Observant Play and Modding: The Postcolonial, Environmentalist Playthrough of Minecraft

Abstract

This extended abstract, in the vein of autoethnography, reflexively analyzes an organic approach to play in Minecraft that resists extractive, colonial tendencies common to sandbox crafting games. In primary theoretical use are Melissa Kagen's postapocalyptic pastoral to assist in my reading of the game, and Rachael Hutchinson's observant play to dissect the playstyle and what it means to modify a game to better match or explore one's reading of it.