Exploring Minecraft's Liminal Spaces

[@barbecuedsimsbaby]

4:00 I think one of the reasons the lack of ambience sounds/animal ambience like bugs or birds scares us because our monkey and lizard brains are wired to subconsciously deem silence as suspicious and scary because in nature when predators are around, birds, insects, frogs, ect- go quiet. If you are out in nature and suddenly you can't hear any animals at all and it is almost *_completely silent.._* : *_You are not alone._*

[@Tridentofmemes]

Amazing

[@sleeplesswhipdcreme_nosleep]

Reminds me that someone once described Steve as lonely god. He was pretty much only limited by his imagination, but he had no-one of who had his sort of power. Wielding reality-bending power, not being bound by death, etc, but also being alone, in an infinite landscape with no sign of true company...

[@hovant6666]

Boltzmann Brain experience

[@Ojee07]

Yup exactly

[@frankchan8203]

And the gmod protagonist is just a beefed up version of that...

[@su4682]

You mean steve are the honoured one????

[@sleeplesswhipdcreme_nosleep]

@@su4682 Yep. Bro just needs access to "/Purple" and he's Gojo.

[@tamlynburleigh9267]

You are right. It is easy to build a huge castle, but it is always empty. I tend to always head for the nearest village, and start building it. Villagers are weird but they are at least company.

[@epicmeme3264]

i wonder what my old xbox 360 world looks like now

[@scientistmilorad9735]

Yeah, I also prefer to build my base in villages. I also tend to expand the village and boost their economy

[@maximusgentry6746]

I mainly do this in superflat worlds where I will build where there is a village

[@epicgamernik76]

I do the opposite. Cure zombie villagers and build a village around my base.

[@cihloun]

Alpha minecraft as a whole felt like a liminal space and that's why I love it so much now. When I was younger I was scared of it when I played alone or just watched some crappy lets play with no talking. And now I find it quite relaxing and calmer than modern minecraft. That feeling of being watched is gone in modern minecraft and that just doesn't feel that good anymore

[@su4682]

Minecraft

[@CreestofOfficial]

Bro don't creep me out like that... I knew that thing looked weird but didn't realize you would just make it into a slight jumpscare, bro you did me good :D

[@alecyvesaridedon4416]

bro i cant sleep

[@martinhybelbauer4857]

holy fucking shit

[@Windperfire]

WHERE WAS THE JUMPSCARE

[@martinhybelbauer4857]

@@Windperfire i forgor

[@Thegovnas]

6:46

[@jows1374]

that jump scare was kinda a dick move ngl

[@BasilsVoid]

had to do it to em

[@runningoven]

@@BasilsVoid Frick that guy

[@Thegovnas]

For those scrolling through the comments while watching the video, if you haven't made it to the 6 minute mark, be careful because there is a minor jumpscare at 6:46 so please skip past that part if you can't handle jumpscares, thanks for listening

[@I_am_high_as_the_flipping_sky]

👍

[@isdaworst]

🔵🫸🫷🔴. 🤌🫴🟣

[@F.B.I_Agent]

yeah, too late lol

[@allxx8807]

I wish I read this comment earlier

[@2con_]

bro caught us lackin

[@dee23gaming]

When I play modern Minecraft, I don't get that feeling at all. But like you said, old Minecraft's atmosphere is completely different, even though it's fundamentally the same game. Old Minecraft and Garry's Mod are my two favourite games to boot up if I want to explore some liminal vibes. There are some chill maps on Garry's Mod where I can just hang out and think about stuff and soak in the atmosphere.

[@WaffleKite1]

I think the newer versions have more color to it and the addition of having insane render distance and no fog makes the feeling go away but try putting your render distance to minimum and fog to max. The reason you feel safer in newer versions has to do with how the human brain works you have a lot of visibility which makes you more aware of the situation and potential dangers in your surroundings. In the older versions you can see much less and danger can be very close to you which drives the brain into panic mode that something is hiding and trying to kill you.

[@jows1374]

personally i feel lonely in the new worlds for i am alone, but i don't think that there is anything out there witch is scary to me and i also find it interesting to think that there might be, on a side note i like to fill my areas with NPCs so that i don't feel so lonely.

