The strange emotions caused by Minecraft multiplayer

Last night got very weird.

After experiencing some problems getting along with fellow gamers on a Minecraft server, me and my house mate (the same man from the Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer post) decided to find a quiet area away from everyone else to start a project.

'Waterfall Farm'

The little waterfall in question. Apart from the crafting table, this was entirely map-generated. (Bonus points for spotting the Creeper who wants to spoil the fun)

With some grass facing this little lagoon, we started building up a little farmstead. The plan was simple: small house, few animals and some crops so that we could have something to do and a steady production of food and crafting materials.

The strange thing was that it didn't take much for this incredibly simple project to become something altogether more personal. Being survival mode, construction was plagued by creepers and other mobs. Gathering animals for stock became not only a vital part of the project but personal tales of over-coming adversity as evil beset us. It was all starting to get a bit biblical.

Look at them, milling around. I don't think they even realise how many times they were nearly blown up!

Then there was the farm house. It started off small, no need for a mansion, and it only ever needed to be practical. However it didn't take long for a few personal touches to creep in and turn it into something a bit odd.

Admittedly, it looks more like a strange prison but...

...it's very nice inside!

Very quickly, this was the place where two farmers were to hold out against the odds. We'd take a floor each as we built it up: sharing design ideas and keeping watch for each other and the creatures of the night. There was one time I watched from the just-installed bedroom window as my partner brought home a cow, only for a creeper to assail them. I nearly smashed the glass with my bow and arrow, but felt a real sense of relief as I saw the creeper outwitted and the cow unharmed. That doesn't happen in real life. It was like being in the old American frontier. We needed the cow, we had to survive. The thought that we might not be able to make a cake was truly worrying, much like the growing recognition of how stupefyingly involved I was becoming.

Pushing the beds together would have probably crossed a line that even the Zelda-themed texture pack would not protect against.

As night finally settled, once the cow had been put in the paddock, we instinctively hurried up the stairs to the bedroom. We laughed at the fact we were so giddy and pleased about having somewhere to 'rest'. Even through we had full knowledge of the absolute ridiculous levels of faux-immersion we were subjecting ourselves to, as we went to our beds and the screen dimmed I couldn't help but look across to the other bed and be glad that my co-worker was ok: that he hadn't respawned back in his original home and lost the livestock.

This had got very silly.

Eventually, after realising that Minecraft-sleep was not the same as real sleep, we called an end to our gaming session. The farm still stands, a testimony to our trials and achievements, and sure enough we will be back to create efficient wheat farms and orchards and pathways to lead us back to civilisation for trade.

Even though this is undoubtedly a foolish waste of time, the beauty of Minecraft is that you can make your own genuine experiences within it. Though it makes me sound like I am being employed by Mojang to say it, you do indeed craft your own entertainment by creating your own little world.

On the downside, I don't see me getting a girlfriend any time soon :/

Can't be put better than that really.

Additional: If you were wondering about the texture pack, it's called 'Xaiwalker' and can be found for download here.

Things I've heard my housemate shout whilst playing Mass Effect 3 multiplayer

• Do I want to watch an Asari orgasm?
• Sorry! Didn't mean to shoot you! You all look alike!
• Geth priiiiime! Geth priiiiiime! Geth priiiiiiiiiiiiiiime!
• SPACE MAGIC!
• He's got whips. I don't like that. Whips aren't my thing.
• I just saw your alien backside. Looking goooood.
• Man we should've kept this game private. Now there are people getting kills that aren't me.
• I'm using a sniper rifle like a shotgun. Sniper rifles aren't meant to be used like this. It's blowing holes into people!
• He's lost his head! I shot his head and now where he had a head he has-a-not-a-head!
• SPACE LESBIANS!

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Why petitioning for a game to be made is important

Timesplitters. I freaking love it. Then one day I found out that Free Radical Design (the creators of the series) had gone bankrupt and then been bought out by Crytek. That was 3 years ago, and any news of 'Crytek UK' making Timesplitters 4 has died out.

And then I found a Facebook group trying to petition for it's release. At the time of writing, 1,324 people support the page which has a target of 100,000. In many respects it seems silly. Facebook fans does not translate into financial backing or any of the hard work required to make the game.

But there is no other clearer way of telling a game company what you want to buy!

Petitioning is a direct representation of what people want. It's the mob-turned-statistics that get the proverbial ball rolling. It's market research that doesn't guess trends but actually tells the game makers out there what they should do!

1,324 is not a lot, but it is 1,324 clear votes of confidence for a game that doesn't even exist yet. That's got to be compelling!

The petition can be found here