“There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy.”

The survival Minecraft world my friends and I made in 2013 was so stupid. Our house was made of cobblestone and ugly nether reactors were erected all across our tiny, finite world. Thanks to a duplication glitch we found on YouTube, we were able to gather unlimited resources, which paired with our terrible building skills resulted in later houses being made exclusively of diamond and gold blocks. Eventually, our tiny brains grew a little bit bigger and we began to comprehend “greater,” more “sublime” projects like a hotel or restaurant. Of course, this was “so stupid” because we each already had houses and it wasn’t like any hotel guests or restaurant customers were gonna join our world anytime soon, so those pointless structures ultimately became a constant visual reminder of our decadent waste of—admittedly duplicated—resources. But still, we built them. Still, we had fun.

Sugarcane Farms

“Why Minecraft Isn’t Fun Anymore,” “It’s Not Nostalgia. Old Minecraft WAS Great,” “Minecraft Has Lost Its Identity” are just some of the many YouTube videos I’ve found glorifying old Minecraft while denouncing the modern Minecraft for not being Minecraft enough despite being… Minecraft.

These videos are abundant in their quantity and nostalgia bias, so much so that they’ve sparked their own metatext with satirical YouTubers posting videos such as “‘Minecraft Isn’t The Same’ videos be like” and my personal favourite: “‘gaming isn’t fun anymore’” with the thumbnail telling these complainers to “shut up.”

Of course, the biggest change throughout these years is not the game but us—we’ve changed. I can’t go back home at 3PM everyday and immediately “hop on the craft” as I did in grade school. No. I’ve got “real” stuff to do now like figure out how to do my taxes, do my taxes, and write a blog post on Minecraft in which I talk about figuring out and doing my taxes.

But this change goes both ways as Minecraft and its media too have changed. In particular, over the past few years, there’s been a shift in Minecraft YouTube towards hardcore and “100 days” content, both of which put an actual “end” to what would normally be an infinite Minecraft playthrough. Afterall—like a privileged life in the real world—“survival” Minecraft is barely about surviving or achieving any one objective for that matter. Hungry? Just respawn with a full hunger bar! Need shelter? Dig three blocks down and put a dirt block on top! Even the literal “End” of the game is, if anything, a beginning as most serious players don’t even consider the game as properly starting until you’ve attained an elytra.

In response to the meaningless wandering of Survival mode, hardcore and 100 days Minecraft challenges offer a definite end by promising not the slaying of the Ender Dragon but rather the death of your character and end of your world. Death gives life Minecraft meaning. So how do hardcore players give Minecraft meaning? By completely optimizing their world.

In lieu of the cobblestone huts and hotels, players now expand on industrial scales with farms ranging from sugarcane farms to XP farms, iron farms, pearls, guardian, gold, diamond, netherite, and more, more, more, and more. I’m nowhere as good as these players, but even when I play Minecraft myself, I also play to optimize. I don’t start with the dirt hut anymore—nor do I start with any type of house—because why would I bother with a starter shelter when I can eventually build my dream end-all-be-all mansion once I get an elytra and shulker boxes full of sea lanterns and stained glass and whatever other fancy block I need as if my game plan was some sort of blocky parody of the American Dream.

It’s not necessarily a bad thing that I like to optimize. Optimization reminds me that I’ve grown more mature and responsible than the cobblestone hut and reminds me that I can also achieve something greater in real life so long as I plan ahead and work hard. And this process doesn’t have to suck! I love playing Stardew Valley like a venture capitalist planning each harvest for maximal profit, and I don’t mind having to go to university to help me find a job because I still enjoy the people I meet and material I learn. But if this is all true, why build in Minecraft? Future updates will always bring better blocks and I’ll always have more resources than I did in the past, meaning that whatever I decide to build today—whether that be a cobblestone hut, pointless hotel, or 10,000 iron ingot per hour farm—will eventually be rendered inferior and superfluous in comparison to what I build tomorrow. Scratch that, actually. A better question to ask is why even play Minecraft in the first place?

