Minecraft is a game built on the concept of endless creative freedom. Players can do just about anything, from creating complex redstone contraptions to building pixel art of their favorite pop culture characters. However, this freedom has never been limited to in-game activities, as players have long been creating their own content through mods.
The modding community for Minecraft is one of, if not the most dedicated of its kind. Since the time of the game's inception, modders have been creating content that has revolutionized the way it was played. It has even gone as far to shape Minecraft's future, setting up the main game that fans have today.
The History of Minecraft Mods
The first mods that came out during Minecraft's classic phase largely consisted of server-based mods that helped automate things. For example, one would allow all the blocks in a Spleef minigame arena to be instantly replenished. Mods that would add content to the base game became more common during the alpha phase of Minecraft. Some of these mods would make Minecraft feel like a different game, and others would simply enhance specific aspects of the experience.
The trajectory of the game would be most influenced during Minecraft's beta phase, when Mojang would implement content from outside sources. Minecraft's smooth lighting feature came as a result a collaboration between Mojang and a player known as MrMessiah, who originally created a mod in 2010. Another more substantial addition that was originally a mod is pistons, the result of a collaboration with modder Hippoplatimus. Considering how much of a place pistons have in many complex contraptions nowadays, it is difficult to overstate just how important they were to Minecraft's development history.
This trend would slow down after Minecraft's beta phase, but would still happen from time to time. Minecraft's End dimension was not a direct addition based on a mod, but its existence can be somewhat attributed to the popularity of the Aether mod. Minecraft's tameable horses did come as the result of a direct collaboration between Dr Zhark and Mojang, though. Throughout every addition of modded content, there has been a consistent underlying theme of realizing the direction that players wanted the game to go in.
Minecraft's earliest days were filled with mystery and intrigue. The infamous Minecraft Herobrine creepypasta is an example of that, with players imagining content outside of the game that ultimately enhanced its experience. Imaginative young minds would find their curiosities satisfied by installing mods that would be out of the ordinary for a traditional Minecraft server. Mods are not special because of the mods themselves, but for how they allow players to realize their vision of the game.
The inspiration and creativity found in Minecraft 10 years ago is still strong today, with many mods and player-made projects pouring in. Mods that add spellcraft to Minecraft or add entirely new dimensions draw as much attention as they did years ago, proving to be a cornerstone of Minecraft's identity as a video game.
Minecraft is available now on Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.