Herobrine -- a study in superstition in... a haunted video game

Safe-Keeper · 1st August 2012, 04:00 PM

Okay, so I caved in (pun intended) and bought Minecraft, and yes, I'm one of those people who didn't intend to play it obsessively, but of course ended up doing so anyhow.

Thing is, though, there's a really interesting urban legend about Minecraft. I don't know how it got to be so widespread, though it might be due to the large number of kids playing the game nowadays, but anyhows,

Herobrine.

"Herobrine" is a bit of an inside joke. Every time a new update is released, the changelog includes the change "Herobrine removed". There's a fairly uninteresting background story for this, but the end result, probably not predicted by the developers, is that there is now a significant number of people playing Minecraft, particularly new players, who genuenly believe in Herobrine. It seems that all the time, especially when there's just been a major release, such as this week, there's reports from people encountering him, as well as people who report stuff they don't understand in the game and attribute it to "Herobrine". This is by conspiracy theories that claim "Herobrine" is either a kind of bug or virus that was added to Minecraft by a hacker, or some kind of mystical supernatural entity that haunts the software, and that the reason why the changelogs keep saying "Herobrine removed" is that he always slips right into the game after the developers have removed him.

What's interesting is how widespread and self-sustaining the belief seems to be, and how it's upheld exactly the same way we reinforce our beliefs in UFOs and ghosts. People who believe in Herobrine post sightings or secondhand accounts, complete with statements like "I know my brother, he's not a liar". Newbies in the game experience things they can't explain, such as ambient sounds in cave systems, and attribute them to "Herobrine".

The really cool thing about this is that unlike when we discuss ghosts and flying saucers, we know Herobrine is not in the game -- this is evident when we look through the game files. This gives us an opportunity to discover a "paranormal phenomenon" we know is not paranormal at all, and contrast it to real-like stuff like, oh, psychics and ghosts

.

Am I the only one, MC-er or not, who finds this cool and interesting?

geni · 1st August 2012, 04:04 PM

Originally Posted by Safe-Keeper

The really cool thing about this is that unlike when we discuss ghosts and flying saucers, we know Herobrine is not in the game -- this is evident when we look through the game files.

There are plently of ways to hide its inclusion if the developer wanted to.

Safe-Keeper · 1st August 2012, 08:23 PM

Well, ya, probably, but the point remains, we know he doesn't exist, and either way it's pretty interesting to see how there's a whole "superstition" around him in the MC community.

ehcks · 1st August 2012, 08:27 PM

Herobrine is kinda like Slenderman. It makes no sense, it can't possibly be scary, and we know it's fake... but we still can't help but think it's there somehow anyway.

arthwollipot · 1st August 2012, 08:29 PM

The XBox360 version of the game has a splash text that says "We think [production company*] has removed Herobrine from the game, but we're not sure."

*that I can't remember the name of

Aepervius · 1st August 2012, 09:08 PM

If you are starting pülaying minecraft you might consider a few modes :
* railcraft
* buildcraft
* industriual craft
* redpower
* thaumcraft
* millenaire
* better than wolf
* timber! (makes all tree blocks fall once you cut one down)
* single player command
* backpack mod
* chest mod (iron, gold etc...)

Some are adventurng mods, some are mods to build complex system with automatic feeds of machines.

Cobalt · 2nd August 2012, 03:59 AM

This may or may not be related.

DISCLAIMER: TVTropes will ruin your life, I take no responsibility.

Moss · 2nd August 2012, 01:22 PM

Originally Posted by Cobalt

This may or may not be related.

DISCLAIMER: TVTropes will ruin your life, I take no responsibility.

I hate you.

Weak Kitten · 2nd August 2012, 01:41 PM

Bad TV Tropes! Don't go, don't look!

Almo · 2nd August 2012, 02:37 PM

I saw Herobrine when I was playing the Minecraft alpha. I wonder if they really ever did do the removal, or if they just say they do to mess with us.

mike3 · 2nd August 2012, 04:05 PM

Originally Posted by Safe-Keeper

Well, ya, probably, but the point remains, we know he doesn't exist, and either way it's pretty interesting to see how there's a whole "superstition" around him in the MC community.

I'm not familiar with this game. How do we know it's not real, never has been real? Though I suppose it doesn't make sense that a developer would keep removing something that had already been removed...

100 · 2nd August 2012, 05:16 PM

Originally Posted by mike3

I'm not familiar with this game. How do we know it's not real, never has been real? Though I suppose it doesn't make sense that a developer would keep removing something that had already been removed...

I'd read this:

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/herobrine

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to copy the image, so just look at "Notch's Response." (notch was the creator of Minecraft)
He says that Herobrine doesn't exist in any way.

Although, since notch has left the development of Minecraft as of December 2011 it could be possible for Herobrine to be in it, however unlikely.

Ladewig · 2nd August 2012, 06:57 PM

Originally Posted by Weak Kitten

Bad TV Tropes! Don't go, don't look!

That kinda sounds like a common trope. I'll go look it up.