[@su4682]

The new minecraft are too happy

[@squadhoodie8895]

Recently there was this new map for gmod o forgot what it’s called but it’s just a like house on an island and it feels exactly like how this shore house me and my extended family would go to every summer felt, it is very chill and I encorage you to find it and just explore it it’s really small but full of detail 🧖🏾‍♂️👍🏾

[@krej1243]

Slowed down Fallen Down works just perfectly with the concept. I mean.. It's so familiar, nostalgic, like you wanna go back, even though you can't.. So it is perfect

[@BasilsVoid]

Glad you think so as well!

[@K.O-ANIMATIONS]

@@BasilsVoid whats is that video at the begging? it looks like a found footage

[@gugoluna]

​@@K.O-ANIMATIONS"Minecraft VHS" by Cutesh

[@K.O-ANIMATIONS]

@@gugoluna Thanks

[@gugoluna]

@@K.O-ANIMATIONS you're welcome

[@watermelonenjoyer1672]

Anyone else get creeped out by square shapes rooms / spaces in Minecraft? It’s still the one thing in the game that manages to make me feel uneasy.

[@dee23gaming]

I found a 2x2 cave entrance on a new world in modern Minecraft once. I know it's just terrain generation being funky, but it looked very out of place. I made that tunnel my starter base :)

[@war_fish]

​@@dee23gamingbro made herobrine his bitch

[@scientistmilorad9735]

​@@dee23gaming That's cool. They say that 2x2 tunnels are made by Herobrine.

[@RandomStuff-st7tz]

Your not afraid of liminal spaces being fully empty, your afraid of it NOT being empty

[@saxwastaken]

It's the fact that perfectly square rooms just don't look natural that makes them creepy, almost like someone made them.

[@spectrfox6165]

Amazing video, I think i have finally figured out why og players dont find the new versions fun anymore, they just dont feel it: the loneliness, the feeling of somebody watching them, the liminality, the sorta off felling. The new versions feel safer in a way, like there isnt much unknown.

[@spectrfox6165]

Ik it was what you described but i still wanted to comment it for some reason

[@robotomo4249]

Agree. New Minecraft is full of stimulation that there is no time to just take it slow. Old Minecraft was very much up to your own imagination and that human aspect is missing in the newer versions.

[@anominon]

It was especially potent way back in the day before villagers were added -- there were structures like the occasional abandoned mineshaft or the underground fortresses, and sometimes even above-ground structures here and there, and if you were playing in "peaceful" and not distracted by the various monsters... they still feel kind of eerie, like... who built those? who lived there? Now there's the villagers and stuff so it's a bit less "empty" feeling.

[@kapakabibium]

"before villagers were added" dude there were like 2 structures before villagers were added which were the dungeons and the empty villages themselves. no hate btw just tryna correct you :)

[@anominon]

​@@kapakabibium Nope, abandoned mineshafts and strongholds were added to the game since Beta 1.8 and villagers themselves were added in the following update, Beta 1.9, I know that's only one update difference but it still meant that, before the Testificates, I was finding stuff like mineshafts and empty villages with no actual villagers in them and it gave the whole place a very spooky feeling, especially with all the zombies since you had to wonder if that was what happened to all the people. I kept playing with that world so it remained pretty empty, and I remember being excited to actually get villagers in my original world when they added a way to cure zombie villagers in full release 1.4

[@anarchy_evolution]

Great anthropological analysis. Even though I started playing in version 1.13 (now, 1.20), the feeling of liminality is the same. The strangest thing, the feeling of nostalgia is real, even though there is no motive for it (for me, of course). That's why I think Minecraft is an incredible game.

[@fjhakjwfnwfge]

what do you mean it started at 1.13?, you mean like, the FEELING of liminality?

[@anarchy_evolution]

@@fjhakjwfnwfge I edited my comment, so it's clearer (english is not my first language; "...I started playing in version 1.13...").

[@fjhakjwfnwfge]

@@anarchy_evolution ohh, my mistake, sorry, i thought that you thought the game started at version 1.13, sorry.