Again, Minecraft has no end and each block I place ultimately builds up to nothing just as each hour of Minecraft I play amounts to nothing in my real life. In the real adult life, getting an education, getting a job, networking, and starting a family are the sugarcane and iron farms that’ll lead me to the diamonds and netherite that’ll allow me to finally start the game of life. So why ever build? Why ever game? Why ever have any figment of fun that doesn’t 100% align with the great (and please read this next word with the “r” rolled) prrrrrrrrogress!

Well put it simply, I build in Minecraft because I want to! Silly 😉

The Myth of Sisyphus

“I leave Sisyphus at the foot of the mountain! One always finds one’s burden again. But Sisyphus teaches the higher fidelity that negates the gods and raises rocks. He too concludes that all is well. This universe henceforth without a master seems to him neither sterile nor futile. Each atom of that stone, each mineral flake of that night filled mountain, in itself forms a world. The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy“

Albert Camus (The Myth of Sisyphus, 1942)

Like Sisyphus, Steve also pushes that boulder by virtue of existing. With no true “end,” Steve has no purpose and is indiscriminate between whether the player wills him to build a working 8-bit computer or a sheep fucker. As such, the parts of Minecraft that give Steve meaning are the useless yet personally meaningful cobblestone huts and hotels. Steve will never reach the summit of his existence’s purpose, but he knows that he can at the very least enjoy each push, dirthouse, and sugarcane farm along the way. And so can I.

My Minecraft highlights weren’t AFK autofishing for mending books, but rather playing with friends and trying to summon Herobrine. And I know that the meaningless structures I build are what give Minecraft meaning just as the volatile relationships in my life give me meaning to to be. Yes, Minecraft is life! And life is Minecraft! However, it’s with this in mind do I say with a sigh that I don’t enjoy building in Minecraft anymore.

Camus promises invincible summers, but it’s winter right now and I won’t get a long enough break to play with my friends again until this finals season is over, and even then, I won’t be able to play without the nagging feeling that I should be doing something greater with my life. I’ll push my boulder another angle, push another direction, push it anywhere and anyhow that’s not the way I’m pushing right now. Surely, that’ll help me reach the summit faster…

I agree with Camus that “one must imagine Sisyphus happy,” but sometimes that quote hits a little too close to home. “Imagine Sisyphus happy…” thanks Camus, glad to know that I can at the very least imagine happiness and meaning in my life.

But still, I push. I write this article and I go to school. I hang out with friends and go on holidays with family. There are highs and there are lows, and I don’t know if it’s always a good trade-off to experience the deep canyons in exchange for the low hills. Still, I’m living and writing this blog post right now because what the fuck else am I supposed to do? Doomscroll all day?

I guess there is one major difference between life and Minecraft, and that’s that I can Alt-F4 Minecraft whenever I want and stop playing. In contrast, I can’t just stop playing life…

Except I totally can.

“There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy”

Albert Camus (The Myth of Sisyphus, 1942)

An Existential Look at Minecraft

On Sunday January 23rd, 2005, I was born into this world. I don’t particularly remember being asked for that thing—my birth—to happen, but nevertheless, it did and now I’m here and have been here for the past 19 years, 10 months, and 16 days. Ever since then, I’ve been blindly pushing my boulder towards whatever resembles anything I deem meaningful, which could be getting my Bachelor’s or eating my next cup of instant ramen.

Maybe that next big thing will happen tomorrow, or maybe next month, year, decade, or perhaps never. But I’m optimistic that I’ll pass by some pleasant things eventually as long as I keep on walking. So I guess I’ll keep living until then.

I can’t remember the last time I played Minecraft nor do I even have the game downloaded on this PC I’m using right now. Regardless, there isn’t a single stupid moment or stupid structure that I’ve ever regret building. I’m glad I grew up building cobblestone huts just as much as I’m glad that I can write, reflect, and share my memories and thoughts with you today. 

So why should I build in Minecraft?

I build to keep playing.

Thanks for reading.