Explain the appeal of minecraft to a non player?

[OursIsTheFury]

I have played many games through the years, but the cube graphics really puts it off for me. Can a good fan explain what is so good about this game and why millions all over the world play it? Is it hard to learn? What's the play time? How long have you been playing it? Thanks for the responses, everyone!

 

[JusApee]

Easy one: you can do whatever. Nobody keeps you from playing survival or just messing around in Creative Mode. You don't have to fight monsters if you don't want and you can construct your own house however you want. The cube graphics isn't a problem, because if you have a better PC you can install a shader and a texture pack and make your minecraft look something like this:

Sorry for the bad quality of the photo, it's old and I had a hard time finding it and this is the only way I could find it. Square graphics doesn't matter if you mod your minecraft and have fun, so give it a try.

 

[Juno]

Biggest benefit for me:
I babysit my 8 year old niece every so often.
She loves Minecraft (Creative mode).
I don't have to plan how to entertain her, I don't after to tidy up any toys after she's left, she doesn't make too much noise....
I just fire up the server, we jump on it and build rubbish looking junk.
I'm not a big fan of Minecraft anymore as she's sucked the fun of it from me but it's still the best way to babysit (can you tell I don't have kids and not a kiddy person? )

 

[fcuco]

Quite honestly, if you are put off by the graphics maybe this isn't a game for you, but you can use shaders and packs as it was explained to make it look beautiful. I actually prefer it to run smoothly and don't care about the graphics much.

It is very easy to learn, at least the basic mechanics of it all and the most common crafting recepies. Then the content is so immense that you could spend years learning it all, I mean, people create freaking working computers inside the game using redstone circuits. Maybe you are into farming, or exploring, setting down, building a nice house and mining or learning spells or how to brew potions. That type of stuff.

The game has no clear progression but if you are asking how long it takes to "beat it", well, the answer is: a lot! there is no way for you to speed run this, reaching The End takes time, even reaching The Nether takes time, even if you manage to find diamonds quickly, mine obsidian and enter the portal you still have to prepare yourself in terms of the quality of your armor and weapon to survive in there.

You can ditch all that survival stuff and just play online something like sky wars, that's a lot of fun.

 

[Malachi]

Speaking as a 40+ year old gamer with children there are a couple of answers I'd give you. First, for me it is the sandbox appeal. It is like having a virtual set of Legos. I can do whatever I want with it and enjoy the immersive experience all at the same time. I can go where I want to go and do what I want to do. I can build temples or castles, villas or ranches. I can dig massive pits into the earth or pile up pyramids into the sky. Second, for my kids, I enjoy the safety of the exploration. They can, in a secure way, explore their own world and learn to problem solve at the same time. The game encourages a lot of creativity, but can be simple and enjoyable at the same time. It also opens doors to the programming/coding world as well. I know many kids who have started playing Minecraft and learned to design their own modifications tot he game or appearance templates. It is just such a fun game. I'm so glad that Notch used his talents on giving us this experience.

 

[Steamroller]

The biggest appeal of Minecraft is all the freedom it gives to be creative by building complex structures and even mechanisms through blocks. You can even build a functional 3D printer , or a factory to make rarer blocks. There are few boundaries besides the obvious limitations of the behaviour of every single element available, but you can do plenty with those simple stuffs.

 

[Scientist Salarian]

I never play Minecraft survival mode, so I have nothing to say about those gameplay mechanics. But I just find Minecraft to be a wonderfully peaceful way to pass the time. It's like Legos without the crushing pain of stepping on them or the endless frustration as they slowly disappear from the box, never to be found again. Plus, it's really fun to explore the physics of it. There's some real complexity built into it that makes building things challenging and rewarding.

 

[Avex]

The appeal would be the simplicity. Simple game mechanics.
Solo survival is fun for a while, then you move on to survival online, that's when it gets real. Especially when a server contains plugins.
You see that drop over there? Yeah, so do 4 other people.
Want to log off? Well, you might not come back to a base tomorrow.

There is some form of strategy and skill involved, find a nice place where no-one will disturb you or destroy your base.
And when it comes to PvP, potions are a necessity for any decent player.

 

[AWPEK]

The appeal as stated by other people is the simplicity of blocks. Minecraft is an imaginative world where you can enjoy yourself with the creativity of building something that would astonish many others, killing various enemies, farming, playing with friends, and much more. I was like you when I started wondering what made the game so fun and I even expected to be bored after a few seconds of gameplay, however, I was wrong. I enjoyed playing the survival mode of the game, obtaining diamonds which are hard to acquire, creating different tools, killing the ender dragon(final boss), and messing around with some Redstone creations. My advice to you would be to try it and see how the game will appeal to you because there is too much to explain. Once you start playing you will see for yourself.

 

[Miles Lucas]

To like Minecraft you have to understand one thing. There is no main objective. You can literally do whatever you want.

There are so many things to do besides placing down blocks, killing stuff, and making food stuffs. You can play on around 2.5 Million different Minecraft servers, so you can't complain about not having anything to do or being bored in survival (As long as you have internet)

 

[lunarsilkdragon]

Like all the other people said, you can do literally anything in Minecraft. If you get tired of the regular gameplay, there are hundreds if not thousands of mods to try out. There's even a full-fledged MMORPG server/mod called Wynncraft!

 

[Zyni]

Wow, I'm glad I found this thread. I guess the graphics did put me off a bit, as I pictured this game being more for kids. I mean, I knew adults played too, but I just didn't think it would be for me. From reading these posts though, it sounds... fun! Actually, it sounds like it could be a lot of fun and has something for everyone to enjoy. I had no idea it was so involved.

I did actually think building stuff sounded okay, but but it sounds like there is so much more to it. Thanks for all the info guys.

