What’s the Deal With Minecraft? Or: Minecraft’s Subtle Message
By Jared Newman
MINECRAFT REVIEW, BLACK OPS TIPS - You might say that Minecraft hit the big time today. Featured in a Penny Arcade comic — amusing even if you haven’t played the game — developer Mojang Specifications will surely reap thousands of new sales, despite the game’s alpha status and $9 price tag.
I’m fortunate enough to have been in on the joke — I use that term intentionally, and I’ll explain later — for a couple months now. I’ve dabbled in mashing mountains, cutting down trees and slaughtering a variety of fauna, all in service of building man-made structures in an otherwise pristine natural environment.
There is no explicit point to Minecraft. The game sets you free in a randomly generated world of stone, sand, water, grass and trees. This forms the raw material for towers, tools, weapons, armor and food. You don’t need any of this stuff. The game will let you survive with nothing, provided you can avoid the threatening creatures that come out when the sun goes down.
Inevitably, you will build, not because you have to, but because you can. Heck, for $9, it’s your right to start plowing into the landscape. My particular idea, early on, was to hack up a sprawling network of islands and create a massive sand tower. It is, I think, a beautiful structure, with windows to let the light in and little lookouts on the top of each corner. When it was finished, some five hours after I started, I scrambled to the top and admired the view, looking past the nearby islands I’d flattened.
Then, I started thinking of what to build next, along with which animals I’d have to kill and how many countrysides I’d have to destroy. That’s about when I stopped playing Minecraft.
I’m not self-righteous enough to say that my interest in Minecraft waned because of some moral conflict. This is, after all, a video game, and I’ve done far worse on other virtual playgrounds. But I did get the joke, which is to say I completed the game.
Minecraft is a commentary on human behavior. It puts you in a sandbox with unlimited power and one condition: To create anything, you must destroy something else. It’s a lesson on natural resources, which might seem painfully obvious if so many other games didn’t stuff players with unlimited ammo and health-restoring chicken hidden in trash cans. It is a beautiful model of humanity’s need to destroy and rebuild.
That message is never forced on the player. It’s implied in the system Minecraft creates. And when the revelation strikes, as you’re digging into another mountain, chopping down another tree, butchering another cow, the joke’s on you.
Friday, September 17, 2010 10:48AM
Nail on the head.
As the hundredth day dawned to that melancholy music and I overlooked a sprawling city I'd built, I came to similar conclusions.
While Notch will be able to infinitely expand upon the brilliant premise, it really isn't much more than building sandcastles that the inevitable beta and future updates will decimate like the incoming tide on the beach.
Friday, September 17, 2010 7:07PM
I think you're reading into it too much and at the same time being too simplistic. It's certainly not some elaborate joke for the wise few to 'get'. It's a brilliantly addictive game, still in alpha – ie it's not finished. And while most games simply tap into our capacity to destroy, it instead focuses on our capacity to create – or transform.
You probably just played too long and feel a bit jaded
Friday, September 17, 2010 8:02PM
If that really is the point that Notch is driving at, wouldn't creating an infinite world work against it? It's hard for me to feel guilty about tearing apart trees with my bare hands when I know that the world contains an infinite number of trees.
Sunday, September 19, 2010 8:51PM
I usually quit playing games because I get bored or find something else. That wouldn't make an interesting article, though. Perhaps I should say that I stopped playing DOOM because I finally understood that it was a commentary on the tendency of modern man to go it alone and push away all support. (The flaming skulls and relentless demons represent unwanted help!) Winning in the "get to the end" sense meant defeat in that context. Once I got the implied context, I decided to go on to other games.
Hey! It works!
Sunday, September 19, 2010 10:32PM
Yeah, except trees regrow in an hour and new cows pop up every few minutes.
Are you high or just incredibly stupid?
Monday, September 20, 2010 11:07AM
You can replant trees and remake an infinite amount of cobblestone. you don't have to destroy anything. I suggest to the author that he perhaps spend a little more time on research or actually playing the game before jumping to silly conclusions like this. The only commentary here is on the behavior of the author, someone who doesn't have the heart or wit to break out of their destructive behavior and learn how to repair their messes.
