Notes

Redstone-wired Minecart Railways

Minecraft is an endlessly enjoyable game, as it doesn't come with any plot, a final boss, the time limit, rules, or any goal in any way. This open-endedness forces you to invent your own goals, and makes for many different modes of gameplay. However, the most well-known method of playing (aside, maybe, from pixel art) goes like this The idea is to wake up on an island. Punch trees. Hide from monsters. Create weapons. Fight monsters. Start a strip mine or a quarry. Create a monster-proof base using trees and a mob grinder. Move on to redstone-wired minecart railways. Etc.



This game is a fantastic illustration of a deeply ingrained way to think about nature, colonization wilderness/frontier, and exploration. You are the only human on the land. Monsters and animals do not count as people. You have the right to take natural resources from the land and to kill any creature you find to be hostile. Your aim is to establish control over nature, and by introducing civilization through fortresses and farms, you are imposing order onto chaos. It is obvious that there are unsavory historical associations.



Now, you could claim that certain elements of this story are built into the game that, after all, was not created in a vacuum of culture. You can turn off monsters however there is no way to make them friendly. Bows, swords, and pickaxes are just a few of the tools you could make. Et cetera. But the fun of Minecraft is in the way that players discover different ways to use features or exploit glitches. This lets them play the game in completely new and unplanned ways. It is possible to purposefully alter the game's rules, and players are doing it constantly.



One of the first examples I was able to come across was the Anarcho-Communists clan of Minecraftia (original forum thread). There are mods such as iConomy that allow administrators to regulate shops and currency on multiplayer servers. The ACoM was aware of this and created an anti-capitalist group of players.



Here are a few threads on /r/minecraft discussing single player. They allow people to share their game styles. There's a nomad mode:



I spend most of my time exploring and locating the sources I require to continue. I search for a suitable spot to pitch my tent for the night in the afternoon. They are usually on the midst of a hill or in caves that I create small patches to protect myself from, or even just a simple dirt structure near the water. The goal is to make the landscape as minimalist as possible. Reuse and maximize use of supplies. Do not stay in one location for longer than you need. If you decide to make it temporary, keep it as simple and manageable as is possible. No huge structures, no wasted resources. There is no hoarding of supplies or resources. Only take what you need.



Then there's Falloutcraft (a. also known as. a. Morlock or Moleman), where you spend the entire game underground or Windwaker (island-hopping)-I think this game could work best with Biome Terrain Mod to create an archipelago-type map.



My favorite however is "caretaker forest Elf" and (from the comments) similar styles such as "caretaker dwarf" and "hollower":



Although the caretaker elf does not extract dirt and stone She might want creepers to blow on any material she's interested in. She is not shy about this, as creepers are known to explode anyway. The world was created by a giant creeper, after all. The caretaker utilises natural forms in the construction of structures - building using them, not destroying them. She also plants trees after they have been destroyed and, in the best case, more trees than they were before to benefit the world.
mcnames.org


[...] Interesting question Does this huge grass plain really want me to plant trees everywhere? If the plains are in need of endless grass do I need to go somewhere else to do it? You may not be concerned however the caretaker Elf does!



Another commenter describes their style as the Lonely Vault-Builder:



I build a small house under the surface to help preserve the natural environment. I construct underground gardens to provide me with easily renewable resources and hidden arbors that go into the bedrock (with light shafts and carefully bracing). I leave only to collect sand from empty isles or wool from sheep that wander around. Once I have a secure and sustainable home (with just a little glass, light and pleasing architecture) I wander around for a while, at a loss for what to do.



[...] added to the article: I have also adopted a relatively 'cruelty free' game style. I don't slaughter cows or pigs and I only punch sheep enough to ensure that they are able to be sheared. (I once accidentally punched a sheep into the lava. It was a very sad experience:) I only attack monsters that are after me, but I don't mind taking feathers or bones after dawn [...]



All this has me thinking about ways I could alter my somewhat standard gameplay. I downloaded a map with many small islands and open ocean. I could build an area of base on one of the larger islands, with a mine and a nice home, then light up and mob-proof each island, one by one...but I think it's time to try something different. I'll construct treehouses or camp out in caves, mine only mine ores that are exposed (which means just iron and possibly coal) and then replant the trees for every one that I take down. I will do my best to build shelters but I don’t plan on creating weapons. If an insect or creeper gets me then, well, I'll die! (No problem, since I don't plan on accumulating much stuff anyway.) I'll build a small boat and journey from island to island. It's going to be an adventure!


Read More: https://mcnames.org/