The BBC and Minecraft have teamed up again to announce a new collaboration between Mojang's phenomenally popular sandbox and the Beeb's snappily named BBC Studios Natural History Unit. The partnership is based on Planet Earth 3, the latest in David Attenborough's long line of nature documentaries that showcase the beauty and complexity of Earth's ecosystems and the threats they face from, well, us. [It features landscapes and animals based on Attenborough's series that aired in the UK last October. Play as incredible creatures such as great white sharks, polar wolves, and leopard lizard monkeys as they "experience the struggles and triumphs of survival.

Putting aside for a moment how sonically pleasant the words "leopard lady" are, this new mode can be found in the Minecraft Marketplace for both the Bedrock and Education versions of the game. Once you get it, you can "choose a biome of your choice, study the wildlife in that biome, and participate in activities tailored to that biome. By "alternating between the perspectives of different animals, students develop empathy and a deeper understanding of ecological balance.

Minecraft, a survival game that is phenomenally popular with children, is uniquely suited to tell this kind of educational story. Reminiscent of the Discovery mode of "Assassin's Creed," which teaches about life in ancient Greece and Egypt, it is genuinely very cool and confirms my worst fears that I may have completely transformed into the hot-headed teacher I rolled my eyes at as a kid.

Minecraft and the BBC have collaborated on projects like this before: the Planet Earth 3 Minecraft World, centered around "Frozen Planet 2," where you can walk around the block as a killer whale, polar bear, or bumblebee It follows very closely the precedent of the previous collaboration between "Minecraft" and the BBC. None of them were as much fun as the leopard.