A Minecraft Review

Minecraft has finally gone gold, and with that the ever approaching release of version 1.0 rushes ever closer. Notch and the crew at Mojang recently released Release Candidate 2, and asked the gaming community to start reviewing the final build of the game and I am doing just that. But I want to try and take a step back, and try to imagine myself as someone who has never even heard of Minecraft let alone play it. I am trying to imagine myself as someone who is not going to hop onto the Minecraft wiki to figure out how to play the game after dying during their first night from a creeper’s suicidal explosion or a skeleton’s arrow; someone who has not been following the fascinating history of the game and its makers. Now I assume that the average gamer out there expects the game to teach them how to play using some kind of in game tutorial. Even if it is as rudimentary as a few texts boxes, they are still going to expect to be taught how to play. Sadly to say, this is not the case with Minecraft, and it is something I feel needs to be addressed.

Now before I go on, let me explain something. I realize Minecraft and its community is a sort of anomaly in the world of gaming. The types of gamers playing Minecraft (especially those like myself who have been playing the game for well over a year now) are the kinds of gamers who are going to jump on the net, and learn all the ins and outs of a game; we have a drive to figure out how it works. On the other hand, the gamer who is content with their Zelda, Final Fantasy, and Madden is not going to be content with a game that does nothing but the bare minimum (the achievement tab) to explain its mechanics. It is this glaring omission (a problem most of us ignored under the impression of the game was still being alpha and beta tested) that will limit the game from reaching an even wider audience than it already has. Also, with Minecraft coming to the Xbox 360 in the near future, this is a problem that has to be dealt with sooner rather than later. There is still a huge dichotomy between the types of gamers who are solely playing console gamers and the rest of us, and I think the people who download this over XBLA are going to demand more than online wikis.

Terraria fixed this problem with the inclusion of an NPC that you could talk to near your spawn point. This character would teach you the basics of the game, and help you situate yourself in the world of Terraria. With towns now spawning in the many worlds of Minecraft, and with the Adventure Mode getting the most attention, I think Notch and crew should just spawn you in a town. Have the NPCs talk to you, and have them teach you how to play. As of right now, this information vacuum is something that needs to be addressed in Minecraft. Mojang cannot rely on the community any longer to explain their game for them; they need to do it from within Minecraft. This massive barrier to entry is going to prevent people from feeling the thrill of getting lost underground only to find that diamond deposit; they will never be able to experience the terror of exploring the nether, always afraid of losing their items in that fiery waste; and they will never be able to battle the ender dragon, and get the dragon’s egg.

I think Minecraft is a fantastic game. Getting together with friends and exploring the endless world has been one of the highlights of my gaming life, yet the games lack of even a rudimentary tutorial is something that Notch and the team at Mojang have to address. While I had a fantastic time figuring the game out (and still do every time an update is released) I feel the average person who thinks Modern Warfare is the epitome of gaming will not feel the same way. Until this is solved, it is almost impossible to review this game. Even with the release of 1.0 only days away, Minecraft still feels very much like a game without direction, and I think myself and too many of us are giving them a free pass. But I’m not worried; the team at Mojang are talented guys, and I know they are going to continue improving Minecraft and continue change the face of what video games are and can be. It would just be a shame if this lack of information prevented people from experiencing one of gaming’s most rewarding experiences.