Minecraft: What Is in That Big Brain of Yours?

Have you ever walked into a museum, looked at the paintings and wondered: how do they get so good? How do these artists make something so magnificent and so awesome?

You could easily answer this with the word “dedication”. It is just as simple as that, nothing fancy at all.

Although video games, when compared to art, are not on the same level as sculptures or paintings, a lot can be said about how stunning the visuals look. Square Enix’s Final Fantasy series, for instance, has a lot of breathtaking visual effects that almost seem real. There is just so much attention to detail in their game that it may be unreal after all.

However, sometimes, it is not always about the visuals. In some cases it can be about the effort put into something. Talent is always a factor in art but half the time, it’s always about the effort. As the saying goes, work is one percent talent and ninety-nine percent sweat. It is here where the end product is much more valued than how it is made (or played).

Have you ever played Minecraft?

Minecraft is one of those casual games that a lot of people enjoy. Its visuals are not all that great. These are just a bunch of blocks stacked on top of each other.

The graphics seem so basic, you would probably think it came straight out of the ’90s. However, anyone from anywhere and any age can enjoy this game. The thing about it is that its first objective is to offer the sense of adventure to the player. It basically wants you to go out into the “world” and make your own story — open sandbox style of storytelling with seemingly no end. There are only two boss fights in this game. Getting there and fighting them is all up to you. To put it simply, this game lets you sit back, relax and chart your own destiny (something that gaming is also about).

You can consider this as a role-playing game (RPG) because of the role-playing elements. The game requires the player to look for and build tools, have supplies and defend themselves from enemies. However, it is also a first-person game because it was built that way; it was meant to be as immersive as possible. The game lets you build in the first-person, so much so that it can seem like your own hands are doing the work. The game being in the first-person perspective is actually part of the core of its gameplay.

There are three modes playable in this game although two of them are actually similar: Survival mode and Hardcore mode.

Both modes require the player to search for tools and supplies. You have limited health and can constantly get hungry. Both modes also offer the sense of adventure, essentially allowing you to create your own story.

Another thing both modes require you to do is dig, dig and dig to find whatever it is you need. You aren’t as much playing as God, constantly rewriting all of creation, as you are playing a frontiersman just trying to get by in the wilderness.

Moving on, even with the sense of adventure present, what gets people hooked on Minecraft is not (only) the feeling of having your adventure, but rather, what you can do and what you can create. The game comes with a “Creative Mode.”

In Creative Mode, players are given infinite life as well as having all “cheats” enabled. Players can fly and instantly destroy any obstacle with the click of a button (unlike the tedious digging in the two other modes). Players are also given a limitless supply of tools and blocks (the items needed to build). Basically, this mode gives the player anything and everything they need to build and create to their heart’s content. Anything that comes to mind may come to life in this games. It is in this mode where “art” in video games come to life. This is the mode that has most gamers hooked on the game (although Survival Mode is still pretty good).

So, now answer this question, “What’s in that big brain of yours?”

If you play Minecraft, what can you build? Or what have you built? What are you planning to build? What can you create?

Others have built a lot of things in the game. For starters, some gamers built exact replicas of iconic popular culture locations in fiction. An example of this is King’s Landing from Game of Thrones. Although it is pretty much old news by now, it is still one of the most amazing things ever built in Minecraft. It is amazing to think that someone or some people actually took the time to build something like that. If you are not a fan of Game of Thrones (like yours truly), just imagine a large medieval city complete with a port for travel by sea.

Another equally amazing feat of Minecraft architecture is a replica of the Battlestar Galactica. At this point, you’re probably wondering if these are built as miniatures in the game. They are, however, built to scale. This replica of the Galactica took more than a few millions of blocks to make (exact number is not known).

Both of these are equally impressive and (relatively) easy and simple to “build”. However, Minecraft does have its complexities. For this, Redstone circuitry is involved. In game, they are used to build simple circuits such as switches. But, someone or some people decided to take this a step further and built a working sixteen-bit computer. Yes, you read that right: a working sixteen bit computer. A group of people actually built a simple computer within the game using one of its features.

What’s the point of sharing these pieces of Minecraft artwork?

Well, it goes back to the question. These examples of Minecraft architecture (and circuitry) were not meant to discourage, but rather encourage players. This question is also not meant to test your creativity, but rather encourage you to use it. The examples shared were meant to inspire you, the player.

Even in Survival (and Hardcore) mode, you can build anything you want, just not to the same degree as Creative mode. But the fact that you are able to is something that players should always take advantage of. Who knows, maybe you or someone you know might build a scale replica of New York in one of the game’s servers.

However, keep in mind that art is not only limited to paintings (or in this case architecture and structures). Art can come in many forms. With regards to Minecraft, this “art” is not only limited to building or creating structures, but you can also create music; noteblocks are found in the game and some people have taken advantage of this to make music for other people to see.

So again, it boils down to what is in that big brain of yours, the player. It does not have to be anything spectacular; no one is expecting you to create something as big as King’s Landing or as complex as a sixteen-bit computer, or even create music out of this game. What most people and this game expect  is for you, the player, to express the creative side found in that big brain of yours.

*Note: The columnist’s views do not represent eSports Inquirer’s position on the topic or issue being discussed in this article.

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