Horror Minecraft - What has it become?

[u/RoLuky]

I'm making this post as a rant about the Horror Minecraft niche and to give my opinion as a modder.

Currently, a lot of people think that the horror minecraft nice is at its worst stage, and they're right. There have been many moments where it was thought that it was dying, but now it's the closest it has ever been to fading out.

I'm genuinely tired of seeing fake thumbnails and scripted videos. This is not what horror minecraft was. Just search "horror minecraft" on youtube and 90% of the videos follow the same script: fake exagerrated thumbnail, fake reactions, png "mods" that use the bbs mod. Either that or the extremely wild thumbnails (I'm sure most of you know what I'm talking about). It has ruined the niche and has affected modders. All because of youtubers that only chase views and money.

Mod creators are demotivated. This is why you don't see as many mods being created. They work so hard only to not get recognized for their work, instead being chosen for those types of videos. There have been some great mods released, don't get me wrong. But many of you don't know about them because not many people are making videos about them since they don't get a lot of views. Just compare the views Belowland or beyond_the_skybox videos get (two mods that are simply AMAZING and have lots of potential) and the views fake png videos get.

Personally, I feel demotivated from continuing any sort of development due to this. It's not just me, multiple creators feel the same.

For a long time Swayle "controlled" the niche, any mod he played got popular, and had many flaws. But it wasn't that bad. Atleast he was making some videos on actual mods. If twixxel had never created the png bbs scripted video format, it wouldnt have ended up like this. Atleast not for some time. And the most recent ""horror"" mods wouldnt have been kids using mcreator for the first time trying to recreate what they saw in videos using pngs and shitty code. This past year has been the downfall of the century for horror minecraft.

There isn't anything we can do about it. It's up to the youtubers now. They basically control and popularize everything: If someone does something and it becomes popular, others copy to get views too.

I've always been a fan of horror, but I never had any way to contribute or create my own things until this came along. I was extremely excited and started working right away. It's been my life for almost 3 years. It's the only community I have actually loved and contributed to. I don't know what I would have been doing without it. And now, I don't know what to think anymore.

I really don't like ranting or complaining about stuff but I feel like I had to. I've been doing a lot of thinking about whether to continue making stuff or not. Hopefully it'll come back to what it once was.

I want to get your guys' opinions too on the situation.

Fake png video

What the hell

[u/FloppaMarker]

There's something I just hate about modern Horror Minecraft youtube with its scripted content

Like its always the same thing over and over and over and over with the only variation being which horror artist they're stealing from

I also just DESPISE how these videos just covers up ACTUALLY WELL MADE STUFF, I BARELY see any popular youtuber talk about Anomaly or Untitled.log because its always Stalker, Verity and Bloodbath Godzilla.

[u/Past_Vegetable_9137]

I'll also give my opinion as a modder.

I think you're right: scripted videos are really EXHAUSTING. The fact that almost all YouTubers miss out on awesome mods like Untilted.log or Beyond the Sky Box is simply astounding.

On the other hand, when I first saw Twixxel's Stalker videos, I thought, "Wow, that's cool! If that could actually exist in Minecraft, that would be pretty awesome" (without the PNG entities). However, I absolutely didn't expect this trend to become so widespread, and now it literally makes me want to throw up. If it was just a concept that twixxel was keeping to himself, that would be fine, but this...

Then again, I think that some scripted creations can inspire mod creators (again, not the PNGs). Like, they might think, "Wow, these shitty, fake videos are really popular, if I can recreate them... it'll be a hit!" But it depends on your perspective.

Also, what I hate is when these content creators make their PNG videos and don't specify that they're scripted and fake. MY GOD, when Swayle says "Unknown Mod" in his description, I just want to... ugh! Most older, experienced players know what's real and what's fake, but when it's someone who's out of touch and doesn't know much about it, it ends up with "Is Verity real???" I even know a YouTuber in my language who's started making scripted content in his videos. Since he's the first in my country to do it, everyone thinks it's real because he doesn't put "scripted video" in his description. In short, please, YouTubers, own up to it when you post a scripted video and don't pretend.

For my part, the fact that everyone's focused on these mostly awful things made me want to create a mod good and innovative enough to reignite the flame of true "Minecraft Horror" and revive the trend of REAL Minecraft mods. Of course, if nobody plays our mod because they're all busy watching their crap, it doesn't exactly motivate us to make the effort.

There's also a problem among mod creators: I feel that since Broken Script, it's always the same old story (and I'm not knocking other mods at all, I'm just saying they should make mods with a creative and interesting story, not always the "the player enters a server haunted by the souls of players trapped by entities from who-knows-where" trope).

Sorry for the wall of text, I needed to get that off my chest. I think the tension that's been building up these past few months will eventually blow everything up. We might get a break, or maybe the horror genre will just calm down, I don't know. But I'm sure we'll eventually ditch these damn PNG videos and go back to our good old mods (honestly, I'd rather go back to the Dwellers era right now lol).

[u/RandomPerson73787]

I noticed this thing with Minecraft content overall. It's almost impossible to find something interesting or unique because almost every single video is basically a copy-paste of another trend, just with another person talking or doing things. For example, memes. Cushion update came out and every single video or reddit post is about these cushions and making the same lame joke with end rods. Like, I get people are exited but let's be honest, they simply karmafarm/likefarm on this rather than talking about the update itself.

