Minecraft Live 2022: Minecraft 1.20 Update

– [Interviewer] So Agnes, you’re gonna tell us the next update. – I will, soon. But first, I would actually love to take some time to talk about what we have learned from previous years, because we have announced some features that we didn’t manage to deliver. And it’s important that we learn from that and that we take action from that. So for example,

This year, we will only show features that have come very, very far in the development process. ‘Cause like with Minecraft Live, we want to celebrate this lovely game together with our amazing community, and we want to create player dreams. So when we show new things, we want to like inspire the players.

And I remember for myself, like long time ago, before I worked here, I used to watch MineCons, And I remember seeing new things. I’m like, “Ah, I want to build this thing with this block. “I want to go on this adventure.” And we want to give these kind of dreams to our players, and that it’s so important that we feel a 100% confident

That we really can deliver on these dreams. – [Interviewer] Yeah, and I mean it feels like we would tell everything in Minecraft Live, and then you had to just keep up with that. You-you couldn’t add anything or kind of change things. – Yes. So like in recent years,

We showed the full update almost, and then we were just chasing it for the rest of the development process, and it, well, it caused stress. So this year, we think we will have time to really iterate on the features together with the community of course,

And also to add features that we haven’t showed yet, like that we haven’t showed today. ‘Cause like we know, we all have so many ideas and also during the development process, both us and the community, so many ideas gonna pop-up, and those are also often very, very charming.

So we’re happy that we will have more time to really explore this update together. – Yeah, I love it. It lets the team be more creative. It lets us be creative with the community, and like kind of see where the path takes us. And also, it’s really exciting

To get to hear new things throughout the year too. So I’m excited. Like “What’s happening? what’s happening?” But what can you tell us about the update? – I can tell quite many things, but actually, first I want to tell you that we have decided to not name it yet.

So for now, we will call it the 1.20 update. And it will be released in 2023. And the reason for that, is that we want to shape it like throughout the development process together with the community, ’cause like Minecraft is some kind like magic almost to Minecraft.

And I think one of the key things that creates this magic, is that Minecraft is community fueled. – [Interviewer] Absolutely, yes. We both came from the community. – Yes, yes. – Before. – So let’s name it when we all feel ready to do that. – But you do have a theme. So some, some things to think about. – We do know what we want to achieve with update and we have a vision.

We just want to be flexible enough so the community can be part of shaping it. And what we want to do with this update, is that we want to make Minecraft Mine-craftier. – Perfect. – Perfect sense, right? (Agnes giggles) – Absolutely. – And we want to do that by focusing on like certain parts of what Minecraft is. And those are like the creativity, it’s like self-expression, and intrinsic motivation. So what we want to do with Minecraft, we want to inspire and enable the players

To be creative in their own ways and to express themselves in their own unique beautiful ways. And in this update like, one way we want to do that, is to enable self-expression through representation. – And I think it’s so beautiful ’cause you know, being able to do what you want in Minecraft

Is the core of what it is. So I’m really excited that this also lets us shape it with the community, and all of you being creative. So we do have some awesome features to show. – [Agnes] We have. – And our first guest, Chi, is here to help us show them. Welcome Chi. – Hey. – It’s your first Minecraft Live. – Yes. – And can you tell everyone what you do at Mojang? – Well, I love to play the game at Mojang. I’m a fan, but I’m a 3D artist on Minecraft. – [Interviewer] And you’ve worked on some super cool animations for the game. Everything from really scary, like the warden.

– Yeah. – And really cute like the frogs. Yeah. – [Chi] Oh they’re so adorable, yes. – [Interviewer] They just, you know, their stroll is very iconic. – Thank you. – You’re so good at it. Like when, for example, when I see the frogs like, (squeals) it really makes me feel something.

You’re so good at it. – Oh thank you – Oh. I’m so glad to hear it. – So I have a creator question to kick things off for the two of you. – [Chi] Hmm. – [Agnes] Uh huh. – Whoa. She really likes solves an Easter egg that we had in there. – That’s amazing. – Lovely. And yes, we are adding new default skins, and default skins, that’s like Alex and Steve. So we see them as like placeholders for the players. And our goal with Minecraft

Is always that everyone should feel equally welcome in the game. And for us, this is one step towards reaching that goal. – Lots of new default skins. – So pretty. – Wow. It’s a lovely video. Yes. We’ve added seven new skins to Minecraft. These skins are a wonderful collaboration within the company. Um yeah, we really care about feeling represented in Minecraft, and I think with these skins we did that. – [Agnes] Yes. – And I think, I mean you’re gonna start seeing them a lot. – [Chi] Yeah. – Yes.

So, and it’s not only that you can play with them in the game, you will also see them in like trailers, key art, merchandise. So you will really get to know these skins, or like characters very well. – Yeah, it’s really beautiful because now when someone starts the game,

If they haven’t made a new skin yet to like represent themselves, they also can pick one of these and feel like it’s closer to who they are, which is so awesome. And these awesome skins are coming soon. They weren’t ready for Live, so you won’t see them in everything here,

But everybody’s gonna get to know them a lot. And Agnes, you have something else to tell us about. – Oh yes, there are more features. And the first one we want to show is a very charming block called Hanging Signs. – [Chi] Yes. These hanging signs are super colorful

And the players can use stripped logs and chains to craft them. – [Interviewer] Oh they’re really nice. – [Chi] Yeah. (laughs) – [Agnes] Really beautiful. – Ah, we all know the sign blocks and what they do and these hanging blocks, they’re very versatile. You can craft them with every wood types,

And they have three different states. – [Agnes] Well, and here you can see the different variants. So the first one here is when you hang the hanging signs from the side, from the side of a block. And this one is like the base one. So it has two chains

And it’s when it hangs under a block that’s quite wide. And then my favorite, you can see it has a v-shaped chain, and this is when you hang it under something that’s narrow, like under a fence post, or under Shane. That’s so pretty. – Yes. – They’re really cool.

I love how much story-telling too even from that because adding them to different places its-its super awesome. – Yeah we love that uh, when players like use these, um, use our blocks to do something else like uh for example create like really colorful flags with them. And during our play tests uh

One of these like um uh things that they (indistinct) – [Interviewer] I love it! (giggles) – [Chi] Yeah con-connect like uh two villager house together and create this colorful, yeah, flags (laughs). – Its like a festival feeling. I especially like I think the crimson and warped wood ones. – They’re really pretty.

And Agnes, you’ve said for a long time that you’re favorite… – (Agnes laughs) – Block is the sign block – Yes (laughs). – There’s a good reason for that. So long time ago, I think maybe 12 years ago when I played Minecraft, I haven’t-hadn’t really found my play style yet

And then my little brother, he started to place signs on a castle he had built. He was like “This family live here” and these names of the family-of this family. And that inspired me a lot. So I started to do that too. So I started to name different villages

And families, and like they work with this and this in this house. So sign look really inspired me to tell stories and like, build my world. Like do work building with Minecraft. So I do love signs and the hanging signs. – Yeah I was gonna say do you think

That hanging signs will overtake signs? – Ooh – A bit but what I like with the hanging signs is that they are bit more expensive to craft so I will use both. – Okay very nice. I love that you are using them for story telling

But also I loved your creative use of them coloring the skies and I could only imagine like our community is gonna do things with this we’ve never thought of. – Oh yeah. – They are always so creative. It’s amazing. – So you have something else to tell us about. – Oh yes

Uh we have created a beautiful new wood set for bamboo. Like with every wood set, look at this. You have the planks, you have fences, you have trap doors, you have doors. And look-look at the beautiful pattern. – [Interviewer] So pretty – [Agnes] Oh I love love the pattern on the trap doors

– (clears throat) so good. – [Chi] Yes. – [Agnes] And I love, like they’re so good to use as windows for example. – [Chi] Yes. – Its a really beautiful new wood set. – Its amazing and uh one of our goals with this wood set is that we want players to feel represented.

