Minecraft: Explanation of Physics

Introduction

Minecraft is a 3D sandbox game created by Swedish game developer Markus "Notch" Persson. It is maintained by Mojang Studios, a part of Xbox Game Studios, which in turn is part of Microsoft. Minecraft is a game with physics and mechanics unlike most other sandbox games. Due to the irregular rules of Minecraft, this page aims to analyze and establish some of the mechanics that define Minecraft's mechanics and physics.

Placing Blocks

Mining and Building

One of the key mechanics in Minecraft is its mining and building. Minecraft players have an established reach radius that allows them to mine and place blocks within a 4.5 block (Java Edition) 5 block (Bedrock Edition) reach. Minecraft trailers have further displayed the ability for characters to place blocks without directly making physical contact. Even official novels such as Minecraft: The Island have established these mechanics to exist in the universe. All blocks can also be broken given enough time as well, although certain tools are required to directly harvest materials.

Entities with the ability to damage blocks around them do not actually destroy the block under normal circumstances, but rather shrink them down for them to be picked up and used for later use. These blocks can even regenerate when they're no longer being damaged which indicates that physical power does not determine the destruction of the block.

Inventory and Item Stacking

When placing blocks, a player can stack multiple blocks at once to instantly use another block after placing the initial one, which is directly noted in the novels as stacking multiple items into itself. Blocks are compressed into a "weightless" form that can easily be stacked onto itself. The blocks are then stored in the player's inventory which is described as an empty block of space-time of infinite size.

Hit-Points and Combat

Damage and Health

Characters in Minecraft don't exhibit traditional physical traits like blood or vital organs and are shown turning into a puff of smoke and particles upon death. Characters can tolerate things like being shot in the head with multiple arrows or surviving concussive explosions without displaying external or eternal injury enough to prohibit their abilities. So long as they have even half a heart a player can remain at top condition without faltering.

Regeneration

Thanks to their unique physiology, a player's health can restore from any kind of damage. Their bodies never retain any permanent damage due to the unique physiology of Minecraft entities. The cost however lies in their hunger, which allows for their natural regeneration to heal their bodies.

Conclusions

Common Questions

Q: Minecraft characters can lift an incredible amount of weight, why isn't this mentioned on your pages?
A: As discussed in the Inventory and Item Stacking sub-section of this page, Minecraft has established their characters the ability to “pocket” their blocks into a space akin to a Hammerspace shown in comic books. This is also not something we exclusively see with Minecraft alone, and can be found in just about any other sandbox survival game.

Q: There are mobs that can blow up and destroy tough blocks like slate stone, why haven't you calculated this and used them to upgrade the characters in Minecraft?
A: As established in the Mining and Building sub-section, the way blocks are “destroyed” does not actually see them being damaged like we see in the real world. Blocks are instead shrunken down into a weightless state of existence for entities to pick them up.

Q: Everything is canon to Minecraft, so shouldn't things like Minecraft Dungeons be factored into Steve and Alex's profiles?
A: The notion that everything is canon to Minecraft is blatantly incorrect. Minecraft is a game that encourages creativity above all else. Just because their are standalone stories and products set in the “Minecraft universe” does not mean it directly ties in to the pre-established world-building of the original game.

Q: If this is the case, why does this explanation page reference other stories?
A: Using the IP of Minecraft to tell unique and disconnected stories is one thing, but ultimately, all of these stories share fundamental principles that help define the Minecraft genre (i.e the blocky environment, the original enemies, etc). Things that can be directly referenced back to the original Minecraft game are mentioned as supporting text.

Q: Why isn't the End Poem used as a means to upgrade the player of Minecraft?
A: The End Poem has no direct tie-in to the game of Minecraft, and is a metaphorical message to the actual players behind the controller. To try to loosely connect the poem to the actual world-building of Minecraft is, to put it bluntly, silly at best.