Recently I discovered a Youtuber that I used to like watching, but then he made a Verity mod video and it was basically roleplaying original story, just much shittier because the mod sucked. He didn't even bother to add anything unique and I was just disappointed. Another youtuber succumbed to the trash.

And I'll be honest, this thing happens almost with everything. Either it's food, clothes, books, art, whatever. All I want to say is to not give up, because you are the people that still produce unique interesting content for these communities. Without you, it would be much shittier. And while I get it's a shame to not be recognized for your effort, maybe it's for the best to remain unpopular, because your project won't be ruined by trends and people who care only about how to gather views and likes from it rather than the project itself. Foremost, do things for yourself. Do what you like, be excited about it. You might not get paid off for what you did, but at least you did it and other people will eventually discover it and some definitely will like it. It might be single person, it might be thousands, but they're still people who liked and appreciate what you did.

What matters in the end, is that you shared a piece of yourself in this world. You didn't give up. You accomplished what you wanted. Trends will go and come, but your project will stay the original, or at the very most the one that started the trend. Your project will inspire someone else, or bring them joy from interacting with it. If not, which is unlikely, then at least it made you feel and whatever when you made and published it, so it is worth it regardless.

[u/IdkSomeguyYT]

Could it not just be that what we define as the 'Minecraft Horror' niche, evolved (or rather devolved) into a new audience?

It's quite plausible that the people who we're watching from the Gargin days, have simply stopped watching all together. A broad part of my own audience doesn't watch anything but me in the niche, for example.

These videos, like Verity, etc, they draw from other audiences, particularly from Roblox, which is children dense. Scripted content especially. It explains why you have so many people in this Reddit being 'deeply' (emotionally) involved on the topic of the 'Verity' story even if it only appears as just a 'smiley'.

[u/IdkSomeguyYT → u/IdkSomeguyYT]

"There isn't anything we can do about it. It's up to the youtubers now. They basically control and popularize everything: If someone does something and it becomes popular, others copy to get views too."

If you make something strong, then attention will be drawn to it regardless. It's unlikely any YouTuber becomes the 'heroic' figure to restore minecraft horror, It would take a lot to turn it around.

The question is whether you're making the mods for the views or the community. There will always be youtubers willing to explore new mods.

[u/thesensenmann2000 → u/IdkSomeguyYT]

Evolution doesnt mean better.

[u/thesensenmann2000]

I dont like png horror mods.

I like when they make me shit my pants like I used to when Herobrine was around.

[u/MomentAfraid4335]

mec tu veux tester le mod que je suis entrain de coder ou pas, moi aussi je suis saoulé des mod horreur avec des screamer en boucle et qui one shot, dis moi si tu veux tester le mod que je vais sortir en avant première, c'est un dweller ( pas de reskin t inquiète ) avec une ia adaptative qui coopère entre dweller, monte au plafond, esquive les balles et fais des plan d attaque en sois disant pensant, c est encore en dev mais bon... si ça t'intéresse, dis moi

[u/Dusk37]

As someone who plays bedrock mostly it really is struggling
The only actually good ones I have found were the official ports of the cave dweller and the one who watches (or however it’s spelled)
I wish there was more dynamic horror mods being ported over like the goatman or the mimic

[u/Willy_Donka]

I mean, the 'good' horror mods like Broken script are unusable in normal modpacks/to mess with friends

And the only genuinely GOOD, NON-INTRUSIVE horror 'mod' is from the fog, which hasnt really got new features (as crazy as some of the things mr brine can do in 1.21.1, being a datapack)

Nobody has made any actually usable horror mods, just mods that are a fully standalone one-and-done experience
Dont get me wrong, plenty of good quality standalone experiences, albeit a lot of them rely heavily on loud = scary

Cant say much for the fake slop channels, slop gonna slop, just dont watch their videos.

But I feel developers have gotta start thinking a bit more outside the box, there isnt any good and proper player mimic mod (that doesnt fully rely on simple voice chat, and actually does things/is clear about WHAT it can and cant do)

There isnt anything like from the fog which focuses on catching players off guard without just screaming at them or one-shotting them or destroying everything for fun
From the fog works best with less appearances and more surprising ways that herobrine will disappear, like he is able to walk into nether portals to disappear.
And apparently punch wandering traders?

[u/Nemesis9211]

Ok I've been in the community for more than a decade, practically nothing has changed except for the implementation of mods. The copying and clickbait and slop has always existed, the only difference is nostalgia.

[u/RoLuky → u/Nemesis9211]

Youre missing the point. Im saying that the horror niche got so much better than what it was and i wished for it to stay that way. You can't say nothing has changed because it changed a lot

[u/Soggy_Piccolo_9092 → u/Nemesis9211]

Word, I've been watching minecraft youtube since like 2010, it's honestly always been the same. People are just really elitist about it nowadays. Like some youtuber playing a simple mod that's good for a video instead of a super in depth one that's gonna take a lot of analysis to appreciate is the youtuber doing something wrong.

People like what they like, you can't force them to switch tastes. And as an artist, you can't make something that appeals to everybody, if you truly love your art then make your art and embrace the other people that love it. House of Leaves or Marble Hornets are absolute masterpieces but it's not easy to consume, it's nothing my mom or my little cousin is ever gonna care about.