Minecraft as useful tool - take 2

Hello everyone,

I had posted earlier about why Minecraft is useful for teambuilding. I will expand on this and explain more things about the background.

Games are not toys
Many people are sceptical about using games in a useful way. Games are generally seen as toys, and nothing more. This is mostly seen this way by people who have never played any real educational or teamwork games. They're free to have that opinion, since we're always free to have our opinions.

I have a different opinion. In my eyes, games can be great tools, especially since they're interactive. Not every game is suited for serious purposes though. Still, there are many which are. One of the games which seems like a simple toy, but isn't when used correctly, is Minecraft. I used this way to make a teambuilding environment, which is cheaper and more effective than most teambuilding methods used by corporations.

Several reasons why Minecraft is better than conventional teambuilding
Let me explain this: Minecraft currently costs €15,- per person. Looking up the cheapest teambuilding places in my country, that price is around €20,- to €30,-. That's 25% to 50% cheaper than the cheapest normal teambuilding methods. Even then, it's likely even cheaper, since these conventional teambuilding methods can only be used once. Minecraft can be used infinitely when purchased, in contrary to the conventional teambuilding methods (which include doing various tasks in real life together for an afternoon).

Even if we leave the Minecraft is cheaper argument out of the discussion, you still have several other things to look into. Minecraft is a so called 'Creative Game'. This means that you get dropped in a 'sandbox' (a game which never ends, with no clear goal) and you can let your fantasy and imagination flow freely. This creates a very relaxed environment. Coupled with working together on massive buildings, this makes for very clear positive interaction between the members.

But not only is there clear interaction between members... There's also the advantage that people don't have to travel to a certain place to meet, which also saves on time, cost and effort. Also, Minecraft is a quite 'easy' game in means of controls. The only buttons which you mostly use, are the mouse buttons, the movement keys and the inventory key. Next to an easy-to-use interface, the game also requires hardly any prior knowledge. You need to learn some things about Minecraft though once you play it. It is also available for most platforms, which makes it also not bound with a certain operating system, for instance windows. All this makes Minecraft very accessible.

Rounding stuff up
I think that it is clear now why Minecraft is a very useful tool for teambuilding. I've been pioneering teambuilding in Minecraft together with some others. But many people don't know that they're also pioneers in it. Virtually everyone who has played on an online server, and worked together with people, has been doing this. Many friendships have been created, and many more will be created in Minecraft.

Thanks for reading!

Roberto