# Minecraft: request for explanation
So I downloaded Minecraft demo to see what is it what is it what all the kids around rave about. Call me a "late adopter".
Alright, I get it. Or so I think. You can destroy stuff and thereby "mine" materials, sometimes you can find something and get it. I learned how to dig myself out of a deep hole, how to drown, get killed by a zombie, how to build some simply blocky structures. So far, so good.
What I am not getting is what is the whole point. Where's the fun part?
I know, this is a silly remark. I grew up in a world of Princes of Persia, Doom, various flight and car simulators, etc. Those games have a clear hook, a clear objective, etc. You start it, you get it, you go on. I now see kids playing Roblox and what I think is this: if anybody would tell me 20-30 years ago that this would be a thing, I would laugh my head off (same way as if anybody would tell me in 2005 that phones won't get smaller, but rather larger - whatever, I tend to be wrong mostly 😐 ). Still in Roblox you can interact with characters and some of the games have a competitive spin, so I still grok those. But Minecraft? I feel like a stupid old fart who's just staring at the screen not having a clue how this could have become the "best-selling game of all times" (c.f. Wikipedia)
**Can somebody enlighten me on how to play Minecraft so as to "get the point quickly"?**
I mean, I want to play it a bit with fun and perhaps have fun with my kids with it too, I just want to "get it" sooner then they will :-).
This is be probably one of my more embarrassing posts :-D.
The game was never good at explaining stuff, you basically HAVE to read the wiki: https://minecraft.fandom.com/wiki/Minecraft_Wiki
There's various play styles you can choose from - building a base, more travelling / exploration focused, cave exploration and not getting killed, mining, settling in a village and trading with villagers, hunting treasures from shipwrecks, hoarding loot, or simply trying to beat the game (find a stronghold, kill the dragon). But nothing will push you in any direction, it's always your game to play any way you prefer. You can also switch to creative mode and play it like a big lego set
@piggo @FailForward
It is the utter freedom of the game that makes it so great. You wanna fight? Sure, go hunt mobs, kill the dragon, visit the nether and haunt those ghasts. Wanna build? Great! Go mine the materials you need for it, and start creating your most fantastic contraption! Wanna explore? You're all set! Make some gear, some supplies, food and such, and just roam roam roam around.
For those who get bored with vanilla Minecraft (like I do, actually) there's countless modpacks that add extra dimensions to the game! It can make the game easier, harder, give you some direction (there are questing mods), and give you some more goals.
In essence Minecraft is one of the best sandbox games around.
And I agree, with friends it's even more fantastic.
For me the fun is exploring for a great place to start, and then build build build expand build build build.
@piggo @FailForward
I play the java version as well. It might load a bit slow, but ye gods, the amount of modpacks is staggering and there's a lot more freedom how you want to set up your game.
It does mean that it is not available for mobile and switch. I also doubt it's crossplatform compatible.
I've never tried the other versions than the java one. I know my nephew plays it on his switch, so probably the bedrock one there. Vanilla the java and other versions are largely similar.
I like to think of the game as a virtual LEGO world. (There have been attempts in making virtual LEGO worlds in the past, but they were way too complex to generate any hook to continue.) You can basically make anything you want with the material provided. Everything else in the game is just fluff or an appeal towards perfection.
Back in the day, you would throw multiple LEGO sets and build arbitrary scenarios. You were happy with what you had and cared more if you could create that what you pictured with the material given.
Now with the aspect of never having to scrap your old project to start a new one, you can let your imagination flow.
Many of the other users have already mentioned most of the scenarios, though I prefer the simplicity of being able to shape the environment provided to your liking.
From creating the maximum size pyramid possible in survival mode to creating pathways that exceed thousands of blocks long. There is something meditative in digging up thousands of blocks to create an underground rail system. Or creating contraceptions that you thought out from scratch.
In the end it's a fairly simple sandbox game.
@barefootstache @piggo @trinsec Thanks for interesting inputs. I am slowly getting somewhere. What I did not know yesterday is that one can create new things out of raw materials and that by doing so new recipes appear. So that makes building, mining and dealing with the world much more interesting. At this point (still in the demo) I would still appreciate to get some "objective", but I guess that might come when (if) I buy the real thing I can probably see what other people do - is that correct? Also, when some mob harms me, I did not figure out how to heal myself. Or is the experience so odd only the demo version?
To heal, eat food and when your food bar is full, the health is slowly restored. This is always tricky in the beginning, the best option is to kill animals for meat. There are also apples that drop when you cut down a tree and the leaves break, but they're too rare to be useful. If you find a river, salmon are easy to hunt and nutritious. All meat requires cooking, either in a furnace or on campfire. ... And you need a pickaxe to mine stone to make the furnace. a lot of the early game is about technological upgrades
@piggo That is useful advice. It's interesting how barebones the intro game experience is. Without you telling me, I would either drop out of the game, or would have persist long enough until I would discover it myself. From my PoV not a very good on-boarding experience, but then again: millions of kids get it quickly, so who am I to complain?
@piggo @FailForward @barefootstache
Well, I joined the game when it was in alpha (it was sooo broken, lol). I wouldn't have stuck around either but, and this is extremely important, I played with friends on a server. We did the weirdest shit in this new-fangled game. Mods were coming up, we tried many various new things. I think it simply spread from there on, the game was highly moddable, you could do whatever shit you wanted, and the game is in full development so there's consistently new shit incoming.
Parents give it to their kids, they learn it, they spread it among their peers.. the game's simply accessible as heck. And if you can play online with friends, you have great adventures going!
Playing MC alone is a little bit boring, unless you've got a good modpack meant for that. The power is playing online with friends and thinking of stuff to do.
Imagine you playing with your buddies in the garden, and then suddenly think 'Hey let's build a tree house!' or 'Let's make a castle against bad guys!' or whatever. MC is the same. 'Let's do this!'
@piggo I see you posting some Minecraft pics, could you please help me with this? What do you do in that game so that it captivates you?