Highlights

  • New updates bring game-changers like maces and trial chambers with rich content for players to explore in Minecraft 1.21 and 1.20.5.
  • Mojang should double down on adding more new paintings, designed by artist Sarah Boeving, to enhance Minecraft's iconic pixel art roster.
  • Consideration should be given to opening up avenues for players to customize and create paintings, potentially through a community vote system.

Minecraft's next big update is making some big moves with its features, adding game-changers like maces, autocrafters, trial chambers, and much more. However, one of the most recent additions hyped up for Minecraft is incredibly simple, but something Mojang should absolutely double down on.

Updates 1.21 and 1.20.5 are both bringing big features to Minecraft. 1.20.5 will be updating wolves in a major way, with new biome-based variants and wolf armor—an exceptionally strong defensive option for dogs. 1.21 itself centers on its trial chamber structure, with new mobs, new items, and new blocks based around these sprawling gauntlets. These combat courses are so rich in content that they rival structures like woodland mansions and ocean monuments—something made evident by the fact the cartographer sells a map to them, roping them into progression.

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Minecraft Needs To Go All In On New Paintings

Though it was thought that ominous trials would be the last content update teased for 1.21, Mojang has unveiled new paintings coming in Minecraft's next update—designed by artist Sarah Boeving. These paintings (Baroque, Humble, Meditative, Prairie Ride, and Unpacked) are currently only available to preview on Bedrock, but they'll be making their way to a Java snapshot soon. These paintings are some cosmetics that will fit right in with Minecraft's existing art roster, but they're also huge news for the game; they're the first new paintings since the Wither painting was added back in 2012. With over 10 years between new paintings (not counting some unused ones accessible through commands), it's high time for Mojang to crank up the production of these decorations.

Minecraft's Paintings Are A Staple Of The Game

The paintings of Minecraft are more iconic than many may give them credit for. Skull on Fire, Fighters, Wither, Skull and Roses, Seaside, and RGB are among the most well-known, but the pixel art they all display has gone down as iconography for the game. Players use them for decoration, as imitation TVs, and turn the larger among them into secret entrances; 2x2 and larger paintings can cover up open doors, allowing players to walk through the painting. Players have gone as far as to hunt down the map seed seen in the background of Skull on Fire, a mark of the painting's status.

Given this love for Minecraft's paintings, it only makes sense for Mojang to add more paintings—especially considering the trend of giving each update its own music disc. A similar thing could be done with paintings. However, it would make sense for Mojang to relent from throwing artpieces into every update. With the standards for Minecraft's paintings being what they are, oversaturation should be avoided.

Mojang Should Open Up Paintings To The Community More

On the subject of how players love paintings, Mojang should consider opening up avenues for players to customize and create paintings. Something like this already exists in Minecraft thanks to map drawing, a use of mechanics spawned by player creativity. With this demand in mind, it would make sense for a more accessible system to be made available. Allowing players to hang up paintings with unique pixel art would be a fun feature with viral potential.

Another way Mojang could facilitate creativity with paintings is through a community vote. Though Minecraft's mob votes have been fraught with strife, the low stakes of a vote on a new painting should avoid this. Rather, such a vote would be a fun way for fans to be involved. It could even go further and allow fan-submitted designs, embracing the community spirit of Minecraft—with elements like servers, mods, social media presence, and information resources maintained by players acting alone.