Why You Aren't Enjoying Minecraft Anymore, and How to Have Fun Again

[@xh14mzah28]

DanTDM has adopted this fix to make MC not boring, but personally, its because of being lonely, no friends to play with at all. I’ve found that I have a lot more motivation when im in a call with a friend, even if im not playing with them

[@barlexlive]

Playing with friends is definitely a plus. Minecraft can become incredibly isolating if you don’t enter it in the right mindset, and I think surrounding yourself with pets or especially villagers helps decrease that feeling

[@xh14mzah28]

@@barlexlive villager make me angry when i try to work with them, cat good i hate creeper

[@funnymomentenjoyer]

@@xh14mzah28real

[@Gold_Yoshi]

@@barlexlive Pets make me sad because I am always worried it's going to 💀

[@barlexlive]

@@Gold_YoshiREAL. I always keep my pets indoors, gotta make a better habit of taking them on adventures with me

[@Gold_Yoshi]

What I love about a lot of these newer "What Minecraft is missing" or "Why you don't like Minecraft anymore" videos is that almost *all* of them start off with something related to an experience with Legacy Console Edition

[@barlexlive]

They truly gave a spark of inspiration to a generation of people, me, my brothers, my cousin, and my friends included

[@Gold_Yoshi]

@@barlexlive One of the more underrated parts of Legacy Console that really did help with making you play at a better pace was the world size limit. You couldn't just go wherever and get all the rare stuff. You had what you had and you made the most of it.

[@barlexlive]

@@Gold_Yoshithat’s a fantastic point. Going to have to talk about that when I make a video on the Xbox 360 edition!

[@morticianflame]

​@Gold_Yoshi Ah someone else who has the same mindset that I do. The limited world size helped with making you more creative (also factor in the better more unique terrain generation). Limitations breeds creativity, when you're limited to a small world with a set limit on the type of blocks you can get it forces you to be more creative with what you have

[@Gold_Yoshi]

@@morticianflame I really wish modern Minecraft had limited worlds tbh. Java World borders aren't the same and they removed the limited worlds from bedrock (even then, they never really looked good with that giant void)

[@matthewshimek]

We've becoming so busy being busy. We don't know how to rest, to sit and enjoy things from time to time. Minecraft never became unenjoyable, We just forgot how to enjoy it.

[@gabrielhenry7237]

This is a great comment

[@barlexlive]

You’ve perfectly captured the point I was trying to make with the video - if you don’t enjoy Minecraft anymore, it’s likely because your play style is so far and away from what it was when you loved every minute of the game, so of course it’s not going to feel the same.

[@linguine4500]

No it's just outdated in terms of mechanics and has a very small sense of progression

[@logikali2030]

The game was never about progression. It was about enjoying a sandbox and creating a world

[@Maxwellchaos7439]

this comment and the video reminded me I need to slow down. especially now that its the summer, I have all the time to walk slow and enjoy my escapism

[@TwentySeventhLetter]

When you said "Don't even do it for yourself, do it for the kid that started playing this game", that meant a lot to me. I will never stop finding new ways to play the world's favorite game, and that's a miracle in itself.

[@FrogiDori]

If your multiplayer experience is more like single player with lag, and you get bored after two weeks, stop playing that way!

[@funnymomentenjoyer]

REAL

[@barlexlive]

So real. Multiplayer can sometimes be more isolating if you don’t have the right group or don’t play it collaboratively

[@Ice-yp4wg]

fr and yea that's exactly why I just quit bothering with multiplayer sessions and the game itself plus even after taking the time to research everything just to end up dying a lot in the actual game sessions but ig I'll consider this vid when I join again if ever

[@borb5353]

damn this is too real. so many big new exciting servers we launched with the entire school class just for everyone to walk millions of blocks from spawn and never seen each other again. then 3 days after launch noone ever plays again anymore.

[@Wheeler07]

I 100% agree that multiplayer servers only work if you are collaborative with the others on the server (ie. why Hermitcraft is so successful). In my personal experience, when I was not directly playing with the others on the server, I would find myself doing a lot of the things that barlex mentions in this video. Racing the others to get to diamond/netherite first, optimizing the game like crazy to get a maxed out trading hall, iron farm, gold farm, raid farm, exp farm, etc. Never took the time to truly enjoy the game.

[@QuotePilgrim]

What makes modern Minecraft fun for me is building creative projects in survival. I don't find much enjoyment in building whatever I want in creative mode, but having a few creative projects in mind, find a place to build them, then gathering all of the resources and finally building it in survival is a pretty rewarding experience. I have started my current world like 10 months ago, at least 5 of which were spent actively playing. I have over a dozen unique builds in that world, and a couple ideas I still have to build. This is what allowed me to keep playing the game for months after having gotten full netherite armor and tools within the first couple days playing.

[@orphero]

One of the things that i've been doing is adding vanilla+ mods to my playthroughs or mods that just add new and interesting features to the game (Terralith, Wilder Wild, When Dungeons Arise, etc). One of the problems with playing Minecraft for so long is that you know EVERYTHING that there is to do and every feature in the game, so if you add some mods that you only know some features of you can really have that starstruck feeling of seeing something new in the world.

[@barlexlive]

Fantastic point. I recommend roguelike dungeons for a ton of variety with a great way to experience novelty and unique structures in the game.

[@Keaton427]

@@barlexlive Oh dang you're right! That mod is really cool. I recommend tectonic and geophilic to create an amazing world generation (you can even slap in ambient sounds and presence footsteps for more immersion)

[@carmassi27]

9:30 This feeling of finding diamonds died to me in 1.14 when you could easily just trade infinite diamond tools and armor with villagers. Now, when I find diamonds, I only think: cool, an enchantment table / jukebox ore

[@barlexlive]

That’s crazy, I have never even thought about trading with villagers to acquire diamonds. That’s a great point to address in a video I’m making about Minecraft’s difficulty, thank you!

[@hatmanbuilder]

The short is - play Minecraft for process, not for result. At least that's how I always played it. And that's why I still enjoy it.

[@Yuvallyly]

When I started playing MC, sprinting was already in, but I still mostly walked during the early game, but mostly because of food shortage. Now I no longer explore too much because there is nothing new to find, unless I'm playing with some mods that add generated structures. I do get bored fast from vanilla survival lately. This is worth a try.