Monday, September 20, 2010 11:07AM
considering that the generator makes a world that is 8 times the surface area of the earth, most people havent even dented the amounts of resources available in the game.
i disagree with you statement, you seem to be a little bit naive. Yes it is a sandbox game, right now, will it always be simply a sandbox game, unlikely.
Monday, September 20, 2010 4:13PM
I think you've got it exactly the wrong way. A Minecraft player isn't destroying anything, nor can he unless he leaves stuff on the floor or dumps it in lava. What is happening is a rearranging. Every cobblestone block you ever put down had to come from somewhere. Every unit of sand or dirt or even metal was once something else, so what's happening is bringing order out of nearly infinite chaos. It's about creating peace and safety in a world inherently out for your blood. These maps are unimaginably gigantic, and yet we sit there and make a space for ourselves despite our little towers and cottages being less than a particle in the functionally infinite space. It's a noble endeavor, really.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010 12:04AM
Indeed, to go along with what Kishmond is talking about, you can think about this as a reduction of system-wide entropy in your favor. Regardless of what you're doing, almost everything regenerates itself in some way (except for precious ores, I'd imagine). You live in a system that never really ever runs out of things, since you can always backtrack most of your creations into its base elements and re-structure it elsewhere.
The mechanics for farming and the current appearance of animals during the day-time (as opposed to a planned animal husbandry approach) suggests that the materials you use up to sustain yourself are quite minor compared to the largeness of the world. You're the only person there in Survival mode; the world can care for you, and you should feel fortunate that you can act out such plans creatively without any serious environmental backlash! Spray paint art without the emissions from spray cans, for example!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010 10:58AM
Well said.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010 12:55PM
You should totally use lava and make that a solid glass tower.
Saturday, September 25, 2010 12:43PM
I think the game would be a lot better if had randomly generated quests and some kind of competitive aspect to it or purpose to progressing further somehow. How about skills or experience levels? Maybe something more with the monsters that are destroying your buildings or just
something that gives you a reason to make a large structure other then just hey I spent 2 hours making this pointless building out of some blocks.
I think the game has a lot of potential, but as its implemented right now is just boring with no real goals or point to anything you make other then just entertain yourself. You could download gary mod for half life 2 and just build pointless things like this.
Monday, September 27, 2010 7:49AM
Who isn't going to think "Now What" when they're done with their vanity building in single-player? Everyone who has played the game for 15 minutes "gets" it the way you do.
The point of minecraft is your girlfriend saying you can't make fun of her for playing the sims anymore
Thursday, September 30, 2010 8:09PM
Dude you're basically arguing that suicide is morally obligatory. If you're still part of the biotic food-chain the joke's on you.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010 11:44AM
You should go around and plant trees instead!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010 11:53AM
I don't think this is the point Notch is driving at. I think the message emerges naturally, regardless of whether it was his intent or not.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010 12:13PM
Interesting take, but keep in mind that in our world we can't really destroy anything either (the amount of matter is always the same). Essentially, we have rearranged the world's materials into roads, cars, trains, planes, skyscrapers and so-on.
I understand that Minecraft offers infinite resources, but if you're working in a local area, your resources are finite. Should you want more diamonds or redstone, you'll have to expand your mining operation. To gather sand or dirt, you have to ruin the world's natural beauty.
I'm not saying Minecraft is not a fun or addictive game. It's wonderful, but I think playing it does provide an opportunity for reflection. Looks like a lot of folks here are offended by that suggestion.
Sunday, October 31, 2010 4:05PM
Okay, but if you use INVedit you'd be able to participate in the divine image and create ex nihilo.
