It started in the 1970’s, the first home console game was released by the Atari company

along with a game that would revolutionize the way leisure time is used. Pong, a simple game

multiplayer game where two players compete in a tennis like match to have a digital ball cross

off the screen on the opponent’s side using rectangles to bounce the ball back and forth. Its

popularity soared, sending shockwaves through the entertainment industry with 150,000 + units

sold according to David Ellis [ CITATION Ell04 \l 1033 ]. It was clear that home console games

could succeed, especially those which multiple player games. Unlike consumers back in the 70’s

who had essentially just Pong to choose from, consumers now are faced with a plethora of

franchises to choose from. Just to name a few franchises there are Halo, Call of Duty, Minecraft,

Rocket League, Fortnite, Mario Kart 8, Fall Guys, and many more. For many casual gamers

thinking about modern multiplayer games two titans come to mind: Minecraft and Mario Kart

(specifically the latest iteration Mario Kart 8 and its Nintendo Switch port Mario Kart 8 Deluxe).

Tom Warren of The Verge, an American technology news website operated by Vox media,

found that Minecraft is the best-selling game of all time with over 200 million copies sold

[ CITATION War20 \l 1033 ]. While Mario Kart 8 / Deluxe (MK8DX) stands at 12th place of all-

time copies sold with 35,190,000 games shipped according to Nintendo [ CITATION Nin20 \l

1033 ]. The question becomes, why are two immensely popular games vary by almost 165

million copies distributed? Well, Minecraft boasts many features and accomplishments that

MK8DX simply cannot achieve like a relaxed tone that encourages gamers to play it any time of

the day, a Ludacris amount of customization, and ability to play it with friends cross-platform.
 Music is everywhere, in our cars, radios, homes, and minds. It can define a moment and

set the moments tone. Working out? Listen to upbeat techno. Sporting event? How about a sing-

along like Sweet Caroline by Neal Diamond or Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey. Fancy Dining?

Classical music is the way to go. As seen certain genres of music apply to different activities,

and the reason behind this is that tempo of the music correlates with heart rate [ CITATION

Fær \l 1033 ]. Logically, a song with rapid tempo would correspond with an increased heartrate,

therefore validating the choice of techno music during a workout and the subsequent choices as

well. For video games then, the choice of music is important because it dictates the mood of the

player. The implicit tone set by a games musical scores is a method used by the games

developers to shift the player into a world of their own.

Our two games, Minecraft and MK8DX, both have phenomenal soundtracks that are

instantly recognizable. There is a stark difference in the style and tempo of these games.

Minecraft is an infinite game; the players world is generated so large that it would be impractical

to even think about reaching the limits. With such a massive scope the player is reminded how

small they are in the game. As such, Minecraft takes a calmer approach to its music with soft,

eloquent, piano keys synthesized using sound editing software to create ambient sounds that

embody how empty and vast Minecraft is. MK8DX is the opposite as a fast-paced racing game

necessitates a high tempo soundtrack. High tempo results in an elevated heart rate. Jeremy Hsu,

who graduated with a master’s degree from NYU’s Science, Health and Environmental

Reporting Program, writes that “Experts consider a flight or fight heart rate of 115 to 140 beats

per minute optimal for sustaining rapid, coherent thinking and quick reactions.” [ CITATION

Hsu07 \l 1033 ]. Accordingly, Nintendo’s goal is to get players “pumped up” to that optimal

heart rate of 115 to 140 to become immersed in the action. One method they use to accomplish
this is in the third and final lap of a race the music is sped up. In doing so, a sense of urgency is

created. Pushing the player to thinking solely about the finish line, despite utter chaos in the

game around them. These two styles of musical composition perfectly fit their game, however,

not everyone wants to always play an action game. Likewise, they may not be in the mood to

play a relaxing game. Although, a slower-paced game is more likely to be played at any time of

the day because you do not have to change your mood. More specifically, heart rate is generally

below the 115 BPM threshold and a player would not have to exert any extra energy if they were

playing a slower-paced game such as Minecraft.

Developers know that if a player can make an emotional attachment to a game, they are

more likely to have longer sessions, enjoy the game, and come back after a hiatus. Video games

often insert mechanics to make the game feel more personal to the user. Whether it be through

detailed storytelling, game achievements, or allowing the player to change the game. Minecraft is

king when it comes to this aspect of game development, no other game is even near its level.