[@terstbrows3374]

I'm being completely sincere here, I never ended up feeling bored with Minecraft. As soon as I realized I could mod it and make it look near-identical to Beta 1.7.3, I started feeling the same sort of love for it that I did when I was young. It didn't exactly occur to me until I watched this video that, the reason why I didn't end up falling into that efficiency spiral was because I'm autistic. It sounds counterintuitive, since most people think of the autism spectrum and say "oh the higher ones on the spectrum act like robots who don't see the joy in little things and are always trying to beat games", but I mean, that's just a stereotype. A bad one. And while I'm sure some on the spectrum are actually like that, I'm not one of them. Because it's a spectrum. I can tell you with a straight face that I've never beaten Minecraft alone, on a vanilla or modded single player world. I participated in an End raid on a server once, but I didn't deal the killing blow to the dragon. I barley participated. I'm just not one to cave to social pressure. Advertising, challenge videos, that sorta bullshit has never appealed to me. There is *one* in the form of that corpse dirt skyblock series, but that's hardly even Minecraft anymore, and no, it can't actually be beaten that way. It was more a curiosity than anything. I even recall my brother mentioning that I build my structures like how a 2011 player would have, which is 3 years before I'd actually start playing the game proper, even if I was watching videos that early about it I've been looking around at my peers wondering why I was the only one who actually enjoyed it still to the point where they thought my insistence to keep playing it was getting boring, because I had focused our efforts on a build instead of the grind. The ceaseless grind. And while it's not what tore us apart, it is part of why I stopped playing Minecraft specifically with them. I'm terribly sorry if this was rambly or a bit personal, but this was kind of a lightbulb moment. Thank you.

[@bluixel]

Ive been trying for months to get into a world that ive genuinely felt makes me intrigued. Your advice works ive been having so much fun lately just by slowing down and taking it in.

[@barlexlive]

That's great to hear! I'm so glad that the advice has helped!

[@risingrevolt]

Minecraft getting an end boss, honestly, was the beginning of the end. Minecraft is sandbox first foremost, and people have forgotten this and play it just to win and grind.

[@remwastaken]

this is exactly the problem with a lot of these types of "minecwaft isn't fun anymowe :(" videos, because they miss the whole point of the game, sandbox. It's not a survival game, it's not an rpg, it isn't MEANT to be challenging you constantly and it's "goal" isn't beating the ender dragon. They're all saying the same overused arguments of "it's so boring because it's so easy and mojang never adds anything interesting to the game! they're lazy!" while not understanding that Mojang is doing realistically a great job at updating minecraft, a lot of the features added since they came on were catering to minecraft's biggest playerbase, casuals, builders, people who literally could not care less about beating the ender dragon or getting fully enchanted netherite or whatever else, all they case about is having fun building things with their friends and that's it. I myself don't build anything in the game, it's boring as hell personally, but i don't pretend that Mojang should cater to my personal preference of how to play minecraft, because i know i'm not their intended audience. Also, i'm talking about actual game addition, not bedrock exclusive shit like the marketplace or whatever else, i am talking about base game features that are shared between bedwork and java. I absolutely HATE everything that mojang has done and keeps doing with bedrock edition, specifically the marketplace. (i am not talking about this video in particular as i haven't watched it yet)

[@Wheeler07]

Adding a supposed "end" to the game began a dangerous precedent where Mojang would add superficial goals which discourage creativity and imagination. No point in coming up with your own objectives when the game gives you some already. I think the entire process of getting to the end in general is a big problem. Get tools -> get obsidian -> make portal -> find fortress -> get blaze rods -> combine with end pearls to make eyes -> use eyes to find stronghold -> go to end -> beat dragon. It makes every minecraft world the exact same. How are you supposed to come up with something new and imaginative when your current world is the exact same as your last one? I think it would be much better to take the nether back to its roots, a dangerous dimension that you are not required to enter, but very well can if you want its valuable resources and building materials. The nether should not be something that you have to go through. The whole end process is made worse by the fact that there are multiple resources and items that are locked behind the end, ie. elytras, shulkers, and lingering potions. The end would be fine if you weren't required to go there, but the items you get from it are so good that you kind of HAVE to.

[@lucasbastosrodrigues140]

Yeah, the game has some responsaibility to control at some extent the way players will try to enjoy it. As game desinger one of the basics thing you will learn quickly is how to protect the player againts himself! Let the player play the way he wanna is often, letting the player destroying they own fun, just a few players have the ability to control himself to play a healthy way.

[@rfwm]

I take very long breaks from Minecraft, to me it's my de-stressing game so when I feel anxious or depressed I hop on an old version of Minecraft and listen to pop music from the 2000s, I get a slight sliver what It feels like to be a kid again and it helps! I don't feel burnt out from Minecraft. I've been playing the game the exact same way I did back in 2012. I still use minecarts, I still seek out diamond and all of that stuff. Even in 1.20 I still play it like its old Minecraft. That's not to say that I avoid new things like the new caves or other content. But I found myself enjoying the new things a lot more since I only keep to what I know. So when I do come across new things it feels like a brand new adventure. It makes me feel like a kid again. Which is also why I don't mind the lack of content we've been getting. Because to me, it's still that same little block game I discovered when I was a kid back in 2010...It will always be, my most favorite video game of all time.

[@PinkaholicOfficial]

This video was honestly incredible. From talking about your experience with learning about Minecraft to even the mention of fishing almost brought me to tears as the memories flooded back. Thank you for this advice, im sure to take it next time I boot up a world (or maybe the first time I make a world on my new Mac)

[@Mechonyo]

One thing, that could be a good thing to do too: Write a journal. Get yourself a book and quill with creative mode and never use it again. Then, on that moment onward, write every so often, what happened in your world or yourself in the game. After you think that you had enough of the game, read it.

[@barlexlive]

That’s a fantastic idea

[@mrlayorio]

i mean, i feel like you could probably get the ingredients for a book and quill fairly quickly - like day 1 or 2 - but yeah this idea is great

[@BakerBones]

inspiring video. it doesn't play on nostalgia like people who go back to alpha do. it is appreciating the feelings of when we first played minecraft. minecraft isn't getting worse, we know more. we optimize more. we are less creative. i'd like to add on that this strategy doesn't bring back the unknown aspect which was present when first playing. that's why so many people play mods

[@man8814]

6:54 yes I play on hard but if feels too easy.

[@barlexlive]

I think you’d enjoy my upcoming video essay then. We’re putting the finishing touches on it now, and it’s titled “Addressing Minecraft’s Difficulty Problem”. Subscribe and join the discord to stay tuned on when it’ll release!

[@nine-digits]

This is the best "not enjoying Minecraft" video I've ever seen. I was listening to your video in the background of a Beta world that I just started, and as soon as you began walking through the typical beginning routine @5:37, the soundtrack started playing. This may seem stupid, but I broke tf down man, I started crying... hearing someone else say my exact starting routine, AS I WAS DOING IT in this new world, was just an eye opener. It's so insane to me that so many of us have had the EXACT same experience with this game. It really makes me feel so connected to others in my generation. Like this game has linked so many people together through time, and the only link that we've lost is our younger selves. I will implement the changes you suggested, and I hope I can reconnect with middle school me. You described the feelings I've had perfectly. Anyways, fantastic video man. I really appreciate you!

[@august8679]

i already play minecraft like the way this video recommends. it is so easy to have fun in a new world, building new things, and the novelty is amazing. what i came here for is advice on how to enjoy a long term world. when you already have full netherite gear and 6 beacons, how do you enjoy yourself without starting over?

[@barlexlive]

One thing that helps in this instance is a mixture of the point of not answering every question as well as big plans. Make a huge idea that will take time to execute on. For example, make a railroad with a train station in every biome, and have each station have architecture specific to the blocks in each biome. Make little towns in each biome by the train station too! Get creative with it! Another could be to limit yourself to lower level tools and take on trial chambers or nether fortresses. It’ll keep you on your toes since you’re so used to being an unkillable god. Hope this helps!

