This is my first attempt at a scripted video essay. A philosophical look at the construct of Minecraft as a contained existence. Credits: - All footage is under fair use - Drone footage by Toby Groves
Today I stumbled upon the best Minecraft essay, and this is it, it’s not about solely the nostalgia or solely about its music, a new angle at the game which I haven’t seen before. Great job!
On RU-vid these days, there's always so much included in a video to ensure that people "watch until the end". Creators will pull all sorts of flashy gimmicks to do exactly that. Words cannot express how refreshing it is to see a video that actually cares more about a story than it does about its own retention. Thanks for exercising restraint by not making this video as fast-paced as possible, it really added to this story's message.
It’s a different philosophy animating the whole creative landscape. It’s often very fun but it’s certainly different, and I would say somewhat exhausting, not to sound like a curmudgeony old man fart.
I cannot express my amazement nor thankfulness in enough words for this video. Truly a fantastic piece of discussion and exploration. More people need to watch this, and more praise needs to be given. Well done, Kirby.
Excellent video. Minecraft is more than just a game and you’re on point with its philosophic implications. I can’t tell you how impressed I was by this video essay, from the concise script, to the editing, and to the points made, I honestly thought you had a few hundred thousand subscribers until I saw that you only had 205, that tells me that you went above and beyond and I can guarantee that you’ll reach the hundred thousand subscriber mark if you keep making these video essays. I’m glad to be your 206th subscriber
The “now what” hit me in places I didn’t know I even had. Amazing video. I will sent this to those I think will be interested in it. Truly underrated. And when the sunset music came on, I felt the urge to play Minecraft for the first time again and for some reason cry.
This video made me feel some sort of way, I don't know what it is yet and I believe it'll take time for me to figure it out but i'm glad I experienced it and i'm thankful you made this. This was extremely well put together. An absolute flawless of a video, thank you!
I... I don't know how to explain it, but I find myself coming back to this video every so often. It makes me feel something, not particularly happy but not particularly sad. It's comforting. It isn't particularly the editing, or the essay, or the music, or your diction, or maybe it is, and its a combination of all of it. It isn't the nostalgia, and it isn't anger. I don't feel existential dread but I don't necessarily feel that I know my place in life. Or maybe it is nostalgia, and maybe it is anger, and maybe I do feel existential dread and that I figured out a bit about my life. What I can say though is that its amazing, something inexplicably amazing. I watch this video every so often, just for that feeling when I watched it the first time, and I hope that I'll find out why exactly that is.
Fantastic video, I had to laugh 4 min into it when I remembered that it was a Minecraft video that was giving me this existential crisis, great writing
I remember i was playing minecraft pocket edition in its early days, it was night, i just got out of the mine when i had a thought. “I want to go home” so i walked to my house went inside and i still thought “i want to go home” so i left, and started walking, no particular direction, no particular destination. I walked and walked untill i came across a mountain, i climbed it and got to the top just as the sun was rising. There was a tree next to me and i looked out at the rising sun as the music began. The torch lighting the path to tomorrow. Finally i knew, i was home.
its things like these that just make me want to get back into the game and relive th ebest memories i could have ever wished for like that time you boot up the game for the first time and rush to show your parents the amazing house youve just built. Amazing job man, keep it up.
It's that feeling. You summed it up in this video, but I realize now this feeling follows me not just from Minecraft, but to every corner of my real life. Now What? It's a profound notion, the Now What. Being presented with so much choice, you now have the ability to go anywhere, do anything. This is a beautiful feeling to you, yet one that pinholes and traps me. I wake up on the shores of a new Minecraft world, and I have the initial heart and desire that the beginning of each world brings. There's so many choices, so many houses potentially built, redstone contraptions planned, adventures to go on. Yet I find myself not ever focusing on the Now What. I focus instead on the the things that I can progress. I, and I'm sure many others like me, have a progress brain. I have to learn more of this language to get better, I have to rank up in this video game to get better, I have to lift more weight to get better, to study for this test, to work on my pickup lines. All of these things not done for the why, but simply to get better. So here I go in this minecraft world, never building those houses, or caring about that redstone, or going on adventures, seeing the sights, or even listening or caring about the music. I simply try to improve. Get more diamonds, get better enchants, mine faster, kill more. This profound Now What isn't just one happy ending. The Now What feeling is one that both justifies my current fixation on progress, and possible future fixation on the Now What. All of those crappy houses I made, all of those progress laden worlds, half built dreams, aren't for naught. My sad foresight looking back on those minecraft worlds didn't make me enjoy it any less, however much I did or didn't accomplish. It was simply me existing in the game, playing it the way I was always playing it. I always look at the way I play minecraft sadly, as if I'm not doing it right. But put simply, there isn't a right or wrong way to play it. And that is the name of the game. Minecraft is the game with no goals, no princess to save. It is a game about doing what you want to do. There is no wrong Minecraft world or experience. All of my regret in never building those dreams of mine is misplaced. I was simply playing the game the way I wanted to play it then. What does this mean for Minecraft now? When I open the world, will I start on the progress grindset and try to get diamond full enchant as soon as possible? maybe. But maybe now I will also stop and ask why I'm doing any of it. Look at minecraft and realize, there are no goals. I don't have to focus on getting the best shit, and getting a bunch of xp. I could just focus on experiencing the world and playing the way I want to do it. This has implications for the real world, and my life... especially the way I live it now. But I hope those implications are obvious enough not to need to be stated. Simply put, taking a step back and looking at the Now What should give a good perspective on the way you live your life now, and the way you might want to. TLDR: The Now What is a profound notion, and I appreciate the connection to the familiar game to bring the Now What to full realization.
