Minecraft has gained global popularity thanks to the freedom its grants players, allowing them to explore different biomes and mold the world to their liking. Since its release, a passionate community has formed around the game, with players around the world crafting amazing structures and expressing their creativity. The game has also given birth to several spin-offs, including Minecraft Dungeons and Minecraft: Story Mode.
For the most part, Minecraft leaves players to make their own choices regarding how they want their story to pan out, encouraging them to use their imagination. While there is very little official lore confirmed by Mojang, fans have scoured Minecraft's world and pieced together the most minute clues to make sense of the game's mysteries. Although it is easy to ignore the backstory of Minecraft's world, other gamers have attempted to delve into it, and it has yielded very interesting theories.
The Ancient Builders Theory
As players explore the vast sandbox of Minecraft's world, players will occasionally come across structures that seem to have been built by some intelligent civilization. They are present in the different Minecraft biomes, and they sometimes contain riches as well as booby traps. When coming across these structures, it is impossible to not wonder who or what built them, and where the builders went. With not much information to go by, gamers are forced to conclude that Minecraft's world has an expansive history that has been lost.
The existence of the strange structures has led to the Ancient Builders Theory which proposes that a past civilization once ruled over Minecraft's world, building amazing structures everywhere. Some theorists have hypothesized that the ancient builders still exist but have fallen from grace, and posited the Villagers or the Endermen as possible candidates. However, there are holes in this theory, as the Villagers do not seem intelligent enough to build intricate structures using varied materials, and the Endermen hate water, which would make it difficult for them to build underwater structures.
Other Minecraft fans have theorized that the Ancient Builders have either fled from or were wiped out by a terrible event, though the nature of this event is disputed. One version of the Ancient Builders theory claims that the ancient civilization was attempting to utilize the souls within soul sand, but something went wrong, and they created the Wither instead, causing the builders to flee. This is an attractive theory, as it suggests that the ancient builders may return one day.
The History of Steve and Alex
Thanks to the popularity of Minecraft, Steve has become one of the most easily recognizable characters in gaming. However, Mojang has not revealed much lore behind the mute figure. Steve is different from all the other Mobs in Minecraft, and he possesses a unique ability to craft complex structures on his own. However, his uniqueness makes him a very enigmatic character, forcing players to wonder about his origins, why he seems much more intelligent than the Villagers, and what his ultimate purpose is.
One version of the Ancient Builders theory argues that Steve is a descendant of the ancient builders. This would help to explain why he is so good at building. However, it does make one question how he got separated from his kind, and whether he is the only remaining survivor. Other fans have noticed that zombies wear the same clothes as Steve, which has led to the theory that zombies are past versions of Steve that have risen from the dead. Although Steve was once the sole protagonist, Minecraft later gained a female playable character named Alex. According to Lego Club Magazine, Alex and Steve are dating. Steve is a fan of building and alchemy while Alex enjoys hunting and exploring.
The beauty of Minecraft is that its open-ended approach allows fans to interpret the game however they wish. Hence, while many gamers may agree with the Ancient Builders theory, others are free to discard it. What is certain is that the world of Minecraft does have an ancient, mysterious history, though it may be impossible to piece together a complete picture of its past.
Minecraft is available now for Mobile, Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
