Why do so many people like Mincraft?

QuantumNebula

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Jun 4, 2013
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Firstly, this isn't a hate thread, I am just genuinely curious.

I own the game on the 360, but not on the PC which may be part of the problem.

Anyways, here is my problem: Every time I load up the game and start to play, I get bored extremely quickly. Maybe I don't like a game where you have no real purpose, I don't know. This is where I see the PC version being more fun. On PC, there are tons of cool looking custom maps and mods that I have seen which could give a purpose to the game. Also, I truly don't see the point of building huge castles and cities when they serve no purpose other than to look at.

I have played both in survival and in creative. In creative, building is so boring because I didn't earn anything. However, in survival, the same is kind of true for me. Because there isn't that much of a challenge in the game normally, gathering building materials turns into grinding instead of something that is rewarded for doing a hard task. Both of these aren't very much fun to me. Coupled with the lack of purpose to building and it quickly bores me.

Also, I find the combat extremely dull, with essentially only three things you can do. Swing your sword, block with your sword, and shoot a bow.

One thing that may make this game more fun for me could be playing with friends, just joking around, having fun. The problem is that I don't have any friends that play Minecraft, so that is not an option.

Again, please don't take this as a "I hate this so you shouldn't like it" hate thread. I am just curious as to what the 22 million people that have player Minecraft enjoy about it. Maybe I am doing something wrong. I don't know.
 

Zhukov

The Laughing Arsehole
Dec 29, 2009
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Because you can... make stuff?

I'm not a huge fan myself (I find the lack of objective leaves me apathetic), but I don't have any trouble seeing the appeal.

The multiplayer can be great fun. To date, Minecraft is the only game to make me take up full-time griefing. You can tunnel under someone's house and set fire to it from below. You can plant explosives above someone's door and rig them to blow when they step through. You can take note of where someone logged out, then make a sealed obsidian room half full of lava to welcome them when they get back. You can set up deadfalls and lava booby traps. You can dig a channel from the sea and flood someone's mine while they're in it. Oh, the possibilities...
 

piinyouri

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Mar 18, 2012
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For me, I'd say it's because you're on the 360.
PC has the mods, which I cannot overstate how much they have extended the games life for me personally.

But I will say maybe you should try shopping around and find a server with some nice people.
The buildings aren't always just there to look at, some folks have entire role play servers set up, where they live, work and adventure in the world they've created.

The combat is terrible. It's always been so and I'm not sure there are any mods that have fixed or improved it.
 

SeventhSigil

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Jun 24, 2013
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Definitely because you're on the 360, and not just because of the mods; I know there's also a size restriction there, which sort of takes away the enjoyment I would think. I've quite enjoyed seeking out new biomes, wandering far from home base in the hopes of finding some new resource... I was childishly amused when I found a wintery biome and got to make snowballs. xP "Take that, zombie!"

I really think the combat is more of a means to an end, at least for me- personally, find it awkward as hell- because I'm generally one of those sorts of guys who enjoy just tinkering on a project. Lego, short stories, doodling drawings that absolutely suck and I will immediately throw away, reading old school textbooks because I find the topics interesting... I just sometimes enjoy things that are zero adrenaline, and all meticulous work and advanced planning. Not just on massive wizard towers, but even on small conveniences. To take a random example, my roommate and I were working together on a map over LAN, and between our two bases was this jungle biome, full of massive trees, bushes, etc, etc. The actual distance between us was only two hundred and fifty blocks, maybe three hundred, but because of the terrain, a lot of time was wasted climbing vines, vaulting over bushes, falling into random holes in the ground... we wanted a quicker way to reach each other, whether to trade supplies or just help out. But cutting a path through would have taken aaages, and trying to light the whole thing on fire would have been insane.

Anyway, spare all the details, but short version is we ended up creating two portals to the Nether in our bases (where every step there means something like seven or eight steps in the normal world,) which shortened the distance considerably, AND means I only had to go down a narrow hallway of my own construction, rather than climbing over all sorts of stuff. I was very proud, for very nerdy reasons. xP
 

Requia

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Apr 4, 2013
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I own the game on the 360, but not on the PC which may be part of the problem.
It is. Not just mods[footnote]They help though, I just started the spin up of a freaking nuclear power plant last night![/footnote], but the basic gameplay. On PC the Minecraft world is 8 times the size of Earth. A lot of the fun comes from simply trying to hunt down temples/strongholds/villages for specific resources, or even just find the place you *want* to call home.

But then, there are more pocket/xbox players than PC players. So that's not the whole story. For me personally, a lot of it really comes down to how much work it takes to really accomplish my goals in Minecraft. The whoel self actualization thign really somes through when you have to basically take classes on how redstone works in order to build that deathtrap you always wanted.

But if you don't have inspiration, something you *want* to accomplish, then the game isn't ultimately for you.
 

Requia

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QuantumNebula said:
Also, I find the combat extremely dull, with essentially only three things you can do. Swing your sword, block with your sword, and shoot a bow.
You forgot dig a hole in the ground and cry until the sun comes up.
 

sanquin

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Jun 8, 2011
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To people saying it's more fun with friends:
This is not a valid argument. ANY game that has multiplayer options is more fun with friends...

As for why minecraft is fun:
A lot of people just love minecraft being a very easy way to express their creativity. Well...okay creativity might not always be the right word when so many are just 'recreating' images from other things. But still. If it's not for you, well...then it's not for you. Simple as that. Minecraft isn't meant to appeal to anyone and everyone. It's meant to appeal to people that like to build stuff. Which as it happens, are a lot of people.
 