Chances are you will not read this comment but know I do love this video, the loneliness of minecraft is truly something, unique. For me the music is a big part of it, the uncanny nastalga of the expansive yet simple play list, its almost lovecraftian cosmic horror, its as though everytime you load up a new survival world you face the infinate void with the music as your only companian
Walter Hartwell White, you are a treasure. I think you named it very well by calling it “uncanny nostalgia” because it’s not just some random tetherless experience. That’s actually something I’d go back and add probably; the music ties nostalgia in very well innately (as much as the experience itself does).
Another thing I love so much about Minecraft is it’s fun at any age. I played religiously in middle school, and recently picked it up again over the summer as a senior in college, and it’s just as amazing.
Minecraft has a goal. You might not know, you might be unsure on what the goal is, but if you kill the Ender Dragon and exit through the portal, one divine being will say this to the other: - I like this player. It played well. It did not gave up. So this means that the player fulfilled it's goal, fulfilled it's purpose. And also means, that he might not like the players who play Minecraft for just enjoyement. He did not gave up. just like in real life you don't need to quit or kill yourself to give up, but also giving up means you just stop progressing in the right direction. If the player is just building, he might gave up. Gave up it's purpose and now he lives a meaningless life. YOU HAVE TO KILL THE DRAGON! This is the goal of Minecraft! This is the end of it.
This was something I was hoping someone would uncover one day, the beauty of Minecraft from a philosophical perspective. Absolutely outstanding, thank you for this wonderful video :)
You captured the essence of Minecraft for me. I love that people can get different things out of playing it, but Minecraft will always be a second home. Just knowing Minecraft is there for me to get lost in and exist is a blessing.
imo a fun part about this game is you can literally play from any perspective, and if you only add mods, it can spice things up you can even do crap like fighting on the illager side, being a fish, living in the nether or beating the game backwards by spawning in the end and attacking the overworld, eventually you can do literally whatever in your world, this game has content as long as you want to do anything
Minecraft is a simulation of our reality, yet in our reality we are not given the option to experience the OTHER existential crisis that stems from the godly powers of creative mode. Both survival mode and creative mode in Minecraft trigger existential crisis, but they are different. The closest we can come to understanding the existential crisis inside the psychology of a deity is by playing the role of one in creative mode.
the point of minecraft is to build a giant statue of your character, Steve. Once you have built a statue of yourself in minecraft, you have well and truly completed the game, and can now move on to tetris. Unlike minecraft, Tetris is a game of endless possibilities
The construction of the music fascinating because it is at once incredibly memorable yet simultaneously I can only usually remember the beginnings to most tracks excluding the music disks.
That explains a lot of some things i apreciate about minecraft but not so many people seen to do. Sometimes i just feel like standing still and watch as things happens around me, all my structures, castles and cities have villagers that walk freely, so they can fell more alive as I watch. It's very relaxing.
This almost sounded like a book being read to me. I could imagine it so smoothly, even while not looking at the screen.I’m excited I stumbled onto your channel and can’t wait to see it grow!
absolutely insane video. This is probably the best video about minecraft a game which defined my childhood , I ever saw. Good job on this one. I also really like your voice. I would like to see more of those videos. Enjoyed it ALOT! Thank you for uploading this.
comment for the algorithm because this video essay needs more attention. it's well crafted and thought out nicely. thanks for the existential trip dude
I loved this video. I think that it was well put together and the use of the Minecraft music throughout, making it louder and softer on occasion, goes really well. Sad that only so many people go to see this video.
Halfway through the video, I wanted to go press the like button, because this video is truly amazing, and I was very surprised to see your subscriber count merely in the hundreds. I hope more people discover the content you create!
Very nice video, usually, we don’t expect such good quality from small content creators, but you are clearly one of the rare exceptions. +1 sub Have a good day :D
The transition at 4:25 was the single BEST transition I've ever seen 🤣 it was super brief but was funny as hell and the way its brushed over like it was nothing by the commentary, made it all the funnier
Watched this video a couple weeks ago directly after watching a video essay on minecrafts music and I had an existential crisis at 2 o'clock in the morning, absolutely wonderful video 🩷
oh man, I remember those times when I still played minecraft back in 2013 and I was enjoying the game back then, I almost play the game everyday on multiplayer and then suddenly the players in servers decline, I stopped playing completely, I was not bored, maybe I just grew up and back then I was also happy.
so. now what? Now that you've watched the video, what will you do? Will you load up minecraft and play again? Return to that world you've left untouched for months? Or will you finally go to that place you always wanted to go, have that dream vacation, finally do that thing you've always wanted to. Or maybe you'll do something small, like watch a show, finish that episode, start that movie, listen to that song. Whatever you choose, just remember, it's worth it as long as you're happy.
thank you for this very insightful and gave me a new perspective on how life can flip-flop on the blink of an eye! i’m very grateful this found its way into my recommendations.
