Minecraft connected an entire generation. What makes it so special?
Videogames have been a cultural phenomenon that defined generations since their inception, from stories that gen-x tell about their days in arcades at their prime, to gen alphas questionable Roblox craze (yes, I know Roblox is gen-z, too.) Despite a somewhat negative reputation, from controversial accusations that they lead to violence, to issues of online safety for minors, most of those born after the 90’s will have some positive memories associated with their favorite game.
Videogame trends come and go like any other, and while some have a longer lifespan in this fast paced world, there’s one game that became quintessential to gen-z culture, and perfectly represented the demographic for over a decade now. While people do argue over aspects within the game, the title itself has an overwhelmingly popular and positive reputation amongst every type of person. How did a game made of blocks bring together an entire generation?
I’ve heard Minecraft compared to Legos many times. I see why, as they’re both based on the concept of building with blocks. Ironically, though, I’ve never been much of a Lego kid. Perhaps I didn’t have the attention span, the patience, or the meticulousness for the small pieces. Lego is an incredible brand who has also adapted in amazing ways over the years, but, it just didn't *click* For some of us. Hehe. I understood the appeal, but when it came down to finding the right block to build a dragon or castle, I got bored. Minecraft though, was a much different story. It felt limitless, but just constrained enough to give the player a sense of accomplishment. And, man, if you’ve never showed your mom a home built fully of bright-cyan colored diamond blocks, I only wish I could share the joy with you. It’s more than keeping a kid's attention, though, it’s the way that Minecraft grew up along with us, that made such an impact.
Minecraft was initially released in November 2011, with beta versions were playable before this point. At this time, I was a chubby second grader, with blonde hair that was starting to really turn brown. I loved being “one of the boys”, as laughable as it is now, it made me feel special. This meant talking about video games with them was essential, and when I heard about Minecraft, I had my heart set on playing it.
When Minecraft first came out it was very simple. It was a sandbox style game, meaning you were provided with resources to build or make whatever you wanted. I never had it in this very early phase, but a few of my friends eventually heard about it by early 2012. I begged my mom for a few months, and eventually did enough chores to earn the coveted twenty dollars it took to have it all to myself. By the time I got the game, a second game mode had been added called “Survival”. In this mode, you would collect your own materials, need food to survive, and could get hurt and even die, loosing your inventory and respawning. This became popular very quickly and many people loved the experience of fighting to survive in the blocky world.
I could barely even walk around in-game when I first started, but that didn’t stop me. The night I got it, I played as the sunset until I was in a dark living room, illuminated by the Dell laptop screen and the warmth of the computer overheating. I still remember the quiet joy I felt, nothing but the wirrrrr of the computer's fans trying to cool down as I ran through digital fields and forests.
The first thing I set out to do was find a Creeper, arguably the most iconic symbol and creature of Minecraft. Creepers are green, suicide bombing monsters, which is a lot less scary than it sounds. When I saw a Creeper in game for the first time, I was naive to its explosive ability, and only knew it was the creature I had seen all over the trailers and art. I was excited. This was him. This was the Minecraft guy!
I dropped the only food in my inventory onto the ground, pork chops and watermelons, trying to befriend it or feed it. This quickly backfired, and led to my second-ever death in the game (the first one being drowning, as I also did not know how to swim.) I learned I was more of a fan of ‘Creative mode’, and would spend my time flying into the skies to watch the sunsets, admiring the pixelated night sky, or looking for the tallest waterfalls I could find. I loved the beauty of the game, despite being completely square, it was somehow so pretty.
I got better at the controls of the game throughout third grade, and even had a Minecraft 9th birthday. I never learned long division. But I learned that I liked to read, and draw. I got a bit taller, and by the time I was a spunky fifth grader who wore way too much neon and had a pixie cut, the game had gained more of its personality, too. It had two different portals you could create to visit new dimensions, tons of new blocks to choose for building, giant mushrooms, villages, and ravines. By this point, Minecraft wasn’t the hot talk of the playground, but most of my classmates and peers still played it, just without admission.
It was incredibly stupid looking back, how we were all secretly playing Minecraft. Geez. We all had fun playing the game, but wouldn’t talk about it because it “wasn’t cool”. As if any fifth grader is cool anyways!