[@TheEpikalREKT]

i started in 1.13 too!

[@The_og_roxy]

Basil: lets talk about the lack of sound Cave sounds: am i a joke to you...

[@jonahwaring]

I always find generating unnatural chunks in an old world gives a liminal feeling. Something not quite right, mixed with nostalgia.

[@yellownomadglitch3309]

To me, it is very strange to explore a made world where it should be very lively in actuallity (like a remade world but in minecraft), I guess it carries over to a dead server as well, and it gets way more interesting when both are combined

[@kianbautista1016]

The early versions of Minecraft PE felt a lot like a liminal space, sad that it no longer exists…

[@Newbyte]

Minecraft Pi Edition: Reborn is kind of like it.

[@war_fish]

I remember playing PE back when the world was like 12×12 chunks wide, I didn't really feel uneasy since I was a dumbass kid back then, but I would have never played that version again. Even if I was forced to

[@emmahealy4863]

Education edition survival mode is creepy. I got it free on my laptop and so many mechanics and blocks are missing, the world even generates differently, feels so old and empty

[@scientistmilorad9735]

​@@emmahealy4863 Damn that's creepy

[@pudjizimqueimado4k180]

mas e se eu diminuir o chunk?

[@Gamermaus404]

I often explore abandoned Minecraft servers. I always feel like I'm being watched, even though no one has played on them for a long time... 🤔😬

[@CYON4D]

Do you have any recommended way to find abandoned servers?

[@Gamermaus404]

@@CYON4D No. I'm looking in lists for very old servers.

[@ComradeGreen]

6:46 I pressed ALT+F4 so quick that my computer freeze

[@Skiphu]

To be honest, i feel a bit more sad than creeped out especially when playing with my friends 5 of us have been playing together for years now and when they log off and im alone ingame the "creepiness" gets replaced by sadness knowing that soon or probably more sooner than i thought since ill be busy with college few months from now the fun times will come to an end, and i always hope this isn't the case and it'll be those "we dont quit minecraft, we just take long breaks" kind of stuff Man how i will miss these days when years gone by, hope i will actually get to meet them in person by then. "Don't cry that its over, Smile that it happened"

[@Nitrality]

6:43 JUMPSCARE WARNING MAN!

[@Vorcupine]

You’re watching a horror video

[@PerfectProtagonist]

@@Vorcupine Since when were liminal spaces horror?

[@skyhawkslcb18]

@@PerfectProtagonist are you serious?

[@PerfectProtagonist]

@@skyhawkslcb18 I'm confused. The original jumpscare bit hit all the right criteria to instill a sense of panic in me, yet a lot of the comments on the original (which got recommended to me shortly after watching this video) were claiming that only children would be scared of it. And now I'm being told that I'm supposed to be scared of liminal spaces? I don't find those scary at all! I just find them cool! Are my emotions incorrect? I didn't know there were rules on what emotions I'm supposed to feel.

[@skyhawkslcb18]

@@PerfectProtagonist it's not incorrect but to not see why some would consider it horror is foolish

[@majtikxd4929]

6:45 happy to announce that I have shat myself

[@mr.teobruh977]

6:44 I was zoning out looking away of the screen, and that thing hit me like a fking brick to the face, dont ever do that sh again man. I was genuinely scared for a moment there.

[@justaoctopus]

6:43 bro i just forgot to pause the vid 💀💀💀💀

[@oglothenerd]

Personally, I don't see it. I personally don't get the creepiness.

[@blamgit]

Not gonna lie I honestly don't see it too, hate me all you want but what is the creepiness here?

[@drjvoices]

Thats the thing, its not actually supposed to be creepy.

[@Strideo1]

Watch Creepy and Weird Stuff in Old Minecraft by Dialko

[@freakish1732]

@blamgit why would anyone hate you for that... I'm terrified of liminal spaces cuz looking at these spaces makes me feel alone... Like when you play or watch horror alone

[@thedrbat9572]

This video itself made me uncomfortable and I even jumped a bit when he showed the static jumpscare thing 😂. But in actual Minecraft when I play solo on alpha version, I don't actually feel like that at all, it's probably because I don't turn on fog. Infact, literally almost no one turns on fog in old Minecraft unless your wanting to be creeped out or your PC is super weak. The game isn't meant to be a horror game, it just has a tint of uneasiness to it at times.