[@miimiiandco]

I've been playing on a long-term world for years too, and I'd suggest just building whatever silly little idea strikes your fancy. If you're worried about ruining the aestetic of your base, you could fly to a new area made for the sole purpose of letting your ideas run wild. You could also take a look at your world and see what needs improving. Recently I wanted to relocate my Villagers from an Ice box into a new, proper Village I'm currently in the process of building. If all else fails, go to a new point in your long-term world and begin a New Game+!

[@funnymomentenjoyer]

the “now playing” feature you had was 💯

[@andrewgeme1859]

I do not agree that minecraft is too "easy" or "simple". I think the problem is much deeper than it really is, and I like minecraft anyway.

[@barlexlive]

what do you think the problem may be? It's more than okay to point out problems while still liking the game, I love this game and it's why I want to point out issues and give feedback so they can be addressed

[@andrewgeme1859]

@@barlexlive I think the problem is the incorrect interpretation of what minecraft is in general. The bottom line is that Minecraft is a sandbox, but I swear by notch, more than 50% of the players do not understand this, instead of trying everything they can, they do only one thing, it's not bad if you like it, but if you don't like it, then that's the problem. Obviously, most of them play survival or hardcore, forgetting that there is a creative mode. people drive themselves into the framework, and do not feel the full depth of Minecraft. The most important advice that helped me: Do everything, literally, I played both as a survivalist and as a builder, redstoner, modder, etc. By expanding your experience, you will get rid of all the problems, yes, I play hardcore for the most part, but unlike many I have tried everything (if we talk about the general)

[@Minelaughter]

​@@barlexliveThe problem is people do the same thing over and over again. Try going to new structures, brew potions. Trial and Error. Make a new account (if on bedrock edition) and just pretend all the knowledge you had was erased and play like a new kid from 2018.

[@goofbawll]

i think for me what changed my mindset whenever i play mc is my pacing. i realized i stopped walking all together. i realized i hadn’t used redstone at all. i realized i wasn’t really engaging with the various systems that have been implemented over the years (fishing, archeology, redstone, etc). i was prioritizing progression and speed and undervaluing other things like potions minecarts and diamonds. there are pretty un ignorable issues with the games balancing like shields beds and some loot from structures like villages and shipwrecks but i like making myself earn those things treating them like little checkpoints in my progression. like you were saying i prioritize fun over everything and tend to switch playstyles depending on what i want to do and i’m much happier with the game now.

[@hurykles99]

When you realise you don't need to rush things, all of the sudden game becomes more fun I always play like that. I do it since the beta days. And never got bored Edit: i think i should share some story. So... Me and a bunch of friends wanted to play some Minecraft together. Someone set up the server. People downloaded preffered launchers. Joined the game and... Started goofing arounf. Meanwhile the guy who organised all of this was "speedrunning" the game while playing with us. Guess who had more fun there...

[@CreativelyJake]

not needing to have every question answered / planned out perfectly for a project... but also not overwhelming yourself too... are very good pieces of advice. and also yeah, remembering that you CAN do anything in minecraft. is sometimes hard good stuff. some points are common ones, but its still a well put together video.

[@samuelboczek1834]

KZbin just randomly recommends me videos like these now: "Why are you bored", "Why are you depressed", "Why are you not enjoying your favourite game anymore". It's slightly annoying since I neither bored with life nor my favourite game - sounds to me like KZbin is trying to make people bored and depressed.

[@barlexlive]

I'm glad you're enjoying life and your favorite games, friend. I've been thinking on why you could be getting recommended videos with similar titles, and what I've come to is that you're likely in the demographic of people (whether by age, gender, or region) who is largely comprised of people who have such feelings, and KZbin sees you match that demographic and recommends things that aren't 100% relevant to you. Hope you continue to enjoy life and Minecraft, you're living in a way a lot of people envy.

[@demihau]

same lol. i always get videos like “why do you feel so lonely” and “why you don’t have friends” and it’s fucking annoying since i don’t need them in the first place and i don’t feel lonely.

[@deryn1]

Playing the game to simply just experience it was something I found out while playing beta for the first time. I started playing the game well after beta so my experience wasn't filled with nostalgia but a view of it on its own for what it was. I very much love beta, the simplistic feeling and lack of blocks that you can obtain easily is perfect for when I just want to build nonsense. But even more then that the progression is small you can get diamond tools imo fairly easily and the nether is so empty the only thing worth getting is glowstone but my hatred of ghast will always push me away from going. So after I set up a farm, house, mine, and got all diamond tools I didn't know what to do. It was just me and this big world. So I just did what I wanted to, Built whatever I wanted. I built a dock even though I never fish or use boats. I built a damn gas station just bc I felt like it. And now even though I normally do progress tool wise pretty quick in updated versions of the game are so much more fun to play. Beta is nice but there are a lot of parts of it that suck. like 1 wood type and no log rotation oh and stairs don't connect together either! I m sorry for this rant but getting clay SUCKS!! When I go back to recent game versions it boost my drive to build, so many blocks I can get with minimal progression. It changed the way I view playing the game. I'm glad it did. Btw this was an amazing video! The editing was good and I actually saw myself playing the game slightly differently as I was watching lol.

[@WaltzerCerealMuncher]

Trying to play "right" really takes away the fun, always doing the same thing it gonna be boring, it's Minecraft do whatever you want you don't need to immediately enslave a village and built a farm just do what you like.

[@redshiftthefox]

