Microsoft is Bringing 'Minecraft' to The Oculus Rift
Minecraft is a wonderful and hugely successful game, however, no one would claim its success hinges upon real-world accuracy. The graphics that are pixelated, full of sharp right angles and large "pixels" are far from being realistic, but it does give the game its own distinctive style of visuals and a lot of charm. It is clear that Minecraft's vast open-world style makes it an ideal game for virtual reality. Microsoft has already demonstrated the game running in HoloLens and now the company is making an announcement that it will be compatible with Oculus Rift, as well. At Microsoft's spring show I was able to play the game using the Rift. Although it's a bit clunky in its design, it's one the best VR experiences.
It's important to remember that this is not a new Minecraft version. It's been updated to work with Oculus Rift. You can play in survival mode as well as join one of the numerous multiplayer servers that are available. Once you've started playing, you'll be presented with two different view modes. The first is a virtual castle and the game is playing on what amounts to a TV screen in front of you. It's quite a meta- and hilarious to play games within a virtual reality game. However, it's an excellent way to look at things if you need to get away from the full VR experience.
If you decide to dive into that full experience, the game shifts and you're completely absorbed by what your character sees. It's almost as if you're being transported from reality by Minecraft's 3D environments. It's one of the most enjoyable and most immersive VR experiences I've had thus far. Minecraft's success is actually due to the lack of precise details. The game doesn't try to replicate the real world. Instead, it felt like I stepped into a cartoon.
Microsoft's demo experience shows a few of the game's most memorable moments. I went on a mining expedition and battled creeps. I also illuminated caves with torchlights, used a lot of buttons to interact, and then rode a minecart up the side of an enormous building. It was the most exciting part of the demo, as I got a true sense of speed and height as I soared into the sky. Then, a mine cart ride allowed me to take a 360-degree view from the top of the mountain in the air as it travelled towards a new location. There was plenty of entertainment and eye candy on the journey.
It's hard to describe the experience in words since VR is extremely immersive. Although it's not as immersive as the HoloLens version, it's still a great place for exploring. Unfortunately, there's no confirmation about when exactly Minecraft will be publicly available in VR however, we hope it won't take too long after the Rift's release later this month "killer app" is a popular term, but Minecraft could be a part of the emerging VR scene.