[@thrillvilled111]

You sir have perfectly described the feeling I got when playing this game as a kid back in version 1.5.2 (2013). The strong sense of absence yet the feeling of nostalgic places was really something to experience. I remember times when walking down the school passageways alone would suddenly trigger a Liminality sensation like the image 1:23. Thank you so much! Your videos on the older Minecraft versions are true gems of content. 👍

[@ZaleEnd]

BRO, it's 3am for me, and it's dark in my room, so that jumpscare gave me the chills... lol 6:42

[@PGF1892]

6:46 JESUS CHRIST THAT SCARED ME SO BAD WHY DID YOU DO THAT 🥺

[@Toastedguyig]

I get a massive feeling of limitality in parking lots when it’s raining a lot I just get so nostalgic and if I’m alone I’ll just sit there confused but comforted as if I was over came by a sense of pure happiness and peace

[@emmahealy4863]

You should go caving someday 😊

[@Deje_Games]

This guy is one of the most underrated minecraft KZbinrs I have seen . I mean he only has 700 subs! Good job dude

[@BasilsVoid]

Thanks man means a lot

[@TimSlee1]

I'm not even mad at that jumpscare.

[@gvn1111]

Cool and interesting video, as always. Keep it up!

[@BasilsVoid]

Thanks, will do!

[@_CYB3RC0R3]

THAT JUMPSCARE AT 6:46 NEARLY MADE ME PISS MYSELF HOLY FUCK

[@TiramisuYT-ws9yo]

6:41 Thank you for my free heart attack 😊

[@mr-steam5744]

Adding ambience mods COMPLETELY CHANGES the atmosphere of Minecraft.

[@vinsplayer2634]

I have a bit more to add to the sound design part, a big part of why it feels so liminal is because there's very relaxing and calm music that keeps you from feeling afraid from the liminalness, and then it just stops and it's very silent, just the sounds of your actions for way longer than in most video games, and sometimes the silence is suddenly interrupted by ominous cave noises, that aren't really jumpscares, as they don't make you freak out and then right after calm down, but instead they make you feel like you are being watched, like there is a threat somwhere, but you don't know where, unlike most jumpscares that make you feel like the danger is over, like the threat catched you, but the immersion got broken and you know you can try again.

[@KidPrarchord95]

I don't think it's really fair to say the liminal aspect is gone from modern Minecraft. It's certainly still there, even if not all the time.

[@scientistmilorad9735]

Yeah I agree. It just happens sometimes even tho not all the time

[@skyhawkslcb18]

it's most definitely still present. every now and then that dread still hits me and i get mad paranoid. it's so powerful. almost paralyzing if you're in the dark in a huge cave.

[@thatanimegirlwiththecape4807]

Its still there but its not the same as with the old minecraft. I remember minecraft being so liminal that even if with my own creative structures the feeling was still there.

[@sanneoi6323]

Love how one of the channels behind one of these vids has the characters "希望" in the name (it means hope and is one of my favourite words in Chinese)

[@MrFoxANDnoobie]

Ngl for me it’s two side of liminal spaces like one where it’s just some creepy place or a place that reminds me of when I was younger or a old place I’ve see before

[@rhshaaf2891]

6:43 Rip headphone users. (Wouldn't mind a warning)

[@rampantmold]

what is that minecraft liminal space found footage video at 0:11

[@MatHat16]

I wasn’t expecting that jumpscare 😭 amazing video!

