing in.
Business Buddy director, Kirsten Hawke says: “Players start with nothing and there are no real guidelines or boundaries – a bit like
starting a company in a completely free market where there is virtually no government intervention.
“There aren’t any business advisors either but players use word-of-mouth to learn faster, which has good and bad
outcomes.”
Players build their world and learn to develop resources, such as trees that can be harvested for timber to build tools,
which can in turn be used to mine for scarce resources.
Commodities are traded and prices are pushed up according to supply and demand.
“If someone has emeralds and you have diamonds that they want – you have to come up with a fair trade that you are both
going to accept. The going rate is five to 10 diamonds for one emerald because emeralds are rare and quite hard to
find,” says 12-year-old Alex.
Don’t be fooled by the innocence of this though, because black markets develop and risky situations can be developed.
Players learn to take a weapon when trading to stop the other player from stealing their resource and making a run for
it.
Opponents can demolish other players’ buildings and steal their resources – referred to as “griefing”.
These problems are overcome by players developing security systems.
Just like real business – you have to learn to protect your stuff and establish reliable systems and networks.
There is outsourcing too, when players pay others to work for them and then their Minecraft world grows while they are
busy doing something else or even sleeping.
“There is a money system on some servers so you can earn money by selling items in the shop, which some servers have.
You can earn money by building things for other people and they pay you,” says Alex.
Some players opt to enter games with server administrators who set rules and if a complaint is made, a player’s history
can be audited, just like the Inland Revenue.
Players are punished by being thrown out of the game.
So, the free market develops boundaries and as with business – ethics, integrity and fair trading evolve.
However, many players prefer the freedom of playing in a Minecraft game without such restrictions but social rules
naturally develop.
Play is an essential form of learning for all children, whether they are the banker in Monopoly or the best builder in
Minecraft.
Even Xero recognised the importance of play – ensuring their software design had playability.
After all, if it’s fun – we all want to do it.
ENDS