Gameplay Journal Entry #3
For this weeks game journal I watched a Minecraft 3 game modification. The players create different soups and potions to make dinosaurs in the game grow drastically in a short amount of time. In order for the players to artificially grow the dinosaurs, they had to strategically feed them so they wouldn’t die. Since they grew at a rapid rate, it was easier for the dinosaurs to starve to death. They had a try many different times to successfully modify the dinosaurs.
This modding practice correlates to Anne-Marie Schleiner’s concept of parasite. I believe the dinosaurs are “a biological infiltration within a larger hosting body” (Scheleiner). The players are modifying the game with different tools that Minecraft provides them. Being able to do this gives players a chance to use their technological and creative abilities to make something new. It’s very interesting to see how games like Minecraft allow players to modify the games to their liking, even if that wasn’t the game’s intention.
Schleiner, Anne-Marie. The Player’s Power to Change the Game: Ludic Mutation. Amsterdam University Press, 2018.
