World of Minecraft

I have never found myself attracted to the idea of paying monthly to play a game such as Warcraft.  Fundamentally I just cannot justify the total expenditure these kinds of games entail; both in time and in cold hard cash.  The quests and story lines always seemed too paper thin to bridge the gap between my love of gaming, and my love of role-playing. I played Dungeons and Dragon's 2nd and 3rd editions every weekend for 10 years, I also had the privileged of playing with some of the best while under the best Dungeon Master's one could hope to play. The stories were imaginative, well thought out and considered, the characters were unique, and the adventures were in a word; Epic.  So the "thinness" of Wow has always kind of disgusted me, and made me wonder; What on earth is making them so profitable, what is it that brings people paying hard earned cash monthly?

Minecraft seems to be the latest craze in games that offer no story, and manages to entertain with sheer busy work.  Digging, crafting, defending from creepers.  While customization, and creating things is most definitely an enjoyable part of a games I just cannot find myself entertained by that alone, they are great features to add to  a game, but in themselves. I'd rather not try to be entertained by droll busy work of what is to be a game. The obsession among it's fans borders on rabid fandom. It has become nearly impossible to view any kind of gaming news online without seeing 15 articles about Minecraft.


Humor image boards as well as Twitter, and Facebook, all abound with conversation of Minecraft. A Game I have Zero interest in. Perhaps it's time I find a game no one else is interested in and talk about it non stop in as much detail as I possibly can muster. Topspin perhaps?  Or maybe I could go into  great detail of a game of Mahjong, or there was that time I was surrounded by Ghosts in Pacman, and barely managed to escape their evil clutches.

Some games just seem to have an "it" factor, some ineffable quality that makes them popular beyond reason.  Perhaps their success lies within their vast communities and the kinship therein; or maybe the players of these games use a lot of imagination to see them as far more than they are, but rather what they wish them to be.