303: What Purpose, Minecraft Zombies?
- Thread starter Russ Pitts
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So, after your experience with the bear, which made you realize the preciousness of life, you decided to spend all your days in front of your computer playing Minecraft?
Alrighty then...
I think our culture has successfully managed to eradicate most of the things that go bump in the night through industrialization and technology. Now most of our fears are results of our own machinations -- being destroyed by mega corporations, inept or corrupt governments, religious fanaticism, environmental destruction. Fictional settings are one of the few places left that many people have to be reminded that man was, at one point, not the most fearsome monster on the planet.
Alrighty then...
I think our culture has successfully managed to eradicate most of the things that go bump in the night through industrialization and technology. Now most of our fears are results of our own machinations -- being destroyed by mega corporations, inept or corrupt governments, religious fanaticism, environmental destruction. Fictional settings are one of the few places left that many people have to be reminded that man was, at one point, not the most fearsome monster on the planet.
I've been playing on Peaceful for a few hours, and now that I have my awesome doom spire with 14 levels and 17 sub levels, I realize why I'm so bored =|Angel Molina said:
Night falls, and I just whip out some torches and keep on working on courtyard #4. When I first started playing, I kept it on normal. After getting killed by: skeletons with wallhacks, cows that push me into lava, and exploding penises that push me off of cliffs, and getting lost, unable to find my fortress that I worked so hard to make, I set it to Peaceful.
I think now that I have my fortress of awesomeness, I'll set it back to normal and see how my 3 block thick stone walls and glass walkways fair against the night =)
Actually I don't think the monsters augment gameplay at all. I find them just to be an aggravating hindrance. Me and my buds play with the monsters off and it's arguably just as fun with them on. If not better. You get more shit done when the monsters are off. With the beds you can simply skip night as well. If you have the option to sleep in the bed every night what's the point of having the monsters on at all? Sure they provide materials for....tnt? arrows? Bones for getting wolves, which would be otherwise useless if the monsters were off. I just don't see the point. We started playing with the monsters on for a while but always refer to the time when we had them off as "the golden age" because we noticed we didn't create as much cool shit when the damn monsters were on.
Eh, I always saw night in MC as a nuisance. Just a time to watch my back while I go about whatever work I was up to.
There is another game that taught me to fear the night. In it, you're far more likely to survive soloing a dragon than wandering the wilderness alone at night.
There is another game that taught me to fear the night. In it, you're far more likely to survive soloing a dragon than wandering the wilderness alone at night.
Excellent article. I have often wondered what Man hath wrought with Civilization. Whether we are actually better off with what we have today over the daily struggle to survive our ancestors had to endure. Anyone who has experienced a near death experience will tell you it does change their life. I wouldn't say change, myself, but more enhance. I envy Russ for that entire day he got to experience after the bear. And thankful that he did get that extra day. Russ enhances a lot about The Escapist that we take for granted.
As for Minecraft, I have gotten to the point where I can build pretty decent structures on the first day without a sweat. But it doesn't stop me from just going out on occasion away from my safety to see what else is in the world created for me, and then find myself too far away from home when the sun sets. Dig a hole? Maybe. But first I will see what else my surroundings might offer. Just last night I spent a night perched on a cliffside under an overhang. Skeletons were bouncing below, waiting for me to lean my nose out to shoot it off, and I know there was more than just a pig on the top above me, silently waiting for me to do something foolish. Precarious and enduring as it was, all I could do was think to myself how amazing the view would be in higher bit resolution. I actually find it quite easy to fill in the blanks and anti-alias the edges to see more out of what is presented.
We are given very beautiful worlds upon which to sculpt our imagination upon. When this world has become too safe for me, I can just summon up a new one. Or just go over to the next chunk.
As for Minecraft, I have gotten to the point where I can build pretty decent structures on the first day without a sweat. But it doesn't stop me from just going out on occasion away from my safety to see what else is in the world created for me, and then find myself too far away from home when the sun sets. Dig a hole? Maybe. But first I will see what else my surroundings might offer. Just last night I spent a night perched on a cliffside under an overhang. Skeletons were bouncing below, waiting for me to lean my nose out to shoot it off, and I know there was more than just a pig on the top above me, silently waiting for me to do something foolish. Precarious and enduring as it was, all I could do was think to myself how amazing the view would be in higher bit resolution. I actually find it quite easy to fill in the blanks and anti-alias the edges to see more out of what is presented.
We are given very beautiful worlds upon which to sculpt our imagination upon. When this world has become too safe for me, I can just summon up a new one. Or just go over to the next chunk.
Even the most nefarious supervillains are hard to recognize out of their element. Russ just had to express his true nature to get the point across.The Random One said:
My only problem with night in Minecraft is skeletons. They have perfect aim and can shoot from quite far away which makes random killing in wide open spaces at night difficult. It can also make large groups of enemies very deadly when exploring underground.
For fun though you can create a sort of maze above ground, starting at a spawn point and ending at a door that leads to a safe, well lit room. The main problem is that creepers can easily destroy your maze if your not careful, but the purpose is to try and make it through the maze without dying (and obviously before night ends). The maze keeps the number of skeletons down to a minimum so as long as you are careful with creepers it's not that difficult.
The maze needs to have most paths be 2 blocks wide so spiders can spawn and chase you and at least 2 blocks high (3 is better) to prevent spiders jumping over the top of the maze.
No building is allowed at all inside the maze and you can increase the difficulty by limiting the number of arrows you can bring in with you.