Players who grew up with bamboo in real life and uh I think that we managed to make this amazing wood set very unique and beautiful. Our artists did a very good job. – Yes definitely. You’re adding a, a special block in this set only. – [Agnes] Yes. So the Bamboo wood set

Actually have block that no other wood sets have. And its called Bamboo Mosaic and you can see it here. – [Interviewer] Wow. – [Agnes] And I think it’s very beautiful (laughs) – [Chi] It’s amazing. – [Agnes] Uh when I see this I’m like “Ah I want to build floors with it” (Laughs) – [Agnes] It wouldn’t be very pretty floors. – I mean they’re beautiful floors. And I mean it’s beautiful in the whole building and I think what I love about this wood set it how well it matches with other blocks, even though it feels so different too. It like looks so beautiful.

– [Chi] Yeah. – [Interviewer] You can really like, mix the blocks together. – [Chi] Yeah – [Agnes] (indistinct) with the copper and even the frog lights. – Even the frog lights. – Yeah but more than that, I’m very excited because I think if you’re able to build your real world in Minecraft,

That’s so exciting for people. – [Chi] Mm yes, look at that, yeah – It’s so beautiful. – [Chi] Look at that- Like that it stand like on the fence posts and in the Mine Groves swamp. – [Interviewer] Yeah it’s really beautiful and you’re gonna have a boat? – Well not exactly a boat, we are gonna have a raft (laughs).

Yeah it works the same as a boat and also has a chest. But it looks more adventurous. – [Agnes] And I love that fantasy Of being on like an adventure on the river, and then its on a raft. I think like the storytelling and the possibilities of that is really lovely. – [Interviewer] Yeah I definitely wanna get stranded on an island, make a raft. – [Agnes] Bamboo jungle with like a panda (laughs) – [Interviewer] It’s really fun, I mean I-I think it’s so cool to add that. – Yes. I’m ready to go down caving like rivers and stuff. – Ooh yes in like the water falls in the caves? – [Chi] Hmm – Oh that sounds fun.

– That sounds really fun. Chi thank you so much for telling us about those things. And now we have Mir joining us. – Hey guys – Hi Mir – Hey Mir, Welcome back. – Thank you, thank you. This set is so amazing. – I know its so cozy. – It’s turned night time.

– Yeah it’s cozy and nice. I’m just waiting for the villagers to come out so I can trade with them. – [Interviewer] Oh Agnes is a villager now – I don’t have my emeralds on me. – Mir, for those of you who don’t know what do you do at Mojang? – Sure I’m a game play designer which basically means I work on some of the new features coming to the game. – [Interviewer] Very exciting.

You’re gonna tell us about those but we have a creator question first. – Oh that’s always hard. Just one, she told you. – Well as a panda, I have to say the bamboo wood sets. – [Interviewer] Okay that’s a very good choice. And what about you Agnes? – That said, I think that’s a tricky question. Uh I do love all of the features

And especially like how they connect together but if I had to pick one I actually want to pick one we haven’t shown yet. – [Interviewer] Well you can do that Agnes! – Well then its called the Chizzle Bookshelves. _ [Mir] Right. So Chizzle bookshelves is the new block that we are adding to the game. And you can interact with it to store 1-6 books but it’s not only books. Its also enchanted books and books & quill. So basically this where you’re gonna store

The stories of your world. And personally I am really excited about it. Because as a player I love telling stories about my game and I use to keep it in a physical notebook just next to my game, uh my computer. But recently I started writing it in the world

