SideQuesting’s Best of 2010 #6: Minecraft

Minecraft. I didn’t have a good way of starting my emotional banter last time, and I still don’t have one now. The game is fantabulous. It’s new (so new, in fact, that it’s barely even considered a proper release), original and innovative. Although I bet that I would be perfectly happy playing clones of Oblivion and Fallout for the next decade, my gaming preferences have started to become a little narrow, if not stale. Oh, I’ve played other games and genres, but my preferred staples have all remained grounded on the Gamebryo engine. Then came Minecraft.

The game caught my breath from the first moment I heard it described. Then, it proceeded to capture my heart, soul, time and life. Minecraft is entering its golden period; if you don’t quite know what it is, check any of the thousands of videos on YouTube, or maybe ask around in your office.  Chances are, your boss probably plays the damn thing at work. The game is the front line of the indie movement at the moment, and all eyes are still turned to Mojang and Notch to see where they’re going to take the experience next. That’s the most exciting thing: play it now, and get amped every time you load it up, because chances are there’s something brand new waiting over the (blocky) hill.