Minecraft, the Real Gateway Drug

Minecraft is a gaming sensation that took the world by storm, but why, and how? What is it that makes the simplest of games such a masterpiece in the eyes of many?

There’s no doubt that, unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 10 years, you’ve heard of the game Minecraft. A global sensation that’s known for amassing astonishing numbers and stats, with as high as 172,130,556 monthly average players at its peak. To many, this was somewhat of a shock. The game itself has a very simplistic basis, you play as the only human existing in the ever-expanding world of blocks around you, working towards the ultimate goal of reaching another dimension and defeating the game’s ultimate boss. What was it that made this game so special? Why are people still raving on and on about the supposed excellence that Minecraft achieved?

“I’m not a huge video game person myself, but, I think that if anything, Minecraft could’ve been the game to change that,” says New Roads Journalism teacher Larry Friedman. This is a sentiment that many agree with as well, with Minecraft being the game that a seemingly endless amount of people could enjoy. 

Part of its success can likely be attributed to the sheer variety of gameplay. For those who enjoy combat style games, Minecraft has its fair share of that, incorporating elements such as weaponry enchantments and various potions to keep things interesting. Not a fan of fighting, though? Minecraft’s got you covered, with endless possibilities in building, exploring, mining, even using the game as a storytelling tool of sorts, as seen in numerous instances such as now-infamous content creator Aphmau’s Minecraft Diaries series. The game has an insane amount of content to offer, especially for something that seems so bare boned at first glance. 

One of several astonishing Minecraft builds created by Reddit user VarunaMc

But, Minecraft is also far from the only game on the playing field that has this much content available. In fact, there are even games out there with more of a variety, also incorporating other mechanics such as cooking, character customization, and others that Minecraft is noticeably lacking. So then, why Minecraft? 

Once again, I found myself stumped. I couldn’t for the life of me determine what it was that made this game so different yet, so appealing, addicting almost. 

“It was just that they (Platt’s older sisters) were playing it, and then I started playing it and it was really fun because, I mean, I’m a kid and I can blow stuff up with TNT!” says freshman Hugh Platt, commenting on how his sisters had been the ones who had gotten him into the game in the first place. “Playing with my sisters was what made it really fun for me … most of the people that play it now do it because of Minecraft servers, which allows you to play with other people.” Platt said. What made Minecraft such a sensational thing was the fact that it allowed you to play with others, something not many other games offered, especially not as easily as it was with Minecraft.

Imagery of the explosion mechanic in Minecraft, in which players are able to place TNT and light it, creating explosions of varying sizes that demolish nearby land and structures

“You can blow stuff up or build almost anything, you could do whatever you wanted.” says Junior Chloe Beck, an avid Minecraft player. “In just one world, I had almost 700 hours, because of how much I was playing with other people.” said Beck, recounting how the game, particularly during quarantine, proved to be one of the best ways to connect with friends. 

“It’s a very general game so you can basically just.. conjure anything up in your mind.” said Senior Isaac Vardalos Gomez, adding on to the claim that the variety of activities is what created this boom in popularity. 

It seems from what I’ve gathered, that it was less the game itself, and more the experience of playing with others that made this such a global phenomenon. Building massive structures–only to blow them up–was hardly as fun without having friends to gawk and laugh with you while you did so. This game had endless possibilities, and even more when you were able to experience it with others around you. This combination of multiplayer-adaptable gameplay, near infinite game styles, and constantly updating and adapting features is ultimately what led to the astounding success, which remains something that still to this day, no other game has been able to replicate.