The University of California, Berkeley’s class of 2020 would still have its commencement ceremony, albeit a bit blocky. Taking the World Health Organization’s recommendation to heart by staying home and playing video games, the 2020 commencement was held over Minecraft while streamed on Twitch. The event played out as any commencement would but now with Minecraft avatars addressing the virtual stadium while speakers were shown at the bottom left of the screen.
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The virtual reconstruction of the university’s Memorial Stadium was constructed by 100 UC Berkeley students and alumni. According to the UC Berkeley news source, the virtual setting was named “Blockeley University.” The virtual presentation was not without its faults however. During the opening welcome by Vice Chancellor Marc Fisher, many of the virtual graduates would hop around and even Minecraft’s main avatar Steve showed up and hogged the camera. The stream was also met with audio issues from numerous speakers including keynote speaker Justin Kan, the co-founder of Twitch.
Regardless of the technical issues that were present, the Blockeley Commencement was a creative and engaging manner to celebrate the accomplishment of the class of 2020. The sprawling Twitch chat was filled with congratulatory messages to the graduates as the stream progressed. It was of course also met with the odd troll comment thrown in but they never distracted from the adoration coming through.
It is a strange time for everyone across the globe and many have turned to using ingenuity to carry on. Coronavirus has impacted all aspects of the current world. Events like the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have changed the rules of eligibility for the 93rd Oscars. In the video game world, certain big titles have faced delays like The Last of Us Part 2.
It is not ideal that events have now turned into virtual experimentation, but an achievement like “Blockeley University” serves as a means of celebration. In a difficult time, it is the ingenuity of many that continue to help many proceed in an unusual time. Of course this usage of Minecraft comes just shy of the release of the impending Minecraft Dungeons, the next venture in the Minecraft franchise. While Minecraft Dungeons isn’t going to be holding commencements, for many it might be the dungeon crawling romp players need.
Minecraft is available for PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and various legacy devices.
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Source: UC Berkeley
