Imagine if Minecraft was the trigger to get a new generation of kids programming?

#“Imagine if Minecraft was the trigger to get a new generation of kids programming?”

If you want to know what the social network of the future will look like, forget twitter, facebook & App.net. Look at Minecraft
Walter Higgins (@walter) August 14, 2012

Walter thinks that the next big Social Network will be Minecraft. I think he might be on to something. Our kids either love playing it or watching their older siblings do so.

Over the weekend, it was announced that the Pocket Edition was being ported to the Raspberry Pi. I was excited but our eldest son pooh-poohed the news since he has tried Pocket on his Android phone and it doesn’t compare to the full thing.

But then came the kicker: you’ll be able to access it programatically in any language over a network connection! As they point out in the blogpost today:

The more creative programmer will only be limited by their imagination. Want to build a digital clock into the wall of your house which displays the real time? Easy. Want to get back at a friend who stole your precious diamonds? Remove the floor from underneath their feet and let them fall into a pit of lava. The possibilities are endless.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuvSke6h7Lk

If the future is mobile, then is Pocket Minecraft on Raspberry Pi = the Tween replacement for Twitter?

This is a big deal. I can’t wait to try it.

UPDATE 1: I just realised the GPIO pins on the RPi mean that it should be possible to connect haptic/gesture/wiimote/any interfaces to Minecraft. Or have people been doing that already on the PC version? I’ve just ordered a Makey Makey and you could have huge fun with that.

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