Lil devils x_v1legacy

More Lego Goats Please!
May 17, 2011
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Minecraft is like interactive legos without gravity. Normally people would never be able to build the stuff they would like to with legos due to how many legos it would take to do so. With Minecraft it not only allows them to do so, they can also interact with them in a way they would not normally be able to do. Not only can you build the game world, people make their own quests, battle arenas, mini games within the game. They build cities, amusement parks, arenas, sculptures and have others help and join games for matches.

It is a very useful tool for creative thinking, having the ability to make your own world I think makes these types of games really stand out. What I would really like to see in the future though is this continually expanded on where it feels as if your options are endless. This is just the beginning of these types of games, and I do hope they expand to allow for more player made content, and allow for more options when building, creating scenarios, quests, and storylines. We have already seen quite a few games like it in the market, I hope to see these games really expand in content, so we have more ability to have more player made content available.

We are already seeing this happen via mods/ texture packs for the pc, the xbox version is really dumbed down so you do get to see that with it. On PC you have a vast amount of servers where you can go and do different things, some imitating other games, others completely original with their own themes/quests/ storylines ect. Basically you can create your own MMO game out of it, and you can do with it as much as you can imagine to.
 

AuronFtw

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Nov 29, 2010
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It's fun if you have a project in mind. Lot of people on my server were making castles, so I opted to make a huge ship instead - they gave me wood and wool (for sails), I gave them cobblestone and iron. Spent maybe a week straight putting everything together, labeling rooms, fine-tuning the rigging to look as realistic as possible. It was a blast.

But then it kind of... got old? I didn't have another project in mind, so I just wandered around gathering stuff and usually giving it away. I had enough gold stashed up that I singlehandedly refitted our rail system with powered rails when they were introduced. But after a few weeks of that... I quit playing.

Few more months down the road, I had a really neat idea for a three-story hotel with water fountains. So I went back in, started collecting more stuff, and had a blast for another week or two. And, again, when it was finished, I got bored and moved on.

The combat is pretty boring, the RPG elements seem very tacked on. The only thing the game does really well is the gathering and the building, and when you aren't doing those it loses its draw fast.
 

Mudokon

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Jun 24, 2013
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i find this game very boring, never liked it but thats just my personal oppinion.
 

TheRaider

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Jul 4, 2010
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I think the Thinkspace AR app is driving the popularity :D

I think it is partly because it gives modelling skills to people who can't use 3D modelling software in a a fun and simple way
 

Foolery

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Jun 5, 2013
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Play it with friends. That always makes it better. I've spent countless hours faffing about with my friends building structures and exploring. There is no purpose in Minecraft, it's whatever you make of it.
 

purplecactus

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Jun 25, 2012
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I like it because it presents a different sort of challenge to me, especially in creative. I like that I've got the freedom to do pretty much anything and build what I want. And with survival, I enjoy that it gives you a different kind of challenge, you've got to think a little more realistically. And yeah, the social aspect of it is pretty awesome too.
 

RJ 17

The Sound of Silence
Nov 27, 2011
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QuantumNebula said:
Also, I truly don't see the point of building huge castles and cities when they serve no purpose other than to look at.
While updates to the game have made it so that there's more stuff that can be done, this (at least by my understanding) is the crux of the matter. If you haven't already, watch Zero Punctuation's review of the game.

Essentially it's a lot like model building, it's not a hobby for everyone. Even if there's no one around to appreciate a model builder's models other than the builder themselves, the builder will still find enjoyment out of doing it. The game appeals to people that like tapping into their creativity to imagine things and then bring them "to life", so to speak. You get an idea for a grand castle and that gives you a project to work on. You don't care if no one will ever see it, you get satisfaction of knowing that you're working towards a goal. And if you actually CAN show it off to other people it's all the more satisfying. But just like how not everyone is into building models, not everyone is going to be into Minecraft. I've a number of friends with the same feelings as you: there's no point to the game/they get bored very quickly.

So the short answer is that at it's core Minecraft is much more of a hobby than an actual videogame.
 

Altorin

Jack of No Trades
May 16, 2008
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are you playing it with friends? because I know when I play it with friends (or at least when I used to, the last few times, it's not been so magical), my brain squirts so many good time chemicals all over itself that I almost need a shower.
 

zefichan

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Jul 19, 2011
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sanquin said:
To people saying it's more fun with friends:
This is not a valid argument. ANY game that has multiplayer options is more fun with friends...
Soccer/Football is boring! I'm just there, forever kicking balls into a goal, it's so easy and zzz.
These games SUCK!

And don't give me that multiplayer thing. This is not a valid argument. ANY game that has multiplayer options is more fun with friends...
 

TheEndlessSleep

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Sep 1, 2010
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Unfortunately you have to be a fan of setting yourself goals in Minecraft. The only thing that the vanilla game really builds towards is defeating the Ender Dragon.

The real appeal of the game is being able to create pretty much anything you can think of.

Personally - I play with the Technic mod pack installed - and the combination of machinery and electronics that it adds really helps to flesh out the construction aspect of the game.
 

KOMega

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Aug 30, 2010
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I think it's because minecraft is sorta one-of-a-kind, low barrier entry game.
It lets you build things block by block the way you want it, and oh there happens to be zombies and stuff so it isn't completely just a big sandbox builder. Hell, you could turn that off if you really wanted it to be just that.

Being really unique, it attracts it's own type of player from an under served market and spread it self out by the most effective way of advertising: word-of-mouth, because people trust their friends when they recommend something.