Minecraft is designed as a sandbox game, meaning the player is given a set of tools, and an open

world to build, craft, and change to their hearts content. Mojang (the development studio which

created Minecraft) went with the sandbox game design because players see how far they have

come since the creating of their world. Nothing beats finding that little dirt shack you built to

survive the first night while wielding a diamond sword. Events like finding old builds is the

emotional attachment Minecraft makes with a player. It shows someone the perspective of how

far they have traveled, and the progress completed.

Meanwhile, MK8DX takes a more traditional style of game with a rigid menu system that

allows you to access the games playable features (races). Leading to a different style of getting

someone drawn into the game. Instead of the player creating their own goals, the developers set
goals for the player to achieve which are primarily acquired by having a certain threshold of

coins gained from races. The achievements are not only cosmetic, they serve a purpose. MK8DX

allows users to customize their cart, one can become faster, handle better, or boost further

depending on cart composition. Nintendo decided to design the game in this way to compensate

for different playstyles and to introduce personalization, because as aforementioned, having

something customizable by the player in a game gets said player attached to the game.

Comparing the two games, Minecraft’s execution of customization and personalization is far

ahead of MK8DX’s for the simple reason that a player can create anything their imagination

creates. In MK8DX you can only change the kart, and some of the settings like speed of the race,

or items gained from item boxes. If one were to assert that MK8DX has superior customization

mechanics over Minecraft it would be like saying a Nokia flip phone is more customizable than

an iPhone.

Finally, multiplayer is a core aspect of modern games because it allows people to

compete against other skilled players, and not computer-controlled characters whose actions are

determined by algorithms. Furthermore, multiplayer permits a variety of game modes like Battle

Royale, Capture the Flag, or Elimination that are often omitted from single player games. To

summarize, multiplayer games introduce a crucial social aspect that single player games simply

cannot provide. Luckily both Minecraft and MK8DX have multiplayer capabilities, but which

game has the better multiplayer capabilities?

Starting with Minecraft, the game Minecraft itself has multiplayer functionality except

you cannot do anything with it. To gain functionality, it is necessary to log into a player created

server. Mojang designed the game this way in order ensure a player could truly do whatever they

wanted, outside the scope of regular Minecraft. Making it so players must create their own server
means players can create separate worlds and alter them without infringing on another’s. You

can play paintball, horror games, capture the flag, or even just do plain survival with friends. If

you don’t have anyone to play with, no problem! Data from krashnz, a website showing player

count data of the Hypixel server, shows that the server routinely has over 60,000 players at any

given moment during the day with an all-time peak of 115,223 players [ CITATION kra20 \l

1033 ]. On the other hand, MK8DX again takes a classical approach to multiplayer gameplay.

Players can either create their own lobby/ruleset and invite their friends or join a public online

lobby with random people and preset rules. Nintendo chooses this approach because, why would

they change what isn’t broken. It is a proven system that players, both competitive and casual,

enjoy. When put up against Minecraft’s multiplayer options, MK8DX pales in comparison.

Minecraft is excellent when it comes to variety within multiplayer, in fact you can even play

racing games like MK8DX in Minecraft.

If not apparent by now, there is a common theme between the two games when

compared. That is, Minecraft is designed to give power to the people where they create. While

MK8DX has players play a created game. Minecraft’s game design is better because its

customization allows gamers to personalize their world to their liking, interact with other players

through servers with tens of thousands of players. All with that soothing soundtrack in the

background. MK8DX is limited by its design, players can only race each other or compete in

battle game modes. Now, this is not to insist that MK8DX is not an exceptionally fun and

exhilarating game. If the game were not fun, it would not have the 12th most copies sold out of

any video game of all-time. Simply put, MK8DX just does not have the capacity and replay

value that Minecraft does.

Words: 1642
Works Cited

Ellis, D. (2004). The official price guide to classic video games: console, arcade, and handheld

games. New York: New York: House Of Collectibles.

Færøvik, U. H. (2017). Music and heart rate. Physiological effects from listening to music in

different tempos (Master's thesis, The University of Bergen), 83.

Hsu, J. (2007, June 11). Does elevating your heart rate during exercise have the same effect on

you as a fight or flight response?

krashnz. (2020, October 6). krashnz. Retrieved from krashnz: https://hypixel.krashnz.com/

Nintendo. (2020, March 31). Sales Data - Top Selling Title Sales Units. Retrieved from

Nintendo: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/finance/software/wiiu.html

Warren, T. (2020, May 18). Minecraft still incredibly popoular as sales top 200 million and 126

million play monthly. The Verge, p. 1.