So what IS minecraft?

[cheese_wizington]

This'll clear it up. Hopefully.

 

[Internet Kraken]

I honestly have no clue myself. I mean I've tried playing it, but it seems nothing like the game people make it out to be. It feels like a shallow version of Dwarf Fortress in first person. That comparison is a bit of a stretch, but it's the best one I can come up with. I wouldn't call it virtual legos since I've used virtual legos and it's a lot different. Minecraft at least appears to have some objective. What it is I can't seem to figure out. I mean at least in Dwarf Fortress the embark screen tells you what your current goal is.

 

[lacktheknack]

It's virtual legos with added virtual monsters.

It's building a fortress in the wilderness.

It's exploring deep underground caves, coming across a supply of diamonds, and getting blown up because you didn't notice the creeper sneaking up on you.

It's a boat ride across a huge ocean, followed by a hike through a valley ringed by waterfalls to rival Angel Falls, followed by frantically digging yourself a 2x2 hiding hole in the cliff face because the sun is going down.

It's growing crops underwater, by the light of manmade lava pools.

It's riding a pig while shooting arrows at giant spiders.

It's creating vast plumbing networks to deliver lava to every murder hole in your Great Wall of China.

It's collaborating with friends to build a Statue of Liberty out of leaves, then watching as a griefer places dynamite around it and blows it up.

It's breaking into an underground dungeon, quickly walling up the monster spawner in the center, and getting away with three loaves of bread, a saddle, and a golden apple.



In short, Minecraft is the experiences you have with it. I have done most of these things, but not all - I've spent over a hundred hours playing, and love it every bit as much now as when I started.

This. It is also hanging greenhouses, Enormous trees willed with water, and Ladders To The Clouds.

You should buy it while it's still cheap.

 

[Squilookle]

Actually if you want a youtube series that will actually help you work out what it's like, try this:
And there's always this oldie but goodie video:

 

[V8 Ninja]

It's the next World of Warcraft. Amazing, awesome, and addicting as all hell.

 

[ryanxm]

its creating stuff

in my case it would be a large castle with a lava moat and a back room made entirely made of glass with a man-made waterfall flowing over it with a perfect view of the sunrise

its freaking out the first day because its starting to get dark and you have yet to find coal for torches

its making an underwater city complete with depresseization chambers to keep the water out

its finding a cave that goes four miles deep to find a gem to create a jukebox and then either looking for a dungion and hoping it has a record or making a skeleton archer shoot an exploding monster so that it drops a record

its making a rollercoaster

and its finding a sattle and putting it on a pig then having said pig jump off a mountin so high when you look down you see clouds

its also tons of FUN

 

[Maclennan]

Its just an outlet to try and build ridiculous things out of what ever you feel like, well there are limits based upon how much you can find and there is a limited number of different kinds of blocks, also if you have experience doing electrical engineering you can do some pretty crazy things with something called redstone

I like connecting tnt to switches on top of my fortress to blow things up from the relative safety on command.

Also the site says its going to Beta on the 20th, the price may go up then. I remember a price change being mentioned but that might not be till it is complete

 

[Dfskelleton]

Whatever you want it to be. A game where you:
Recreate settings from other games
defend against monsters
build lovecraftian beasts
Make giant buckets of pigs
make heaven
make hell
make a box and then break it
write "LOL" in huge letters, then fill everything else in lava
do other stupid stuff

 

[duktapeman90]

 

[Wharrgarble]

It's anything you want it to be.

Before I left for a doctors appointment once, my boyfriend asked me what he should build next in Minecraft. I told him, jokingly, that he should build a "testament to my awesomeness".

I came back hours later to discover a giant statue built in his "yard", covered with torches standing at least a mountain high.

Yeah. It's a pretty epic game.

 

[tehweave]

While the 'lego' comparisons keep coming in, that is the closest the game is to resemblance, its much more than that. Here's what minecraft is:

Classic:
An open canvas filled with scenery already there. You have unlimited blocks to build stuff with and you can change the scenery as you wish. It's all from a first person perspective, and your objective is nothing more than 'go nuts.'
Also, the size of the area is either small (about a mile across) medium (several miles across) and large (pretty huge)

Alpha:
A survival simulator. You are given limited blocks, and must mine and craft the rest. Same as before, you can build and build to your heart's content, but you must mine the materials first, then craft them. At this point, you must survive. Monsters will come to haunt you constantly, and also will try to kill you, but only at night and only in caves. You have health, and if you die, there's little repercussions beyond part of your structure might be damaged, and all the stuff you were currently carrying have been flung around the area in which you died. If you find yourself back to said area, you can pick up all the stuff.
In summary: A building simulator with monsters that hinder your building.
Also, the size of the area is... Unlimited. You heard me. It has no size. Since terrain is randomly generated, the total area of the game is... Infinite. There is a finite area to go up and down in, but beyond that, you can comb the entire land for hours with no barriers in sight.

Beta:
Still in speculation mode, but as far as I can tell, there's going to be a narrative and new 'stuff' to get, craft, mine, and build with.

So! If you're creative and like to make stuff... It's a fun game.