A ode to the beauty of Minecraft

Happy birthday, Minecraft, my sweetling. You’ve been like my own child all these years, but you’re all grown-up now, your features well formed and bug-free; yet you’re worth only a modest €20. It wasn’t always this way, you know. Oh yes - I remember before you were born.

Spring, 2009, what a fine season that was. I remember playing with Notch, your father, on the game Infiniminer, with its 3D world made up of cubes, all of us playing together, mining and building blocks. Sound familiar? “Oh, it has Infiniminer’s look,” we cooed when you were born, and “it’s like a 3D Dwarf Fortress!” Back then you were a simple, precious thing: your grass all one colour, always sunny, so few block types.

You’ve been told this time and time before, I bet, but you really are quite like Lego. At least, back then you were: you’ve definitely matured since then (and are doing so much better for it.) When we first heard about your ‘survival’ mode, we were so thrilled. I watched with glee as you developed monsters, crafting, day and night cycles, so much more!

You were quickly becoming what we all wanted: creative, yet challenging; stimulating, satisfying, and sometimes scary. When you grew infinite worlds, I saw that your father had something to be truly proud of. That’s when I handed over my money, to make sure he’d raise you well. Of course, you were worth only €10 back then.

You grew so quickly over the next year, and I was with you every step of the way. You flourished, taunting me over exam time, rewarding me during boring summer days. You stretched my creativity, my spirit for adventure, and together we explored deep, dark caves for their treasures, and made beautiful creations.

I was so happy for you last year when you got to your beta stage. You earned so many new friends then! But you began to grow away from me. So many new features, and it became hard to keep up: I felt like an old man bewildered by a computer when you showed me your redstone, yet your new pals raced ahead with using it.

I know I’ve not had much time for you recently, Minecraft, and I’ve not been staying up-to-date with everything you wanted to show me, but you’ll always have a place in my heart. Happy birthday, Minecraft, and here’s to many years of exploring all that you’ve got to offer.