[@Saichi2Taiko]

Never felt so even when i create void world to play with command blocks. I always feel like something is behind the horizon watching me like an angel or just harmless observer. Never feel alone😌

[@rosieraccoonforreal]

i hate to admit that jumpscare got me way to good

[@HZ-nj4ts]

same

[@emadbishara8234]

My friends, i saw the birth of minecraft as "cave game" and now i see its desperation, i have become the timeline itself, born in 2009 and now still alive in 2024

[@catcandiez]

well i used to download city worlds just to explore by myself as a kid so i definitely get this. now im obsessed with liminal spaces and old minecraft

[@watchpab10]

6:45 my heart popped out :)

[@ysn-h3y]

When I play the single player archive I feel fear because I'm the only one in this archive and the silence is horrible

[@The_helping_light]

2:29 that looks like Valley View Mall

[@Moltens_corner]

One time i remember being in my single player world and.... Strip mining, then all of the memories of me watching these liminal-minecraft videos i just quit Like alt-f4 I was so fricking scared and i dont know why

[@Guywithatophat341]

my childhood beautiful minecraft became into a creepy nightmare that will keep me awake

[@Glitchmaster331]

I agree that the liminality doesn't really exist much in modern minecraft. Modern minecraft feels much brighter, much more hopeful, much.... lighter. If Fallen Down is fitting for old minecraft (and it absolutely is), I think Hopes and Dreams is really fitting for modern minecraft. Now, there is one place i do get immensely creeped out in minecraft these days, the place that's the most similar to how minecraft was back then: caves and mines. I do think the liminality does still exist in mines.

[@skyhawkslcb18]

100% caves are still pants shitting scary to me but that's the part that keeps me coming back.

[@Garfield_Minecraft]

my favourite minecraft version is java 1.8.9 and old pocket edition even i'm not that old like alpha version i still feel the same

[@mantlerivan7869]

i always feel this thing. sometimes i just go to creative to fly up beacuse i dont feel safe on the ground.

[@robotomo4249]

Great video! Short and straight to the point. I've seen images/videos about liminality in Minecraft, but I've never actually seen anyone discussing it. Old Minecraft gives off a specific feeling and for the longest time, I was never able to accurately describe it. That was until I found out about the term "liminal", which is a perfect sum of the feelings that old Minecraft gives you. Comfort, fear, warmth, uneasiness, you name it and it'll be there along with a contrasting feeling as well.

[@Axelowyy_Official]

Seeing liminal spaces is yes the absence of people and the fact it looks familiar it gives off a nostalgic creepines

[@YourAverageProgrammer1]

I should go to bed, but this is a cool video, just this one and I'll go to sleep The video:

[@rovideo3771]

I really enjoy the liminal space that is Minecraft beta. Sometimes when I’m mining I hear footsteps. It usually just ends up being a mob in a weird place, but it still is creepy.

[@skyhawkslcb18]

the footsteps are the worst man

[@Purpley_Guy]

The cave noises are haunting bro

[@kolonel_noob]

very good video, keep it up!

[@BasilsVoid]

Thanks!

[@MrAnimations14]

You know now that you bring it up I’ve seen it in a lot of games

[@k3melow]

nahh liminal spaces is the first thing that comes to my mind when i think of minecraft

[@Nzargnalphabet]

I was totally unaware of the coming jumpscare and was looking at the funny structure next to it

[@moneysignscar]

Amazing video! How do you only have 700 subscribers!? Keep on goin ⛏️

[@BasilsVoid]

I appreciate it bro

[@SkybrothersYT]

@@BasilsVoidBro you went from 700 to 1.65k in 9 days? Insane progress man! Remember me when you get famous.

[@VALKOU_OFFICIAL]

Congrat Basil on 1K Subscribers

[@BasilsVoid]

Thank you!

[@paille-boy]

I be honest with you, I'm a old minecraft player and i found something odd about liminal space is that as long its perfectly blocky i don't find any eerieness in it... mostly comfort

[@sammyoerth]

The most creepiest and liminal spaces is when you strip mining when you’re playing Minecraft in the in the night

[@redravenrages6321]

"The creep part of Minecraft is not the fact that you are alone, but the thought that you might not be." Captures Minecraft's aesthetic (that has been lesser so in newer versions) perfectly. The game can literally be the happiest, cheerful game one second and fright the next, almost like life, aye?

[@juliennizan3129]

I remember there was a brief period on the Xbox 360 version where villages existed, but they hadn’t added villagers yet. I remember 8 year old me coming across one of these villages and feeling a genuine terror, even though I was in peaceful.

[@Qce-i6d]

Admittedly, I actually find the ambient fog and simple quiet of old Minecraft relaxing.

