TheEpic on Nostr: So I've been playing Minecraft off and on for a few weeks now. When I was younger I ...

So I've been playing Minecraft off and on for a few weeks now. When I was younger I used to play during the beta and early release days. I stopped playing and at this point my old Mojang account is gone forever. Anyways, that's not the point. The point is that I've been playing it again and I'm starting to learn more about the modern game. The more I learn, the more I appreciate, and the more I like it.

When I first returned to the game I was impressed at how much was added. Back in the day, I felt like Minecraft was less of a game and more of a social experiment sandbox. These days, Minecraft feels like a full game. It's still that social experiment sandbox but it feels less so for some reason.

I'll give you an example for how my attitude has changed toward the game. Perhaps you might have a similar experience. When the Ender Dragon was released, I felt like it was pointless and took away from what the game was supposed to be. I felt like it was supposed to be a sandbox where you build things. The major "criticism" of Minecraft was that your creativity is the limit. Once your creativity runs out, the game gets boring.

Today, I feel like defeating the Ender Dragon is the main reason to play the game. There's content that supports you and builds on itself as you journey towards the Ender Dragon and once you've defeated it, you've effectively finished the game in some sense. The game now has this linear feeling. Perhaps it's just my own mind shifting and looking at the game in a linear way. However, you don't have to engage with anything you don't want to engage with. The way you play the game is entirely up to you but generally you know you're going to eventually defeat the Ender Dragon.

One thing I've found interesting is my shift in thinking about Minecraft. For some people it's a game that facilitates your creativity and for others it's about pushing it to its limits. To another extent it might also be about pushing yourself to your limits. I think that the ways in which Minecraft can be played has been adopted into the game's design. I didn't feel like this was the case years ago.

Another interesting mind shift, I don't think this game is just for children anymore. I used to think that not too long ago but now I see how vast and deep the game really can go. I bet a lot of kids simply won't put the kind of effort and hours that might be required to do some of the most impressive things done in Minecraft. I've had friends who mock people for playing Minecraft since children like the game. I used to be under the impression that since Minecraft is a game limited by your creativity only kids could be entertained by it due to kids' natural creativity, proclivity towards play-pretend, and their wonder. All which traits adults grow out of. Despite this, adults are still playing the game and they still like it for various reasons.

And I guess that's it. That's my ramble. Nothing all that profound to be honest. Just wanted to get that off my chest.