Features// Minecraft

To some this might seem very funny. OK, to me it's pretty funny, but it's easy to forget that there was a victim in all of this. When it was reported back to the forum – to the only people who could understand Campfire's pain – a witch-hunt was unleashed. IP addresses were checked and accusations were made.

Suddenly, I realised what CampfireBurning meant when he sent me the following message: “Did you put up a sign outside my cave?”

Don't get me wrong, I would have blamed me too.

He continued, “I thought about quitting the multiplayer side of it, which was silly. In the end I went through, cleared up all the water and lava and started helping out with other people's projects instead. I thought that if this guy messed with the football pitch or whatever, it wouldn't be so bad because it wasn't all my work.”

The witch-hunt continues to this day.

Building the Community
With this one vile act, the community was brought together. It may have been over hatred of an individual but a bond was made none the less. Authority figures were then created and listened to from within the server. Cities continued to be built but under the watchful eyes of the server leaders. We have, I suppose, some sort of parliament.

Some people elevated themselves from the rest; some earned the right from the time they had put into the game, but few people complained. In any society, there needs to be a leader, and a Cyber Society is no different.

Certain blocks were banned. TNT was the first to go, along with the ability to spawn water and lava. These were actions that no one wanted, but everyone agreed they had to be done.

Once the dust had settled, everyone seemed to group together to create bigger projects as opposed to individual smaller ones. A hotel, various gaming sprites... and even one of the most touching things I've ever seen in any game, ever.

A block-by-block copy of a statue that forumite 'therev' had been building in his own world before sadly passing away. Alongside it was a Minecraft version of his avatar and a selection of signs with personal messages from his Cyber friends. It was enough to bring a tear to my eye, and the sense of pride when it was completed went out into the dark spaces of the internet.

This wouldn't have been achieved had the “idea” of the game existing outside of individual people's computers not been a factor. Playing this game has a sense of meaning, of purpose. It represents the coming together of communities as well as the nastier, more destructive sides of the Internet. It represents the good in people, the bad in people, the artistic flare in people and even the sense of humour in people.

In a way it kind of mirrors life.

Notch is a rich man, but not through luck or publicity. He has created something special. A piece of gaming history. And he's done this with the game yet to even break into Beta, he's also earmarking a large part of the future to be claimed by his simple idea.

Notch is worth every penny, as is Minecraft.

I'd love to hear your own stories from the world of Minecraft - head on over to the forums and share them. It'll be great to read what you've been up to!