“Minecraft” is no longer just a game. It is a brand, a movie, a book, a t-shirt, a birthday party and even a McDonald’s happy meal.
The 2011 indie game has not only evolved over the years through updates, it has morphed into a massive intellectual property with popularity that has risen and fallen in waves.
Though, one thing is clear: “Minecraft” keeps returning to the public eye. Last weekend, “A Minecraft Movie” made over $162 million in the U.S box office, the most of any movie so far this year.
The looming question now is: how has this game been able to stay so culturally relevant over the years? To answer this, a bit of context is required to understand how the game has evolved.
Aaron Schwartz, an associate professor for the Ohio program of intensive English, explained his time with the game and what it has meant to him.
“[I] realized there’s a lot of power in this game because it’s a sandbox,” Schwartz said. “And by sandbox, I mean you can get what you want to get out of it.”
“Minecraft” represents something different to everyone. It is a blank canvas with full freedom given to the player.
“The first choice you make when playing the game is creative mode or survival mode,” Schwartz said. “If you’re in creative mode, you can do whatever you want; you can fly and you have access to unlimited resources.”
Creative mode is where players can interact with the game’s mechanics fully in a stress-free environment unencumbered by the prospect of death or even surviving at all.
“The survival version of this game was very much this enigma,” Schwartz said. “You’re not given any instructions or anything, as you start, you kind of just have to figure it out.”
Survival is the most traditional game-like mode in “Minecraft.” Once you spawn, the sun slowly starts descending and gives players limited time to gather resources. At night, hostile mobs spawn and threaten the player’s survival.
However, the game has changed immensely since its first public alpha in 2009. The game has added features such as beds that skip night and a hunger bar, which limits the player's sprint function and drains health over time if the player doesn’t eat food. The End was added, which has been framed as the game’s final boss.
Lauren Young, a freshman studying hearing, speech and language sciences, spoke about what she likes about “Minecraft.”
“It’s a really fun stress reliever,” Young said. “I can just kind of chill out and not think about a lot of stuff.”
The music and gameplay of “Minecraft” often go hand-in-hand. C418 delivered an enchanting and surreal soundtrack to pull players further into the ethereal mystique of a new world.
Young went on to say why she thinks the game has remained so popular for long.
“It’s almost the simplicity of it,” Young said. “They gave us kind of the platform to make what we wanted to.”
In a gaming industry that pumps millions of dollars into huge, blockbuster titles, players began to draw more to inspired, personal titles that capture imagination.
For many players, “Minecraft” encapsulates a world uninhibited by the rules and conventions that define our own.
Colby Campbell, a sophomore studying studio arts, discussed his experiences with the game.
“It’s very memed now that you can have a two-week ‘Minecraft’ phase with your friends, where you just play it every single day and then just forget all about it,” Campbell said.
“Minecraft” is a title played in waves. Seemingly just as easily as it can capture the imagination of the player, the magic can fade, leaving these worlds empty.
Some YouTube creators based their entire channels around “Minecraft.” In the early 2010s, “Minecraft”-themed parody songs became massive in popularity.
Campbell said some of his most-watched “Minecraft” YouTubers were Ssundee, CaptainSparklez and SkyDoesMinecraft.
“There were a lot of ‘Minecraft’ parodies of songs,” Campbell said. “I would listen to a song on the radio, but then I would listen to the ‘Minecraft’ version of the song way more.”
From movies and merchandise to let’s play channels and parody songs, “Minecraft” has become a landmark of gaming and pop culture.
The serene music, blocky art style and seamless multiplayer functionality represents much of what is important to people: freedom. The freedom to interact with the world fully in your own way.
The best games are ones that keep you coming back, regardless of how many times you’ve completed them. “Minecraft” empowers this idea for many players, giving them something truly different every time they inevitably return.
