Minecraft Classified as an Adult Game in South Korea

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The highly-popular Minecraft game is known for being a number of things. Among them it's kid-friendly graphics. But according to an article written by PC Gamer's Mollie Taylor, it's been labeled as an adults-only game in South Korea. 

Why designate the child-friendly game as for those 18 and over only? The Republic of Korea has a law banning minors 16 and under from playing games between Midnight and 6AM local time. Instead of going through the expense and hassle of developing an installing a method to keep those gamers in the country from playing their games those hours, Microsoft opted to just limit playing the game there to adults 19 years and older. 

At first the law didn't affect gameplay as Mojang accounts don't need age verification. But that changed in December 2020 as gamers there would need an Xbox Live account to access the game, and in March came a warning that anyone in the country wishing to get the game would need to be 18 or older. The result has been the game having a split age-rating in the country, officially labeled as 12 and up but thanks to Xbox is de-facto limited to those 18 and over. Naturally, the situation has gotten many in South Korea upset, "Korea will become [the only game market] where even Minecraft is reduced to an adult game."

When contacted by PC Gamer, Microsoft responded, "We’re working on a longer term solution for existing and new players under the age of 19 in South Korea and will have more to share on this later this year."

Source: PC Gamer
 

Toys 4 Tots Kiosk at Furry Fashion

Furry Fashion is getting into the Christmas spirit a little early. At a recent event, I heard one of their staff go, "I would like to announce something if I may. This year we are taking donations to help out Toys 4 Tots. there is an area that you can donate L$ right outside of the lounge."

Toys 4 Tots is a fairly well known charity in the United States, "The objectives of Toys for Tots are to help less fortunate children throughout the United States experience the joy of Christmas; to play an active role in the development of one of our nation’s most valuable resources – our children; to unite all members of local communities in a common cause for three months each year during the annual toy collection and distribution campaign; and to contribute to better communities in the future."

You can find the Toys 4 Tots kiosk at Furry (159, 200, 113) The Lindens will be donated to the charity on Dec. 24th

For more information about Toys for Tots, check out their website at http://toysfortots.org/ .

Wonder Egg Hunt

Gemma Cleansalte recently attended a Relay for Life event by the Fighting Sunflowers team. Taking place in an "Alice in Wonderland" themed area, kid and grown avatars alike took part in a hunt for Easter Eggs. And unlike the story, the Red Queen didn't go after anyone's head.

Read Gemma's story in Events.

SL Video: "The Blake Sea Triangle"

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From Gib Niekerk, "A Second Life adventure through the Blake Sea. Watch out for pirates, they are unkind."

Reader Submitted: Camp HardKnock Summer 2013

Longtime readers may remember Mindy, one of the Steelhead Estates younger residents. The adopted daughter of Fuzzball and Eugine Ortega, she went to Camp Hardknock while the adults were busy getting ready for the Relay For Life. While there, Mindy took a pictures, and send a few to the Newser.

 What's summer camp without getting some fireflies.

Mindy with a shy friend at the camp theater.

The archery range. Mindy says she was able to get one bulls-eye.

And where there are kids at camp, there are pranks. The one Mindy was most proud of, when she and the girls painted a pink panther paw on the side of the boy's cabin. She says it was a week before they discovered it.

That's it with Mindy's pictures. What's next for the little rascal? We'll soon see.

SL Video: "The SL Goonies Expedition Short "

From Estelle Pienaa, "I shot the scenes during an adventure of the Second Life group "The Goonies" on 31/08/2012. We visited two destionations that day and the material is from the last 30 minutes of our trip (maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Beguile/220/148/20). I shot the video in order to show how immersive Second Life can be. Hopefully you can grasp how I feel like really being in a fantasy world with other people. Funnily enough my own enjoyment of the tour was reduced because I could not participate in the chat with the other players - I had to concentrate on shooting the imagery."

Camp Hardknock

Gemma Cleanslate recently found out about about what some kid avatar fans regard as their best time in Second Life: Camp Hardknock. Heading over, what she saw was a place with a wide range of experiences for the kids. The place is guided by the counselors of course, of which doing thing behind their back is a favorite pasttime. Gemma took an in-depth look at the place, and the fun the SL kids had.

Read Gemma's article in Places.

The "SL Goonies Visit Burn 2"

Gemma found out about this Youtube done by Loki Eliot,"The SL Goonies once again set out to explore the annual Virtual World version of Burning life 'Burn2' . We explore some of the many builds before finishing at the Kids Camp where we watch the Mini Man burn."

My Little Brony

Xymbers Slade does some "horsing around." As he checks out "Bronyland," a sim for fans of the "Brony" avatars, modeled after the "My Little Pony" dolls. He takes a brief look at the avatar, and has an interview with sim owner Twinkie Swizzle about the overly-cute pony avs and how they caught on.


Read more in People.

Goonies Escapades

Gemma Cleanslate was recently contacted by one of the Second Life kids, and invited to take another look at Goonies Island. The place has been updated, and renamed Escapades. Here, one can find new sights, and new adventures.

Read about Goonies Escapades in Places.

Why I Became a Child Avatar by Pygar Bu

Gemma Cleanslate's series on the Kids of Second Life comes to a close with our fifth and final story. Pygar Bu, a twelve year old angel, describes how he came to Second Life, a little on what he does here, and why he'll never grow up.

Read Pygar's story in People.

And so our look at the Kids' Community comes to a close. We hope this has been entertaining and informative. If a reader has a suggestion on another group of people whom to write about, please, drop us a line.

Why I Too Became a Child Avatar

Our series on the Kids of Second Life by Gemma Cleanslate reaches Part Four. Everest Piek describes how he came to Second Life, and some of his journey along the way, from his friends to his in-world family. And he talks about some of the projects he's gotten involved with.

Read the story in People.

Why I became a Child Avatar

In part three of our series on the Kids of Second Life by Gemma Cleanslate, we have a few words with Patty Wylie. "Lil' Patty" describes a little about her life as a child here, a little on how she came to be one, and a little on what keeps her coming back.

Read the story in People.

Sage Kostenbaum

In Part Two of Gemma Cleanslate's series on the Kid avatars of Second Life, we look at Sage Kostenbaum. Sage explains how she found out about child avatars and why she became one.

Read the story in People.

Have You Ever Wondered? The Kids of Second Life

Those who have followed my articles on SL Kids (adults role-playing kids in SL) know I am a great fan of all the kids. I first saw the talents they were sharing at the SL5B. I met some then and wondered why would they would want to be kids. That is when I began to talk to them and visited the sims of various kid places and wrote about them. I got it, I understand it.

I have a hard time with those who do not understand their desire to be kids in Second Life. Oh, I know it can be annoying sometimes to some to encounter one in an odd place and hear the cutesy stuff, but maybe if you play along you will understand. I would like you to hear from some of them their reasons for opting to be a kid. Maybe it will explain it to your mind and your heart. I have asked some kids to share their stories with you so that maybe you will get it too.

The paper will be printing them every day in People section beginning today. My thanks to Marianne McCann for helping with this project. (she has the best fireworks I have ever seen in SL and is a great kid!)

Read and learn about Marianne in People

Childhood in SL - A Visit to the SL Kids SL7B Exhibit

Among the exhibits that stand out in SL7B is the SL Kids place, "Unexpected Childhoods." The kid avatars in Second Life occasionally raise eyebrows, due to people wondering why would someone grown want to experience the Metaverse as a child? Our reporter Gemma Cleanslate takes a look at the exhibit, and the avatars behind it.

Read the story in People.