It's difficult to think back to the humble beginnings of Minecraft and try to fathom just how huge the game has become over the years. It's easily one of the most successful and popular franchises in video gaming history, and despite hundreds of millions of players still going strong and a plethora of new things being added to it, it shows no signs of slowing down as new technology is enabling even more people to get involved.
As technology and society advances forward and makes gaming possible for more fans, there is now talk of a new piece of software which lets players control Minecraft using just their eyes. Known as EyeMine V2, the software was developed by a UK charity called Special Effects with the goal of helping gamers with all manner of disabilities who still wish to play video games. In the past, they have developed equipment such as one-handed controllers, games that are controlled by voice activation and even games controlled via the mouth.
Currently in its second iteration, EyeMine has undergone several improvements, such as better weapon handling, better control on ladders, more precise building and increasing building speeds for players. These changes were brought about through feedback from testers, one of whom is Becky Lou Tyler, also known as EyeGazeGirl, a gamer who is advocating for technology and gaming that is all-inclusive, particularly for people with disabilities. In the past, she has caught the attention of the gaming community when she connected the Xbox adaptive controller to Animal Crossing New Horizon which allowed her to play the game with her chin.
Perhaps one of the best things about EyeMine is that it's completely free. At the moment, however, it's only available on the PC Java Edition of Minecraft due to the PC's unique content. There's hope, no doubt, that this software will become available for other platforms, particularly as people are living in an era in which inclusivity is an important issue being addressed, and not just for gamers either.
Since its alpha launch on PC back in 2009, Minecraft has become a wall-to-wall success story, shooting its original developer Markus "Notch" Persson to international stardom and inspiring a generation of gamers to build and explore the blocky, brightly-colored world. Notch sold his IP to Microsoft in 2014 for a whopping $2.5 billion US. The game has enjoyed equal success on consoles and as of last summer, has sold a staggering 200 million copies, smashing records.
Minecraft is available now on Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
Source: Nintendo Life