D'oh

Safe-Keeper · 3rd August 2012, 04:49 PM

Quote:

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to copy the image, so just look at "Notch's Response." (notch was the creator of Minecraft)
He says that Herobrine doesn't exist in any way.

Okay, now that I've read the full story, including the nonsense about the thread being deleted, I'm now more convinced than every this is a hoax.

The perpetrator should've just stuck with the hazy screenshot and the man-made structures and not made a full-blown conspiracy theory about a ghost hacking accounts and MC moderators conspiring to silence people. The story went from "slightly unnerving" to "obvious hoax" at that point.

Quote:

I'm not familiar with this game. How do we know it's not real, never has been real? Though I suppose it doesn't make sense that a developer would keep removing something that had already been removed...

If I was Notch and working on a video game with a large following, I would definitely be up for adding something like this in deliberately in order to draw publicity. Nothing ridiculous and overt, but something really subtle, like a random number generator producing a certain number (or set of numbers) more often than random chance would suggest, or a figure in the fog, or, as in this case, random structures that shouldn't be there. Then I'd hide the code as well as I could, and I'd let it slip in some trailer or interview, really casually, that some figure or number or colour or whatever had special significance to us (for example that 6/3/1987 was the birthday of some random significant person).

Then I'd sit back and wait for the community (or some strawman pretending to be a random player) to pick up on it

.

1st August 2012, 04:00 PM	#1
Safe-Keeper Philosopher Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Sogndal, Norway Posts: 7,120	Herobrine -- a study in superstition in... a haunted video game Okay, so I caved in (pun intended) and bought Minecraft, and yes, I'm one of those people who didn't intend to play it obsessively, but of course ended up doing so anyhow. Thing is, though, there's a really interesting urban legend about Minecraft. I don't know how it got to be so widespread, though it might be due to the large number of kids playing the game nowadays, but anyhows, Herobrine. "Herobrine" is a bit of an inside joke. Every time a new update is released, the changelog includes the change "Herobrine removed". There's a fairly uninteresting background story for this, but the end result, probably not predicted by the developers, is that there is now a significant number of people playing Minecraft, particularly new players, who genuenly believe in Herobrine. It seems that all the time, especially when there's just been a major release, such as this week, there's reports from people encountering him, as well as people who report stuff they don't understand in the game and attribute it to "Herobrine". This is by conspiracy theories that claim "Herobrine" is either a kind of bug or virus that was added to Minecraft by a hacker, or some kind of mystical supernatural entity that haunts the software, and that the reason why the changelogs keep saying "Herobrine removed" is that he always slips right into the game after the developers have removed him. What's interesting is how widespread and self-sustaining the belief seems to be, and how it's upheld exactly the same way we reinforce our beliefs in UFOs and ghosts. People who believe in Herobrine post sightings or secondhand accounts, complete with statements like "I know my brother, he's not a liar". Newbies in the game experience things they can't explain, such as ambient sounds in cave systems, and attribute them to "Herobrine". The really cool thing about this is that unlike when we discuss ghosts and flying saucers, we know Herobrine is not in the game -- this is evident when we look through the game files. This gives us an opportunity to discover a "paranormal phenomenon" we know is not paranormal at all, and contrast it to real-like stuff like, oh, psychics and ghosts . Am I the only one, MC-er or not, who finds this cool and interesting?

1st August 2012, 08:27 PM	#4
ehcks Graduate Poster Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 1,687	Herobrine is kinda like Slenderman. It makes no sense, it can't possibly be scary, and we know it's fake... but we still can't help but think it's there somehow anyway.
ehcks Graduate Poster Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 1,687	__________________ Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon%27s_razor

1st August 2012, 08:29 PM	#5
arthwollipot Observer of Phenomena Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: The other side of your screen Posts: 42,956	The XBox360 version of the game has a splash text that says "We think [production company] has removed Herobrine from the game, but we're not sure." that I can't remember the name of
	__________________ Jadey (in RvB game thread): I just want to take a moment to commend Arth on his role as Parasitic Alien Tumor. I think he really connected with the character and there were times when I forgot that he was just acting. That's the kind of talent that you can't teach.

1st August 2012, 09:08 PM	#6
Aepervius Philosopher Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Bierland. I mean , germany. Posts: 7,730	If you are starting pülaying minecraft you might consider a few modes : * railcraft * buildcraft * industriual craft * redpower * thaumcraft * millenaire * better than wolf * timber! (makes all tree blocks fall once you cut one down) * single player command * backpack mod * chest mod (iron, gold etc...) Some are adventurng mods, some are mods to build complex system with automatic feeds of machines.
	__________________ Omnes Blessant Ultima necat "I want, and this is my last and most dear wish, I want that the last of the king be strangled with the guts of the last priest" (Jean Meslier / 1664-1729 / Testament) A very early french atheist, a catholic priest in life.

2nd August 2012, 03:59 AM	#7
Cobalt Tobikan Judan Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 1,631	This may or may not be related. DISCLAIMER: TVTropes will ruin your life, I take no responsibility.
Cobalt Tobikan Judan Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 1,631	__________________ professional griefer

1st August 2012, 04:04 PM	#2
geni Anti-homeopathy illuminati member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: UK Posts: 26,554	Originally Posted by Safe-Keeper The really cool thing about this is that unlike when we discuss ghosts and flying saucers, we know Herobrine is not in the game -- this is evident when we look through the game files. There are plently of ways to hide its inclusion if the developer wanted to.

