Minecraft Pocket Edition Update Dropping Feb. 8

In early December of last year, we reported that Minecraft: Pocket Edition was set to have future updates that would add survival mode functionality.

According to a blog post on Mojang’s official website, the first of many updates for the game will be landing on February 8th, 2012, and will bring with it some new features, and lay down a firm foundation for survival mode.

Daniel Kaplan, designer on the project, stated in the post which direction the project was headed, and why updates and information are far and few between:

“As I stated in a previous post we had an initial plan of making Minecraft – Pocket Edition more like Minecraft Creative. But alas we were wrong. We have read tons of comments and feedback and it seems like we made a huge mistake.

You wanted monsters, resources, animals and more different blocks. This means that the initial code we had written didn’t exactly fit with the new plan where we wanted to add all the stuff you have been asking for.

So we have been reorganizing, rewritten and changed the whole plan for Minecraft – Pocket Edition.”

He went on to mention that a handful of new features will be added to the game, not just the layout for survival mode. Animals, fencing, doors, and an assortment of new blocks will be made available to the player. Unfortunately, crafting won’t be in this particular update, as the GUI (user interface) will need a “redesign” and “some iteration and thinking”.

I personally am in full support of this decision, speaking as an avid Minecraft player. While the touch controls might not be extremely ample for suvival play styles, I do think it’s a step in the right direction — which is away from just being a tiny set of virtual Lego’s in your pocket.

You can currently download Minecraft: Pocket Edition on iPhone, iPad, and Android phones from their respective marketplaces, each with a $6.99 price tag.