It’s weird to think that Minecraft is over ten years old now. Even weirder to think about how I started playing the game about six or seven years ago. Up until that point, the only games I had played on the computer were flash games on websites such as Newgrounds or Friv. I have many fond memories of eating lunch as quickly as possible and then racing my friends back to the classroom, just so we could play Fireboy and Watergirl together. So, when my friend ran up and showed me the game, I was immediately hooked.
I spent several months just repeatedly playing the demo version of the game, as I didn’t have any way of purchasing the account myself (after all, I didn’t have a debit card or anything at the time). Eventually, I sidled up to my parents around Christmas time and showed them the demo of the game, expressing my interest in a way that was hardly subtle. I’m relatively sure my parents did a full look into it but on Christmas Day, my dad built the word “Minecraft” out of Lego’s and put it under the tree for me, though it did take me a minute to figure out what it meant (because come on, whose brain works at 7:30 in the morning).
Roughly three years of my life were spent playing Minecraft in my spare time, from playing online with new friends that I’d made or just messing around in survival. I found YouTubers who had a dedicated following for their Minecraft content, and I joined a community that although I am no longer a part of it, still had a big impact on me. In fact, some of my closest friends came from those communities and my online pseudo name harkens back to those times (looking at you RC crew).
At the time, I wasn’t sure why the game appealed to me so much. Sure, it was kind of like “living Lego” and as a kid, I loved building and creating my own structures – to this day we still have a box of Lego in the house. However, now that I’m older and wiser (probably), I can see all too clearly why the game became such a refuge for me. It made sense. It had rules. There were specific ways to craft the items you needed, a process to follow to achieve your goals. The real world didn’t have that.
We all fear that we will make the wrong choices in life. That the words we choose to express ourselves aren’t the right ones, that our decisions will always hurt someone no matter how hard we try not to. For some of us, this manifests in conditions such as anxiety. For as long as I can remember, the sheer volume of information and potential outcomes of situations has overwhelmed me. I’m terrified of missing a key piece of information, of selecting the wrong path.
So, a game where I control each aspect of the world, from the structures I create to the tools that I craft, is calming. I always know what the outcome will be, there are no unknowns to fear. No matter what enemy I come across or new environment they add, there are set rules and algorithms that I can follow to ensure my success.
I know that concept must be confusing to some people but I’m also aware, that a few of you reading this can relate. Most of you probably think this rule bound and mathematical approach is taking the fun out of a lot of what makes Minecraft special, but it adds to it. Think about it. At our core, we are simply made up of atoms. These atoms combine to form elements, which are the building blocks of the universe. Everything we see in the world around us, is built from these simple particles, following the specific rules of creation.
The insane creativity of the community is what I believe has kept this game so popular, for so long. From designing your own texture packs to insane mods to custom made adventure maps, the game provides players with all the tools to basically reinvent the world. I remember spending countless hours building the perfect home from scratch in the game, collecting every resource possible and perfecting my simple abode with my limited artistic repertoire. Meanwhile, you look around and see scale models of Buckingham Palace; working recreations of games such as Space Invaders and even the game being used to teach kids how to code.
Even if the game isn’t your cup of tea, you can’t deny the impact that it has had on the world. Sure, the creator is… problematic to say the least, but the reach of the small sandbox game he released ten years ago, is phenomenal. People use it to test machine learning algorithms, to teach economics, to learn about programming, to encourage people to go into architecture and more. When I was a kid, Lego was my main form of creativity and I adored it. Sure, Lego is still massively popular today, but it feels that Minecraft is the right step for kids to move onto to encourage their self-improvement when they feel they are “too old” for Lego. (Spoiler Alert: You’re never too old for Lego)
Apologies that this piece seemed a bit more scatter-brained than usual, I’ve just finished exam season myself and there is a lot going on personally. Plus, this idea came to me at 3AM the other day so it’s slightly hard to format thoughts when you’re having a staring contest with the seagull outside your window (Cardiff problems). I’d love to write more pieces about the game’s you guys know and love, so leave your suggestions in the comments!
Much love,
CaitlinRC.