The Return!...with Minecraft! ...and Mod-splosions!

Well its been a little over year, so it seems time for a triumphant return.  To see if the time off has done us any good, lets dive right back in with:

Minecraft! Recently I setup a Minecraft server for some friends and  we were trying to choose what mods we wanted (so we wouldn't have to restart the world later).

Looking over the list of options out there, it got me thinking about the core of Minecraft gameplay, what we/I wanted out of it, and what the variety says other people out there want out of it, cause if you don't already know, there are TONS of mods out there. My take on it is that Minecraft is about building things, which is no big revelation; sure there are mechanics for combat, but the gameplay is pretty centered around crafting and the entirety of the world is destructable/resources/constructable.

Now you too can have the looming monster fountain next to your windmill, just like you always wanted.

Looking at all these options got me thinking about what this reflected about the people playing/making them though. Broadly, I categorize the mods as into three groups:
1) Expand an aspect of the game. (ie  more recipes, monster types, block types, etc.)
2) Make the game more like another game. (ie "adds rpg elements" "racingcraft" etc.)
3) Explicitly change the rules of the game. (ie its always noon, X blocks drop Y instead of X, etc.)

These get blended together, of course. There is simple combat in the game, but if you add enough guns, it starts to look more like counterstrike than original minecraft (and thats more about the emphasis of play than that the guns are available). Likewise, adding blocks and devices that do new things, even if magic flavored, might feel more like adding more content onto minecraft; but if the player gains the ability to level up and cast spells, the feel of the game and emphasis starts to change. (Theres another discussion to be had about minecraft being an oddly implemented rpg, with your capabiliies advancing with what you build while you personally remain the same but I'll stay on point)

That shift in the emphasis of play isn't a bad thing, to clarify. Its just interesting to me, cause initially I didn't understand it: If you want to play an rpg...why not go play an rpg? Why try to make minecraft into it? This was especially true of the combat mods. There are so many shooters with better graphics and more suited controls why oh why would you try to make minecraft more about combat?

Hmm, which forest to kill sheep in...

The more I thought about it though, the more it made sense to me. Not just the basic motivations of a) people may be trying to make their 'perfect game' and b) trying to do things because they can. I understand that some people are going to go "this is great, but I also like X; if i put them together it'll be more awesome" for a) or go  "this is neat...I wonder if I can get it to X" for b). No I started to wonder if the openness to modding of a "simple" indie game combined with the gameplay thats emphasizes building what you want is part of this mod-splosion.

Is it that a game about building what you want, about making whatever you want out of time, work, and whatever resources were available, is going to attract people who want to not just impress their will upon the game world, but to impress their will upon the rules of the game itself? That it might even predispose people that normally wouldn't put in the effort to think that if theres something they want out of the game, they can make it do that? That if they really want to, they can shape the rules of the world to something more to their liking...or something more useful and impressive to other people when they share it.

"There I am done. I will leave this for others to enjoy and go create a new world...perhaps one with out gravity..."

I think its interesting to consider that the feel and emphasis of the gameplay itself may be combining with the simple graphics and openness to modding to produce this plethora of options. That the gameplay and glut of player created content within the game may be tied to the glut of player created content that alters the game.

...and if you think so to (or think I'm off my rocker) let me know in the comments!

PS: If people are curious, our server settled on using Industrialcraft, since its adds more crafting options and the advanced tools and bots can make things faster/reduce monotony without feeling like cheating.