I especially liked the post about it being like Lego's without the pain of stepping on them. Ha ha, spoken like a parent who has gotten that 3 am "surprise" on the way to the bathroom. :smilingimp:

 

[stephen caruso]

Minecraft is such a great game for several reasons. To begin with, the cube graphics do not bother me because it is something that just needs to be accepted to play the game. They made the graphics this way on purpose. Furthermore, Minecraft lets you do anything you want. You can build literally anything that you can think of, which is why it is so appealing to me. I appreciate architecture, and this game allows me to build houses and whatever else I wish to create. Also, the real-life aspect of food, health, and combat only make the game feel more realistic, and kind of makes up for the cube shaped graphics.
This game is extremely easy to learn, and you progress depending on how much you play. I highly recommend it!

 

[ValX]

There are several aspects of Minecraft's appeal. I personally think the graphic is its only cons, but when you are used to it, it doesn't matter anymore. First of all, Minecraft is a sandbox game and all sandbox games shares the same pros, the unlimited possibilities. What you can make and build in Minecraft is unlimited, considering you're able to add all kinds of mods into it. Next, Minecraft is easy to play. It is so easy that so many young kids are playing it and building amazing things. It's ease of use is definitely because the simple features of Minecraft that you won't need a tutorial for. And last but not least, the community. There are hundreds of thousands of people play Minecraft servers everyday which means an unlimited range of people to befriend. You can meet tons of internet friends ( or enemies ) because Minecraft is also a kind of social media. Those are the three aspects of Minecraft's appeal that I think appeals to a non-player.

 

[SashaS]

Depends on who you're talking to. A popular girl would much prefer Kim Kardashian Hollywood or something and there are "elitists" (can't think of a better word) out there who probably wouldn't even consider putting some boring looking game with pixel graphics onto their $5000 rig. But to your average Joe, I think you can easily make it an appealing and enticing prospect.

Simply tell them that its a game where you can do literally anything. Fight, build, fly, raise a family of pigs, go fishing, make a roller coaster, build a town, blow it up and do it all again. Its that sandbox experience that everyone loves and if you immerse yourself into it you can use it as an escape to another world where you're in charge and you can essentially write your own destiny. Sure, it doesn't look great, but provided you have a decent PC, you can easily make it a lot more beautiful. But of course beauty is subjective and I personally think it looks great just as it is.

Looks aside, the fact that you can create, destroy, fight (or not fight) just makes it something like nothing else. (I sure have a way with words lol) Its hard to explain, but its just something that every gamer needs to try at least once.

Just stay away from the multiplayer community -_-

 

[Zyni]

Someone else told me that the game may not be for me. I get motion sickness sometimes with various aspects of certain games. The person told me that Minecraft made them dizzy. That just won't work for me.

Is there a way around it? Is it only certain parts of it that might create this issue?

The overall idea of the game sounds really fun. Being creative, doing whatever you want when you want. I just don't know about the dizzy stuff.

 

[Jonathan Solomon]

There are several aspects of Minecraft's appeal. I personally think the graphic is its only cons, but when you are used to it, it doesn't matter anymore. First of all, Minecraft is a sandbox game and all sandbox games shares the same pros, the unlimited possibilities. What you can make and build in Minecraft is unlimited, considering you're able to add all kinds of mods into it. Next, Minecraft is easy to play. It is so easy that so many young kids are playing it and building amazing things. It's ease of use is definitely because the simple features of Minecraft that you won't need a tutorial for. And last but not least, the community. There are hundreds of thousands of people play Minecraft servers everyday which means an unlimited range of people to befriend. You can meet tons of internet friends ( or enemies ) because Minecraft is also a kind of social media. Those are the three aspects of Minecraft's appeal that I think appeals to a non-player.

Is it similar to Roblox? Because I've never played Minecraft, nor found the interest too. However, I did thoroughly enjoy Roblox for 3 years. It gave the same sort of creative expression for unlimited possibilities to build and script whatever I wanted. Kind of like how you described Minecraft. On Roblox, I've even seen people script sandbox games like Minecraft parodies.

 

[Jog]

Is it similar to Roblox? Because I've never played Minecraft, nor found the interest too. However, I did thoroughly enjoy Roblox for 3 years. It gave the same sort of creative expression for unlimited possibilities to build and script whatever I wanted. Kind of like how you described Minecraft. On Roblox, I've even seen people script sandbox games like Minecraft parodies.

Minecraft is kind of like a platform to build onto. The default game itself is fun for probably a month or so of playing it. But once you get onto servers and mod packs you start to see the potential the game actual has.

You can amp up the graphics, add shaders/better looking textures to make it more realistic and then some.

The game is more "overall friendly" than roblox which was designed as a 10 and under game. Why so many older youtubers made videos on the game and did so well. EVERYONE likes it once you get to play it for a while.

 

[Mlady98]

The reason I play Minecraft is to relax from the real world. Playing a game where the ends of the world are truly endless is comforting in a strange way. I get catharsis from taking the time to build up an imaginary life in Minecraft and modifying my game to my liking. At the end of the day there are many different reasons why people enjoy Minecraft, a big reason could be that It is a universal game that caters towards children and older players and is considered a family game.

As far as graphics goes, there are many different shaders and modifications you can add to your client to make the game a little more palatable. The ability to change your avatars skin, build things in an imaginary world, and change nearly any texture in the game to your liking makes Minecraft one of a kind.

 

[Zyni]

See, it's all these creative aspects that make it sound so fun to me. I love making stuff, so building a whole little world sounds great. I was really starting to get into the idea until I was told about it making someone dizzy. I wonder if that applies to the building stuff parts.

How do you do modifications? Are there lots of mods available or do you need to make your own?