So I’ve been in a bit of a cocoon as of late … and not like the kind floating in a swimming pool waiting for Wilford Brimley and Steve Guttenburg to find them … no, I’ve been trapped in a game.
Almost 20 years ago, back in 1993 a little game called Doom was unleashed upon the world. I was among the many who became enraptured with the then groundbreaking graphics. With the freedom of movement allowed in this virtual world. With the visceral thrill of being hunted by unknown enemies. It’s amazing to think that after all of these years I could be trapped by a game which for all intents and purposes looks and acts just about the same.
Sure you may not be fighting off hordes of hell spawned creatures, but amazingly this game manages to recreate that same sense of freedom and even terror. At it’s heart Minecraft is nothing more than an exercise in digging up cubes of various materials. What makes it special is that each world you generate in this game randomly places these cubes into otherworldly landscapes. Despite the high end graphics, the engine manages to create sweeping vistas which HAVE made me stop and stare in awe. It then throws in monsters. Which only come out in the dark. Hence the terror.
So what you end up doing is frantically building yourself some means of shelter from these terrors as the sun creeps across the sky. For once the sun goes down, the bad guys come out. The addictive hook is that you only spend your first few minutes in true terror. Once you’ve started to amass a collection of materials, you can build yourself better tools. And better structures. And better devices. And with each new discovery comes the wave of inspiration of “what can I do with THIS?”
I’ve tried to tell everyone I can about this game. At work. Friends. Family. I’ve been playing it on the train back and forth from work. It has occupied a LOT of my waking moments. Quite frankly it’s worth much more than the ten dollars which it’s SINGLE creator is asking for it. That’s right. One person created this. And by selling it at $10, he’s raked in … around $5 million dollars. Step back and think about that for a second.
Oh, the wife and kids? Yeah, I guess they’re great. I’ve only been paying attention to them when I haven’t been playing Minecraft. I guess the wife got a new job, the boy is walking and babbling and the girl is learning to use the potty. I’m only guessing because I’m catching glimpses of them as I take a game break. 😀