Hilary Giorgi

Minecraft Unveils Revised Design for Armadillo Mob After Community Feedback

Mojang has excited the Minecraft enthusiast community by announcing a design modification for the much-anticipated armadillo mob. This adjustment comes as a response to player input concerning the creature's aesthetics during recent game tests.

Ever since its introduction leading up to Minecraft Live 2023, the armadillo has been surrounded by enthusiasm, especially after emerging as the top choice in the game's mob vote, outshining contenders such as the penguin and crab. The mob's charming blocky shape was particularly well-received. However, when Mojang integrated the armadillo into gameplay testing, testers noticed that the placement of the creature's eyes had shifted from the sides to the front of its face.

The community's reaction to the initial snapshot, preview, and beta featuring the armadillo was immediate. Numerous players expressed their distaste for the altered eye positioning on online platforms, even going as far as rallying for a redesign. Heeding these concerns, Mojang used a Twitter post to convey their plans to debut a redesigned version of the armadillo in 2024. They acknowledged the importance of community feedback as the driving force behind this decision and promised to incorporate the updated look in subsequent snapshots and betas. A preview image was shared alongside the announcement, depicting the armadillo with its eyes restored to the lateral position.

The announcement of the armadillo's revised look has been met with widespread approval; Mojang's Twitter update has already garnered over 13,000 likes. Enthusiasm spilled over to Reddit as well, where fans discussed why the adjusted eye placement was more fitting. A notable point raised by some commenters was that front-facing eyes are characteristic of predatory animals, which don't align with the armadillo's passive nature. Others simply felt that the side-placed eyes enhanced the mob's endearing quality.

In addition to the armadillo's design, there is chatter within the community calling for tweaks to related in-game content. The design of wolf armor, which players craft using scutes from armadillos, has been under some scrutiny. Players have particularly criticized the positioning of the knee pads, suggesting that they appear misaligned. Considering that the introduction of wolf armor played a role in the armadillo's popularity in the mob vote, there's an expectation for its design to be equally engaging.

As Mojang prepares for more game testing, the exact date for implementing the new armadillo design remains unclear. Whether the feedback will lead the developers to update the wolf armor design is also an open question. Yet, the rapid turnaround on community-driven changes to the armadillo suggests Mojang might be willing to tweak game content further based on player input.