And storing it in chests and you know that was actually inspired by you Agnes and your amazing world. – Oh thank you (laughs). – Yeah and Agnes you, like you do the coolest storytelling in the game. You have to tell everyone about it. Its just, its so in depth. I love it. – Okay well, yes it is very nerdy. So I actually write stories both in the game, in books in game and on a notebook outside the game. And those stories are written from different perspectives. So its very important that everything that happens in world needs to be written from like a perspective

Of like someone who lives in the world. So from like characters in the world which means for example, they write like history books and the stories they write might not even be true. – [Interviewer] So they could be legends? – They could be legends. – [Mir] That is so cool. – [Interviewer] Ooh

– So then in the notebook, outside the game then its my perspective. This is what really happened. – [Interviewer] I just love that. – You can do both. – I think there’s- I mean seeing the stories written and being able to pull them from the bookshelf like I get so excited about it. And these will also have Redstone capabilities. – [Mir] Yes so using a comparator you’re actually going to pull a Redstone signal that’s gonna tell you what is the last book

That was interacted with. And there’s many uses for that but personally I am going to make some secret bookshelves doorways and uh hide some something in there. – [Agnes] Love that. – [Interviewer] What are you gonna hide? – Probably my Agnes poster fans. See she doesn’t even know. – Hide them (laughs) – Big fan. – And Agnes, your storytelling, how would you use that to like tell stories this secret place. – (indistinct) opportunities to tells stories. Like the first idea that just pop up like I want build a castle and have like

And evil queen to live in this castle and then she can like hide secret things. – [Interviewer] Ooh – Like a spiral staircase down to like a dungeon or something like that? That is so cool. – That would be really cool. I wanna make an escape room because then you’re like try-

In the book – I love that – Actually I want someone in the community to do that and then I want to play it. That sounds better. – [Agnes] That’s a good idea too. – I’m pretty sure someone else- – [Mir] That’s probably being made right now. – Yes exactly. Will be awesome.

And I mean like a lot of the other things, you have this storytelling aspect but then its also like, they’re really beautiful. – [Agnes] Yes – [Mir] Mm – They’re really really good to decorate with. – So, I love- They really have like a fantasy historical feel to them

And that’s actually a feel we want for all of Minecraft. And have you noticed the top texture (laughs). So you can see it like on the floor there. – [Interviewer] On the floor Agnes (laughs) – [Agnes] Yes – I talk a lot about floors today. – (indistinct) the walls as well – But its also very pretty as a floor – Okay (laughs) – Floors are important. – I mean I think that’s the cool thing whenever we get any new blocks in the game

Its like being able to use them in different ways. – [Mir] Yes – [Agnes] Yes – Use them as the Chizzle bookshelf or you can be like “these are the best floors you’ve ever seen” (laughs) – [Mir] (indistinct) final bookshelf. – [Agnes] Like the bookshelf and the bamboo mosaic. – Yeah exactly.

All the block combinations and I’m sure the community’s gonna come up with so many more things than us. Its gonna be amazing. – And you have one more thing to tell us about. – Yes that’s actually a feature that’s quite close to my heart. ’cause I grew up interacting a lot with these.

Um so maybe its time to take a look at some camels. – Those are awesome. Tell us more about camels. – Yeah so like I said they’re really close to me heart because I remember growing up going on field trips and sort of seeing them, and riding them and actually have a really distinct memory of sitting-being this small kid on this huge animal

And sitting on them when on the ground and when they get up, uh camels don’t really just get up immediately. They’re like indecisive, rocking back and forth sort of thing and that was a terrifying experience as a kid. But so amazing as well. And we talked about how this update

Is about self expression through representation and I just love that so many more people now around the world can sort of see an experience they remember and an experience from their life in the game. – [Interviewer] Yeah and share it with someone who maybe hasn’t experienced it. – [Mir] Right – Yes

That was something I really loved during the development process of camels because you had talked so much about your experience as a child and you know how tall the camels is and how they stand up in this weird way. And then when I got play with them in the game

(squeals) it feels like you told me about and I thought that was cool. – That’s really cool. – Okay and Agnes, here’s a hard-hitting question for you. – [Agnes] Okay, uh-huh. – Camels, horses, why both? (laughs) – Well this is an important question. So we want to keep update Minecraft for like

A lifetime for 50 years or more. And that means that each thing we add needs to really fit within the Minecraft ecosystem. And this if of course true for camels as well. And since camels are a rideable mob and horses are too, it was very important for us to create a unique experience.

