Think back to 2012, chances are you had heard of the Minecraft craze that overtook the youth of America. Looking back now, the community that rose up around this extremely simple game is similar to the one that has risen up round Fortnite in the past year or so, full of 12-year-olds and YouTube who think screaming is equal to comedy.
Initially released in 2009, Minecraft is a fairly simple game that revolves the player exploring and building in a randomized world of cubes. Eventually, the game released on Xbox 360 in 2012, which is where many more people found the game. Around this time as well on YouTube Minecraft “Let’s Play” channels began to pop up, thus sparking the explosion of the community.
From song parodies by CaptainSparklez to “Hunger Games” and “Prison Break” gameplays by SkydoesMinecraft to just relaxing playthroughs of the game by ChimneySwift, the community had so much to offer for everyone. You were unable to look at your homepage without seeing at least one Minecraft video. There was an excitement seeing something blow up to this insane magnitude.
Yet as with every community there was an eventual downfall, one that make it so the community and everyone who participated in it would become the laughing stock the internet. While it’s hard to point to one exact moment that began this downfall, I would say that the incident that pushed it to the edge was the creator LionMaker using the game to prey upon minors using his popularity in 2015.
While most people will think back and remember Minecraft for the community it created, there is also the aspect that I most remember playing Minecraft for, and that’s friends. I didn’t play the game because i thought i could eventually become some massive Youtube personality, though i will admit i did make several videos trying to become one, I didn’t play because of all the wacky things there were to do or find in this massive game, I played Minecraft because as a kid, there was nothing better than going over to a friends house and staying up and playing Minecraft on the weekends, I played it because I met some of my best friends to this day while playing, I met my current roommate in 6th grade while playing the Minecraft version of DayZ. When I think of Minecraft I think back to the memories I have of playing this game, and the more I’ve made even just this year, playing in my friends dorm with 6 other people from our hall.
To some Minecraft is a dead game that people stopped playing years ago, to others it’s a monument to our innocence and childhoods, but to me Minecraft is more than both of these, Minecraft is beginning of many friendships and is a game that will always be in my heart.
Logan Carr is a freshman studying political science at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Did you see the movie? Let Logan know by emailing him at lc300918@ohio.edu.