Monday, November 8, 2010 4:21AM
I totally agree with this post. So simple yet so true. Will still consider buying the full game when it's out of beta though. I built a 16 layer solid pyramid, stood atop it and thought "So what?". Guys, look up GMOD on youtube, that looks interesting.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010 6:22AM
Even so, it's not really fair to refer to the game as a "joke" and to claim that "getting it" confers victory. That demeans the game, and a good deal of its players, as a whole by trivializing the experience and making it seem less like a game and more like an elaborate hoax on Notch's part.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010 6:26AM
Although that makes some sense, I think you're looking too deep. DOOM isn't really the sort of game that comes with a message, or a meaning, or any sort of hidden depth. It is simply a game, and it comes from a time period when the novelty of "Hey! I'm playing a game on my computer!" was good enough for most people to accept it hands down, not unlike the early days of cinema, which consisted of black-and-white silent movies with little plot or meaning.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010 6:35AM
Ah, but to plant trees you have to destroy the leaves of other trees!
Sunday, November 21, 2010 2:04PM
My son was ripped off. He paid and was never able to play the game…no support. I guess he learned a lesson about supporting indie game developers.
Monday, November 22, 2010 9:58PM
There is a support section on minecraft.net set up specifically for the reason you have just described. They actually habe a really good track record for resolving payment issues, your son will probably get his account repaired or recieve a free one.
Ive actually had way better support experiences from indie developers than from mainstream vendors, and in multiple cases even had direct contact with the developers. It definately beats buying at gamestop, where they just offer to buy the game back for store credit.
Anyway, to understand minecraft’s design, you really have to recognice how much it takes inspiration from dwarf fortress. The whole appeal behind DF is that you are able to survive your way through the toughest of conditions- notch wanted that same feeling, but at something a tad more acessible than DF (if you think first night in minecraft is alienatimg…)
Still, i think there is an undeniable sense of entropy in minecraft. Building the tools to mine, light areas, defend against monsters, and basically anything that is not solely for the sake of the players movement will theoretically drain the world of resources if they are endlessly carried out (stuff from the nether). But i think this is more to preserve the sense that it is you facing the elements, fighting the monsters and staying alive, not some rediculous machine that can protect you forever. If minecract just becake like gmod, than the point would just vanish since there would be no reason to survive. This is also why veteran players get so upset over hacking (although i personally think that yiu should just experience the game however you want – play and let play)
Anyway, once smp with health rolls around and enables pvp we’ll really start to see what possibilities there are.
Monday, November 29, 2010 5:44PM
Destroying and creating doesn’t make me disheartened. It’s realizing that the area I’m playing in is a virtual speck of dust compared to the comparable size the actual game world can get up to (up to 8x the surface area of the earth). You can spend so much time re-vamping an area, and then realize there is literally almost unlimited amounts of other area to do stuff with…so no matter how grandiose it is, your creation seems some how petty by comparison, and there’s a sinking feeling like you really haven’t “conqueried” much at all…just a tiny little sliver in a world that almost limitlessly huge and beyond any one person’s scope to do more with.
Friday, December 3, 2010 7:45AM
Yeeeeeeeeees…. because building a sand castle has really exausted the entire game ¬_¬
Thursday, December 30, 2010 12:56AM
for me it clicked when i was burning down a forest just because it was in the way
Wednesday, January 5, 2011 3:45AM
I don't buy the whole 'destroy' thing. It is such a banal part of the game that you never really get any satisfaction or sense of power out of it. Even killing the animals is hardly a hunting experience.
The creating part of the game however is quite addictive, and I think that's why folk like it.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011 2:09PM
Guys, guys… It's Legos, not an Al Gore campaign… Relax.
On another note, if you don't LIKE Legos, don't play this game for the same reasons that if you don't like sweaty men bearhugging each other you don't play NFL games.
Thursday, January 13, 2011 5:11PM
Double fucking rainbow all the way. Build and remodel, how pathetic are you if Minecraft makes you feel philosophical?
Sunday, January 16, 2011 7:00PM
i never played this game it looks fun
Tuesday, January 18, 2011 11:15AM
Looks like you finally learned about real life from the game then. Something has to be used in order to create something new. I dislike your term "destroyed" however…
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 12:09PM
Destroying one tree gets you enough saplings to plant about 12 more trees. Your argument is invalid.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 12:10PM
Or maybe he just didn't actually download the game?