Around this time, I discovered the fun of playing in multiplayer mode. This meant my friends and I could build, survive, and play together; seeing each other's little characters and feeling connected, whether we weren’t together or were sitting under the same blanket fort. There was nothing better than late night games of Minecraft hunger games with your cousins, or building things to make your best friend cry-laugh while sitting on her bedroom floor.
By middle school we, or maybe I, gave up on caring if it was cool. Minecraft still wasn’t hyped the way it had been a few years back, but still quietly sat as an option of entertainment that everyone loved. Whether I was with my older cousins, younger sister, my crush, my best friend, or someone I just met; “do you want to play minecraft?” was almost always met with a ‘yes!’. From that point, it was a battle of which gamemode would be played.
The game kept updating and adding and growing, and although I wasn't playing daily anymore, I finally started enjoying the survival mode of the game. A sign of true maturity! All while Minecraft added new animals and terrain, I was turning into a teenager. I was learning how to start being independent, my face started to slim out. I went to the mall alone. I had an iphone 6.
It was 2019, the summer before I started my freshman year of highschool. A Youtuber, Pewdiepie started doing Minecraft lets-plays, for nostalgia's sake. Pewdiepie, being one of the most subscribed to youtubers of all time, skyrocketed the game into being a hot trend once again.
This time, though, it wasn’t just something we talked about at recess…we had the gift and curse of social media. The game was now all over a new app that had recently been rebranded: Tiktok!
By the time this 2019 tiktok and youtube fueled comeback rolled around, us teenagers collectively decided to ditch the idea that it was cringey. In fact, a big topic of discussion online was those pointing out that so many people that had been making fun of it months ago, were coming back to it now that it was popular. Despite this gripe, there was no questioning it: Minecraft was back.
Maybe we wanted to be kids again, maybe we saw how much fun Pewdiepie was having, but everyone I knew began playing again. Teenagers everywhere were making tutorials on how to make your own versions of the in-game paintings, wearing whatever creeper t-shirt we could fit into, and buying blankets with nether portals and creepers on them.
The best part of all, was that now, we were coming back to an expansive and limitless game that had more than we’d ever seen before. We were highschoolers finally, dating, driving, and depressed. The game was gorgeous, had new features, better graphics, and so much to discover. There were bees, polar bears, lanterns, expanded villages, mansions, and once again, MORE blocks. We spent our summer nights on group calls making tree houses, statues of shrek, quaint farms, movie scenes, penises (sorry, I’m just being honest), secret lairs, cottages, gardens, and conquering monsters. From then on, Minecraft has been beloved, and the teenagers I knew fully embraced it, never taking it for granted for the sake of being cool.
Eventually, the pandemic hit in 2020. At this time, just about every teenager (and person) in the world felt more alone than ever. We were mentally ill, rowdy, anxious teenagers, stuck at home. This meant that connecting with each other online was more important than ever. The pandemic is often associated now with Zoom calls, Google meets, and Facetiming; but for connecting beyond functionality, video games became a pivotal socializing staple in an uncertain world.
Instead of going to the mall or the movies after class, my friends and I would log off class and begin building and surviving in Minecraft, together. We could see each other's personalized avatars, and interact with each other in a unique way. This feature had never meant more, and probably (hopefully) never will. In the desperately trapped day of a quarantined teenager, hearing my friends screaming and laughing into their microphone after seeing what I built gave me a little piece of the ‘late-night minecraft-in-a-pillow-fort-sleepovers’ feeling. That’s what we needed.
As the pandemic improved and we began cautiously learning how to be somewhat social again, Minecraft still felt like that little safe place that everyone had. No matter how socially anxious you were, or how weird it felt to see someone face-to-face, or how nervous you were to talk on the phone with that boy for the first time, there was a good chance you could just go build a house together, fight a dragon, or some other digital nonsense to escape the expectations of reality. As silly as it is, this game that started so simple, grew into an ever-changing piece of media that has now crossed genres, and, more than anything, has given us a new yet comforting place to escape as we change too.
“And the game was over and the player woke up from the dream. And the player began a new dream. And the player dreamed again, dreamed better. And the player was the universe". -Minecraft
