There were many server options for players to choose from, ranging from familiar (“Hunger Games”) to mysterious (“Skywars” and “Prison OP”). Since I have come to enjoy Minecraft survival mode, I decided to try out one of the survival games…and that’s where I discovered the dark side.
It took me a while to figure out that the object was to kill players of opposite teams, and that teams were designated by armor, weapons, and whether or not you had been exposed to the zombie virus. Initially, I felt like everyone was attacking me. (I died a half dozen times before I figured out that I had to hit the ground running or risk being taken out after twenty measly seconds.) My response to the attacks was to try to attack everyone else first as soon as I teleported, but that wasn’t the correct strategy either. I attacked some of my teammates, who weren’t particularly pleased. Eventually, I decided to just hit the ground running and hide until I could figure out which team I was on, who I should be killing, and how to avoid the zombie infection. I’m not sure that I was ever particularly successful, but I did manage to avoid death for five whole minutes during one round.
My previous experiences with Minecraft have been mostly solitary, aside from playing several simulations with out my EDTECH 531 class. The most refreshing, interesting aspect of this quest was the interaction I had with other players. A few times I battled zombies alongside others and the feeling of intense cooperation was kind of exhilarating! I will definitely continue to explore public servers in the future. This experience has added a whole new dimension to Minecraft for me. I continue to contemplate how I can translate Minecraft into my classroom.