303: What Purpose, Minecraft Zombies?

[Russ Pitts]

What Purpose, Minecraft Zombies?

The zombies of Minecraft aren't simply there to make the game more difficult, says Russ Pitts. They're there to remind you that life's one true mission is that of survival.

Read Full Article

 

[Aedrial]

Wow. That has made me completely re-evaluate how I look at Minecraft. Good stuff man.

 

[Keith K]

I don't think, as human-beings, we've completely eliminated that primal fear of the night. We've just spent the last few thousand years building the infrastructure to compensate for it.

Remember the Northeast Blackout of 2003?

The first night of that blackout, I wandered out into the street to experience it. It was another world. The very streets I grew up on, transformed into something else entirely. There is a tunnel under some train tracks behind the house I lived in at the time. A tunnel I'd passed through a thousand times; Only 50 feet long. In that completely blackness, I couldn't will my feet to traverse that tunnel. I was totally overcome by that inherent terror of the night.

My logical brain knew beyond any doubt that that tunnel was no different than the day before. But my emotional brain filled that space with the worst evil of Middle-Earth.

 

[Spark Ignition]

Brilliant article, had me gripped! I love the challenge minecraft's monsters represent. To me there's only one thing more exciting in-game than a glimpse of diamond ore: A vast new cave system full of enemies, waiting to be tamed and mined, one hastily torched-and walled-off chamber by another. I think as good as minecraft is, without that challenge I would have got sick of it long ago.

 

[gyro2death]

Brilliant is an understatement. I actually felt moved by this, well done. I haven't gone camping since I was a teen but I remember wandering the forest at night, jumping at the slight sounds with friends. Being utterly terrified and yet totally engaged in the experience. Minecraft has been an addiction of mine and somehow I never grasped totally why, I guess I might not ever. But, this has taught me another thing that makes minecraft more than just another game.

Well done!

 

[Nightfalke]

Very well done article, and nice Odyssey reference there man!

 

[danhere]

If you carry around a torch and a few pieces of dirt, you can make yourself a small cottage anywhere on the map without having to worry about the evils of the night. So, in this sense, it is incredibly easy to survive through hiding in the game.

Also, once I dug to the bottom of the map underneath my temporary hut (my nighttime refuge), I decided that the only thing left to do during the Minecraft night was to AFK.

This break in gameplay, the fact that nearly half of the game time was spent doing absolutely nothing of significance, is the reason why I was never fully able to get into Minecraft.

That, and the fact that I didn't see any logic behind not giving the player any actual help. I got tired of looking through wikis every time I wondered if I could craft X or Y to add it to my current project.

 

[Jikuu]

I'm happy you didn't get eaten by a bear. That's really the only sentiment I have left from reading that article.

 

[Angel Molina]

If I would have read this article about a month or two ago, I might of disagreed with you and said, "nah! No way those walking bush monsters can add anything to Minecraft! Freaking blowing up everything I make..." >=(

But it wasn't until I spent a long time in a new world on peaceful, that I realized that I actually missed those horrifying twats. Most of the things that I made on the surface just didn't have as much meaning to me... I even made a huge castle and everything (yeah, lava walls too) but it still fealt like it missed something, answer? Zombies. =)

Nothing feals more exciting than surviving an encounter with a skeleton or a creeper inside a cave.

Edit: Now that I think about, it sort of feels like a love-hate relationship in its finest.

 

[Jyggalag]

So did you survive the zombie attack? It may have been implied but you could have built a wall behind yourself for the night...

 

[bdcjacko]

hmmm, I'm not afraid of minecraft nights. I slaughter zombies and skeletons and creepers. What I am afraid of it the rain, some how it crashes my p.o.s. computer.

 

[Pat8u]

If you carry around a torch and a few pieces of dirt, you can make yourself a small cottage anywhere on the map without having to worry about the evils of the night. So, in this sense, it is incredibly easy to survive through hiding in the game.

Also, once I dug to the bottom of the map underneath my temporary hut (my nighttime refuge), I decided that the only thing left to do during the Minecraft night was to AFK.

This break in gameplay, the fact that nearly half of the game time was spent doing absolutely nothing of significance, is the reason why I was never fully able to get into Minecraft.

That, and the fact that I didn't see any logic behind not giving the player any actual help. I got tired of looking through wikis every time I wondered if I could craft X or Y to add it to my current project.

Yes you can easily hide from the night in Minecraft Yes you can do nothing at night but there is nothing stopping you from doing things you don't really need to do Heres what makes minecraft fun at night as well as day Mine at Night Build during the day.

 

[danhere]

If you carry around a torch and a few pieces of dirt, you can make yourself a small cottage anywhere on the map without having to worry about the evils of the night. So, in this sense, it is incredibly easy to survive through hiding in the game.

Also, once I dug to the bottom of the map underneath my temporary hut (my nighttime refuge), I decided that the only thing left to do during the Minecraft night was to AFK.

This break in gameplay, the fact that nearly half of the game time was spent doing absolutely nothing of significance, is the reason why I was never fully able to get into Minecraft.

That, and the fact that I didn't see any logic behind not giving the player any actual help. I got tired of looking through wikis every time I wondered if I could craft X or Y to add it to my current project.

Yes you can easily hide from the night in Minecraft Yes you can do nothing at night but there is nothing stopping you from doing things you don't really need to do Heres what makes minecraft fun at night as well as day Mine at Night Build during the day.

Like I said, I dug down to the bottom of the map (64 blocks down, I think it was?) with a fairly decent width. I had maybe 5 stacks of cobblestone in my inventory and another 8 or so in my chest. I was collecting it faster than I was using it so I just...stopped. And then half of the game time became obsolete to me.

 

[Yvl9921]

This is exactly what I love about Minecraft. There are few other games able to invoke such high-stakes adrenaline as Minecraft when you have a swarm of enemies in front of you and item-eating lava in back of you. Yes, it's a great building sim, but for me? I see it more as the best caveman sim I've ever played.

Also, that bear story was incredible.

 

[Quiet Stranger]

I like to think the zombies in MC were past miners that died before me.

Also anyone got a TL;DR?

 

[WanderingFool]

What Purpose, Minecraft Zombies?

The zombies of Minecraft aren't simply there to make the game more difficult, says Russ Pitts. They're there to remind you that life's one true mission is that of survival.

Read Full Article

Deep...​

Im never going to be able to lo...

OH LOOK! GOLD!

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Hmmm... I wonder what it says about me that I spend lots of time in Minecraft placing flaming blocks of netherrack down so mob don't spawn nearby for miles and miles?

 

[MajoraPersona]

At first, I figured this would be something that could be responded to with the words "Peaceful Mode". However, the article proved more complex than that. Minecraft's various monsters are a very good example of primal fear. In fact, I've been wondering if, perhaps, they're all in the character's head, mere manifestations of a tired, or worried, mind.

And then the creeper gets me and there's an undeniable hole in the ground.

EDIT:

I like to think the zombies in MC were past miners that died before me.

Also anyone got a TL;DR?

Spoiler: This may sum it up.

 

[lemiel14n3]

I've also had a run in with a bear. And fended him off by similar means. I know the feeling you describe, although I hadn't attributed it to Minecraft, on reflection though, I can see your point.

And after building a rather impressive castle, my minecraft days have become devoted to the building of roads.

 

[alandavidson]

I know where you're coming from about facing death and then walking away. There is no feeling like it, and it really puts everything into perspective.

Great article, loved every part.