Minecraft & Morrowind - Immersion & Psychology
Morrowind and Minecraft are video games and with that comes the eventual desire to move on to the next piece of entertainment, or finally go clean the kitchen. But while I played, these games provided some interesting psychological and existential food for thought. Both games have pulled me into their world because they tapped into a clever game mechanic: creative freedom. This power wasn't granted to me at first though, I achieved it through the process of survival, exploration and the procurement of power. Once I was strong enough to influence the game world around me, creativity became the reason to play. There are no longer any goals that the game provides me, and I am left to my own imagination and my own goals. It is fun, challenging and relaxing.
I Play to Experience a Different World
Morrowind and Minecraft are games that give me creative control over a world my player inhabits. Minecraft, Morrowind, Fallout (1,2 & 3), the Baldur's Gate series (even Spore and the Sims) and every other game game I've enjoyed has taken me to a different world, and a part of my mind has stayed there even when not playing. The games that I've come back to have given me the ability to change the game world through mods, or through the functions of the game itself. Plots and prophecies hooked me, but creative control of the game world kept me coming back over and over.
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Both games lead me in creative directions. Morrowind does this by being open ended - a player progresses as he wishes - so I spend my time building my character, wandering, and modding the landscape. Minecraft allows me to be creative through the absence of any directives. In either game, I have control of the objectives and even the landscape of the game world, but they are not Sim Cities or simulation games. Minecraft and Morrowind are played from the character's perspective in either first person or third person view. It creates a much more intimate relationship with my creations.
From Weakness to Power
Minecraft and Morrowind engaged me in a simulation of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow's hierarchy indicates that safety needs are second only to the need to poop. And eating, but that's not as funny. Creativity, and the essentials of one’s personality, can only come after those basic needs are met. Both games very successfully toy with your safety until eventually you resolve them and move on to bigger and better things in the vein of "self actualization." For each player this can take a different turn, and I learned that I'm relatively risk averse when I play games.
Morrowind and Minecraft share similar beginnings, the player begins with no knowledge of the world and it's dangers. "Oh look, I've appeared on an island with idea how to fend for myself and no knowledge of why I'm here." I learned through failure, and survived only by accident. In Morrowind it was embarrassing; "I'm supposed to be a powerful mage, so why does this rat keep kicking my ass!?" In Minecraft, I never knew my assailants! A hiss, an explosion, and then the "respawn" button. I spent my first day exploring, and as night fell, I realized I didn't have any light source. If I was really on a deserted island this would have been the FIRST thing I tried to get. I heard noises in the dark. I remember clicking into the darkness like a madman. The respawn button appeared for me again.
Day two in Minecraft and I was nerve wracked - I dug into the ground and prepared my shelter. It was made of sand, resembling a bunker made by a disabled mole. I ventured out during the day to find wood to make shovels and picks, never straying too far. At night I mined for better resources to make my tools more useful. With those tools I created the means of my survival - shelter, food to restore my strength, armor for protection, and weapons to deter my enemies. I had become immune to the attacks of zombies and camouflaged plants. I was in a position to exercise my will on the game world, but I didn't know this yet. And that kept me motivated to build more, dig deeper and fortify my position.
In Morrowind, safety came from being sneaky, I remember pilfering just about everything in Seyda Neen, the starting town. Until I fully understood how to manipulate the broken leveling system to my advantage, I was weak and unable to see Morrowind's dangerous beauty. Side quests seemed the most reasonable way to increase my survival skills and I eventually accrued enough money, weapons, armor and prestige to be a threat to the enemies I had encountered. I wasn't sure how powerful I needed to be in order to complete the main quest, so I pushed to make myself stronger.
I didn't know how powerful I had truly become until I encountered my final enemies and vanquished them with minimal force. The game continued after the plot finished, I was free to complete quests that were still unfinished, kill and maim whoever I wanted, or explore. I finished a few more quests, but the remaining quests had rewards that were no longer worth winning or did not provide a new experience. Traveling through Morrowind is very rewarding for a player. It has alien landscapes and fascinating cities. Giant glowing mushrooms grow from ash covered terrain and wizards live in towers grown from the ground. But exploration was a time suck, and while visually alluring, left me unfulfilled. Killing was not enjoyable or competitive; my character's strength had eliminated all challenge, but my desire to keep playing continued.
Creativity in Minecraft means setting your own goals
On the second play-through of Minecraft I became more creative. I was more at ease and my definition of "safety" had changed. I knew how much time I had before nightfall and I could estimate how long it would take to complete my projects. Thus began an expansion. I chose the highest point in Minecraft - a mountain overlooking a valley. From a survival perspective it was great since it provided an excellent view. This was much better than my house on the beach. I built it up. I started a large mine. I placed torches throughout the valley so it was lit at night. I created a parapet to look over my creations. I started a farm too. It was a utilitarian creation.
My fort was also ugly, and detracted from the 8-bit virtual vistas of Minecraft. In safety, I looked for the first time over the algorithmic layout of the land. Who knew a randomly generated world, generated by a mathematical formula determining the placement of land, water, resources, hills and valleys, could produce a landscape that looked natural and beautiful? I had successfully moved away from my "safety" needs and was now more focused on "self actualization." It was time to create something beautiful.
I moved to an undiscovered area, and began creating floating islands in the sky. I planted trees to create forests, and then more on top, creating a tall forested mountainside with wooden walkways and hidden homes with glass windows overlooking a natural landscape. I hid my creations behind foliage or waterfalls. I made a real effort to maintain the generated landscape. Caves and arches are now prize finds, not for resources, but for views to look at from my constructions. At this point, I've taken the part of Minecraft that is the game (survive successfully) and left it behind to complete my own objectives. Its a new game now, with objectives that I set.
I'm glad I bought Minecraft in the alpha stage. There is a lot of potential in the game, and it could develop into a survival game with the necessity to not only look after your safety from creepers, but to eat, drink and sleep to survive. It could also grow along the lines of a free form virtual building world, allowing greater creativity with more crafting options, and more varied landscapes. There is a lot to do.
Creativity in Morrowind means not playing the game
My goals in Morrowind changed after I had become all-powerful. I was still drawn to the world, but I could no longer play the game the way the original creators had intended.
An ongoing community joke about the game is that people will spend a week installing mods, and an hour playing. Morrowind had entered my mind, my imagination "ran with it," and now I was imposing my imagination on Morrowind. In my article about Morrowind, I wrote how the idea of existing in this world had me hooked on short quests to build an in-game home. My character's home in Morrowind was satisfying for about 2 minutes. The prospect of obtaining the home was more fun, and the joy was in the anticipation. I began creating homes and buildings to place into the game world now. Building, imagining and anticipating, but (deliberately?) rarely "playing."
It wasn't long before I had so many mods that I really wasn't sure what game I was playing anymore. It was fun to add more and more to this strange world. I started creating a mage's tower. It was huge and went up and up and up. There were floating rocks, forcefield thingys, floating creatures, flying boats, and spiral staircases around huge pillars of rock. I worked hard to make manifest what was in my mind. I never completed the project - I wanted to add too much. I moved on to other entertainments.
Morrowind is now an "old" game, kept visually up to date through high resolution texture mods and mesh improvements, but it is still a well played game with a community of modders that keep it relevant. I occasionally return to the game, like revisiting a favorite holiday destination, but I don't stay very long.
