Minecraft Legends is a game that is aiming to be something new, while also retaining the things that made the franchise it belongs to so special in the first place. Features like randomly generated maps in PvP and the inclusion original Minecraft creatures are callbacks to this grand legacy. However, these additions function less like references and more like proper parts of the game that help give it personality.
Functionality isn't the only place Minecraft Legends can expand upon in order to inherit the spirit of Minecraft. After all, much of what makes the franchise unique is what the players have been able to do with it after all of these years. There would be no better way for the game to honor its predecessor than to allow for players to create their own custom skins.
How Player Customization Is The Spirit of Minecraft
With Minecraft Legends' release date being just in the horizon, it won't be long until players are enjoying the game. Players will have a selection of skins to choose from, just as players did with Minecraft Dungeons. However, the addition custom-made skins would serve a much more specific purpose that premade skins will simply not. While premade skins are made to roughly fit the personality and play style of certain types of players, custom-made skins allow players to create something that specifically suits them. Premade skins lack the personality that a custom-made skin would because the player has no connection to it, unlike a skin that they could possibly create for themselves.
Skin customization would also allow for an aspect of the community to flourish, that being the culture that surrounds Minecraft skins. While many players create skins based on how they would like to look in-game, many tend to follow recent trends. This was the case when the famous Minecraft YouTuber, Dream, suddenly rose to stardom. His in-game skin was the image of the iconic drawing in the profile picture he uses for his various social media accounts. Many would begin to adopt this style, often featuring faces of prominent figures or trending memes. Small features like these could increase the longevity of Minecraft Legends by bolstering its community collaboration.
Features that encourage interactions within a video game's community is what often keeps the player base active for long periods of time. Games like The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim and even the original Minecraft owe much of their fame and longevity to community-made content such as mods. It would also add variety to Minecraft Legends, as seeing the same skins over and over again in PvP may become dull. And while certainly not as substantial in terms of gameplay, skin customization allows for a level of self insertion that encourages immersion. By allowing the player to create a character in the way they envision themselves, players can truly immerse themselves in the gameplay, mechanics, and story of the game they are playing.
However, it is likely that Minecraft Legends may not see the addition of skin customization in its lifetime. One of the purchasing options includes a deluxe edition of the game, which happens to include a "Deluxe Skin Pack." This means that Minecraft Legends could go down the same route as Minecraft Dungeons by monetizing skins and not officially allowing players to create their own. While unfortunate, there is the possibility that Minecraft Legends may include hidden secrets that will allow the player to find rare or unique skins, allowing for some amount of customization and variety.
Regardless of whether the game receives skin customization, players will have their hands on the game within a few months, and they will be able to participate in Minecraft Legends' co-op story mode or in its complex PvP mode. Hopefully, players will be able to enjoy a large selection of skins in order to make up for the possible lack of skin customization.
Minecraft Legends releases in 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
