“Learn how to combat a pandemic, one block at a time,” is the pitch for a brand new map made forMinecraft.Blockdownis a free to download and play custom map forMinecraftintended to be informative regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The developer describesBlockdownas a conversation starter, as it’s “increasingly pivotal” to start positive conversations around COVID-19 and the efforts necessary to keep everyone safe and healthy.
InBlockdown, players take on the role of an overseer of a town of villagers. A single villager being infected by azombie virusis all that it takes for the virus to spread, after which it’s up to the player to do the best they can to contain the virus' spread and keep their village healthy.
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The mechanics ofBlockdownare surprisingly simple. The player resides in a tower that allows them to oversee the entire town. In the tower are many levers, each of which allow the player to enact differentsocial distancingmeasures. The town can go from free to roam to complete lockdown with the switch of a lever. Underneath the tower is the next layer of the map, the hospital. Here the player will directly confront the spread of the virus and the consequences of their own decision-making.
The experience of playingBlockdownis intended to be casual and informative. It’s simpler to have villagers turning into zombies than to have a more realistic virus spreading. However, there’s clearly a level of realism here that’s going to make many uncomfortable. That’s likely the intent, however. Better to learn about the situation in a video game to better understand the reality of theCOVID-19 pandemic.
One important note is that the developer ofBlockdowndescribes theMinecraft mapas always being in beta. It’s unlikely to be heavily built upon unless another modder decides to explore further ideas with the building blocksBlockdownhas placed.
Blockdownwas developed by innovation company AKQA in support of the United Nations Development Program and Heart17. It was made with the support of Mojang. The map can be downloaded entirely for free, but only for theJava Edition ofMinecrafton PC. There’s no bedrock edition ofBlockdownat this time.
Minecraftis available now on PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and mobile devices.
