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Although I don't really like the ending text for Minecraft at all (and think the author is really too pretentious and self-centered), I like how this blog post

Although I don't really like the ending text for Minecraft at all (and think the author is really too pretentious and self-centered), I like how this blog post reveals himself as an artist with human flaws. He kinda (but not fully) admits that he had a parasocial relationship with Notch and really though he cared about him (although for Notch the author was probably just a random contactor who would fill the writing for the ending to justify an official release.) Seriously, who thought making the text unscrollable was more than just a light joke? It's probably a jab at the frustrated player who wants to desparately skip the poorly-written wall of text, not a well-thought appreciation of its artistic integrity! He really thought that Notch really liked him as a friend, even though the only time he met him in person was in a random game jam two years ago. I think the lesson here is: even when the famous person you admire notices you and gives you positive attention, don't assume too far that they really genuinely like you, or even worse, that you two are already "friends". Maybe this is a bit cynical... but in an age where poor artists need to fight to the death on social media for any recognition to sell their work I kinda understand how people would fall for this.

pflenker 4y ago
While I do agree with you overall, I think the author was right to assume that the non-skip feature was meant to appreciate his result. And calling it poorly-written is uncalled for, I think.
- nearbuy 4y ago
  For what it's worth, I'll second that I thought the end poem wasn't very good.
  - yobert 4y ago
    I loved it! Just to represent the other side :)
- isitmadeofglass 4y ago
  > And calling it poorly-written is uncalled for, I think. It was quite clearly phrased that the person thought it as poorly written. That’s their opinion and they are allowed to have it. Criticizing someone for sharing their opinion is what is uncalled for.
warinukraine 4y ago
The text isn't even _good_. "and the universe said i love you because you are love". That's expert level cliche.
- dwaltrip 4y ago
  Art is subjective. It fits well in the poem in my view.
  - registeredcorn 4y ago
    If you'll allow me a small but important nitpick: I would say that the value of a piece of art is subjective. Critique, if done correctly, is based on measurable factors. "And it was all just a dream" could be fairly, and reasonably, be called: predictable, unsatisfying, and lazy. Whether someone thinks that the content leading up to, and including the ending is valuable or "good" is subjective. To put it a different way, music is "subjective" in that people have different tastes based on their values of music genres, but the ability to play a song correctly is a measurable, obvious thing which you can critique. Similarly, a painter may paint in a style that I strongly dislike, or paint on subject that I don't care about, but the means of how that art was created can be judged as "good" or "bad". The methodology of how the work was made can be discerned. Sometimes things like the intention of why something was created in the way it was made, can be used to deflect a certain amount of criticism. "It's supposed to be out of beat to create confusion for the listener", "It is drawn with lots of harsh right angels to lead the eye in this direction", etc. but (more often than not) when a fault is found or described, it is unintentional in spite of whatever the creator might later assert. I think that it would be illogical to offer lots of negative criticism of something, and follow that up by saying, "Yet, in spite of all of those critical issues, it's great!" There might be some strange exception, or someone who would claim that simply to act as the tedious contrarian, but the assessment would be negative. Getting back to this subject: whether the criticism of the ending to Minecraft is well applied or not, is a different issue. I don't have an opinion on the matter. I've never seen the ending to Minecraft, and don't really care about seeing it. I'm simply trying to say that, just because something exists within a subjective field does not mean it can't also be verifiably bad. TL;DR: https://youtu.be/RSDmo-gJ8XY?t=64 https://youtu.be/RSDmo-gJ8XY?t=64

pflenker 4y ago

While I do agree with you overall, I think the author was right to assume that the non-skip feature was meant to appreciate his result. And calling it poorly-written is uncalled for, I think.

nearbuy 4y ago
For what it's worth, I'll second that I thought the end poem wasn't very good.
- yobert 4y ago
  I loved it! Just to represent the other side :)
isitmadeofglass 4y ago
> And calling it poorly-written is uncalled for, I think. It was quite clearly phrased that the person thought it as poorly written. That’s their opinion and they are allowed to have it. Criticizing someone for sharing their opinion is what is uncalled for.

warinukraine 4y ago

The text isn't even _good_. "and the universe said i love you because you are love". That's expert level cliche.

dwaltrip 4y ago
Art is subjective. It fits well in the poem in my view.
- registeredcorn 4y ago
  If you'll allow me a small but important nitpick: I would say that the value of a piece of art is subjective. Critique, if done correctly, is based on measurable factors. "And it was all just a dream" could be fairly, and reasonably, be called: predictable, unsatisfying, and lazy. Whether someone thinks that the content leading up to, and including the ending is valuable or "good" is subjective. To put it a different way, music is "subjective" in that people have different tastes based on their values of music genres, but the ability to play a song correctly is a measurable, obvious thing which you can critique. Similarly, a painter may paint in a style that I strongly dislike, or paint on subject that I don't care about, but the means of how that art was created can be judged as "good" or "bad". The methodology of how the work was made can be discerned. Sometimes things like the intention of why something was created in the way it was made, can be used to deflect a certain amount of criticism. "It's supposed to be out of beat to create confusion for the listener", "It is drawn with lots of harsh right angels to lead the eye in this direction", etc. but (more often than not) when a fault is found or described, it is unintentional in spite of whatever the creator might later assert. I think that it would be illogical to offer lots of negative criticism of something, and follow that up by saying, "Yet, in spite of all of those critical issues, it's great!" There might be some strange exception, or someone who would claim that simply to act as the tedious contrarian, but the assessment would be negative. Getting back to this subject: whether the criticism of the ending to Minecraft is well applied or not, is a different issue. I don't have an opinion on the matter. I've never seen the ending to Minecraft, and don't really care about seeing it. I'm simply trying to say that, just because something exists within a subjective field does not mean it can't also be verifiably bad. TL;DR: https://youtu.be/RSDmo-gJ8XY?t=64 https://youtu.be/RSDmo-gJ8XY?t=64