Search
Search
Minecraft devs explain "players have a different appetite for challenge and difficulty" which is why the Ender Dragon isn't allowed on the overworld: "That's not a great game experience"
1346
Scott McCrae
2025-10-20
Minecraft's developers have explained why the Ender Dragon is bound to its own realm underground and not allowed to roam the overworld. For a game about building and creation, Minecraft sure has a lot of ways to absolutely ruin all of your creations, and the progress you made towards accruing the materials for said creations. The developers at Mojang seem to understand that, with the CCO of Mojang Jens Bergensten admitting that they probably would not add the Creeper to the game today, despite being the series de-facto mascot, since the ability to destroy builds would undoubtedly be controversial if implemented 14 years later. In a video titled "THE BIOME THAT BROKE MINECRAFT" Bergensten and creative lead Cory Scheviak talk about designing difficulty in the iconic survival game. "We have this guiding principle that bad things happen, but they're technically the player's fault" Bergensten explains, saying that every issue a player should face is either caused by them or something they could prevent (like stepping on a rogue pressure plate), with the aforementioned Creeper being an exception. Minecraft devs "want to avoid treating players in a way that feels unfair," so Mojang's guiding principle is that "bad things happen, but they're technically the player's fault" Minecraft devs "probably would not add" the Creeper to the game today, admits Mojang CCO, because "it would be so controversial" Minecraft "is actually a hardcore action RPG in disguise," says former Path of Exile co-creator, "more hardcore than even Path of Exile," in fact, because there's lava Another one of the rules set out in the video is "don't add features that wrecks player's builds." Scheviak says that "it wouldn't really be a good idea to bring the Ender Dragon to the Overworld because," pausing for a ton of different reasons (such as "I don't need that kind of stress," "it destroys everything," and "it might break a wing on an ice spike"). He adds: "You're just home planting your potatoes and suddenly there's a dragon coming after you." Bergensten agrees: "That's not a great game experience." Bergensten explains that "players have a different appetite for challenge and difficulty," so a boss fight that comes flying at you and destroys everything isn't exactly going to suit everyone. He cites the Wither boss as an example, which has destructive power akin to a dragon, but you choose when and where you'll summon it for a scrap, allowing you to minimise damage to your house.
0
0
Send
Recent Articles