Minecraft: A Timeless Art

Minecraft seems to have done the impossible. The popularity of a given video game tends to deplete shortly after its release, but Minecraft hasn’t followed this trend. Since its creation in 2009 and rise to stardom in 2013, several revivals have prevented a downfall that seemed inevitable for other video games.

Whether it was sprinting home to hop straight onto a server or picking up a Minecraft handbook from the Scholastic Book Fair, every other member of Generation Z  seems to have some fond childhood memory related to the iconic video game. For me, it was playing split-screen with my older brother and his friends. Minecraft was a staple of Gen Z’s childhood.

Even for those who didn’t play the game themselves, they likely witnessed the rise of Minecraft content on YouTube. Online creators like Stampy, DanTDM, CaptainSparklez and many others led this advancement, typically catering to children. Creators also came together to create survival multiplayer worlds (SMPs), where they would all work on one server in order to survive. A notable example would be Hermitcraft, which was created in 2012 and is still active to this day.

Despite its early popularity, the game started to see significantly fewer players in 2016. Playing a game that had very few updates for years was bound to become stale, and YouTube content had moved on to other video games. It seemed like Minecraft had finally met its end.

That was until COVID-19 struck. Endless time to spend inside also meant endless time to spend staring at a screen. Suddenly, there was a massive influx of new Minecraft YouTubers, along with many older creators revisiting the game. They created never-before-seen challenges that put a creative spin on gameplay. Twitch, a livestreaming website, also saw massive growth in the Minecraft category, as viewers liked to witness their favorite creators’ progress in real time. The global pandemic brought a revival to Minecraft that rivaled the game’s early popularity.

As YouTuber Jschlatt explains in his video “A Tribute to Minecraft,” the effect of the game runs deep. People feel a substantial connection to the game and other people who play it. Minecraft players and viewers are a community that has become stronger than ever. The video game has continued to bring people together over the years.

Perhaps the strongest example of this was Technoblade. Admired for his witty sense of humor and impressive Minecraft skills, Technoblade was a well-loved YouTuber who created his channel in 2013. After a tragic cancer diagnosis, he passed away at the age of 23. “Technoblade never dies!” a quote he used during online battles, became a common saying to immortalize and pay respects to the creator. The entire Minecraft community, made up primarily of Gen  Z and younger Millennials, bonded over an appreciation for Technoblade and the joy he brought to viewers through Minecraft.

Now, the love for Minecraft is spreading to Generation Alpha. “A Minecraft Movie” created more conversation surrounding the game among kids and tweens. The infamous “chicken jockey” meme gave Generation Alpha their own appreciation for Minecraft. This isn’t to say that Gen Z has lost interest. A YouTuber named ish has posted several large-scale Minecraft simulation videos. His content has recently sparked online discussion, with many praising the videos’ detailed storylines. Countless YouTubers have used Minecraft as a vessel for storytelling in the past, and ish is continuing this tradition.

It’s safe to say that Minecraft has had a monumental effect on pop culture since its creation 16 years ago. The original audience of Minecraft is all grown up now. Those kids who built houses made of diamond blocks or tamed a pack of wolves are now adults who work long hours or find themselves hunched over textbooks. Though all that time has passed, the love for the game hasn’t. 

My hope is that Minecraft stays alive as long as possible. That it remains timeless and greatly simplistic. That it remains whatever the player wants it to be. I hope that future generations will build childhood memories around Minecraft, just like we did.

By Melanie Mandelke ’29