Verizon has created a working smartphone within the video game Minecraft and they partnered with YouTube stars CaptainSparklez and SethBling to demonstrate their new technology.
Minecraft players now have the power to cross over into the real world. Verizon recently announced on its Github blog that it has partnered the creative team at BlockWorks to introduce web-enabled features in the game world of Minecraft. Basically, players have the ability to build a virtual cell tower and smartphone to place calls to the real world.
Players now have the ability to video call, text, and web browse all in real time. The video call function allows players to use their in-game phone, send and receive video calls. In the game, you’ll see your friends’ faces translated into Minecraft blocks. On the other end of the call, you’ll be able to see the player’s avatar moving around. This unique technology provides players the ability to Text/MMS. A player can take a selfie by creating a selfie stick by combining their in-game phone with a stick. By swinging the stick, they can take a selfie and send it to a real-world phone via MMS. The web-browsing feature connects players directly to the Internet and translates real web pages into Minecraft blocks.
