Have I ever told you about Minecraft?

I was thinking about how long it's been since I last blogged regularly. It occurred to me that it's been so long that my love of the game Minecraft has never come up! I often think about how my journey started, and how 15 years later, I still play it like it's new to me. 

My Minecraft journey is tied to YouTube throughout, so it's little surprise that my journey starts there. I can't remember what website I saw it on but they wanted to share a laugh about this video:

I immediately knew it would come to dominate my life. And looking back 15 years later, it's gone exactly as predicted. 

I bought my first, and to date only, Minecraft licence sometime that October, during the Alpha 1.2.0 Halloween Update on Java. I remember it being $5 but the Wiki says it was closer to $12. I can't find an invoice email so that's lost to time. Andrew was an early adopter with me. In an email search on my computer, I found the earliest remaining email in my inbox from that time was of the HindenBURN in November 2011. Fire seems to be an early Minecraft theme. 

I played solo survival early on, learning the basics of the game from Sea Nanners on YouTube.   All that remains of that first world and that first base for me are a few screenshots from December 2010

Like most early adopters, I followed the game's creator, Notch, on his blog. I found an early crash report I made where I rather gush about the game knowing that he's likely to read it:

To: support@mojang.com

Dec 10, 2010 

Greetings - was just changing the graphic setting from Fancy to whatever the alternative is - it locked up for a bit then sent this message.

LOVE THE GAME, my whole family plays together - wish we could have multiple avatars/names under my one account. 

Exciting times.

By January 2011, we'd ventured into multiplayer. Andrew was sharing snapshots of his online builds with me. (Stolen, again without permission).

I have a trove of snapshots from a server - whose name is now lost to time - with an early castle I built. It contained my first Minecraft organ, an invention I'd return to many years later. 

I started a multiplayer server in December of 2011 - aptly named "Pilot's World" that about a dozen people played on at its peak. The server lasted about 3 or 4 years, there were some stumbles and resets, but the "classic era" lasted until early 2014. One of my great regrets is losing the world file for that original world. I made a mistake when downloading the backups and when I went to re-access them - it was gone. I didn't take as many screenshots as I should have - or they're lost on a dead hard drive in a landfill. In any case, all I can find from Pilot's World the Minecraft server - is this video:

Some say he's still chasing that villager to this day. 

After Pilot's World, I played on a server called Kingdom's Cities, which I'm discovering in writing is back up and running. I may have to do some exploring soon. When Kingom's Cities (I thought) shut down in October 2018, I moved to my current home, Simplex. 

My activities in Minecraft are pretty varied. I run a store in the shopping district called EMPORIUM! I found a picture of my first-ever multiplayer shop and... I haven't evolved much in store style. 

First Shop (July 2011)

EMPORIUM! (Dec 2023)

Like most experienced, end-game players, I have an over-the-top base with a million farms and I enjoy participating in server events like build competitions. I've been pushing myself to make large-scale inventions like a playable organ, an original sorting system and even a Minecraft version of curling. 

YouTube is still part of my Minecraft adventure too. I could go through a million early YouTubers I watched but my current staple is Hermitcraft intermixed with a bit of Wattles and Mogswamp. 

Minecraft is a game that provides a vast creative palette with an enjoyable challenge in survival that drives you to solve problems and do more. Adding a multiplayer element gives you a chance to collaborate and show off in a way that provides - so far literally - endless fun. 

I'll leave you with one more screenshot, my most recent build - the S.S. Goo, my entry for the Summer Boat Building Competition. 

I need to get outside more.