(December 20, 2011) -- Minecraft, the blocky game without an objective, has officially been released after years of development and public testing on the PC. Popular amongst creationists and casual gamers, Minecraft takes the prime idea of LEGO (creation) and engages the mind of the player in the world they create.

Attracted to the sandbox nature of the game, sophomore Ashot Chobanyan has played the game since its early releases. “The game really encourages you to experiment in a world and have fun along the way, ” he said.

Minecraft really is a game which utilizes the often unused — and perhaps a bit disheveled —  tool in the shed, imagination.

“Think it, create it, experience it,” is Minecraft’s unofficial mantra. You are given nothing but your right hand to begin the game and are expected to do the rest, depending on your game preference. Creative and survival are the two game modes provided for you.

Creative does what it implies, and offers you an unlimited supply of colorful blocks in a completely randomly generated world. This gives the player the freedom to create anything their minds can develop.

Survival mode is a tad more interesting for players than creative mode. In survival mode, you are placed in a similar, randomly generated world, but are expected to survive the night among creatures such as spiders, zombies or skeletons. If you’re not careful, the sentimental world you have created around you may be destroyed in a second by the blast of a creeper.

“The scarcity of blocks in survival mode becomes a problem when you’re creating areas such as a patio in your world,” said Chobanyan. “Several times, a creeper blew up my patio and I had to create it again.”

You are given nothing to survive and must create tools in order for you to do so in a somewhat manageable fashion. Tools such as pickaxes, shovels, axes and swords may be crafted using a workbench. Once materials such as wood, stone, iron or diamond are in their correct positions, the tool is crafted. These tools each perform a specific function, such as digging dirt or mining minerals more efficiently than others.

“The great thing about Minecraft is that you create the world you want to live in. SMP is also a great way to experience the game with other players,” Chobanyan said. “I know of one server of seven or eight people have been working to recreate the entire city of Beijing, China, to scale.” SMP, short for Survival Multiplayer Mode, allows players to work together simultaneously and make larger creations than they would alone.

The creation doesn’t seize there, however, for the community of Minecraft acts as water to the seed. Mods are often made for the game, allowing users to experience a new set of scenarios, play a new game (within Minecraft), or pursue a new quest.

The idea of humans using their brains to create in a video-game type of leisure is what continues to make the game thrive. Since its official release this past week, Minecraft has averaged 4,000 logins per second and 241 million logins per month since public testing 18 months ago. With no single objective and an active community of millions, the concept of the game feeling new will remain constant.

Minecraft (PC) is on sale for $26.95 at www.minecraft.net/store. Also available is Minecraft: Pocket Edition for Android and iOS for $6.99 in their respective app stores.