My usual steps of progression is to gather as little wood as needed to make a wooden pickaxe, then gather enough cobble to throw that wooden pickaxe away and make all stone tools. I don't usually prioritize upgrading to iron for a while. If I want the spawn area to have a medium sized town, I'll begin digging a mineshaft, usually down to Y:11, with four tunnels leading in the four cardinal directions, with branches within each tunnel every now and then for some variety. The tunnels are usually between 3-5 blocks tall and 4-7 blocks wide. Gathering the various ores is just a side effect of gathering stone with these large tunnels. I don't progress to iron tools until I have 4-5 stacks worth of iron, and I usually forego armor entirely as I play on Hard. I wait this long on purpose, as with the way I mine, I can run out of iron pretty quick if I don't find much of it while collecting stone for building purposes. Each house I build, every place of business, is furnished. Every house has a bed, block of polished granite, a furnace, crafting table and use to have cauldrons before the Villager update. A smithy or blacksmith would have raw ores, refined metals, gemstone storage, tools, armor, among other items and equipment related to a smithy or blacksmith. A bakery would have various food options, rarely stocking meats. A butcher would have mostly raw meats, a general restaurant would have a little bit of everything food related, based on the chosen style that is. Everything having a lived-in feel, everything being immersive. No mine tunnel being dug being both decorative and having a purpose. Every quarry being both a decorative hole in the ground and supplying stone for projects. Once I've spent anywhere from 50-500 hours building a town, I simply go to a new area and build another. I'll usually build them between one to three daytime cycles away from each other, with a rest stop about every day cycle between them in the form of a small village, outpost or even a small fort. Once I've found a spot for a new village, town, or even city, I'll build a road leading to it from the previous build that I came from -- then the process starts all over. My prime focus in Minecraft isn't to get diamonds or to fight the end dragon. It's to build civilization. Villages, towns, cities, capitals, all of varying sizes and spread throughout the world. Mines being dug with an actual purpose of providing stone for the development of an area. Logging sites providing lumber to nearby construction efforts. A world that's alive, lived-in, that's my focus. Wheat fields so large it takes me an several hours to harvest it all. Sugar cane, carrot and potato fields just as big -- all with the purpose of having an immersive way to show what's needed to feed the people of a town nearest to them. It's rare that I find someone who shares this focus, even in a similar way. Ships built at docks and out at sea, coming and going, some with a lot of things in their holds, and some with very little. Deserts having a different building theme than plains, which are both different from the theme I use in the cold and snowy biomes. I build with the land as much as possible, not flattening it out as most appear to do. If I remove a mountain, it's only because I needed that much stone, turning a mountain into a pit quarry both makes a decorative, immersive hole in the ground, but also served to provide stone for a project. My options for infrastructure and building options and themes only increase when adding certain mods. This is what I spend my time doing in Minecraft; building civilization, making the world cohesive, lived-in, everything having a purpose, everything being as immersive as it can be. I haven't cared about the intended progression in Minecraft since I found more satisfaction in building civilization. The only times I engage in it is after hundreds to thousands of hours only because I found an ideal use for end stone in a project and no other block fits the purpose.

[@wesleywatson2009]

Great video. I usually play survival and aim to create awesome builds so that’s why I beam line towards good tools. My problem is usually due to creative burnout. I recently got the itch again and started a world with my fiancé, who is semi familiar with the mechanics. Playing with her has taught me to slow down and take the world in and it has been special. Not only a enjoying a game I love again but playing it with someone who I love. Best take away I have is to always take time to smell the roses and live in the moment. Whether it be in Minecraft or in real life.

[@barlexlive]

Fantastic point. Playing with my girlfriend has definitely shown me how to experience the game as I first did. Slowing down and seeing her learn how to build and fight mobs really led to a new appreciation for the game in me.

[@Squigga2]

Thats exactly how i play even today,thats not my problem,my problem is that ive played too much terraria to enjoy a slower paced game and overfill it with mods then i get bored and i lose interest

[@barlexlive]

I'm currently making a video on Minecraft's Difficulty Problem, and I'd love to hear your input on what you think would help slow the game down! Consider joining my Discord Server to share your thoughts with me and the community!

[@Abitsma]

I’ve seen all the media about why people aren’t enjoying Minecraft- and I’ve been so confused this whole time until I saw this video. I play Minecraft but I don’t really consume the media around it. I didn’t realize that people are just playing Minecraft to get it done as fast as possible. I’ve always played Minecraft in similar ways to what you said. I get enough wood and cobblestone to bounce, then I find the perfect spot for a house. I’ll build something I think is beautiful. My philosophy of Minecraft is that it’s supposed to be a beautiful game. I’m here to leave a gorgeous legacy in my worlds. Then I just take things slowly. Just enjoy the little moments. I was so happy the other day- a skeleton killed a creeper in front of me and I got a music disc that wasn’t cat for the first time. Listening to Stal for the first time was a joy. There’s moments like that- ones that are my first time even though I’ve been playing the game for years. It’s because I don’t make everything 100% efficient. I just explore and learn at my own pace. I’ve always been happy playing Minecraft, so it was eye-opening to finally figure out why others aren’t. Good video.

[@barlexlive]

Thanks for the great comment! I'm glad I could explain this weird phenomenon going on around the game, and I'm glad you're playing the game in a way that appreciates its beauty!

[@rollanersteel]

(Long comment, TL:DR at the bottom) After watching this, i've realized: Your solution is basically how i've always played the game. Ironically, now i have more fun optimizing resource collection, automating stuff and so on. Im not saying i don't enjoy building my own perfect lakeside cottages anymore i still very much do, and i have a lot of fond memories of all the worlds i've done such. It's just the break of the cycle that make it fun for me. Doing something different for once. And trying to merge my passion for architecture with functionality makes building houses so more engaging. Still, i do want to share a few thoughts: In a way, i think the problem boils to one single point: "If given the chance, the players will optimize the fun out of the game". All of what you proposed is basically: "Don't worry about what's optimal, worry about what's fun". Minecraft is, at its core, a sandbox game with survival mechanics to incentivize the player. Lots of the optimal strategies allow people to "speedrun" the game, and thus never stop to look around them and enjoy the experience, at least on Alpha. Children are very adept at intrinsic motivation: They will build a little mushroom house just because they think it will look cool. Older people, either due to biology or society, need something to "push" them to build, to be creative. Minecraft is already quite easy (once you have experience), and as such. the extrinsic motivator gets extinguished if you optimize it, as previously said. I think your solution is quite valid for those who've done that, trying to "win" the game at the cost of the experience, and thus, the fun. TLDR: People are bored, cuz they optimized the fun out of the game. Following the meta to try and win what's at its core a sandbox game. Repeating the same patterns, strategies and such over and over again. Bases made for function over comfort, mindlessly strip mining for ore, and missing out on all the nice details that make the game come alive. Minecraft never became boring, we did. And to fix it we only have to stop and smell the roses. Thanks for coming to my TED talk, and have a nice one.

[@MaksIgnaczak]

I actualy teared up when you said do it for your younger self. Thank you.

[@iroironanihongo]

Completely agree. Advice on how to enjoy minecraft again are... The same as the ones on how to enjoy life again. Take things slow. Stay mindful. Do silly stuff just for the heck of it. Don't let the kid inside you grow up. Great video, mate

[@Garfield_Minecraft]

what I do when spawned in? yeah cut enough trees for a wooden pickaxe and then upgrade to stone, but I stopped there and start building house because it's getting dark, and mine more I'm not a good miner so I often get only cobblestones. The thing I like to build most is WOODEN BRIDGE across the sea from island to island I don't know why but I like it

[@Radar_of_the_Stars]

Minecraft isn't an RPG, if the game is over for you when you have the best gear then Minecraft simply isn't for you. Minecraft is a building game, and if you look at progression in terms of the blocks you have access to to make good looking buildings, then the progression is suddenly not so simple

[@barlexlive]

Very true. What I was trying to mention was that the progress for better itself was very plain and a little too quick to be fulfilling, which was a microcosm of the feeling I highlighted about the entire game.

[@AstraOG]

I ha e a little of this problem, but I managed to solve it with mods like create where the line between gear progression and build progression becomes much more blurry

[@someonerandom704]

I miss the days when minecraft was a major online platform. It still is nowadays, but in a completely different way.

[@SwitchMaxFX]

This why i continue to play minecraft with mods. theres ALWAYS new content to experience, new places to explore, new things to see, new things to collect. whenever my friends say minecraft is boring i always recommend them to try modding and everytime they get right back into the game. and love it.

