
Forget Fortnite–my son is still obsessed with Minecraft - Tomte
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/12/forget-fortnite-my-son-is-still-obsessed-with-minecraft/
======
cubbic
I discovered Minecraft when I was 14 years old, back then it was the version
1.6 beta and I think it was one of the best discoveries of mine at the time.
One of the most distinct features this game has in my opinion is the community
it exposes you to, I had found early on a small server and the experience was
really great, everyone was friendly and it was kind of like an mmorpg but you
could build stuff! After some time the main reason I was playing it and was
logging on the server is to talk with other players, with some of them I'm
still talking, after almost 7 years of knowing them. I don't get the hate the
Minecraft gets now as my experience was really great and it allowed me to
develop my social skills and imagination.

~~~
PavlovsCat
> I don't get the hate the Minecraft gets now

What "hate"? The author describes his son showing signs of addiction, and ends
up laughing it off.

~~~
PhasmaFelis
There's a lot of people who despise it because it's popular. Same thing with
Fortnite, actually.

~~~
PavlovsCat
Sure, but how does that apply here? Someone reports a less than perfect
experience with it, and that casually gets connected to "haters that exist".

Are you sure people despise things for being popular, that they don't just
react to popular things more often and more strongly because popularity means
you encounter them more often?

On the other hand, popularity does sadly imply a certain amount of identifying
with and irrationally defending of something, which ironically adds to the
hateworthyness of it. Not because it's to blame for the people who like it,
but because it _comes with_ the people who like it and their dividing of
everything into fans or haters.

~~~
PhasmaFelis
I didn't read Cubbic as calling the author a "hater". They were just observing
that a lot of Minecraft hate exists.

If you hate a game and dismiss everyone who plays it just because some of its
fans are annoying, you are being just as irrational and identity-obsessed as
the fans that piss you off.

And, yes, I've seen that happen a _lot_.

~~~
PavlovsCat
So it doesn't apply here. But the "unrelated positive anecdote" and "unrelated
observation 'Minecraft hate' exists" (without any indication what they mean
with that, your guess is as good as mine) both are in "response" to this
article.

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androidgirl
I can't tell if this article is satire or not.

I played a lot of Mincraft as a teen and I have nothing but good things to say
about the game.

It's very relaxing, you can be creative and explore and build, plus there's a
whole depth of gameplay in Redstone circuits. The Pi edition also had Python
scripting which was way too much fun.

I've not played the main verion since the release of 1.9 beta, and haven't
followed the game closely.

But surely there are worse things for a child to be involved in?

~~~
fullshark
It's tongue in cheek I think, and it reads to me like the parent is actually
proud that his son is addicted to Minecraft instead of the comparatively
mindless Fortnite.

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PavlovsCat
> these virtual worlds are training camps for the youth, preparing them for
> the day when the planet becomes uninhabitable

More likely, they train them to ensure the planet will become uninhabitable. I
mean, Minecraft itself is fine, compared to most games it's great even -- but
watching _Minecraft videos on YouTube_ , that's what I'd curate heavily,
that's what I'd watch like a hawk, where I'd make triple sure the
communication lines are open.

[https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=minecraft+monst...](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=minecraft+monster+school)

[https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=minecraft+learn...](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=minecraft+learn+colors)

~~~
excalibur
I've long subscribed to a theory that they were being trained for something
else entirely:

Microsoft bought Minecraft for the interface, and were using the game to train
the workforce of the future, seeing its interactions as an ideal input method
for some data-mining-type activities.

~~~
PavlovsCat
It's actually kinda sad how that happened:

[https://www.pcgamesn.com/minecraft/notch-selling-
minecraft-m...](https://www.pcgamesn.com/minecraft/notch-selling-minecraft-
microsoft-it-s-not-about-money-it-s-about-my-sanity)

> Already feeling disillusioned with his place in the studio, the recent EULA
> situation was the final straw. Mojang was changing its EULA to better
> protect its players from exploitative servers, a real problem in the
> Minecraft community, and the internet “exploded with hate” towards Notch for
> a situation he says he “had nothing to do with.”

> Which is when he tweeted:

> > Anyone want to buy my share of Mojang so I can move on with my life?
> Getting hate for trying to do the right thing is not my gig.