Other then something like that though eventually enemies become a distraction more then anything else. You can build at night just as easily as during the day if you use torches to good effect and especially if you are building up, have built a protective wall, used lava etc. It takes very little time in a new game to create a defensive position around whatever you are building so nothing can reach you. I personally like using lava as it provides great visual effect, a deadly defense and is easily moved if needed.
Zombies rarely are even a minor danger especially once you have diamond armor/sword as they are very easy to kill and prevent from harming you. Spiders are a bit faster, can jump and are slightly more likely to actually hurt you. Creepers are not that dangerous if you know they are there....but if they creep up on you ......BOOM!!. The most dangerous by far are the skelly's though who can take off a decent amount of health even one on one unless you are very careful. 3 zombies are easy to kill without taking any damage, 3 spiders a bit harder but you can use terrain to often kill them easily without any risk and even without that hit and back up options still work pretty well. 3 creepers can actually take themselves out if your careful and hit the lead creeper with an arrow after it lights itself (pushing it back just a bit so he explodes the other two).
3 skeletons though.....will tear you up FAST if you don't break them up and come at them around corners etc. They are by far the most dangerous enemy in minecraft in my opinion.
For fun though you can create a sort of maze above ground, starting at a spawn point and ending at a door that leads to a safe, well lit room. The main problem is that creepers can easily destroy your maze if your not careful, but the purpose is to try and make it through the maze without dying (and obviously before night ends). The maze keeps the number of skeletons down to a minimum so as long as you are careful with creepers it's not that difficult.
The maze needs to have most paths be 2 blocks wide so spiders can spawn and chase you and at least 2 blocks high (3 is better) to prevent spiders jumping over the top of the maze.
No building is allowed at all inside the maze and you can increase the difficulty by limiting the number of arrows you can bring in with you.
Other then something like that though eventually enemies become a distraction more then anything else. You can build at night just as easily as during the day if you use torches to good effect and especially if you are building up, have built a protective wall, used lava etc. It takes very little time in a new game to create a defensive position around whatever you are building so nothing can reach you. I personally like using lava as it provides great visual effect, a deadly defense and is easily moved if needed.
Zombies rarely are even a minor danger especially once you have diamond armor/sword as they are very easy to kill and prevent from harming you. Spiders are a bit faster, can jump and are slightly more likely to actually hurt you. Creepers are not that dangerous if you know they are there....but if they creep up on you ......BOOM!!. The most dangerous by far are the skelly's though who can take off a decent amount of health even one on one unless you are very careful. 3 zombies are easy to kill without taking any damage, 3 spiders a bit harder but you can use terrain to often kill them easily without any risk and even without that hit and back up options still work pretty well. 3 creepers can actually take themselves out if your careful and hit the lead creeper with an arrow after it lights itself (pushing it back just a bit so he explodes the other two).
3 skeletons though.....will tear you up FAST if you don't break them up and come at them around corners etc. They are by far the most dangerous enemy in minecraft in my opinion.
Hooboy, those monsters. My friends and I have a coupla servers up using Hamachi, and each has varying degrees of progress. The oldest one has a sprawling, walled-in underground/aboveground/treetop castle, all connected in some form and each built by a different person. The torchlit walls attract friendly mobs and repel most intruders, but we still see angry creepers eying our fortress with hate. We point and laugh. It is no threat to us and once day breaks, its gone.
But sometimes one of them spawns in a darkened corner somewhere in the bowels of our abode and slowly makes it's way up into the living quarters. Our safe haven is penetrated for the moment, and the intense fear returns. Then, it explodes, or is killed and we move on, have a laugh and rebuild the damage.
On the newer servers, where the land is not quite so well known, our defenses not so robust and our equipment not so powerful, the nights are still gripped with fear.
Reminds me of the very first night I had in Minecraft. Like almost anyone, I sat in a dirt hole and shat my pants the entire night as God knows what hungrily rubbed it's stomach directly above me.
But sometimes one of them spawns in a darkened corner somewhere in the bowels of our abode and slowly makes it's way up into the living quarters. Our safe haven is penetrated for the moment, and the intense fear returns. Then, it explodes, or is killed and we move on, have a laugh and rebuild the damage.
On the newer servers, where the land is not quite so well known, our defenses not so robust and our equipment not so powerful, the nights are still gripped with fear.
Reminds me of the very first night I had in Minecraft. Like almost anyone, I sat in a dirt hole and shat my pants the entire night as God knows what hungrily rubbed it's stomach directly above me.
This is why I love MC. The problem being that once you've played the game for months surviving gets too easy. But going down looking for diamonds and other goodies never gets old, I pretty much lose control of my mouse everytime a monster jumps out and scares me.
Then they die.
Then they die.
Ha! Not ALL of them, but some, yes, because I enjoy playing games and writing and making internet stuphs. I also enjoy hiking and camping and taking my dog for long walks and building things in my garage. I know I don't pursue my RL pastimes as often as I would if I didn't also game, but then, I probably also play games less than I would if I didn't have other interests.beema said:
Life, to me, is about trying to keep things in balance, not depriving myself of certain pleasures because they seem to be polar opposites of others.
Apparently that doesn't help you read during the day though.frans909 said:
The guy that made the point about beds (too lazy to double quote): Touche, I haven't actually played Minecraft since January/February, prior to that update. It'd probably be more interesting now...if I ever find a project I want to build. Thanks for the tip.
Sounds like fun, I think humans these days are too used to being secure and living in society, I wouldn't mind a bit of chaos every now and then. *plays minecraft*Keith K said:
