what do you think about the argument in this video: Minecraft used to be simple Minecraft has lost its identity Minecraft imitates life Minecraft might have a Mojang problem Minecraft Minecraft Minecraft Minecraft Minecraft Minecraft Minecraft Minecraft isn't the same anymore it's a sentiment that's cropped up more and more as people continuously try and pinpoint why this beloved sandbox title just doesn't hit the same as it used to some people point to the recent updates being lackluster saying that Mojang's become complacent and lazy over the last few years some people think that the game's been solved and that the mystery that the game held when it first came out Simply doesn't exist today but no matter how many reasons people give they never truly answer why the game has become so exhausting to play for me sure the recent updates aren't great in my opinion but Minecraft's updates have been pretty lackluster for a while now sure the game is been done to death but I still enjoy a lot of the games that I know almost everything about so it can't be that either at the end of it all I still arrive at the same question why has Minecraft become so lifeless over the past few months I've toiled over and over again with this question I've tried every mod version and setup imaginable to try and bring back my love for Minecraft but it just wouldn't stick with me the same as it used to eventually I assumed that some combination of burnout out and gripes with the game design had just worn their welcome for me and I was ready to put down Minecraft for good but then I realized there was one angle I hadn't considered maybe it wasn't an issue with Minecraft itself maybe it was an issue with the device I was using to play it I needed to take Minecraft on the go [Music] [Applause] over the past couple of weeks I've been playing Minecraft regularly on my PS Vita and it's been an experience that has reshaped the way that I view the game almost entirely one of the most common complaints that veteran Minecraft players talk about is burnout where my friends and I you know we'll hop on a realm for a couple weeks and it's a blast but then we usually abandon it just a couple weeks later the game has been around for so long that it's hard for old players like myself to stick with the game and continue playing it for a long time especially when it feels like you've done everything in the game a thousand times over the process becomes monotonous and the early to mid game is over way too quickly and when you finish everything so fast it's easy to feel like none of it really mattered Minecraft is a game that lives or dies based off how invested you are in your own creation if you aren't willing to commit yourself to your own world you're likely going to get bored with the game fairly quickly however when the form factor of the game changes from a big bulky work machine to a small console I can put in my pocket the nature of Minecraft also shifts the design of the PS Vita isn't inclined toward long sessions of gameplay you can certainly use the Vita for that but its aesthetic and portability gear it more towards short bursts of a game where you complete a little bit of it at a time when you apply this to Minecraft The Player's Devotion to creating their world shifts from a long-term investment to a short-term one the time it takes you to find diamonds and build your first house isn't confined to one session of gameplay instead it's spread out over several different play sessions giving the player more and more time to settle in a slower pace and really become invested in the world that they're creating for example let's say two players decide to build a fantasy Cottage in their world one player is a PC player and the other player is playing on their PS vaita the PC player simply sits at their computer gets to work building the cottage quickly and efficiently with little downtime in between each step of the process after they're finished there isn't really anything about that building in particular that can fill the player with a special amount of investment as opposed to any other building on the other hand the PSVita player due to the scaled back nature of the game likely didn't complete the build very quickly it probably took them at least twice as long to accomplish the same thing meaning that the act of completing the build was more of an achievement and devoted time sync for the PS feda player and the portability of the console means that they probably worked on the build in a variety of different locations in real life this leads to the building by itself being more memorable since the player who built it has a bunch of real life locations that they can associate that building with when someone sits in the same place every time to play the same game of course their experience is going to start to feel syy or unremarkable there's nothing about the PC player's physical environment that makes time spent playing the game feel special when Minecraft is on a portable console every experience with the game feels unique because the surroundings the player is in are different than the last time they played but this benefit isn't unique to the PS Vita several versions of Minecraft are on portable consoles what makes the PS Vita version better than every other portable version of [Music] Minecraft Minecraft on the PSVita is one of two portable versions of Minecraft that still runs what's known as the Legacy console edition of the game this was the original console release of Minecraft preceding the inferior Bedrock Edition which is widely regarded as an absolute travesty that should never be acknowledged or discussed by anyone ever again while Java and later Bedrock were both made directly by Mojang the Legacy console edition was put together by a completely different set of developers known as 4J Studios Mojang was more of a guiding hand than a direct contributor during development which permitted the developers of lce to experiment a little more with what they could and couldn't imp imp because of this lce has a wide variety of different features and gameplay changes that are unique to this version of the game these changes may seem minor on the surface but they genuinely make this version of the game the best designed version of Bas Minecraft to ever be made better than Java and certainly better than the absolute dumpster fire that's the Bedrock edition let's get into why firstly whenever a player comes across something in their world for the first time a tool tip shows up in the top right corner of the screen that informs them what the item is and what it does this is incredibly helpful for both firsttime players and for returning veterans who need to learn how a new update works I've been playing this game for thousands of hours over the course of 11 years and these tool tips are still helpful in reminding me of things that I might have forgotten otherwise one of my biggest complaints with Minecraft's modern state is how unfriendly it is to Veterans trying to learn newer updates after an update the game usually doesn't communicate what's changed at all forcing the player to un immerse themselves in the game to figure out what the deep dark is or where the new 1.18 or spawns are located if these tool tips were present in the game today it would greatly encourage exploration by rewarding the player with information every time they stumble upon something new as well as informing them of how immediately useful a given item is by telling them its uses the second big change that lce adds to Minecraft is the crafting UI which has been completely overhauled instead of the default 2x2 or 3x3 grid that Minecraft crafting is known for lce op s for a more traditional and userfriendly UI offering different categories and subcategories for each crafting recipe this is such a large and welcome improvement over the original system in a lot of different ways first crafting is much faster for the average player I know there are some absolute speed demons who can craft at the rate of a freight train but for us mere mortals this UI allows for a much more Snappy and responsive experience once you learn where everything is the amount of time required to craft a specific item is minimized greatly allowing for a Snappy and Speedy crafting UI that's much more intuitive than dragging and dropping items into a grid this crafting system also allows for new players to easily figure out what items they can and can't craft as well as what they need to craft each item let's say a new player comes across sand for the first time they see the tool tip telling them that they can smelt it to make glass but they don't have a furnace yet so they check their crafting table find the furnace recipe and get all of the necessary materials they need to make a furnace and smelt sand into glass the player is able to gather all of the necessary information without any outside help no need to check the wiki or ask someone else what the crafting recipe is if this situation were to arise in Java Edition the player wouldn't have any idea what to do without looking at an external Source or at the importantly designed crafting book but that's a video for another day these two changes alone make the lce version the optimal way for new players to experience Minecraft as they allow for basically every facet of Minecraft's progression to be figured out naturally without the use of an external guide or Wiki I like to think that 4J Studios knew that they had to introduce the game to a new generation and they intentionally designed their take on Minecraft to be as accessible as possible the incredibly Charming tutorial worlds that exist exclusively in these versions are yet another example of this design philosophy they act as a very easy way for newbies and Veterans alike to learn all of the latest features present in the more recent updates if these tutorial worlds were released today alongside major updates I don't think nearly as many older players would feel disenfranchised by the many changes that Mojang has made unfortunately this focus on accessibility and quality of life would die alongside the Legacy console edition in late 2019 being replaced with the pitiful and inferior Bedrock Edition oh how the mighty have fallen so the PSVita version of Minecraft is running one of the best versions of the game to ever be made while being on a console that's incredibly well suited for keeping the player invested in their worlds over a long period of time what is there not to love well it's important to note that I don't think the PSV version is necessarily the best way to play Minecraft for every kind of player obviously if you're someone who enjoys the offerings of modded Minecraft this version isn't going to be for you though there are actual mods and even a couple mod packs you can load on the VA version it's not nearly as accessible or plentiful as what can can be achieved on Java and of course if you're someone who enjoys playing in servers or speed running engaging with the more competitive aspects of Minecraft there's nothing really notable for you in the PS VA version obviously the controls are going to inhibit quick High Precision movement and there isn't really a server scene that exists for lce though it's worth noting you can connect with a friend online and play in another person's world just through Wi-Fi something that actually isn't in the base version of java go figure all in all if you're a competitive player a speedrunner or someone who plays modded the PS vaa version of the game just isn't for you but if you want to play a classic constantly engaging and untainted vanilla experience I believe that this little handheld holds the best way to experience vanilla Minecraft without getting easily burnt out or frustrated the realization that clinched this for me was when I found out that this version never got updated past update aquatic which is what I personally consider to be the last truly excellent update to the game without any major drawbacks on top of that the 1.9 combat system changes weren't even carried over to lce so you can experience all the changes of updates 1.9 and onward while still using the old combat system in a completely vanilla version of the game even if you prefer the modern system that's a really cool and unique experience to have in your pocket wherever you go I think that a lot of people people who experience burnout with Minecraft are identifying that they've grown too comfortable with the way they play the game people naturally shy away from change and are inclined to fall into the routines and processes they've done dozens of times every time they hit create new world of course that's partially because of issues with Minecraft's game design the lack of a concrete goal or a consistent sense of progression will lead to people losing that sense of adventure and Discovery they once had with Minecraft as every voxal of the game shows the same six sides it has since 201 11 but those issues have always existed with the game and yet millions of people have still played Minecraft since and experienced one of the most unique and individual experiences that has ever been conveyed through a video game Minecraft's burnout isn't caused by its bad design it's caused by habits and the best way I found to break those habits is to take the game and change the context it's experienced within the PSV diversion is the best way to break that consistency to play Minecraft in a completely unique way without burning yourself out it's low commitment a game you can pick up and play for 30 minutes and then put away until next time in a form factor that makes every session feel cozy and self-contained the perfect way to play Minecraft differently [Music] [Music] Minecraft used to be simple Minecraft has lost its identity Minecraft imitates life Minecraft might have a Mojang problem Minecraft Minecraft Minecraft Minecraft Minecraft Minecraft Minecraft Minecraft isn't the same anymore it's a sentiment that's cropped up more and more as people continuously try and pinpoint why this beloved sandbox title just doesn't hit the same as it used to some people point to the recent updates being lackluster saying that Mojang's become complacent and lazy over the last few years some people think that the game's been solved and that the mystery that the game held when it first came out Simply doesn't exist today but no matter how many reasons people give they never truly answer why the game has become so exhausting to play for me sure the recent updates aren't great in my opinion but Minecraft's updates have been pretty lackluster for a while now sure the game is been done to death but I still enjoy a lot of the games that I know almost everything about so it can't be that either at the end of it all I still arrive at the same question why has Minecraft become so lifeless over the past few months I've toiled over and over again with this question I've tried every mod version and setup imaginable to try and bring back my love for Minecraft but it just wouldn't stick with me the same as it used to eventually I assumed that some combination of burnout out and gripes with the game design had just worn their welcome for me and I was ready to put down Minecraft for good but then I realized there was one angle I hadn't considered maybe it wasn't an issue with Minecraft itself maybe it was an issue with the device I was using to play it I needed to take Minecraft on the go [Music] [Applause] over the past couple of weeks I've been playing Minecraft regularly on my PS Vita and it's been an experience that has reshaped the way that I view the game almost entirely one of the most common complaints that veteran Minecraft players talk about is burnout where my friends and I you know we'll hop on a realm for a couple weeks and it's a blast but then we usually abandon it just a couple weeks later the game has been around for so long that it's hard for old players like myself to stick with the game and continue playing it for a long time especially when it feels like you've done everything in the game a thousand times over the process becomes monotonous and the early to mid game is over way too quickly and when you finish everything so fast it's easy to feel like none of it really mattered Minecraft is a game that lives or dies based off how invested you are in your own creation if you aren't willing to commit yourself to your own world you're likely going to get bored with