[@attezirux]

This kinds essay videos made me replay Minecraft for the past month, and with some help of the new update. It was so fun, sometimes I play alone or with my brother. And for the first time I actually started using redstone and learning mechanisms and now with the crafter is so cool. Im enjoying my time playing Minecraft again

[@barlexlive]

That's so great to hear! Delving into mechanisms you haven't fully immersed yourself in is a great way to fall in love with the game again!

[@Vintagesonic1]

I dunno, man. The main thing that keeps me from enjoying Minecraft is that I simply do not like building, nor am I skilled at it either. This is because I lack the imagination and techniques everyone is familiar with, except me.... and I've been playing this game on an off since the debut of Creative Mode. Back then, I didn't have the internet, nor were there so many different blocks to choose from and everyone's builds looked very simplistic compared to today. I feel as I'm trapped in a loop of starting a Minecraft world, building a simplistic wooden house, beating the game and get bored as there's nothing left for me to do. I just wish there was more progression in the game and I also wish they didn't make diamonds so common. In my current survival world, I already have dozens of stacks of diamonds and it didn't take me much time at all to collect. Before they updated the caves, diamonds were a luxury. Now, they're kinda useless. Especially after they added netherite, which in my opinion harmed the exploration of the caves as a whole. Also, it stripped one of Minecraft's most universally exciting experience of finding diamonds after searching for so long. At this point, they should just make a Minecraft 2 or something and make the game longer with more stuff to do. I also want to see lots more bosses in the game. Like there's not much point to getting netherite gear if there's nothing that can challenge you enough to make you want to seek it out? I think the game Valheim is great in this regard. I just want Valheim but Minecraft. That'd be so cool.

[@Mark00266]

My lifes gone a mess and I used to remember, sometimes I would just turn on my Xbox and play Minecraft for HOURS, not thinking about life or anything I had troubles with at the time, yet nowadays I want to escape reality so bad, go back to those times, yet Minecraft feels boring, Ive done exactly what you described, get exactly enough wood for all my tools, go straight to villages and mine and then go to the nether to prepare to beat the game, this video is unlike the rest, and I'm surprised at this time your at 812 Subscribers, good work man. Keep this up, you have earned a new sub.

[@zacate903]

I've been enjoying Vintage Story a lot, it has a very long tech progression/tech tree but has all the qualities i liked about Minecraft

[@kibawolf6673]

Mod developer here developing a LOZ themed mod, I am working out on removing a good chunk of the classic Vanilla stuff to make the game more challenging and feel more rewarding with progression as a 15 year veteran of the game I totally agree with your points here 100%, bottom line being the game is just too linear and easy and it needs something to refresh the experience

[@barlexlive]

I’m excited to see the mod you’re working on! As for myself I’m working on a new video where I address Minecraft’s difficulty problem. I think a good deal needs to change but I want to make sure we don’t alienate new or casual players, as their experience is just as important as our own. If you want to talk more about your mod feel free to join my community discord and talk about it!

[@captaincookie72]

LuketheNotable is the only one who does the 100 days that I can watch. He was the original and he shows every day. Its not over edited its just Minecraft gameplay like the old days.

[@barlexlive]

I’m glad to see some of the guys are doing good stuff out there and showing all days of gameplay. It’s hard for me to believe you actually spent 100 days unless you really show the increments.

[@alejanarrentanz698]

me, 36, sitting here, living my life, still never killed the f** dragon xD The game is alot different, when you have no elytra. You have so much more to do. cause you need highways to build or railroads :)

[@barlexlive]

That's why I never get the Elytra. It's so much more fulfilling that way

[@HalfEclipsed]

For me, goals is what brought me back, the survival burnout sucks. But I found out I really enjoyed building, so I did that, nothing practical, just cool stuff I wanted to build. I was garbage, but it was fun and seeing my builds get better was satisfying.

[@MasterMafiaDK]

This was a fantastic video essay man, great work! I really liked it because I realized that I always try to do what you demonstrated but because of watching speed runners and pros that I felt pressured to be super efficient... I'm going to boot up the game in a little bit and try sticking to what you recommended, it feels nice bringing back the me that fell in love with the tutorial world.

[@MasterMafiaDK]

Youve defiantly got a new subscriber man!

[@blademasterzero]

On the topic of walking. I find that walking is often essential for me and I rarely sprint, I tend to play modded though and food is often scarce or an important resource so wasting hunger on sprinting everywhere could easily be a death sentence if I run out of sprint while in danger. Because of this I find myself walking way more often

[@ZXZSouless]

I Finally get what My one friend has been telling me... thank you...

[@henryneal6963]

I've personally found a mod on forge for 1.20.1 called "Regional ore veins" that makes it far more difficult to get iron. I find it's been helping so far to keep me playing the game, as I usually only play for minutes at a time.

[@AlphaSatanOmegaArt]

Very good video. I enjoy that you looked deeper and more critically at this topic than most of the other videos I've seen talking about it. Most others seem to point at 1 or 2 main causes, and fail to truly dissect what makes up the issue. I am also glad that you offered a possible solution to the problem and laid out the steps to do achieve it, which is something I've rarely seen others do, especially in making any attempt in explaining their proposed solution.

[@barlexlive]

Thank you! I never want it to seem like I’m complaining or screaming in the void without providing how I would fix things or how I’ve personally overcome an issue. Thanks for the awesome comment, hope to be making more videos like this for you soon!

[@Romourus]

Listened to this while I cleaned, and i think everything just sort of clicked. This is such an awesome video man, keep it up

[@BasementDweller_]

Who else is having fun with Minecraft but clicked on this video anyway?

[@Keaton427]

Truly! I've reignited my spark and love in Minecraft by adding many client-side quality of life features, vanilla+ world generation, harder mobs, slower progression, etc. It's been a blast!

[@TheEpicplushgod]

Stick to stone tools for the first few days? What about sticking to stone tools for 250 days like what I've done?

[@barlexlive]

Holy based Batman

[@SaignusUnltd]

As someone who has spent over 3 years in the current iteration of a server, the early game is a thing I go through to get to the bigger projects and crazy adventures that come afterwards. I have way to many projects to ever run out of things to do.... and progression in-game is leverage to accomplish them faster. Some of that is because I only get to play a few hours a week...I have to place myself. Great essay btw. Will share with the casuals in my life 😂

[@Ambrosehj]

Seriously great video, well done!

[@misterpotato427]

I just played in a LAN with my mom and sister, and I recommend anyone to do that as well, play with you're family. I feel full filled doing anything when Im with them, mining dirt, coal or trees become fun. And we don't even have Diamond tools yet!

[@xdress1746]

5:38 This is exactly how one would play the game previously, only thing that changed is there’s far more to do now. Now there’s automation, and bosses, there’s always something new and more progression to be made. Back in the day, you’d get diamond tools and a nether portal in maybe a few hours, and that was it. Further progression was left to the player deciding what to create.

