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“The map began as just a doodle.” Just as Hogwart’s Castle once never existed in the minds of any living creature — but is now vivid in the minds of millions — every creation begins with an initial spark and can grow to great importance despite not actually existing, which then begs the question of just how far from “real” it actually is when so many people both know it and deeply value it.
Sure, it’s easy continuing Harry Potter‘s story when millions are paying you as proof of how important his unreal story is to them, but Jerry is proof that in the hearts and minds of true creators, money is of little or no importance; the unknown is. That a powerful imagination combined with strong logic can transform dozens of white pages into a fictional map that’s the size of a U.S. state. That a dance with entropy can turn a blank page into the Mona Lisa, or a page from Romeo and Juliet, or just a simple coffee coaster. How’s that for quantum creepiness on a grand scale? In that limitless sense, storytelling is a human awakening to the amount of control we have in our lives.
Our species’ early cave paintings and eventual fervor over books and films have been constant proof of our desire for stories, and in recent years Minecraft has proven that the desire for virtual creation in many people is just as strong as the desire for virtual consumption. Watch as Jerry Gretzinger unknowingly describes some of the most prominent principles of game design and story design as he talks about his fictional map that all began with the edge of a single page and a desire for more. His eventual realization that he’s less of a creator and more of an observing tool that’s helping the world build itself is the spooky identity crisis that both haunts and addicts every great creator’s core.
[Via Reddit Minecraft]