DURBAN – Students from institutions across the globe are using the online game, Minecraft, to recreate their schooling campuses in order to hold their graduation ceremonies online.
Minecraft is a “building block” game with graphics that look like an upgraded version of the 90s retro video games and the Lego video games. In the game, there are different realms that players can enter and meet players from other parts of the world online, in a safe environment. Players are able to replicate various famous regions, worldwide, within the game. It offers community rooms called servers where people are able to access and create their own world.
As a result of the lockdown imposed in a number of countries, students have missed out on the graduation ceremonies hosted by the institutions.
Elementary school students from Japan inspired students across the world to join in on the fun of having virtual graduations.
University of Pennsylvania students joined in the fun. They accurately recreated their university campus online, both the interior and exterior of their virtual campus was accurately replicated. The students anonymously banded together to create the prominent buildings of their campus first.
The university students felt the virtual graduations would help ease the uncertainty and anxiety brought forward by the Covid-19 pandemic.