[@ultimate_pleb]

I have an idea that could fix the 'speedrun beds to skip the first night' problem Make sheep no longer drop wool when killed now they must either be sheared or you kill spiders to get string to make wool to make a bed

[@barlexlive]

That or make beds require cloth/another item made from processing wool that takes longer

[@ultimate_pleb]

@@barlexlive yeah like using the loom to craft sheets or something

[@jammingjack99]

I honestly think the best fix would be to make villages rarer since that's hiw everyone gets beds it honestly isn't fun to have villages every 100 blocks

[@ultimate_pleb]

@@jammingjack99 maybe make villager beds unusable and drop nothing?

[@Overgis4058]

I resonate with this. I've played Minecraft since the Xbox360 version, and back in the gap I couldn't afford the full version for 20$. We didnt even have internet for me to buy the full game. So even back then, I got really accustomed to getting iron within the first 10~ minutes of gameplay that way I can build whatever I want for the last 15 or so minutes. I eventually bought the full game and that's how I've always played since. Recently I've picked up a new, similar game, called Vintage Story. The purchasing and installation was a bit of a hassle, but after some emails and account creation, I've managed to get myself into one of the most immersive, true to life, "Minecraft plus" experiences I've ever had, and the game has not gotten old for me yet. I cannot state how highly I recommend this game, it really does bring back that feeling we got when we first played MC as children, what with all the exploring, using wooden tools, and generally just feeling free.

[@barlexlive]

I’ve heard a good many say how vintage story really brings that feeling back, I’m definitely giving it a try soon!

[@alantyto3627]

There are, as you mentioned, lots and lots of videos and video essays talking about this exact problem. People who create them name good points as to why the experience doesn't feel the same anymore, including instant gratification problem, and everyone encourages you to remember your first game of Minecraft. Now the thing is, for the life of me I can't. I just feel some sort of nostalgia for nothing in particular, and no matter how many of such videos I watch, I barely have anything to grasp onto throughout the narrative. Here, though, you did something that actually made me recall my first playthroughs - you mentioned wooden tools. Funnily, this is what made me remember. Instead of vague concept of over-optimisation THAT was something specific to grab onto. I now remember the game I miss slightly more clearly now. Now this is getting long, I just wanted to say that among all the videos talking about the changed perception of the game only yours made me remember my first games and what they felt like, and gave an actual idea how to try and bring that back. Thank you, man. This one's special for me.

[@sighre9923]

Just got back in to minecraft the past few days and saw this vid and it is an absolute masterpiece

[@barlexlive]

Thank you! Hope to make more videos like this for you to enjoy!

[@Weatherman4Eva]

These days, I find myself having the most fun when I play with someone that really enjoys the decoration building craft part of the game, and I'll go out and mine and gather all the materials. One problem is that I'll start optimizing the fun out of the game and look up automated farms for every single material I can. When theres no more struggle and no more goals for myself, I start to get bored. As far as single player goes, I somewhat miss the days before hunger and before you could sleep through the night. It was a lot more interesting to me when you werent able just to sleep the monsters away, you actually had to survive in survival lol. Hunger annoys me a bit because if I want to sit and mine for hours at a time, I cant just mindlessly do so, I have to have food with me which means every so often I have to take a break, go back to land, and do some farming. Of course, theres been so many other improvements and interesting new blocks that I would not want to just roll back the updates... Im watching this video because I felt the craving to play Minecraft again for the first time in about 8 months and I joined a smaller multiplayer server for a streamer and I'm enjoying myself so far. Even though I typically still play by myself, its more rewarding to me to know that other people can stumble into my random ass builds that I put hours of work into

[@xTylerRivas]

So no one gonna explain this slab @8:13

[@barlexlive]

It’s part of a modpack used for my KZbin series on The Lumpy Dumpster SMP! Check out the videos and the link under them for the modpack download!

[@Goozerr]

You gave me the same feeling I felt many years ago reading the end poem. Good video, man.

[@barlexlive]

This comment is going to stick with me for a while. That's about the highest honor or praise I could imagine getting, thank you!

[@averagejoe2301]

Personally, i take my time with things. I take my time to make my house or make a farm. I also like building a lot and going out and exploring. That’s what makes Minecraft fun for me personally. I don’t go and rush to beat the ender dragon i just take my own time.

[@barlexlive]

That’s the way I’ve been playing and it’s so fun to just build a town and slowly get more resources and better tools as time goes on. Most of the time when I get diamonds it’s because I need to go caving to get resources like tuff for builds lmao

[@man8814]

5:57 I don't know who plays like this but if you do your weird.

[@ethanbunch3274]

My first playthrough was on the PS4 edition. Me and some buddies all got it and I started a world with all of us. I remember so many details about playing in that world and I still have screenshots from it. I dont think I can sum up how much genuine FUN I had in that world with my buddies. Me and Dawson had a creative world with plots of land on a superflat that we would spend hours on just building and talking about life. I dont have a ps4 anymore but I picked up the Xbox one edition and the feeling was something surreal. It felt RIGHT. Like i was coming home. I sat there and played for hours listening to the soundtrack while my Fiancée read her book nearby. Thank you for reminding me of the joy I felt then and I am looking forward to a whole new experience with it ❤️

[@djsajorda7184]

8:14 IS THAT A VERTICAL SLAB???

[@barlexlive]

It is! This clip is from a modded SMP we made called The Lumpy Dumpster SMP! You should check out the series to see the full list of mods and all we were able to do with it!

[@Otronator]

It's insane to me, i got minecraft dec 2010. i cant believe it was almost 14 years ago

[@funnymomentenjoyer]

wild how fast time flies, felt like the 360 days was just last year and now we’re all stuck with RGB PCs

[@barlexlive]

Started in 2012 and it’s crazy wrapping up college and looking back at 12 years of playing this game. Need to make a video replaying the 360 edition soon!

[@TheOoberTooberJr]

When you described the issue of people no longer walking, you illustrated a very big problem seen with video game design as a whole: setting the player's base movement speed. Its a tedious thing to balance exactly how fast the player should move when moving in different ways or through different travel methods, especially when there are other NPCs alongside the player that move in the world too in different ways. By developers tweaking this exact base value by even just a mere fraction, it can either greatly increase the speed to a game breaking level at times or completely slow down the player entirely. In Minecraft's case, the base movement speed value is roughly 0.1 when walking, which doesn't sound like a lot until you realize that this is the base value without sprinting, potions, ice, etc. For me personally, making a datapack to set the player movement speed attribute to 0.08 not only didn't take away the ability for me to still sprint, but it very minimally slowed me down just a bit to then just walk instead. Attributes and attribute modifiers are a finicky thing in video games and take a gentle hand to tweak accordingly, but can be easily fixed.

[@restoredtuna8264]

I started a world yesterday where I built a nice little log shack and a farm at spawn and it was very pleasing. Today I’m going to go on an adventure to find that perfect spot

[@simpleman3898]

That's why i now always play with a biome mod and just mess around building. That's what minecraft is, not this serious progression. A peaceful journey were everything matters 😊

[@aYtto]

lotta people been wanting Minecraft to be like Terraria, it was never about killing everything thats stronger than you and upgrading, its a building and exploration game, so many people been handicapping themselves with the need for progression they forgot that they shouldn't just play the game to beat it. and also the new additions, even i fell victim to the "but these mobs aren't even useful" mindset, but damn, comparing it to the betas, the game has so much more life to it now, even if you do just want the betas, just go play them, its always avaliable on the launcher anyway. also create mod, love it.