the game fairly quickly however when the form factor of the game changes from a big bulky work machine to a small console I can put in my pocket the nature of Minecraft also shifts the design of the PS Vita isn't inclined toward long sessions of gameplay you can certainly use the Vita for that but its aesthetic and portability gear it more towards short bursts of a game where you complete a little bit of it at a time when you apply this to Minecraft The Player's Devotion to creating their world shifts from a long-term investment to a short-term one the time it takes you to find diamonds and build your first house isn't confined to one session of gameplay instead it's spread out over several different play sessions giving the player more and more time to settle in a slower pace and really become invested in the world that they're creating for example let's say two players decide to build a fantasy Cottage in their world one player is a PC player and the other player is playing on their PS vaita the PC player simply sits at their computer gets to work building the cottage quickly and efficiently with little downtime in between each step of the process after they're finished there isn't really anything about that building in particular that can fill the player with a special amount of investment as opposed to any other building on the other hand the PSVita player due to the scaled back nature of the game likely didn't complete the build very quickly it probably took them at least twice as long to accomplish the same thing meaning that the act of completing the build was more of an achievement and devoted time sync for the PS feda player and the portability of the console means that they probably worked on the build in a variety of different locations in real life this leads to the building by itself being more memorable since the player who built it has a bunch of real life locations that they can associate that building with when someone sits in the same place every time to play the same game of course their experience is going to start to feel syy or unremarkable there's nothing about the PC player's physical environment that makes time spent playing the game feel special when Minecraft is on a portable console every experience with the game feels unique because the surroundings the player is in are different than the last time they played but this benefit isn't unique to the PS Vita several versions of Minecraft are on portable consoles what makes the PS Vita version better than every other portable version of [Music] Minecraft Minecraft on the PSVita is one of two portable versions of Minecraft that still runs what's known as the Legacy console edition of the game this was the original console release of Minecraft preceding the inferior Bedrock Edition which is widely regarded as an absolute travesty that should never be acknowledged or discussed by anyone ever again while Java and later Bedrock were both made directly by Mojang the Legacy console edition was put together by a completely different set of developers known as 4J Studios Mojang was more of a guiding hand than a direct contributor during development which permitted the developers of lce to experiment a little more with what they could and couldn't imp imp because of this lce has a wide variety of different features and gameplay changes that are unique to this version of the game these changes may seem minor on the surface but they genuinely make this version of the game the best designed version of Bas Minecraft to ever be made better than Java and certainly better than the absolute dumpster fire that's the Bedrock edition let's get into why firstly whenever a player comes across something in their world for the first time a tool tip shows up in the top right corner of the screen that informs them what the item is and what it does this is incredibly helpful for both firsttime players and for returning veterans who need to learn how a new update works I've been playing this game for thousands of hours over the course of 11 years and these tool tips are still helpful in reminding me of things that I might have forgotten otherwise one of my biggest complaints with Minecraft's modern state is how unfriendly it is to Veterans trying to learn newer updates after an update the game usually doesn't communicate what's changed at all forcing the player to un immerse themselves in the game to figure out what the deep dark is or where the new 1.18 or spawns are located if these tool tips were present in the game today it would greatly encourage exploration by rewarding the player with information every time they stumble upon something new as well as informing them of how immediately useful a given item is by telling them its uses the second big change that lce adds to Minecraft is the crafting UI which has been completely overhauled instead of the default 2x2 or 3x3 grid that Minecraft crafting is known for lce op s for a more traditional and userfriendly UI offering different categories and subcategories for each crafting recipe this is such a large and welcome improvement over the original system in a lot of different ways first crafting is much faster for the average player I know there are some absolute speed demons who can craft at the rate of a freight train but for us mere mortals this UI allows for a much more Snappy and responsive experience once you learn where everything is the amount of time required to craft a specific item is minimized greatly allowing for a Snappy