Reminiscing: Minecraft

You find yourself stranded on an snowy beach, with nothing on you but the clothes on your back. The winds are calm, and the sun shines right above your head. Ahead of you is a snow-covered mountain populated by a sparse forest. You have no memory of how you arrived there, but one thing is for certain: you must survive. Looking for signs of civilization can come later; the first thought on your mind is to get out of the cold and find shelter. You wonder about your uncertain future as you begin your first steps toward the mountain. Who knows? Perhaps the road ahead will bring some unexpected adventure.

Such was how my first Minecraft game started. I think this was around my freshman year in high school. I still remember the calm silence, broken only by the sound of my character's footsteps on the snow, as I climbed the mountain. My first house had been a rectangular house of dirt on top of the mountain. My first night was terrifying; zombies stood and moaned outside my doorway, giant spiders crawled up to my rooftop, and skeleton archers clinked and clanked as they shuffled around my house while looking for a way in. Since the version I played did not yet have beds implemented, I could not simply sleep and skip forward to morning. The rising sun did, however, bring relief as the monsters turned to ash in its rays.

As I got used to the game, I learned to craft tools from wood and stone. I learned to mine for coal and iron. Then I learned to improve my house and build a wall around it to keep the monsters out. I also learned to farm and fish, making myself self-sufficient and steadily transforming myself from a helpless novice to an experienced survivor.

A Korean-style castle I've built in Minecraft.

One of the best parts about Minecraft is its music. In the earlier versions, Minecraft had an incredible tendency to know the perfect time to turn on its background music. The music had such a weird effect: it made me feel soothed, yet melancholic; it made me feel the loneliness of my lone survivor, but it also gave me a sense of optimism for the days to come. Perhaps you'll know what I mean once you listen to the music for yourself:

A soothing soundtrack with a tinge of melancholy.

I remember the music coming on just as the sun was setting on the horizon, creating a beautiful crimson sky dotted with the dusk's stars. I remember a song coming on as I was laying down the bricks for my house, and it made me think about how my house would eventually transform from a simple shelter to a magnificent palace in its own right.

The game is a whole new level of fun when you're playing with your friends! I remember playing with some good buddies on a server that one of them was hosting. We had so much fun exploring the Minecraft world, mining the depths of the underground caves, and building some cool buildings next to each other.

I remember that I went to work straight away building a castle with high walls while another friend went to build an elaborate tower with traps and cool mechanisms. Another friend chose the adventurer's life, choosing to dwell only in temporary shelters and exploring the world. We sometimes played pranks on one another and teased each other about how much better our own building was when compared to those of others. It was a whole lot of good fun.

Anyway, if you haven't given Minecraft a try and you're looking for an outlet to unleash your creative powers, give Minecraft a go! I'm sure you will not regret it.