1st August 2012, 08:23 PM	#3
Safe-Keeper Philosopher Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Sogndal, Norway Posts: 7,120	Well, ya, probably, but the point remains, we know he doesn't exist, and either way it's pretty interesting to see how there's a whole "superstition" around him in the MC community.

2nd August 2012, 01:22 PM	#8
Moss Dramatocrat Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Heiligsblechle country Posts: 3,229	Originally Posted by Cobalt This may or may not be related. DISCLAIMER: TVTropes will ruin your life, I take no responsibility. I hate you.

2nd August 2012, 01:41 PM	#9
Weak Kitten Graduate Poster Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Lost and lonely...will you be my friend? Posts: 1,717	Bad TV Tropes! Don't go, don't look!
	__________________ A quick reminder to all participants that although incomprehensibility is not against the Membership Agreement, incivility is. Please try and remember this, and keep your exchanges polite and respectful. -arthwollipot

2nd August 2012, 02:37 PM	#10
Almo Masterblazer Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Montreal, Quebec Posts: 6,404	I saw Herobrine when I was playing the Minecraft alpha. I wonder if they really ever did do the removal, or if they just say they do to mess with us.
	__________________ Almo! My Blog "No society ever collapsed because the poor had too much." — LeftySergeant "It may be that there is no body really at rest, to which the places and motions of others may be referred." –Issac Newton in the Principia

2nd August 2012, 04:05 PM	#11
mike3 Graduate Poster Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 1,938	Originally Posted by Safe-Keeper Well, ya, probably, but the point remains, we know he doesn't exist, and either way it's pretty interesting to see how there's a whole "superstition" around him in the MC community. I'm not familiar with this game. How do we know it's not real, never has been real? Though I suppose it doesn't make sense that a developer would keep removing something that had already been removed...
mike3 Graduate Poster Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 1,938	__________________ “Ego is subversive and devolutionary, truly destructive and terrible; ego is the generator of privilege, established institutions, and comfortable habit. Ego is the fire that burns within the pit of hell, devouring and cosuming everything that enters and leaving utterly nothing behind. Ego is horrible, cruel, and restraining, the darkness of the world, and the doom and bane of man.” – a reaction to that famous Bertrand Russell quote.

2nd August 2012, 05:16 PM	#12
100 Thinker Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 196	Originally Posted by mike3 I'm not familiar with this game. How do we know it's not real, never has been real? Though I suppose it doesn't make sense that a developer would keep removing something that had already been removed... I'd read this: http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/herobrine I'm not sure if I'm allowed to copy the image, so just look at "Notch's Response." (notch was the creator of Minecraft) He says that Herobrine doesn't exist in any way. Although, since notch has left the development of Minecraft as of December 2011 it could be possible for Herobrine to be in it, however unlikely.
100 Thinker Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 196	Last edited by 100; 2nd August 2012 at 05:37 PM.

2nd August 2012, 06:57 PM	#13
Ladewig Hipster alien Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: not measurable Posts: 16,785	Originally Posted by Weak Kitten Bad TV Tropes! Don't go, don't look! That kinda sounds like a common trope. I'll go look it up. D'oh
	__________________ Is the JREF message board training wheels for people who hope to one day troll other message boards? It is not that hard to get us to believe you. We are not the major leagues or even the minor leagues. We are Pee-Wee baseball. If you love striking out 10-year-olds, then you'll love trolling our board.

3rd August 2012, 04:49 PM	#14
Safe-Keeper Philosopher Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Sogndal, Norway Posts: 7,120	Quote: I'm not sure if I'm allowed to copy the image, so just look at "Notch's Response." (notch was the creator of Minecraft) He says that Herobrine doesn't exist in any way. Okay, now that I've read the full story, including the nonsense about the thread being deleted, I'm now more convinced than every this is a hoax. The perpetrator should've just stuck with the hazy screenshot and the man-made structures and not made a full-blown conspiracy theory about a ghost hacking accounts and MC moderators conspiring to silence people. The story went from "slightly unnerving" to "obvious hoax" at that point. Quote: I'm not familiar with this game. How do we know it's not real, never has been real? Though I suppose it doesn't make sense that a developer would keep removing something that had already been removed... If I was Notch and working on a video game with a large following, I would definitely be up for adding something like this in deliberately in order to draw publicity. Nothing ridiculous and overt, but something really subtle, like a random number generator producing a certain number (or set of numbers) more often than random chance would suggest, or a figure in the fog, or, as in this case, random structures that shouldn't be there. Then I'd hide the code as well as I could, and I'd let it slip in some trailer or interview, really casually, that some figure or number or colour or whatever had special significance to us (for example that 6/3/1987 was the birthday of some random significant person). Then I'd sit back and wait for the community (or some strawman pretending to be a random player) to pick up on it.
	Last edited by Safe-Keeper; 3rd August 2012 at 04:55 PM.