and Speedy crafting UI that's much more intuitive than dragging and dropping items into a grid this crafting system also allows for new players to easily figure out what items they can and can't craft as well as what they need to craft each item let's say a new player comes across sand for the first time they see the tool tip telling them that they can smelt it to make glass but they don't have a furnace yet so they check their crafting table find the furnace recipe and get all of the necessary materials they need to make a furnace and smelt sand into glass the player is able to gather all of the necessary information without any outside help no need to check the wiki or ask someone else what the crafting recipe is if this situation were to arise in Java Edition the player wouldn't have any idea what to do without looking at an external Source or at the importantly designed crafting book but that's a video for another day these two changes alone make the lce version the optimal way for new players to experience Minecraft as they allow for basically every facet of Minecraft's progression to be figured out naturally without the use of an external guide or Wiki I like to think that 4J Studios knew that they had to introduce the game to a new generation and they intentionally designed their take on Minecraft to be as accessible as possible the incredibly Charming tutorial worlds that exist exclusively in these versions are yet another example of this design philosophy they act as a very easy way for newbies and Veterans alike to learn all of the latest features present in the more recent updates if these tutorial worlds were released today alongside major updates I don't think nearly as many older players would feel disenfranchised by the many changes that Mojang has made unfortunately this focus on accessibility and quality of life would die alongside the Legacy console edition in late 2019 being replaced with the pitiful and inferior Bedrock Edition oh how the mighty have fallen so the PSVita version of Minecraft is running one of the best versions of the game to ever be made while being on a console that's incredibly well suited for keeping the player invested in their worlds over a long period of time what is there not to love well it's important to note that I don't think the PSV version is necessarily the best way to play Minecraft for every kind of player obviously if you're someone who enjoys the offerings of modded Minecraft this version isn't going to be for you though there are actual mods and even a couple mod packs you can load on the VA version it's not nearly as accessible or plentiful as what can can be achieved on Java and of course if you're someone who enjoys playing in servers or speed running engaging with the more competitive aspects of Minecraft there's nothing really notable for you in the PS VA version obviously the controls are going to inhibit quick High Precision movement and there isn't really a server scene that exists for lce though it's worth noting you can connect with a friend online and play in another person's world just through Wi-Fi something that actually isn't in the base version of java go figure all in all if you're a competitive player a speedrunner or someone who plays modded the PS vaa version of the game just isn't for you but if you want to play a classic constantly engaging and untainted vanilla experience I believe that this little handheld holds the best way to experience vanilla Minecraft without getting easily burnt out or frustrated the realization that clinched this for me was when I found out that this version never got updated past update aquatic which is what I personally consider to be the last truly excellent update to the game without any major drawbacks on top of that the 1.9 combat system changes weren't even carried over to lce so you can experience all the changes of updates 1.9 and onward while still using the old combat system in a completely vanilla version of the game even if you prefer the modern system that's a really cool and unique experience to have in your pocket wherever you go I think that a lot of people people who experience burnout with Minecraft are identifying that they've grown too comfortable with the way they play the game people naturally shy away from change and are inclined to fall into the routines and processes they've done dozens of times every time they hit create new world of course that's partially because of issues with Minecraft's game design the lack of a concrete goal or a consistent sense of progression will lead to people losing that sense of adventure and Discovery they once had with Minecraft as every voxal of the game shows the same six sides it has since 201 11 but those issues have always existed with the game and yet millions of people have still played Minecraft since and experienced one of the most unique and individual experiences that has ever been conveyed through a video game Minecraft's burnout isn't caused by its bad design it's caused by habits and the best way I found to break those habits is to take the game and change the context it's experienced within the PSV diversion is the best way to break that consistency to play Minecraft in a completely unique way without burning yourself out it's low commitment a game you can pick up and play for 30 minutes and then put away until next time in a form factor that makes every session feel cozy and self-contained the perfect way to play Minecraft differently [Music] [Music]