[@kckarnige]

Gonna remake that city me and my cousin never finished, thanks for the inspo broski ❤

[@barlexlive]

Me and my cousin played this all the time back in our heyday. Glad to hear I’ve sparked that inspiration in you again!

[@thesantadestroyer]

woah is that kckarnige from slime brother central?

[@habouriayahya5093]

Your channel is so Underrated. Golden words.

[@fletcher-m4p]

I went back to old versions to make minecraft more fun. I played Alpha and Beta versions. One year later, i just moved to release 1.9.4 (The Combat Update) on that same world. I have so many builds that I just made because why not? It’s fun. Farms (some auto, some manual) Now I’m building a sheep farm and it has been a lot of fun :)

[@perryli9229]

What future videos do you plan to make?

[@barlexlive]

Hey, thanks for commenting! The current plan for me is to continue making weekly gaming videos, daily KZbin Shorts, and monthly video essays! The video essay I'm working on now is going to be titled "Addressing Minecraft's Difficulty Problem, and it'll be out in a few weeks! I'm wrapping up the script today and sending that and footage over to my editor!

[@thelumpydumpster]

This could be the best video on the channel. Fantastic work to your editor on this one. My only request is that you and Sope collab since the two of you are doing video essays now

[@barlexlive]

Stay tuned 👀

[@lukecantspel]

i wonder who had the password for this barlex-coded reply

[@IamPotion]

10:20 also with this statement that mending discourages exploration is somewhat subjective. Most people when they have a stable supply of mending books are encouraged to travel more and explore more because they wouldn’t be scared to lose their equipment. And most of the time there is a lot of challenge getting mending books in a steady supply. I think people get a misconception when they see KZbinrs get mending books so easily. I had an old old world on Java back before villages were a thing. I had to travel 10k blocks just to get villagers. I didn’t have an iron farm either so I spent about a whole month mining to get enough iron for the rails. I don’t think the issue is with villagers, I think it’s more about the pricing and the amount of villages that spawn in a specific area. I had 4 villages spawn near spawn on a random seed all within 100 blocks. If we spread out the villages a lot more and add more points of interests between villages while also making resources more scarce. Making more world pregen would make the game more fun as well.

[@barlexlive]

I agree that villages are far too common, they ought to be something super rare and a bastion of civilization in an otherwise lonely world.

[@IamPotion]

@@barlexlive also I’m not criticizing, you make valid points. It’s more problems with Minecraft that Mojang doesn’t care about, they won’t change small mechanics of the game and instead would prefer to punish players. Sending all kinds of love to man.

[@ultimate_pleb]

"There is no 'wrong' way to play minecraft, only people who tell you there's is the 'correct' way and they are right, in their opinion" -master oogway

[@barlexlive]

So real. I remember how fun it was seeing how my friends all had different ways of building, making farms, or even making mines before we all more or less homogenized into one play style

[@Houndnwolf]

Good video. You didn’t just hit the same points everyone else does in these types of vids. Minecraft has always been an exploration and creation game for me. The only reason I got iron was because it was the highest I needed in order to not fear the mobs at night. But I would always stop playing after I made my house: I already had all the food, shelter, and basic roof I needed. For someone who just wants to be creative in the sandbox, it was like stopping after building a single castle tower. Having goals and taking your time go a long way to making this game feel more special and I wish more people talked about that instead of just going back to beta or blaming Mojang for not having harder mobs in the game or whatever.

[@RavenaDivine]

Very good video! Keep up this level of quality, editing and consistency and you will become a household name in no time👍

[@sopeylive]

Dude this has got to be one of my favorite video essays. The writing was absolutely flawless, I’m analyzing it right now, man! I can’t help but think, “Now I realize how much I have to learn”. But more important than that, you made me remember those late nights spent goofing off with my Skype friends in hunger games, spleef, and hypixel. I remember struggling to set up a hamachi server (or whatever you call it) so we could play on my own world. I remembered being scared of hero brine, of the cave noises… Thank you for reminding me of the curiosity and wonder. I can’t believe I forgot that minecraft is so much more than mining and crafting. Awesome video, thank you!

[@blockafeller]

I tried combatting that easy point you mentioned by making a custom mod that allows monsters to break and place blocks. No real gameplay changes aside from that. It’s a pretty advanced mod in itself, powered by baritone-Took some serious engineering and I’m a laid off tech worker so perfect match. The reason being just what you said about the first night: too easy, the game hasn’t for a while promoted defensive building. With my mod, which I hosted alongside enforced true darkness (to bring back that pitch black darkness from beta), give the game some extra enjoyment because you’re no longer safe in a basic hut. I also added 5% chance bloodmoons where all mobs can see where you are, and disabled beds. Im considering going further to make them target chests too so your items aren’t safe, but I want it to be only player-used chests

[@barlexlive]

That mod sounds like the PERFECT way to up the difficulty while still keeping Minecraft feeling like itself. Where can I find this, I’d absolutely love to make a video about it!!!

[@blockafeller]

@@barlexlive I’m just about to be finished with it this week. Everything is there and tested, I even made a server mod version where players don’t have to have any mods, can work with vanilla clients as a server mod. I’ll remember this comment. I just have to add in game commands to allow people to configure it and then I’ll post it on the modding sites like curseforge everywhere, and get back to you. I’d love to see an actual well made video about this! I’m super hyped, great video by the way

[@maqima]

one thing me and my friends used to do was build miles away from each other. that sucks. this time around, we built closer by each other, embracing the chaos of pur different styles. I'm having more fun.

[@mr_nothing.the_one_that_no9134]

This prettu much explains why watching videos of KZbinrs playing Minecraft for the first time so fun. You get to see their child like wonder sort of like you did the first time you booted the game up. They aren't being the most efficient, they just do whatever the most fun or interesting.

[@barlexlive]

I think that’s a major reason why PewDiePie’s series was so fantastic. It was so fun to watch him figure out how to beat certain things (doors in underwater temple, snow golems for wither, etc.) and seeing him experience the game for the first time was such a breath of fresh air

[@alikhaled2389]

Amazing video, this is so real. Interestingly enough, I found myself doing almost exactly what this guy said even before watching the video on my latest Minecraft world, I’ve played this game for more than 10 years but quit since 1.16, now I returned and with like 5 updates’ worth of new stuff, it feels a little overwhelming to catch up, I’m not complaining about new content btw, it’s amazing to explore, but we really need to slow things down while playing. 50 Minecraft days in the new world and I’m still on a mix of stone and iron tools, I have 20-30 diamonds that I haven’t touched, and finally I’m enjoying the game again.

