Poll: Does Minecraft NEED a story at all?

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Minecraft, the survival mode, is a beautiful exploration into the concepts of loneliness and development. You start with nothing. No idea where you are, nothing you can use to better your situation and no safe place to call home. You frantically scoop out some dirt and look for coal and huddle in a small room for the night next to your candle as the monsters moan and scream outside. As the days and weeks wear on you slowly make a home for yourself in this strange and dangerous world you find yourself in, keeping up a food source and sinking your shafts deeper and further, exploring the lands around you and improving your home. You can spend hours in this simple second life.

This is one of Minecraft's GREATEST charms. It is tasteful and beautiful in itself.

Now Notch is a genius, there is no denying that, but he can lack a bit of aesthetic taste. Remember the starting player model? You're some douche with a beard wearing a bright turqoise shirt. Completely unrelated and jarring to the world, gameplay and self-developing story you find yourself in. Saying this, could Notch really write a story that is as beautiful and keeping as the original, self-made narrative?

I personally think it would completely ruin the experience for me if I was apparently on a quest to find the Great Pickaxe of Amazingness from King Drongonemous. Notch says the overarching story and goal it will be non-intrusive, and I trust him. Perhaps the story he writes will be amazing! Who knows?

And oh it better not be intrusive. But I digress.

Do you think Minecraft needs a story at all apart from the one you write yourself, the whole point of the experience up until now? Or do you think it would help if you had a goal you were working towards to fulfill?

Discuss

 

[emeraldrafael]

I'd say no, and that its much like The Sims where you're free to do whatever you want, dont have to listen to what the game tells you and are completely able to express yourself, putting the game at your mercy, and not the other way around.

 

[Kortney]

Doesn't need one but I think it would be a welcome addition, providing it isn't intrusive.

 

[TimeLord]

As long as a story doesn't affect the gameplay or comes in a seperate mode then I'm fine with a story.

 

[adam5396]

It doesn't really. But it would be nice to have some alternate modes that have a definate goal. Or, as he's mentioned before. Custom levels where you can't build things, and instead have to get through a dungeon or similar.

 

[Corkydog]

I think a story mode seperate from survival could be exactly what is missing from the game. It is already fantastic, but it could be even better. If it isn't a second mode, then the way I think it could work is through the slip. Getting to the point of actually constructing the gate would be totally free reign, but going through would send you to hell, where some sort of epic struggle would be happening, culminating with hell's minions invading the normal world, causing chaos until you, with the help of an army of elves (hell yes) fight them off and close off every slipgate on your world.

In essence...normal gameplay, hum de dum, oh, let's make a gateway to the slip...oh, crap, lots of zombies and creepers are spilling out of the gate, they are making new gates...shit.

It would still be free form, just with a vague objective.

 

[Lazarus Long]

I wouldn't mind a Crackdown-style story, in that it's there if you want to go looking for it, but ignoring it will not hamper the fun of punching trees or sports cars as the case may be.

 

[Lizardon]

I think it definately needs a purpose, or goal to strive for.

I think a nice touch would be for the game to keep track of how many days you've stayed alive. The longer you go without dying, more mobs will spawn, as well as higher level mobs.

 

[someotherguy]

When he introduces flying, i'd like to get a map from that, or otherwise, With the map procedurally generate lore "The cliffs of X" "The sea of Y".

Take from that quests forever. And he said thered be mob towns. So maybe a note you find after invading one. Go from there.

 

[Jim From Accounting]

i say we make it about a miner with OCD

 

[Sacman]

No but a little direction would be nice... even if it's just a manual... it took me 4 days to figure out how to craft things...<.<

 

[kingcom]

I think it definately needs a purpose, or goal to strive for.

This, in its current form i have no reason to do anything in that game.

 

[Twilight_guy]

Yeah... I think he's probably going to create a story along the lines of "your stranded, here's some help to get started. survive!" The actually story options for Minecraft are rather limited since its supposed to be a great big sandbox with no real "goal" beyond do what you like (and build stuff). I doubt if some contrived bullshit will come up so I'm not worried about having a bit of backstory as to why there are monsters and how your character came to be in the landscape (and why he has a portal to hell in his backyard).

 

[Sinclair Solutions]

I think it definately needs a purpose, or goal to strive for.

This, in its current form i have no reason to do anything in that game.

I think this is a definite thing to consider. The reason I can't really get into Minecraft is that I just can't find a reason to continue.

That's not to say it isn't fun, however. I love building stuff, but I think you can make a good game great by adding a purpose.

 

[Red-Link]

A minor story will help people who need a focus at the beginning, while I suspect that there's going to be zero need to follow it at all. It helps those who need it and is ignored by those who don't. So while I don't think the game needs it, I see no problem with its implementation.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

Minecraft needs a story exactly as much as a box of Lego needs a story.

 

[Chibz]

How about this? Minecraft is about a lonely miner (Or miners) in a world where they can do whatever they want.

Basically what it is now, so shut up and mine.

 

[Valkyrie101]

I'm just curious to see what kind of a story he'll come up with.

 

[Sixcess]

No, absolutely no.

Is my character an exile? An explorer of distant lands? A scout on a distant planet? A castaway? The first primitive man to discover fire and tools or the last man on earth after a zombie apocalypse?

Any of the above. All of the above. None of the above.

If I want a story I'll play almost any other game out there. If it's done in a completely abstract way then perhaps, but I don't ever want to see a text screen forcing some restrictive fantasy rubbish into this game, or a named NPC with a blocky exclamation point over his head asking me to go and collect 10 Creeper gizzards.

 

[Kajt]

The survival doesn't need a story, but it would be nice if the tutorial had some kind of a story.