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 12:11PM
If you REALLY wanted to spend resources, you'd want to use Sandstone, which is crafted from four blocks of sand.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 12:13PM
Technically, only Minecraft Classic is Legos. Beta is more like "'Robinson Crusoe' meets 'I Am Legend'".
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 12:14PM
Well, there are those hundreds of Dirt and Gravel blocks that you get from mining that you will inevitably throw out due to their impracticality and the fact that they waste inventory space…
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 12:20PM
I once burned down a forest by accident when I built a wall of Netherrack around my house and set it on fire, completely oblivious to the low-hanging branches nearby.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011 12:12PM
That's why I focus more on finding underground resources than on building massive castles, but I do have some plans to upgrade my current residence on Minecraft…
Saturday, January 29, 2011 2:15AM
Trees don't grow back. Sapplings have to be planted to grow into trees. Are you high or just incredibly stupid?
Also, the author of this review is clearing trying to find meaning where there is none. There is no hidden message or agenda. It's just a game… Fuckin' doomsayers.
Saturday, January 29, 2011 10:09AM
I'm guessing they're not environmentalists
I haven't played the game, but I think your take on this is interesting. Regardless, the way you put it to those who played it was to imply that they are recreating virtually what we are doing to the Earth every day as a civilization. That means they have internalized the belief that we have the right to do what we want with nature (regardless of the consequences), which they are uncomfortable confronting, which is why they are now angry with you.
Of course, we are all hypocrites on some level. I'm fiercly anti-war but enjoy blowing things up in a video game world.
One final thought. If everything DOES regenerate, they should make a version where it does not and you are capable of creating pollution and extincting species. Now that would be hardcore.
Thursday, February 10, 2011 7:41PM
or put in a chest >.<
Saturday, February 19, 2011 4:43PM
No the just uses simple logic to fuel it.
1. To get a block you must punch it, either with your fist or with a tool.
2. You can then either place the block or use it to craft other blocks.
3. Animals and monsters spawn during day and night respectively based on light levels and are infinite.
4. Trees can drop numerous sapplings which can be planted into more trees.
5. Cotton, cobblestone, obsidian, and wood are infinite. You can always make more of them.
6. Certain materials like iron, gold, diamond are not infinite as of yet.
These simple rules make up the game. There is no hidden mystery or agenda in the game. It’s a game. The fact that the game has a finite amount of rare blocks (despite this number being larger than the population of the earth) is simply a gameplay mechanic. Trying to derive a life lesson from a game that isn’t technically finished is retarded.
In short people aren’t angry about your views, there angry about the fact that you pulled conclusions from things that don’t offer conclusions.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011 2:49PM
You can replant, you can avoid killing, or even better yet, your resources can be taken from a wide area to lessen the impact. The realization that you have not done these certain things, and stated that minecraft has a subtle message about 'destroying' is nothing but your own doing. It only paints a picture of yourself rather then the game.
Also, taking a simple game like this so utterly seriously, is grounds for a re-evaluation of one's life.
Thursday, March 10, 2011 2:53PM
Support? That is only a few number of people pretty much at this point, Notch and a couple other people, so what support they can muster is completely buried in all the requests.
You could get support at the official forums from other players….
Friday, March 11, 2011 4:38PM
Hmm, I wonder how long it will take for one person to destroy the earth 8 times
Friday, March 18, 2011 1:20AM
I just facepalmed so hard I can't even describe to you the immeasurable pain brought on by the ensuing headache.
Friday, March 18, 2011 1:25AM
Have you tried this neat feature called "playing it in the browser," its the newest thing.
Friday, March 18, 2011 1:28AM
Actually, I just digg out a bigger room and make more chests to put that stuff in. Besides, I like having four or five towers that go up as high as you possible can.
Friday, March 18, 2011 3:14PM
It's a game, just a game. And such an opinion makes more harm for the author neither for those, who just chilling and getiing fun. Remeber children and lego? Okey, this is just the same.