[@NeverParty]

Fun fact: I will always be the same age as Minecraft

[@dragonusmolamola4140]

in new minecraft for me it feels like things i do that arent helpful in progression or not efficient are a waste of time but in beta minecraft i dont feel guilty about anything i do

[@barlexlive]

It’s a really interesting phenomenon, isn’t it? Why do you think that feeling exists for modern Minecraft but not beta?

[@dragonusmolamola4140]

@@barlexlive im not entirely sure but i think i got the feeling more after minecraft speedrunning videos were popular and it seemed like everyone i knew wanted to kill the ender dragon fast despite never getting to the end

[@Raviolling]

When I was 4, my mom and brother came to pick me up from preschool. And she got us stufed animals. I got a minion, and my brother got an enderman which he named creeper. (He mixed the 2 up) Although i didn't play Minecraft until kindergarten when i was 5. But that was 1.0.2 (1.12 for java) and update aquatic blew my mind. And then i played for 9 updates. Currently I'm playing in my survival world, 12½ years old. With enchanted diamond tools. My brother hasn't played Minecraft in 2 years. And I've never beaten the ender dragon

[@zilsys]

ight I hit that button. I like what you talked about. thank you. but I do still like the new updates and I do know a little to come. you might like the overhauls that are to com with the next year. :) just stay in the loop. it will change things up a bit to a few things you said. keep in mind when you vote again know other systems will be touched in other ways without you know. ;) (I won't spoil just keep thinking. )

[@zilsys]

also building with no plan and just one dream. that is my way. I want to make a big build but not planned. I enjoy this... seeee I am a OG from 2011. I am in my late 20s and still like to come to solo MC and just go. no plan nothing. I just began a new world after 5 years so much has changed. what you said do point things out. I will say that does not hinder me though, I have come to know in life nothing stays the same. even game codes can corrupt. I will say is that yes it has become easy, but, I am a modder I change my world for a setting or story.

[@panwamave]

I started playing when 1.19 came out so I don't have a nostalgia factor for this game. I got a trial by fire by going head first into the deep dark and dying till I stopped dying as often. Now I have full netherite armor and tools and still play regularly. I have too many too big to build projects and keep switching between them when I get tired of each of them individually slowly accomplishing literal worldbuilding, sometimes even finishing some builds, and sometimes just mindlessly exploring caves while listening to an audiobook or something because it helps me concentrate. I really love this game, I'm kinda on the older side of the fanbase and missed the generation of games where minecraft was a novelty because I was becoming an adult at the time but now life has become a little slower since the last few years so I decided to give it a chance and it is the kind of game I would have dreamt to play when I was a kid but the tech wasn't there yet. I got excited when the last update came up just because I love the new tuff and copper block variants and wish to experiment in building with them. I get recommended many of the kind of vids about minecraft dying or not being fun anymore or whatever, but I simply don't get it. This game is very beautiful and they keep adding stuff. I just built a turtle scute farm for strenght potions because I found some trial chambers rooms that are a bit too tough on a bad omen and I like that there are infinite sidequest in this game where you can get lost in by playing in many different ways and that if I get tired I just do something else but then I keep coming back to it.

[@barlexlive]

Man, what I wouldn’t give to experience the game for the first time again. What a great comment dude, thank you for sharing! So glad you’re enjoying the game!

[@Garfield_Minecraft]

people who says the game isn't fun anymore probably play the game wrong

[@kineticsand7754]

I wonder if adding more little technical changes could help, like changing farming to make it harder to farm certain crops in certain biomes or make certain mobs that purposefully mess with farms could help slow the pace as it would be harder to establish a reliable source of food

[@barlexlive]

That sounds really interesting, and I'd love to make a full video on that subject! I'd love for you to full join my discord server so we can further talk about what technical changes you'd add, especially on the subject of farming and I can credit you and put your thoughts in a video!

[@woegarden]

this vid really touched my heart and made me cry. my mom bought me the game during a time that i couldn't see her at all. she was living in new york and my dad and i had recently moved up to ohio. i would be told by my dad one night that my mom had called, the first time in about a year or so. she let me know that she was sorry for missing my birthday and wanted to make it up to me. a coworker of hers had mentioned their child had been playing minecraft and that i would really like it. and well the rest is history. i still don't talk to my mom much, sadly. thank you for making this, i'm going to do this for my mom, and that lost little kid that misses her.

[@little_wintry3098]

This video is absolutely amazing to me, because it's such an obvious solution. I'm a HUGE fan of Skyrim (like, 2000+ hours), and similarly to Minecraft, Skyrim is a very easy game once you know what to do and what exploits to go after. But the true beauty of the game comes from unoptimizing your playthrough and absurd challenges - beat the final boss with a fork, only bash things with a shield, beat the entire Thieves Guild questline without stealing. It's inefficient as hell, but it's infinitely more fun. I never thought to apply that mentality to Minecraft, but I'm glad this video showed me how to :)

[@funnymomentenjoyer]

had no idea how similar Minecraft and Skyrim playthroughs can feel like holy cow

[@barlexlive]

I love your point about absurd challenges. I had a short series that I’ll likely bring back where I try to beat Minecraft without hitting a single mob. It was a great way to play and look at the game differently and led to a lot of fun! Hope to keep making videos like this for you in the future!

[@solalabell9674]

Skyrim works better the more you immerse play a Breton who uses magic because that’s what he would do, don’t fast travel, do odd jobs around the town for some coin for an inn, don’t just become a stealth archer, spend time walking around whiterun in third person taking in the city

[@algirdasltu1389]

Dude not the ssundee clip at the start 😭😭😭 that shit brings back so many memories

[@Sora-el-manco]

So basically adhd, the thing that's screwing almost every aspect of my adult life, is the main reason I can keep enjoying minecraft as an inefficient kid. Totally worth it.

[@ultimate_pleb]

4:43 mate, there still isn't a set way to play. There was a meta back then, there is a meta now. The beauty of minecraft is you don't need to play meta to enjoy yourself infact, alot of videos like this I've seen recently suggests that playing meta makes the game boring. The solution then is extremely simple, just don't play meta. Don't speedrun the game, don't build super OP iron and gold farms, Don try to get netherite ASAP you Don't need it, don't build raid farms most people don't know how anyway, don't bother curing villagers over and over don't kill the ender dragon until you've done everything else you want to do that DOESN'T require elytra stick with a basic 2012 style mob grinder and you'll have far more fun with the game than if you did play the meta. How do i know this this is how i play and I've been playing since 1.10 and enjoying every second

[@barlexlive]

Very true. What I meant in that statement was that I hadn’t yet formed my style of play of the formula I’ve often caught myself sticking to when playing the game, so every world felt like a new experience as I didn’t build the same house, look for the same biomes, or even organize my inventory the same way. 100% agree with you on the notion of not building those massive raid farms and the like, it can be more rewarding having those resources in moderation and grinding it out for top level loot.

[@ultimate_pleb]

@@barlexlive fair enough

[@CarRobots]

Another comment said leave a journal; I've been making an archive of everything major that happens in my world with books and them storing then in the new bookshelves. Just to clarify, by major I mean anything I consider an achievement. Making a house, first diamond pick, iron farm, beating the ender dragon etc etc. The world is going two years strong now :)