{"id":99929,"date":"2019-09-09T20:05:37","date_gmt":"2019-09-09T20:05:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.microsoft.com\/?p=434295"},"modified":"2019-09-09T20:05:37","modified_gmt":"2019-09-09T20:05:37","slug":"recreating-maori-ancestral-world-with-minecraft-education-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2019\/09\/09\/recreating-maori-ancestral-world-with-minecraft-education-edition\/","title":{"rendered":"Recreating M\u0101ori ancestral world with \u2018Minecraft: Education Edition\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Whetu <\/span>Paitai<\/span>\u2019s<\/span> always been good at building.<\/span> In fact, he <\/span>might still be <\/span>a <\/span>builder<\/span> in Australia<\/span> if it weren\u2019t for two things: a broken leg and a promise kept<\/span>. Thanks to <\/span>life\u2019s <\/span>strange <\/span>twists<\/span> he\u2019s <\/span>back <\/span>home in the<\/span> Coromandel<\/span>, <\/span>but instead of putting up houses, he\u2019s <\/span>re<\/span>constructing <\/span>the world of his <\/span>T\u012bpun<\/span>a<\/span> (ancestors).<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

The path was laid almost a decade ago, when Whetu was in hospital with a broken leg. A university lecturer in the same ward raved to him about Minecraft. When Whetu suggested his daughter try the game she was instantly hooked \u2013 and so was he. The pair bonded over their shared passion for creating digital worlds.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Fast forward a few years, and Whetu<\/span>,<\/span> now a father of four<\/span>,<\/span> often wished <\/span>his <\/span>tamariki<\/span> (<\/span>children<\/span>)<\/span> could connect with their culture by learning <\/span>to speak <\/span>te<\/span> reo<\/span> M\u0101ori, something he\u2019d never learned to do.<\/span> A promise to his wife <\/span>saw<\/span> them return to New Zealand and he\u2019s never looked back since. <\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Now Whetu has not only reconnected with his culture and heritage, immersing his children in <\/span>te<\/span> ao<\/span> M\u0101ori (the M\u0101ori world), he\u2019s found a new calling: designing games that introduce his culture to countless other children. His latest is a brand-new world built for Minecraft: Education Edition, Ng\u0101 Motu (The Islands), giving students a taste of what life was like in a traditional M\u0101ori <\/span>p\u0101<\/span> (fortified village). <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

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