One of my favorite genres of YouTube video is “first time Minecraft.” I will happily spend hours watching somebody explore the game from the beginning, learning its mechanics, surviving their first night, crafting tools and other items, building a home, exploring biomes. Occasionally I put one of these videos on in the background while I work.

Why do I choose to spend time watching somebody else learn to play a game that I play myself?

I love Minecraft

I love Minecraft. It’s the rare game that captures my imagination and demands that I play, session after session, until my appetite is sated. I discovered it in 2010 when I was a teacher running a computer lab: what was this blocky, low-fi game that found its way onto computer after computer, whose first bit of advice was to go punch a tree? Why were kids obsessed with it?

You can play Minecraft in many ways; my own flavor is a mix of solo exploring and building. All these years later, I consider myself an experienced amateur. I haven’t played through to the end of the game, as such (Minecraft doesn’t really have an “end” as much as an optional destination with a difficult boss battle and accompanying rewards), but I’m reasonably competent at defending myself; I can explore environments from caves to the Nether; and I’ve built some pretty cool things.

What do I love about it? I love that it’s an open world—no boundaries, no time limits. I love that you can set your own agenda and play in different ways. I love its similarity to LEGO: build anything you can imagine within the constraints of the system. I love that its graphics are intentionally rudimentary; I think it shifts the game’s focus away from flashy visuals and towards the mechanics of gameplay. I love the progressive disclosure of concepts, from the rudimentary skills to detailed strategies and accomplishments. I love the system of crafting tools, materials, food, and other items, and how the game guides you to long-term thinking for larger projects. I love that it has an entire (Turing-complete!) automation system for building any sort of computational doodad you can imagine. I love its usefulness in K-12 education.

I love learning

One of the things I love about being an educator is being a companion on a student’s learning journey, witnessing their learning moments. Learning is one of the most human things we do, and connecting with a student makes me feel alive and present in the world like few other things can.

And being with learners helps me remember what it’s like to be one. Even as a lifelong learner, I’m susceptible to falling into my own patterns and habits. Seeing the learning process through fresh eyes is invigorating.

The best learning is playful. I’ve never been a fan of “gamifying” education, where people force game mechanics into a learning system in a way that feels inauthentic and manipulative. On the other hand, “learnifying” games is an essential part of their design. If done well, with the right kinds of games, it elevates them in a way few other design elements can.

The newbie experience

So I love seeing people discover things for the first time. Even (especially?) when it’s something I know myself.

People approach problems in their own ways, so no two first-timers are going to have the same experience. As a new Minecraft player explores their world, I get to see how they solve problems, how they perceive challenges. How they approach the unfamiliar, the dangerous. How they react to the flashes of beauty and elegance that are regular features of the game.

I recently watched a first-time player discover how to domesticate a cow. To get to that point, she had already built her first house, planted a garden, made herself a set of copper tools, and built a fenced pen. Along the way she died and respawned multiple times, discovered most of the common hostile mobs, and learned how to defend herself. After all of that, through many “aha” moments, I was as delighted as she was at her discovery that (spoiler alert) a cow would follow her when she was holding wheat.

As in other contexts, watching a newbie discover the game helps me recall the feeling I had in my early days. Not exactly nostalgia—more a re-experiencing that engenders a kind of kinship. It’s the next best thing to the precious first-time learning experience.

The emotions

The feelings are what keep me coming back. The comfort of the familiar and the thrill of discovery are a powerful combination, and those combined with the empathy for a fellow traveler make for a great YouTube session when I’m in the mood.

Excitement when the player is on the cusp of a new discovery. Trepidation as they explore a cave for the first time. Anticipation of their first night or their first venture into the Nether. Elation when they mine their first diamond. Wonder as they gaze at a new landscape.

Minecraft newbies assemble these emotional building blocks in ways I can’t predict. I know the story, but not the plot. How fun is that!?