The company says the Glide Mini Game has been designed to test the flying abilities of Minecraft gamers. By using the elytra wings, users can practice their gliding and swooping skills on a special created aerial track. In a blog post today, Mojang says the track is a first of a series that will be released to expand the Mini Game. Time Attack mode lets gamers use thermal drafts and speed boosters in an attempt to beat the clock. Along the way, Score Attacks can also be acquired by passing through all hoops on a circuit.
The company says the aerial map has shortcuts built in, but users will have to discover where these are. Ok, not quite, there is a map of the shortcuts (see main image). It is possible to play solo against your own times, or play online and try to top scoreboards. For Xbox One and PS4 users, Minecraft now also supports up to 16 online players in Battle and Glide mini games.
Developing Glide for Minecraft
In its blog post, Mojang talks to 4J’s art director David Keningale and level lead Michael Hansen about the creation of the Glide Mini Game. Keningale says the addition of elytra in the Christmas update was the catalyst for being able to create the game: “Putting the Elytra in for the Console Edition Christmas update was the big driving force,” says David. “The cogs were already turning while we were building the elytra tutorial level. That said, we assumed it would be a ring-based flight course, like PilotWings. It was only as we were building the tracks that we realised just how much fun Time Trial was – and that inspired us to add more shortcuts in order to make it even more fun.”
