Building Minecraft's End Poem into My Site
Sweating Bullets and a Deep State of Pondering
Most games roll credits once you complete them, and Minecraft is no different. You defeat the Ender Dragon, jump back through that final bedrock exit portal, and the credits start rolling, a long sequence that almost everyone skips.
I still remember the first time I beat the game years ago. I was tryharding like crazy, sweating bullets (if you’ve fought the dragon yourself, you know the feeling). Once I won, I was ready to head straight back to my base, but the credits started rolling and something told me to actually sit and watch.
“I see the player you mean.”
“PLAYERNAME?”
“Yes. Take care. It has reached a higher level now. It can read our thoughts.”
Reading through Julian Gough’s dialogue, I fell into this deep state of pondering. For a game made entirely out of blocks, the reflections on dreaming, waking up, and living in reality were surprisingly profound. That poem has stayed close to my heart ever since.
The Instagram Reel and Earning It
Recently, while doomscrolling Instagram reels late at night, I came across a clip of someone beating the game for the first time, only to skip the credits immediately.
My immediate reaction was: come on, just give it a chance.
That moment sparked something in me. I wanted to read the poem again. I could have easily pulled up a video on YouTube in five seconds, but instead I downloaded Minecraft, booted it up, and played through to the end from scratch. It wasn’t a speedrun by any means: multiple deaths, multiple restarts, but I got there and read the poem once more.
I know that sounds like a ridiculous amount of effort just to read a poem. But I’ve always been someone who hates having things handed to me. If I don’t earn it, it loses its value. I like working toward something to actually get it.
Bringing the Experience to Everyone
After finishing it, I thought about everyone who doesn’t play Minecraft or skipped the credits entirely and missed out on this experience.
That’s when I decided to build a 1:1 replica of the End credits screen right inside my portfolio, so anyone can experience this piece of writing regardless of whether they’ve ever touched the game.
When you step into /mcc, here is how it comes together:
- Your Name in the Dialogue: The dual-speaker script dynamically weaves your name into the text, alternating between the iconic cyan and green colors alongside periodic scrambled glyphs.
- The Drifting Starfield: A lightweight canvas renders depth-scrolling stars behind the text to capture that endless floating void.
- Ambient Music & Mojangles Typography: The original credits soundtrack (
credits.ogg) plays in the background, styled with authentic pixel typography and drop shadows. - The Mercy of a Pause Button: In the actual game, if you miss a line, it’s gone for good. Here you can hold
[Space]or tap your screen to pause the scroll, scrub with your scroll wheel, or press[ESC]to fade the music and return to reality.
Surviving the Short-Form Apocalypse
The entire sequence takes about 6 to 8 minutes to scroll through. If your attention span has survived the short-form content apocalypse, grab a pair of headphones, turn your volume up (it genuinely makes a difference), and give it a read:
Enter your player name and take in the poem. I would love to hear your thoughts if this is your first time reading it. Genuinely curious to know what clicked, what didn’t, and how it lands for you.
- Deba