The Minecraft Renaissance at OP

Image Courtesy of MOJANG

For nearly three weeks now, something has been stirring within the community at Oratory. As initial college applications have gone out and the first quarter has ended, some of the stress has been lifted from the backs of many. This has resulted is one of the largest revitalizations I have ever seen, truly fitting of the term “Renaissance.” Oratory has gone back in time for nearly 5-6 years and has returned to Minecraft. 

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Minecraft is a game familiar to most everyone, which reached its peak popularity in and around 2013, 2014, and 2015. At that time, this game was everywhere, there were not many places you could go without seeing something Minecraft related. However, after its peak years, the craze died down, and Minecraft was largely abandoned and out of popular culture. It became associated with children, despite the varied demographics of its player base, and it fell to the wayside.

Even though the game was forgotten about by a majority of people, its developers continued to update it, adding new features very consistently. As many kids left Minecraft to move on to other titles such as Fortnite, many people were encouraged to come back to the game because it had lost its reputation as being a kid’s game. This trend is real: 2019 has seen another rise. 

(Look here if you are interested https://trends.

 

.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=minecraft

What does all of this mean for Oratory? Well, this revival in Minecraft’s popularity has also reached the doors of the Ram. Many Oratory students, especially the seniors, are now taking part in this new revival, reliving their old nostalgia and playing their hearts out. I have even found myself coming back to the game after not having played it in a very long time, enjoying myself and remembering all of the things I used to do. 

I think much of the enjoyment stems from the community aspect of the game. I know I would not be playing the game if everyone else was also not playing. But, it is really enjoyable listening to Max Russo’s exhilaration when he finds a diamond or seeing underclassmen also joining in on the trend, or even just having a friendly rivalry between two distinctly different friend groups about who can progress faster. It feels like a community when everyone is enjoying something at the same time. 

I asked around to perhaps learn more about why everyone else has come back to Minecraft. They had a range of different things to say:

Wherever this Renaissance came from, and whenever it will end, I am happy that it is something that can transcend grade levels and encompass the whole school. Whether you are a senior or a freshman, everyone can relate to and commonly enjoying a joke about Minecraft and reliving the nostalgia of our younger years.