I could have totally understood Notch just wanting some FU money and/or being
bored of Minecraft, but that he actually might have enjoyed working on it
rather than selling to Microsoft, that sucks. Unless he's just blaming the
community for something he wanted to do anyway (and I see no reason to assume
that), this is something the Minecraft community did to itself.

~~~
Drdrdrq
Curious: did anything change (for worse or better) after the MS acquired the
game? Or is it just business as usual?

~~~
PavlovsCat
I don't know what game changes are down to Microsoft, and right now the Java
Edition is still fine, but I wouldn't exactly be shocked if Microsoft dropped
free modding in favour of
[https://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Marketplace](https://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Marketplace)
at some point.

But that's of course speculation, so in the present, why I do find it sad is
simply because of Microsoft... at least in my books, Notch making Minecraft
out of nowhere was cool, Microsoft owning Minecraft isn't really.

------
cwbrandsma
I have multiple kids still playing Minecraft. Ages from 15 down to 8. They
tried fortnite and didn’t like it as much. They really like building things
and exploring.

The only game to pull them away...Breath of the Wild.

~~~
lj3
Exactly the same here with my 4 nephews (into minecraft, distracted by breath
of the wild for a bit, then back to minecraft) with one exception: they're
also into all things lego.

My niece, which is the same age as two of the nephews, is far more into her
dolls than video games. Although, she does like the occasional game of mario
kart or kirby and the rainbow curse.

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rdj
My youngest child was obsessed with Minecraft. To the point I decided to check
it out, ended up running a server where he and I and my two adult children
could play. This lasted a year or so, before they moved to Fortnite. I joined
them. I'm a good shot but can't keep up with the end-game build battles. Point
is, games come and go. My kid and your kid is no better or worse for liking
any particular game at any time. Just know it's coming...and going and enjoy
it while you can.

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ydnaclementine
As much as I don't understand the obsession with minecraft/fornite (prefer
CSGO, etc), especially with really young kids, a trend that I find that could
be comforting for worried parents is that these games are (generally) based on
building things and being a bit creative. I think this trend will continue.

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lasagnaphil
Recently Fortnite also seems to be sporting a creative mode (where you can
build without fighting/death), and support for custom-made games with custom
rules. So maybe Fortnite can also be a creative outlet like Minecraft...

~~~
basil-rash
I believe that's actually the original fortnite. The story I heard is that all
the "Battle Royale" stuff was patched in as a side project by a few devs, then
quickly overtook the "real" game in popularity.

~~~
ocdtrekkie
The original "Save the World" campaign is still a part of the game, and is not
the same as the new creative mode.

~~~
tomtomau
Notably, "Battle Royale" is available on iPad and Switch which presumably
captures the younger/more casual kids. "Save the World" however is not
available on iPad or Switch.

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brij0102
I remember when my 7 year old got into it and the experience was amazingly
similar ... then I found that the newly learnt swear words came from those
videos. If it weren’t for the gratuitous language in the article too, I’d have
loved to get him to read it!

~~~
Rjevski
Is that a problem? Swear words have their place in a language. You should
explain when it’s appropriate and when not to use these words instead of
pretending they don’t exist.

~~~
cdolan
Should we teach our children about the history of mass murderers and millennia
of crimes against humanity? What about the massive problems their generation
will face, in geopolitical, environmental, and other problems?

Your logic, in a vacuum, makes sense... but most parents cherish the few years
of their child’s innocence, and would prefer to avoid teaching them in 3rd
grade that you think it can be appropriate to drop F bombs under certain
logical conditions.

Moreover, opinions that start with “you should” are unlikely to convince your
audience.

/endrant. Sorry your comment just struck me as rude lol.

~~~
gdogw1
You're misinformed if you think children above 1st graders have never heard
the "f bomb." Also, what's the problem with them hearing a word? Can you
explain how hearing an expressive curse word ruins your child's innocence? I
mean, seriously, you sound like the type of parent that would never let their
kid watch SpongeBob until their 16.

~~~
CryptoPunk
It's about use of the term being normalized. Children mimic the behaviour they
observe. When they see people using curse words casually/often, they are less
likely to see it as something to be avoided. This doesn't apply to all kids,
but it does to some, hence the concern some parents have.

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NoPicklez
I think we all can forget as adults just how much these games, or any other
fun activity can draw us in like no other. More so than I have experienced as
an adult. The imagination runs wild in creative environments, especially when
you can do it with friends.

