Minecraft is an open-world sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios, released in 2011. It is the best-selling video game in history, with over 230 million copies sold. On average, the game has a monthly user base of 180 million players. Upon its release, the game received critical acclaim for its sandbox, giving players creative freedom to create anything they wanted. The game’s cubic graphic style was eye-catching and iconic, along with its intuitive crafting system. Although, only some things were positive, as the multiplayer system was complex and, to this day, can be a hassle to run a server.
Minecraft has introduced millions of children, and adults, to video games and taught them core elements that transfer to other games. It was, and still is, a large category of gaming videos on YouTube, with entire channels dedicated to playing the game. Its subreddit has over 7 million followers, making it one of the largest pages on Reddit and fan bases in gaming. Along with countless mods, parodies, influence, and worldwide reach, Minecraft is the most famous video game ever created.
Minecraft Premise
Minecraft has a unique premise because it’s different for each player. As an open-world sandbox, players have the option to do anything they want without rules. Players are dropped into a procedurally generated world without any motivation or story. While the game does offer a tutorial, it has also been praised for its intuitive design. Once a player figures out that they can break a block by punching it, they have learned the main function of the game. From there, they can explore and break more blocks to see what happens and build anything. The user sets the motivations and goals, as some want to explore caves and mine while others want to decorate their house or grow a farm. Building and creating is the core mechanic of the game, and has one of the best gameplay loops in the industry.
This idea of player motivation goes a step further with game modes. Players can choose from creative, survival, or hardcore survival, with each offering a new way to play and experience the game. While the game does have an ending, by defeating the Ender Dragon, you can continue playing after killing her. This means that there isn’t an end goal in sight besides your own imagination.
While you can play the game for thousands of hours, the community offers a wide range of regularly updated and released mods. These mods range from graphical and texture changes to new game modes and challenges. One of the most famous mods for the game is SkyBlock, where players spawn on a 3×3 dirt block floating in the sky with a single tree and chest. You’ll have to get creative and understand how items work with each other to survive the challenge.
Minecraft Main Characters
Minecraft is filled with all types of mobs that range from animals to villagers and enemy monsters. Depending on the version, the base game will have the same starting skin. The main character is the player avatar, which can be changed and altered.
Steve: Steve is the base skin players will spawn in with when they first play Minecraft. Notch created him and quickly became one of the most iconic and recognizable fictional characters. His design also was the inspiration for Herobrine, which is an evil version of the character.
Alex: Alex is the female counterpart to Steve. She was introduced years after the game’s release. Players can spawn in as Steve, Alex, or seven other character skins.
Ender Dragon: The Ender Dragon is the “final” boss of the game. Defeating her will reward the player with EXP, a Dragon Egg, and her head. After jumping into the portal that spawns after her defeat, you will get a credit sequence and spawn next to your bed. Returning to her location in The End, players can find End Cities in portals surrounding the stadium.
Minecraft Titles in the Series
While Minecraft has been ported to all major platforms, it remained the only title in the series. After Microsoft purchased Mojang and Minecraft in 2014 for $2.5 billion, they began slowly releasing spinoffs and other titles associated with the IP. While some of these projects have been discontinued, others are still updated and have content added today.
- Minecraft (2011)
- Minecraft: Story Mode (2015)
- Minecraft Earth (2019)
- Minecraft Dungeons (2020)
- Minecraft Legends (2023)
Minecraft Cheat Codes
Minecraft has cheat codes in the form of game commands. Open your chat window by pressing “T” or “right” on the d-pad, and enter the command you wish to use. Players can use these in both single-player and multiplayer (only if turned on by the host). To target specific players, you will have to use the “@” feature, as listed below.
| Player Command | Player |
|---|---|
| @a | all players |
| @e | all entities |
| @p | nearest player |
| @r | random player |
| @s | self |
Minecraft Commands
| Commands | Function |
|---|---|
| /tp x y z | Teleport to a specific location by replacing ‘x y z’ with coordinates |
| /give [Player] [Item] [Amount] | Give another player an item from your inventory |
| /experience add @s X levels | Get X experience levels (i.e., 1, 5, 10) |
| /kill | Your character instantly dies |
| /help [CommandName] | Gives information about a specific command |
| /weather [Type] | Replace ‘Type’ with rain, thunder, clear, or snow to change the weather |
| /gamemode [Mode] | Change the ‘Mode’ to creative or survival |
| /time set [Number] | Change the time based by replacing ‘Number’ to 0 for early morning, 6000 for afternoon, 12000 for evening, 18000 for night |
| /difficulty [Level] | Replace ‘Level’ with peaceful, easy, normal, or hard to change the difficulty |
| /seed | Find your current world’s seed code to recreate an identical world later |
| /gamerule keepInventory true | Items won’t be dropped from your inventory when you die. You can replace ‘true’ with ‘false’ to revert this |
| /gamerule doDaylightCycle false | Pause the day/light cycle to have a permanent day or night. You can revert this by replacing ‘false’ with ‘true’ |
| /summon | Summon any creature or object |
| /atlantis | Increase water levels to submerge all of your surroundings except mountains |
| /ride | Turns the creature you are looking at into a mount |
| /instantmine | Toggles single-click mining with any tool. Blocks will break instantly. |
| /freeze | Freeze enemy mobs |
| /falldamage | Toggle fall damage on and off |
| /firedamage | Toggle fire damage on and off |
| /waterdamage | Toggle water damage on and off |
| /superheat | Smelt every current item you have |
| /instantplant | Instantly grow planted seeds |
| /dropstore | Store all items from your inventory in a nearby spawned chest |
| /itemdamage | Your items receive no damage or degradation |
| /duplicate | Copy and drop equipped item stack |
| /gamerule mobGriefing false | Mobs like creepers and ghasts cannot destroy any blocks. Reverse this by replacing ‘false’ with ‘true’ |
Minecraft Cheat Code FAQ
Is there cheat codes for Minecraft?
Yes, cheat codes in Minecraft take the form of commands in the chat menu. To enter these commands, open your chat window by pressing “T” or “right” on the d-pad, and enter the command you wish to use. Once entered, they should work instantly.
How do I enable cheats on my Minecraft server?
When creating a new world in Minecraft, click “Allow Cheats” before spawning in. This is the easiest way for single-player games. To enable cheats on a server, type “op=<username>” in the server console (use Minecraft username). This command can also grant other players access to using commands.