The story that terrified Minecraft players

Game news The story that terrified Minecraft players

Passionate about programming and video games, young Markus Persson founded Mojang Studio in 2010, the banner of what will redefine the sandbox genre: Minecraft. In this vast voxel-like universe, players can freely indulge in harvesting and building. And if a handful of creatures, including zombies and spiders, have a habit of wreaking havoc in their peaceful work, one of them will cause more trouble as the game progresses. Her name is Herobrine. Its appearance can easily be confused with that of Steve, the standard Minecraft avatar; its peculiarity lies in the whiteness of its eyes without pupils. A physical detail that gives it a spectral aspect. As a sign of an impressive aura, it is sometimes called “Him”(“ He ”) by English speaking players. According to the various testimonies, Herobrine would be devoid of the slightest empathy and would only aim to eliminate or terrorize the players he meets. But what’s his story?

The birth of a monster

The legend of Herobrine blossoms in the testimonies of Minecraft players. The following, who appeared in the depths of 4chan, is believed to be the first to appear:

I had recently created a new world in Minecraft in single player mode. At first everything was normal, I started cutting trees and building a workbench. I noticed something was moving in the fog (I have a very slow computer so I have to play with a tiny render distance). I thought it was a cow, so I chased it, hoping to get skins for the armor.

But it wasn’t a cow. I saw another character with the default skin, but his eyes were blank. No name came up and I checked that I was not in multiplayer. He didn’t stay long, he looked at me and ran quickly into the fog. I followed him out of curiosity, but he was gone.

This is how the player explains that he has continued his progress in amazement before encountering some curiosities again: “2 × 2 block tunnels, perfect pyramids made of sand, trees with branches but without leaves“; During his journey through these unusual locations, he kept the impression that he was constantly being watched. In the forums, the player will not find experiences similar to his own. So, still following his own words, he writes a post to tell of his adventure. But this inexplicably disappears within five minutes of its release. A note from a certain ‘Herobrine’ then appears in his mailbox. A single word is addressed to him: “Stop”. Clicking on the sender’s page results in a 404 error. A few moments later, another user on the forum contacted him, this time through his personal mailbox.

Photo credit: Minecraft Wiki

Zoomed shots of Captain KRB

He claimed that moderators can read forum users’ posts, so it is safer to use email. The sender of the email claimed to have seen the mysterious player as well and to have a small “directory” of other users who had also seen him. Their worlds were also riddled with apparently man-made elements, and they described their mysterious player as devoid of wards.

It was about a month before I heard from my informant again. Some of the people who met the mysterious man had researched the name Herobrine and found that the name was widely used by a Swedish gamer. After some more information, it turned out to be the brother of Notch, the developer of the game.

Persistent in his search for the truth, the witness declares that he has contacted Markus Persson, aka Notch, to ask if he actually has a brother. The answer comes slowly, but fulfills the hypotheses: ” I had. But he’s not with us now »He reports. Never again has the player crossed the silhouette of Herobrine. The only evidence of his journey is a simple capture (above) which he says he had time to capture when he first saw the creature.

The legend circulates

Some time after that first testimony was published, a player named Copeland broadcasts a stream of the game’s solo world, and after long minutes of exploring, the man sets out to furnish a house. When he enters one of his rooms, it is not without fear that he meets Herobrine’s empty gaze, who is standing motionless in front of him.. The player goes back and puts his legs around his neck.

Obviously thrilled by his discovery and seized with a passion for the legend of Herobrine, Copeland also becomes the author of a famous archive, a GIF that by and large reveals the face of the ghost; its white pupils are replaced by moving human eyes. The page “him.html” gives Herobrine his new nickname “him”. The creature’s popularity exploded after this exhibition. Many variations are born from this legend. Some claim that the monster puts terrible signs on the streets for players with the inscriptions on it.behind you !” Where “you will go away“. Others say he shows up behind you to kill you with a rap or that he is content to steal your resources. It is also sometimes said that he is just the vengeful ghost of an unfortunate miner. Dozens of animal hunting YouTube videos pop up. It’s even the subject of a delivered Paperback, presented by a certain Michael Rios, a ten year old elementary school student.

Given the dizzying proportions of this new myth, Notch himself gives up an answer from his report Twitter : “Herobrine is not real, no. I’ve never had a brother (well, there’s a half-brother I never see …) and he’s not in the game” ; enough to destroy the fantasies of thousands of dreamy gamers. In a Reddit thread, the creator will add that he still finds the story both “great and scary“. And to add: “It really shows how little control a content producer has over content.“. The legend also entertains in the premises of Mojang. In the changelogs that accompany updates to the game, you can sometimes read “Herobrine removed”, which means “Herobrine withdrawn”.. Its silhouette even appears on some official conference banners.

Minecon 2011 / Source: Minecraft Wiki

Herobrine even starred a handful of mods, those tweaks to a game developed by a member of his community. Especially in the very creative “Herobrine Mod” (now inactive), which was developed by a nickname Burnner_, it is possible to summon the creature after a totem has been erected in his honor.. And there she is, emerging from behind you, able to burn down your house and dig tunnels in your mines to torment you with fear. To keep you alive, the mod writer invited Notch’s avatar personally. To ask for his help, all you have to do is offer him a piece of steak. As for the other fantasies of this little creation: the presence of Chuck Norris, whom you might encounter in one corner of the menu.

Many years later, Copeland, the player who videotaped the creature, finally confessed to the deception he had developed. “I spent a while in Photoshop putting a picture of Herobrine on top of a painting (yes, it was actually a painting) and then I put that painting in a small room in one of my current homes“, want to explain he does. That year the Herobrine myth continued to be discussed; a Community in order to solve some of Minecraft’s greatest mysteries, the original world has got its hands on the creature it is said to have been spotted for the first time. But of course it’s impossible to find the legendary Herobrine there.