Minecraft Adventure Update launched

Gamers now have more ways than ever to lose themselves in Mojang's indie gaming phenomenon Minecraft. The developer today launched version 1.8 of the game, "The Adventure Update," with an array of requested and anticipated new features.

Among the changes found in the patch notes are randomly generated houses, ravines, and dungeons, experience orb drops from monsters, silverfish, cave spiders, Endermen mobs, critical hits, and sprinting. Also, pigs have snouts now.

Minecraft--still in beta--has been in development since 2009. However, that unfinished state hasn't prevented the game from garnering acclaims, such as claiming the Seumas McNally Grand Prize at the 2011 Game Developers Conference Indie Fest.

Currently available only on the PC and Mac, Minecraft is headed to the Xbox 360 this winter with Kinect support via 4J Studios. That company was responsible for the Xbox Live Arcade games Perfect Dark, Banjo-Kazooie, and Banjo-Tooie. Minecraft is also scheduled to arrive on mobile devices. It has also spawned its own convention, MineCon, set to take place in Las Vegas November 18-19 and timed to match the game's official release.