"That's not in the spirit of the game" is a phrase I've heard quite a lot, on the forums and elsewhere. The latest one I saw was when someone posted a method of dealing with the current zombie apocalypse - a pretty ingenious use of villagers to draw off the zombies, and one of the replies repeated the 'not in the spirit' comment.
This got me to thinking - why do people think that Minecraft has a 'spirit' - a set way of playing that's more 'right' than others?
One of the things that I like about the game, and has me still playing it over two years from when I first started, is how very versatile it is. Creative mode, for people that are only interested in pure building, the different survival modes, mapmaking (and all the variety just in maps!), competitive elements like UHC or Race for the Wool, mods and modmaking.
Servers provide further variety depending on the admin, and use of things like bukkit - PvP or griefling can be forbidden or encouraged.
I'm personally someone who enjoys building most, but I actually also enjoy gathering the materials in (I find branch-mining oddly relaxing, like solitaire..) and exploring after a new update to find new stuff. I'm not really interested in caving, though I'll take a notion now and again. I'm terrible with redstone, but sometimes I'll see some kind of automated machine and try to replicate it (I'd never have managed to build an Ender Ender without DocM's excellent videos).
Which takes me back to 'the spirit of the game'. Why would something like a piston-operated Enderman farm not be 'in the spirit'? Are they only 'in the spirit of the game' when built as technical showpieces on Creative mode - only 'in the spirit of the game' when they're never actually used? Why is a mob farm 'not', but my wheat farm is? Why isn't it 'cheaty' to use a piston to harvest all my wheat, instead of breaking each one by hand?
I love it that some people are enjoying the new mob AI, and having great fun caving and roaming at night, battling monsters happily. But I resent it when the few try to suggest that those of us who play differently, and get out fun from different things, are in some way 'doing it wrong'.
I personally don't think Minecraft has a set 'spirit', if anything it's defined less by narrow rules and more by creativity and invention. What does everyone else think?
tl;dr
Does Minecraft have a 'spirit'? What does it mean to you, and why?
I think Minecraft has spirit, but it's not about how you play the game. It's about what is in the game. It's a perfectly legit argument against silly additions to the game. But as far as playing the game, play it any way you want.
I think Minecraft has spirit, but it's not about how you play the game. It's about what is in the game. It's a perfectly legit argument against silly additions to the game. But as far as playing the game, play it any way you want.
I agree. If they were to add guns, I would say "That's not minecraft-y, at all!".
If they added a new enemy mob, I might say "This suits minecraft. Good feature!".
This got me to thinking - why do people think that Minecraft has a 'spirit' - a set way of playing that's more 'right' than others?
One of the things that I like about the game, and has me still playing it over two years from when I first started, is how very versatile it is. Creative mode, for people that are only interested in pure building, the different survival modes, mapmaking (and all the variety just in maps!), competitive elements like UHC or Race for the Wool, mods and modmaking.
Servers provide further variety depending on the admin, and use of things like bukkit - PvP or griefling can be forbidden or encouraged.
I'm personally someone who enjoys building most, but I actually also enjoy gathering the materials in (I find branch-mining oddly relaxing, like solitaire..) and exploring after a new update to find new stuff. I'm not really interested in caving, though I'll take a notion now and again. I'm terrible with redstone, but sometimes I'll see some kind of automated machine and try to replicate it (I'd never have managed to build an Ender Ender without DocM's excellent videos).
Which takes me back to 'the spirit of the game'. Why would something like a piston-operated Enderman farm not be 'in the spirit'? Are they only 'in the spirit of the game' when built as technical showpieces on Creative mode - only 'in the spirit of the game' when they're never actually used? Why is a mob farm 'not', but my wheat farm is? Why isn't it 'cheaty' to use a piston to harvest all my wheat, instead of breaking each one by hand?
I love it that some people are enjoying the new mob AI, and having great fun caving and roaming at night, battling monsters happily. But I resent it when the few try to suggest that those of us who play differently, and get out fun from different things, are in some way 'doing it wrong'.
I personally don't think Minecraft has a set 'spirit', if anything it's defined less by narrow rules and more by creativity and invention. What does everyone else think?
tl;dr
Does Minecraft have a 'spirit'? What does it mean to you, and why?
[Note: "No" is a perfectly acceptable answer.
The game itself has no "spirit" about it. A player can have a spirit for the game, but the game can not have any spirit for the player.
We are the determining factor.
I agree. If they were to add guns, I would say "That's not minecraft-y, at all!".
If they added a new enemy mob, I might say "This suits minecraft. Good feature!".