- SpoilerMy primary task at the moment is to improve mobs (animals+monsters+npcs) to do that I first move them to a new AI platform. Once a mob has been moved it's really easy to add new behaviors without breaking existing ones. This is when the fun starts. What I find really interesting is emergent behaviors from only a few lines of code. For example the villager children playing tag or the dynamic when zombies break doors and villagers are fleeing in random directions. There is no overhead "invade village behavior" it's all a mixture of smaller reusable behavior modules. Another interesting aspect is the emotional relationship the player builds up with mobs. It's worse to see a villager child being eaten by a zombie than a grown, so you want to protect the little ones. Also I really like small subtle behaviors that doesn't necessarily add something concrete to the game but only atmosphere, like the new Iron Golem giving a rose to the children in a village.
- SpoilerYes, in the future we will definitely see more mob interactions, not only between the player and the mob but also between mobs, we want the world to feel alive and dynamic. In Minecraft you can basically build anything and I like the idea of having an adapting dynamic population as well. Next step might be some kind of trading with the villagers now that they are getting some life. So you have a good reason to keep them happy by protecting them from monsters. But Jens and I haven't really planned any details yet.
There are now a wide variety of diverse biomes, with the jungle being the most recent addition - and it has biome-specific life! Will there be any alterations going forward for certain biomes to be preferred homes for pigs, cows...even certain monsters?
Yes probably, nothing is planned but as we update mobs this is considered.
This won't have invincible children
