Autcraft

Last updated

Autcraft
Autcraft Logo.png
Type of site
 Minecraft server
Founder(s) Stuart Duncan
URL www.autcraft.com OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Users 18,000 as of January 2025 (unique players) [1]
Launched2013 (2013)

Autcraft is a Minecraft server dedicated to be a safe haven for children who have a diagnosis of autism. [2]

Contents

History

Founded in 2013, Autcraft was the first Minecraft server created with autism in mind. It was founded by Stuart Duncan, a web developer in Timmins, Canada whose son is diagnosed with autism, and is known in-game as AutismFather. [3] [4] Autcraft was created so such children could play their favourite game with others without facing the threat of bullying and discrimination. [5] [6] Autcraft is administrated by adults with and without mental conditions as well as their friends or family. [7] [8] As of January 2025, the server has over 18,000 whitelisted players. [1]

When asked about the server, Duncan stated, "We just let them know that they're not alone... We're here for each other and will support each other for as long as need be... We all know how terrible it can feel sometimes and none of us want the others to feel that same way." [7]

Autcraft was the subject of a 2015 conference paper by Ringland et al. in which empirical data was gathered from a digital ethnography of the server to explore how parents of autistic children continually create a "safe" virtual world through both implicit and explicit means. [9]

Gameplay

Autcraft's gameplay is mostly similar to vanilla (unmodded) Minecraft, however offers a variety of server plugins to facilitate moderation, prevent griefing (unauthorized destruction of another player's builds or items) or add custom crafting recipes. It also offers Player Of The Week (POTW) events, in which an outstanding player is selected as the POTW in an event, as well as Wither Fights, where players must fight waves of both normal enemies and significantly stronger custom bosses collaboratively. Oftentimes these bosses will drop rare, sought after items, such as armor that gives you a permanent beneficial effect, or simply a trophy.

References

  1. 1 2 Duncan, Stewart (10 January 2025). "Autcraft passed 18,000 names on the list of approved players!". www.autcraft.com. Archived from the original on 21 January 2025. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  2. ↑ Boddy, Zachary (10 September 2020). "Learn about Autcraft, a Minecraft server built for players with autism". Windows Central. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  3. ↑ Winkie, Luke (26 March 2020). "Meet the dad who quit his job to run a Minecraft server for autistic kids". PC Gamer . Archived from the original on 7 September 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  4. ↑ Rutkin, Aviva (27 April 2016). "How Minecraft is helping children with autism make new friends". New Scientist . Archived from the original on 29 April 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  5. ↑ Warzel, Charlie. "This 'Minecraft' Community Is Saving The Lives Of Children With Autism". Tech. BuzzFeed News . Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  6. ↑ Beck, Kellen (25 May 2017). "'Minecraft' players on the autism spectrum find a safe space on the Autcraft server". Mashable . Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  7. 1 2 "Stuart Duncan's Autcraft: crafting a playspace for children with autism". Royal College of Psychiatrists. 26 March 2018. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  8. ↑ Thorbeke, Catherine. "Single father creates a safe haven for children with autism to play together online". ABC News . Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  9. ↑ Ringland, Kathryn E.; Wolf, Christine T.; Dombrowski, Lynn; Hayes, Gillian R. (28 February 2015). "Making "Safe": Community-Centered Practices in a Virtual World Dedicated to Children with Autism". Proceedings of the 18th ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing. Vancouver BC Canada: ACM. pp. 1788–1800. doi:10.1145/2675133.2675216. ISBN   978-1-4503-2922-4. S2CID   5858849. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.


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