Minecraft: Pocket Edition landed on iOS weeks ago with a $6.99 price tag and barebones gameplay that mirrors the creative mode from its parent sibling. Minecraft fans will have no qualms in having a small playground to explore and construct buildings in, but the mobile version (designated as an alpha) does leave something to be desired. While building with a preset list of block choices is fun, there’s virtually no want to explore (especially since you can’t construct any tools), and the Pocket Edition leaves some in-game elements from the desktop version such as coal and gravel (that you can’t mine) which can be found on mountains. This might leave you to believe that the iOS and Android versions will eventually grow into the same game that’s finally reached 1.0 status as of Minecon. While it’s true that the mobile version will eventually get a survival mode, it won’t necessarily mirror the expansive world generation and gameplay that the desktop game provides.

Daniel Kaplan for Mojang writes,

The plan now is to start digging into making Minecraft – Pocket Edition with Survival features!! Please note that we will NOT replicate Minecraft and try to bring all the features that are already out. This is not possible and does not match the touch platform. I’m trying to be as detailed as possible to show you why some stuff may take some time.

This is what the plan looks like right now and being worked on:

• A new file system – to make sure we can support items and mobs in the world
• Item system – to be able to pick up items
• Crafting – we know you want this. This will probably need some iterations since the interface will be customized for the touch devices
• Inventory system
• Mobs – animals and enemies!
• Optimizing rendering code – we are experimenting with caves but need to make it work better before we are able to release it
• Clean up of code and overall optimization

These updates will take time: Minecraft has to be optimized for mobile devices, and the current controls are only good enough to get by for what the game currently implements. Just like with early Minecraft, you’ll have the opportunity to watch it grow into a product that’ll have a lot more interaction than its predecessors. Even if the Pocket Edition could only match the early Minecraft beta days, that’s what I remember best, and it would be a nostalgic blast from the past.

[Mojang via Cult of Mac]