One of the very first Minecraft Let's Plays, its first episode uploaded on August 4th, 2010, while the game was still in its Alpha stage. The series follows the adventures of davidr64yt, better known as X, as he explores and discovers the secrets of the game.
Enormously popular and influential (with its first installment now at 5 million views on YouTube), the series inspired numerous players and other series. While beloved for its humorous, calming and friendly atmosphere and sympathetic narrator, the series became controversial after X decided to experiment with the game out of boredom, leading to several unexpected and sometimes unwelcome changes. Others argue that this made the series all the more memorable. Following its 40th episode, the first series officially ended, but was followed by numerous short-lived sequels. Attention Deficit Creator Disorder and Creator Backlash have all but completely ended hopes for further Minecraft content on X's channel, but he continues intermittently making videos and maintains a dedicated cult following (most of his 200,000 subscribers don't pay attention, it seems).
The first episode can be found here.
Tropes found in X's Adventure in Minecraft include:
- Artifact Title: The name X comes from our narrator's early World of Warcraft character Xalamon.
- Bittersweet Ending: X dies at Death Mountain, losing several diamonds in the process. Unsure of how to continue, he ends the series back in the X-System. Despite trying to play several more times, including a brief return to Death Mountain, the series never recovers in earnest. Nonetheless, the epilogue of episode 40 shows that X enjoyed his time in Minecraft and believes it has taught him valuable lessons about life.
- Home Base: The X-System.
- It's the Journey That Counts: Despite dying at Death Mountain and losing much of what he had there, X concludes in the written epilogue of the finale that the experience was well worth the lessons that he learned there.
- Karmic Death: X's eventual death at Death Mountain results from his haste in greedily trying to get diamonds despite the presence of lava.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Death Mountain.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: X's attempt to revitalize his interest is short-lived, as he dies soon after relocating and is left back at square one in the X-System. The series ends here.
- Tempting Fate: X heads off on a long excursion from his home, aware that if he dies at his new base, he will respawn at the X-System and likely never find his way back. What does he name his new home? Death Mountain. The mountain lives up to its name, leading to the end of the original series. However, in a later video X uses a viewer-made map to trace his steps back and recover what he can from Death Mountain.
- Wham Episode: Episode 30, where X infamously chooses to leave the X-System behind and travel to a faraway land.
- Episode 40, where X dies in lava while mining for diamonds at Death Mountain, sending him back to the X-System and losing all of his possessions, causing him to end the series.
- You Can't Go Home Again: X deliberately leaves his home base behind and travels far enough that the only way he can find his way back is to die. He does.
