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Re:End Poem by Julian Gough by rocky_raccoon on Friday July 19, 2024 @03:40PM (#41010286)
I'm going to be a bit vulnerable here...

I really had a difficult time parsing that, and I'm still not quite sure I fully understand it. I found myself losing concentration when I knew it was going to require my full attention to understand it. I still don't think I understand it. Perhaps I'm not trained to read this style of writing, or perhaps my brain just isn't capable.

At any rate, I'm glad other people seem to enjoy it!

Re:End Poem by Julian Gough by npinsker on Saturday July 20, 2024 @03:16AM (#41014731)
That's fine, of course. No work of art is meaningful to everyone. I think it's admirable that you earnestly tried to engage with it; you didn't dismiss it as pretentious or vapid because you didn't get much out of it.

I read the poem as elevating the player -- and humanity in general -- as 'dreamers', those who create worlds. It hints that building worlds in simulacra and in reality may not be so different, and there may be a higher consciousness yet to be discovered.

There are a few reasons why the poem is meaningful to me: it promotes a feeling of connectedness between all humans; it implies my time playing games is not time wasted; it uses imagery that conjures strong emotions of sadness and happiness; the prose and rhythm are beautiful. Also, Minecraft is one of the precious few games that's both wildly successful and also 'bares the soul' of its creators a little by including something like this. Strong creative expression is a joy to see.