Minecraft Snuck Up on Me

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My first encounter with Minecraft was while babysitting. I absolutely loathed it. The kids were playing with it on a large TV screen. I did not know much about the game, but watching it for longer than two minutes made my head hurt. When the kids explained it, it sounded like Legos on the computer. Magic migraine Legos. I did not see the appeal.

After a few years I met more people who liked the game and could understand why, but the graphics still got to me. An unlimited sandbox where anything could be created sounded fun, but I still couldn't play it for longer than 15 minutes. I tried playing it with my spouse. We built a house on a mountain and made space for animals on one side. I planted flowers all over it, while my spouse flew away to build a temple that declared God a lie. It was a fun little date night, but the headache grew and we didn't play it any more after that. It wasn't just the head aches that caused the drop. I couldn't think of anything else I would want to do. 

Fast forward even more years later, and the pandemic changes everything. It was about a year in. My school was using a hybrid model, and no one was vaccinated yet. I was exhausted and depressed. Mentally, returning like that was actually more destructive for me than the initial shutdown. My spouse, and virtual hang outs were keeping me going. My sister in law and her boyfriend invited me to join their "realm" in Minecraft. The rest of our D&D party was already there. After they explained what a realm was, I decided to give it a chance. After all, why not? I was already playing World of Warcraft with Marina. This seemed to be the year for trying new, nerdy things.

I had fun playing with everyone while we were on a zoom call. They showed me how to make a custom character, but if you asked me to show you how to do it I couldn’t. They also helped me download something to make the graphics less grating on my eyes. I don’t understand how that worked either. We played in survival mode, something completely new to me. At first, nights were confusing and made me frantic. I didn’t have a bed with me, and I didn’t understand what they meant when they asked me that. For anyone here who does not play Minecraft, you can carry a bed in your inventory, then when night comes you can pull it out and go to sleep and avoid monsters. My first night, I panicked, dug myself a small cave in a mountain and sealed myself in. Then I was stuck and needed to be dug out.

Once I adjusted to night time, I think it helped keep me from getting bored. It slowed my goals down, and added an element of danger and excitement. Between that and the changed graphics, I was able to just enjoy the sandbox and discovery elements. I built myself a tiny temporary home in a cave (with windows and torches this time) and then went exploring for a better place to build a house. I built the house, grew giant mushrooms, and went looking for animals of all kinds. I even made a golem to protect the house. I sunk hours into the game while listening to the ‘Welcome to Night Vale’ audiobooks. The two put together were perfect, and somehow exactly what I needed to find solace over winter break.

I haven’t played in a while, but I keep thinking of things I would like to build later. Maybe I would even go back to creative mode and build a village that I want to put in my story. Maybe I would build one of those giant mushroom houses that I saw on Facebook. I never thought I would like it, but I gave it a chance at the right time. Now, I have plans to play more, even in single player mode. It’s another unexpected gift I am grateful to have.