Today was a really tiring day. I had a crew triathlon and then my relatives came over... besides that, I did spend SOME of the day alone, and as usual, my mind wandered and the Internet took me places. 

I'd imagine that you've all heard of Minecraft, right?

Has anyone actually beaten Minecraft?

What's that you say? You can't beat Minecraft? 
Well, that's the point, isn't it? Regardless, if we were to define an 'end', after you beat the ender dragon, you're given a long line of text that appears to be very condescending and amounts to two astral deities telling you to go outside.

Key word is appears.

There was a recent Game Theory on it and I must admit the only Minecraft I've ever played was the pocket edition, which is like Minecraft For Lazy People/Those With Chromebooks and School Computers.

Okay that's super off topic. 

Point being, I had never read it before (look up "Poem Of The End") and it is absolutely beautiful. It reminds me of something I once told a friend... that with infinite universes, everything is to an extent... real.

It was very touching, and I can't really convey why I liked it so much in words. I'm sure I'll find some eventually, but for now, I'll point you to another game made by Notch.

Drowning in Problems.

Yes, it's got the most appealing title in the world. 

It's a in-browser game with little more than HTML (think Candy Box), though it's much more depressing. Again, I recommend YOU go out and play it (just over 10 minutes) because me spoiling it will in no way have the same effect. 

...

... okay did you do that?

No? 
I kind of expected that.

If you did, you get a cookie. You're probably shaking right now and need the sugar anyways, especially if you're someone like me who gets very attached in games, even ones where who the "player" is is never clearly defined at all.

Can you BELIEVE that both of these two games came from the same person?!
It's like if the guys who made Pokemon rip offs also made Destiny or something. They are nothing alike in anyway at all... or are they? 
If you think about it, Drowning in Problems is the antithesis to Minecraft. Despite there literally being a place called "The End", Minecraft is not meant to end. It's about discovery. Imagination. Being yourself.

There is no wrong way to play Minecraft.

However, while Drowning in Problems appears to give choices, they're just that. Choices. You click the button and 'solve' the problem. Despite there literally being a memory counter, you have gained nothing. You continue through life like this and then you die.

Both of them present you with a problem. You are given Hope.

What do you do with it? 

The truth is, when you finish Drowning in Problems you get a new life. When you die in Minecraft, you respawn. That is the nature of games. They give you infinite chances.

We only get one life.

Okay, now what do we want to do with it?
There are already options set out for us. They're far more complex than Drowning in Problems' options and the results are never so clear, but if you hang around enough people (internet especially) you begin to see patterns. The same faces. The same everything.

Sometimes it can feel like you're living in a game, where everything is mapped out for you.

Drowning in Problems encourages you to go Lysandre on it (everyone who gets this reference also receives a cookie). You die or you quit the game. The meaningless gray screen stops existing and you get to leave. Nothingness is merciful because there are no more options and you never have to go through the same script ever again.

Minecraft gives you an empty world. 

Now what?
Minecraft doesn't provide an answer.

It provides questions. 

It's worth pointing out that Drowning in Problems tells you to "solve" when you click any button. It's asking you to see life as a series of problems to check off the list. 

Love, friendship, ambition... all of those are just problems. Broken hearts are just items on the side of the screen.

We don't need to solve everything all at once.

Sometimes, questions aren't really meant to be solved at all.