A Multiplicity of Mundane Musings and Also Minecraft

Let it not be said that Ottawa, my current abode, is an exciting and scintillating metropolis. It would seem, rather, that the inverse is true. Even out-of-towners agree. Indeed, Ottawa is a city distinctly lacking in, what I can only describe as, character. The city itself doesn’t really do much. It just seems to exist just as a wind-breaker for the auspicious buildings which house Canada’s government. There’s really not much exciting going on. That’s not to say that there’s nothing going on. Rather, the things that do happen are fairly mundane in nature and feel forced. Contrived to bring a splash of colour to an otherwise bleak landscape. Hell, even the music at the local discos is mostly rather uninspiring and talent-free (read: horrendous).

However, I will opine about Ottawa anon. Instead, let the above serve as somewhat an explanation for this post’s true purpose: to address a little side-hobby which I’ve pursued in my downtime here. Namely Minecraft.

This, you see, is a computer game, of sorts. It’s a game in the way that Lego is a game, except this takes place in-front of a screen. And is a lot more cost-effective as all the little tiles are virtual and free. The basic premise is that you’re a lone guy/gal in an empty randomly-generated world where you can mine resources from the ground and re-assemble them into whatever you wish. You can dig some dirt and pile it up into a nice little burial mound. Or you can delve deeper into the ground, mine out coal, iron, and stone, and put together an intricate railway. The possibilities are pretty numerous. As long as you have the time, because, really, this game is a massive timesink (except, unlike like its MMORPG timesink counterparts, this has a single-player mode which is entirely devoid of the multitude of teenagers which tend to characterize those games).

At any rate, and for my part, I’ve basically slowly built out a little world in Minecraft which I can call my own. This product of a few more hours than I’d care to contemplate, has slowly evolved into a interconnected series of buildings including: a home-base-turned-villa, a library, a fortress, a “pleasure dome” (complete with pool, theatre, dining area, indoor forest, and some waterfalls, a “ruined temple”, and a series of towers all connected by aerial bridges and a little powered tram system. Yes, as already noted, it’s basically an adult-oriented sandbox Lego project for those with too much time on their hands. And I’m guilt of that.

Overall, Minecraft is an interesting experiment which allows for creativity and expression while managing to burn away many-an-hour in the dark Canadian winters which would otherwise be misspent in less interesting undertakings. Like sleep. Or real (read: expensive) hobbies.

To wrap this up, if anyone reading this actually has Minecraft, you can find the latest version of my little world here or by clicking on the screenshot below. The coolest little feature of the website which hosts this is that it actually renders your world in what amounts to Google Maps. So, you can actually explore the surface (day or night) view of the world without needing any software (ie. Minecraft itself). However, if you do wish to run around and explore, you’re going to have to download Minecraft (and pay $10).

So, for those that do have the game and care to actually go for a stroll in my little world, let me know how it is. For the rest (most) of you, this will probably have been an excruciatingly boring post. Perhaps you’ll nonetheless get some value out of browsing the Google map of a made-up fantasy world with no bearing on your, or anyone else’s real life. Maybe. Or, perhaps, you’ll take this post as a sign that I’ve run out of things to do in Minecraft and will be switching my free time more to this blog with it’s promise of deliciousness and oh-so-vacuous content. Or maybe I’ll just bake more cheesecakes. Who knows.

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“Soon, Master Elf, you will enjoy the fabled hospitality of the Dwarves! Roaring fires, malt beer, ripe meat off the bone. This, my friend, is the home of my cousin, Balin.
And they call it a mine! A mine!”
“This is no mine, it’s a tomb!”
- Gimli and Boromir (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring)