In recent years on Minecraft we have seen a little bit of everything. We only remember a library of censored books or a completely functional PC capable of performing actions thanks to Redstone. The last great reproduction arrived is the Basilica of S. Pietro: the project is called Peter is here and was managed directly from the Vatican.
The Minecraft video game is now synonymous with creative freedom. Its characteristic blocks allow you to recreate in digital format really anything, from Hogwarts Castle to a perfectly functional PC to a library of prohibited books. The latest arrival in the great buildings of Minecraft is the Basilica of San Pietro. We refer to Peter is here, the new Minecraft Education project in collaboration with the Basilica of San Pietro, Vatican City and Microsoft: The symbolic Church of Christianity is transformed into virtual cubes to allow players and players to know the millennial history of the building and the works of art contained.
In particular, Peter is here turns to schools. “This experience aims to accompany students to discover the fascinating and multifaceted spiritual, artistic and architectural reality kept in the Basilica of San Pietro, a place where the faith of countless generations has shaped a space of elevation and dialogue between the human and the divine” said the Cardinal Mauro Gambetti during the presentation event held at Palazzo Grazioli. “I hope that the game experience presented here will favor, thanks to the multiple opportunities offered by the platform, an authentic immersion in this path of knowledge and reflection”.
The support of artificial intelligence is essential. In detail, for Peter is here, more than four different types of IAs were used. There is Microsoft Copilotwhich proved to be useful to search for historical experiences within the game, Microsoft Designer Instead, it was used to conceptualize the assets of the game. To these are added Microsoft Visual Studio And Github Copilotused to support Minecraft mechanics, and Microsoft Copilot and Azure Openii GPT-4.0, essential to guarantee the suitability of the texts with respect to age and accessibility. In short, the fusion between historical-artistic knowledge and new technologies allows particularly innovative and effective interaction and learning.
The educational implication of Minecraft
Already last November, Basilica of St. Peter and Vatican City had launched in collaboration with Microsoft The La Basilica di San Pietro project, an interactive exhibition that is part of the initiatives related to the Jubilee 2025. But that between Minecraft and religion is not a recent exception. One of the most interesting attempts of contact dates back to 2019: that year, the Jesuit priest Peter Ballecer had opened the first Vatican server of Minecraft, called Digital Jesuit Minecraft Server. “I wanted to offer a place that could be less toxic, where you can invite creative people, and create an environment in which they can express themselves and build a relationship,” Ballecer said to Rome reports’s microphones.
Minecraft as a place of creative and educational expressions is now increasingly widespread. In particular, Minecraft Education has been demonstrating a truly avant -garde and welcoming learning tool for years, both for educators and for students. Even before the pandemic, The platform was in fact used to recreate fundamental works of the past such as Romeo and Juliet of Shakespeare or to explain the hamlets in mathematics using the iconic blocks of Minecraft. Microsoft’s video game therefore demonstrates how the involvement given by videogame interaction can be effective in the didactic and educational field.
Everything you can create on Minecraft
Beyond this pedagogical perspective, Minecraft’s success is closely linked to the infinite creative variations. Since the game conceived by Markus “Notch” Persson He allowed people to give free rein to their imagination. From this principle, amazing creations were born, in which it is possible to find the entire observable universe, but also the reproduction of the song “Africa” of the Toto up to the library against the journalistic censorship.
In short, it is now clear that Minecraft is a way to make art and culture, and how much made with Peter is here it is the demonstration that even the highest institutions are ready to exploit the great possibilities given by the video game, a medium with truly incredible potential.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yco23jshse
