Mojang has announced that players will be able to strap on a pair of elytra and test their aeronautical skills in Minecraft Wii U Edition this week, introducing a new Mini Game called Glide.
This will see you soar and swoop around aerial tracks, whether that be using thermal drafts and speed boosters to beat the clock in Time Attack mode or hitting all the coloured hoops to rack up points in Score Attack. With shortcuts to discover, players can either fly solo or take on others online.
“Putting the Elytra in for the Console Edition Christmas update was the big driving force,” explains 4J Studios’ art director David Keningale, talking about how the idea for Glide came up.
“The cogs were already turning while we were building the elytra tutorial level. That said, we assumed it would be a ring-based flight course, like PilotWings. It was only as we were building the tracks that we realised just how much fun Time Trial was – and that inspired us to add more shortcuts in order to make it even more fun.”
The Mini Game will be expanded with new aerial tracks, with plans for free content – such as a Temple-inspired track – as well as that which will release as part of a Season Pass.
“The first DLC pack going out will be themed around beasts,” Keningale adds. “We have a kraken-themed level which takes inspiration from Battle’s Cove map. You burst out into a huge open area with two battling ships and a giant, giant kraken that you fly right up and over. It’s a really great experience.
“Then we have an exciting glacial track that uses the Ice Spikes biome as inspiration. We have lots of yetis running through the map and giant fossils for you to avoid and to fly through. And the final one uses the Chinese Mythology pack – you’ll be flying alongside dragons and around the fantastic, epic terrain of China!”
The Glide Mini Game will become available in Minecraft Wii U Edition this week.