[@arthur_philyppis]

my concept of liminal spaces is: this looks human made... but its empty...? and quiet...

[@war_fish]

It looks human made. But it's not. It doesn't has a purpose. It doesn't has a reason for being here

[@arthur_philyppis]

@@war_fish exactly! this is how the backrooms are it is made of walls, with wallpaper and everything... with carpet and fluorescent lights. only humans can build this... ...but humans didnt build it...

[@dabudgie5632]

I’m watching this at night and I confirm I shat myself right around that one part

[@JoeWhoMama151]

*Dies from jump scare*

[@McDanklestank]

For those who aren't feeling it, look at gameplay of the Alpha/beta stages of the game. The dense saturation of the block colors, the heavy fog, the low lighting, the lack of biomes, etc just made the game seem baron.

[@dhrutube]

the reason minecraft was so creepy during alpha was bcz at the time computers werent strong so render distances used to be low. you coud not even switch off the fog. Try playing with fog at 3 render distance

[@cipher32k]

6:49 i legit almost shit myself

[@golan11005]

I know I'm quite late, but this video does a great job at exploring this topic. I also believe this ties into the recent (relative) "resurgence" of older versions of Minecraft, mods for said versions and even ARGs.

[@Slavonian_field_marshal]

6:46 scared the living shit out of my i cant breathe anymore

[@Jermvil]

Jesus man I wasn't expecting a jumpscare in my Minecraft liminal space documentary!

[@animatronicentertainmentdude]

It’s more nostalgic for me, I would play the old version of Minecraft on my Wii U while roaming around listening to Aria Math. It was before I was even old enough to go to school. It just reminds me of my childhood.

[@mara_moon13]

(-{[6:46]}-) *Horrified squeal* Fuck, FUCK NO *Pauses*

[@Surfboarder4]

I've always been really uncomfortable with liminal spaces since a very young age

[@RandomStuff-st7tz]

Your not afraid of emptiness your afraid of it NOT being alone...

[@grayrobber]

You are underrated, man . 812 subs when your video is THIS quality!?

[@plantking5401]

6:47 JESEUS PUT A JUMP SCARE WARING

[@spacex6997]

The fog of old Minecraft really contributes to the liminality.

[@Frieren_Lienel]

it makes me feel empty, and uninformed, its like I’m vulnerable in a way that I’m uncertain, but yet familiar

[@squadhoodie8895]

Where is that footage of like the guy walking around irl Minecraft with a flashlight from the beginning from?

[@Ghost-510-z2z]

6:43 HA, jokes on you I already stumbled across that vid and knew about the jump scare!

[@jktech2117]

"when you hear the word minecraft, liminal spaces is probably the last thing that comes to mind" nope.... nope at all... and i bet for many people this is still nope cuz minecraft is extremely liminal, specially on older versions so people like me that plays it since 2009 knows tru minecraft liminality

[@pauliusgruodis137]

I used to play Minecraft Pocket on LG Optimus L3 back in the day. It was really spooky with that short render distance

[@ТойХтоКоміксиМалює]

6:44 My hair: ⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆

[@alt2137pl]

watching 6:45 at night was not a good idea

[@ziompn9647]

When i played in the older versions i was absolutely scared of mining because i always felt like something is gonna jumpscare me from the back

[@MADMEKWURRWAZZA]

2:33 the doctors office i went to for my childhood looked almost exactly like that

[@roblox1387]

There’s a pleasant feeling looking at liminal spaces, but when you look at it too much its get eerie and uncomfortable and you start to question reality.

[@Breaking-Bads]

this jumpscare hit grandma 🗣🗣🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@Destined2BeKing]

Fr, idk what bro was cooking with that pic at 6:48 shit is so funny for no reason😭

[@lxolotl4177]

I remember being scared of the ps3 tutorial world, also all of the pre generated maps on that version creep me out

[@gemtun2]

i feel like modern versions of minecraft cant recreate the same feeling as old mc, just playing survival alone late at night

[@NEXILAR]

Im so glad i found your channel your content is great

[@TheLonelyGamer_17]

*0:20** Me: What friends?*