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Reflecting on What Made Minecraft so Great

From the first time you picked it up to the new post-2019 era

I can remember like it was yesterday when a game about collecting and placing blocks was an upcoming shining star of a game.

I was in middle school and so were millions of other kids as we bore witness to the next gaming juggernaut.

It’s not an exaggeration to state how Minecraft has impacted an entire generation and even now it retains itself as one of the most popular if not the most popular game of all time.

Development began sometime in 2009 originally deemed “Cave game.”

Most of us would remember it by its first official release in 2011 with 2019 marking the 10th anniversary and the resurgence of its popularity.

I’m most acquainted with Minecraft’s golden era marked from 2011 to about 2014.

Past 2015 there was an ever-growing stigma around the young crowd surrounding the game which hurt Minecraft’s popularity with older kids and adults around that time.

But even then the game kept growing even if it was no longer the hot thing to make Youtube videos about.

This all changed around 2019 just in time for the anniversary which in combination with recent updates put Minecraft back on the map for many people in popular culture.

Even as of now in 2022 Minecraft is still much more popular than it was between 2015–2018.

Though nothing will quite capture those magical years when Minecraft was the single most popular IP in gaming history.

But what made it so popular, to begin with?

Here’s an answer to that question.

The concept of a game made of blocks that could be rearranged to the player’s liking was a novel concept which before 2011 was truly unheard of.

Minecraft had previous inspirations but the final product became its own phenomenon in leagues with others games that came out at the time such as Terraria.

This very same concept was one attractive to many different people which helped marketability.

Since the game was an open-world sandbox with a multitude of options on how to play at your fingertips, there were a lot of opportunities for content creation on the game.

During this same era in the early 2010s, we witnessed the explosion of early pioneer youtube with figures such as Markiplier, Pewdiepie, Jacksepticeye, and a flurry of others still barely heard of.

Doing let’s play videos was extremely popular at this time and getting in on Minecraft became its own cash cow.

So we would get YouTubers such as Skydoesminecraft, Antvenom, ibxtoycat, Captainsparklez, and an accompanying mountain of other creators who would fashion reviews for mods, create unique Minecraft style animations, music videos, let’s plays, etc.

And now the new hot concept for Minecraft is usually rooted in new challenges set by newer YouTubers such as Dream who have garnered millions of eyes as of yet.

Minecraft now may be a more tired concept at this point, but the game receives plenty of updates and has revolutionized its previous capabilities with no real signs of stopping.

We are now in the middle of a new bright era for Minecraft in a marginal way distinct from its golden era.

We all have our earliest memories of the game but some of mine were found with Minecraft clone before I was able to play the real game called Survivalcraft.

It was more of a nature-centric basic survival game that happened to feature a similar block system to Minecraft.

When I did play Minecraft for the first time it was with the pocket edition and I remember constructing a variety of houses which at that point was a staple feature of the game in terms of structures you could build such as houses.

The creations on Youtube as well as discussion between my friends on the game helped facilitate a common culture surrounding the game and what it meant to us.

For some creative mode is the main feature that draws them in while others like me were more favorable of the original survival mode.

In the end, there was something unique for everyone in this game and it could come from the plethora of new features brought out by updates with new biomes and mobs to encounter.

Minecraft for most of us was a new world we’ve never seen before that could offer us something beyond whatever came before.

That’s what made the experience so exciting for those who grew up in its golden era.

Though Minecraft isn’t the only game of its time to incorporate a survival/building mechanic in its time, it became one of the most recognized to do so.

It has also stylistically influenced the return of retro graphics as a viable way to push a game rejecting the concept that graphics have to technically advance if a game wants to make it in the modern market.

This trend has been carried by later games such as Undertale, Stardew Valley, Binding of Isaac, and a variety of other titles that have rocked the retro style.

Chances are this trend wouldn’t have ignited without games like Minecraft and Terraria, to begin with, which is a testament to how gameplay still comes out on top despite superior graphics.

It introduced a new genre through its 3d open-world block system and created a platform from which tons of creators could fashion their own content such as maps, new bosses, mechanics, and any concept under the sun.

Where the game will go from here is still unknown but chances are we’ll see a new generation adapt to Minecraft being one of many titles to stand the test of time.

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