Regardless of my age, mindset, or the device, my favorite aspect of Minecraft forever remains entering a cave to mine. When I become "a miner... [shivering] under a black sun", the ambiance of the cave forcing me to hesitate, perpetually peering into the dark corners as I fine-tune my ears to try to listen to any foes who may creep up on me; I experience this sense of wonder and discovery that I fail to encapsulate into words. A game as simple as cubes of different colors and textures wonderfully utilizes the senses: sight though the shading, hearing through the eerie audio that randomly reverberates through my headphones, feeling through controller vibrations; to transport the player to a new world. Mining is not only discovery. It is survival. A primal skill that the player must hone in on if they wish to proceed to further, more advanced regions of the game. Without mining, no advancements in the world can be made: they would lack the stone to forge a furnace to cook food, they would lack the iron needed to make an iron pickaxe to mine more valuable ores such as diamond (which they need to mine obsidian to make a Nether portal with), they would lack the Lapiz they need to upgrade their armor so it becomes more durable, so their weapons become sharper, and, in turn, they become stronger. Mining is the gateway to achieving greatness in the game, for mining is a necessity needed to continue the game. The slight horror that one experiences upon entering a cave: the quickening of a pulse as they feel a presence behind them, the sweaty palms as they try to stay steady enough to avoid falling into a vat of scorching lava, the throat - raw from screaming - as they try to escape the endless barraged of arrows a skeleton is shooting their way; all of it only makes that act of finding the valuables so much more rewarding. Once the player begins to "[play] the game well", then they will begin to find more secrets awaiting them in the depths of a cave, such as a mob spawner with rare presents. Regardless of whether it is day or night, entering a cave conducts and shifts the atmosphere around the player. The further they enter the cave - the more and more they are forced to watch the sunlight retreat - the more and more they have this feeling of insignificance. They are forced to acknowledge the cave's sublime appearance and the fact that they are but a lone wanderer with things much bigger and more vast than them. And they get to explore every bit of it as much as they would like. Being forced to confront a cave reminds you that, regardless of the outcome, you will preserve because "the light you seek is within you". If you fail once, do not fret, because in the world of Minecraft, "death [is] a temporary inconvenience". You can always retry, learning new tactics along the way, making friends that can help you learn tricks to find ores more easily. A cave, in Minecraft, is a small obstacle you must overcome to proceed further in the game; an allegory that can be applied to real life. Regardless of the struggles and successes, one can always rest assured that they will enjoy the journey, because "[we] are the player." We can always "[dream] again, [dream] better" and forever know that we will overcome our hardship; just as Minecraft taught us to do (Quotes from Mojang, 'Minecraft End Poem').