– Yeah we worked quite hard on that trying to find a different niche in the game for both and really make the experience different and unique. Um and there’s many difference, for example Horse are quite agile striving right and left is really quick in Minecraft. And camels are quite big animals

So they are a bit slower. But if you find, eh, a long stretch like a straight stretch, maybe relatively flat ground like in deserts, you can get quite fast actually. And that’s helped by this ability that they have called “the dash”. So using the dash you can clear ravines

Or even rivers which we all know are the enemy of horses in Minecraft. – [Interviewer] That is really cool. – And another unique thing for the camels is that you can be two players on it at the same time. – [Interviewer] There the two of you are. Taking a trip together. – [Agnes] Yes (laughs) – [Mir] Yes oh its so nice – (indistinct) adventure into Badlands.

And we know that many of our players really enjoy to play together with their friends. So it feels good to add a feature where you really can go on an adventure together. – Yes, I’m happy if we added it that finally Agnes might invite me to play some more. – Maybe – [Agnes] Oh I will. Of course I will – And I mean they’re great for story telling and you have this like okay I’m taking you on an adventure, come see what I’m doing. But you also, you know – There’s another side to that. Yeah exactly.

I think that duality is really really interesting because like we said when you ride with them you’re with a friend, you’re on an adventure, its very sort of story tell-y, adventure-y. But there’s another side because you can actually sprint with camels and they go quite a bit faster when you do.

So for example in action scenario at night (zombie growl) you can be out with your friend and Agnes, for example is using the camel and moving around and dashing out of danger. And I am with a bow and can sort of shoot and attack behind. And that operation is really really cool.

– [Agnes] And as you can see here the Many Mouths Can’t reach us because the camel is so tall (laughs). – [Mir] Yes. – [Agnes] Finally I get to feel how it is to be tall. – [Mir] (laughs) I see. I know. When they’re not attacking you They actually look quite cute

I think, zombies. – A little bit cute. – Maybe ugly cute. – Yeah, uh, I think that I’m definitely going to be the one, you know, hopefully driving the camel. I don’t want to be the one aiming the bow but I do-I mean its really cool. It adds a lot, especially to be able to, you know, maybe you’re doing a little of both. You’re having a nice stroll then it turned night lets fight together. – [Mir] You disappear, yeah.

– But I mean I have to point out they’re also just incredibly cute. – They are and especially they are ugly cute I think. Derpy. – [Mir] Yeah and as you can see we also have came babies because you can breed them. And something pretty interesting is the item you’re going to use to feed and breed them is actually a cactus. – [Agnes] And I thought that was so interesting when we like, researched camels.

I didn’t know that real world camels eat cactus. – [Mir] Yeah I’ve seen many videos of camel eating cactus. I thought it was really really interesting. And also cactus is sort of an item that doesn’t have too many uses in the game. So its always nice again, being respectful of all features

Sort of adding more uses to it. – That’s really awesome. Mir, thank you so much for telling us about those amazing features. – [Mir] Thanks for having me. – [Agnes] Thank you Mir. – On October 27th during Minecraft now, you’ll be able to hear more about these cool new features.

And Agnes you have one surprise for us. – Yes we do have a surprise. So previous years you have been able to play-test the new features like many many months after now. But this year, we are very excited about this. This year, you will actually be able to play-test

The new features on Betas, snapshots and previews just a few days from now. – We can’t wait to hear what you think when you play-test these features in a few days. Like Agnes said, this is the start of features for update 1.20. And there will be more to come throughout the year.