Takeaways: World War Z & Minecraft children’s author Max Brooks

Brett McKay from “Art of Manliness” has interviewed the famed author, Max Brooks, at the end of 2023. This is a short summary of the Minecraft-related parts of the interview (This is a Minecraft blog, after all). Max Brooks is the author or co-author of Minecraft: The Island, The Mountain & The Village.

Outside of Minecraft, the duo discuss Max Brooks career, outlooks and themes of the zombie apocalypse. Maximillian Michael Brooks (born May 22, 1972) is an American author. Much of Brooks’ writing focuses on zombie stories. He was a senior fellow at the Modern War Institute at West Point, New York. (Wikipedia)

World War Z has zombies + Minecraft has zombies = Coincidence?

LISTEN & LINKS: Podcast #936: Zombies, Minecraft, and Dealing with Uncertainty | The Art of Manliness

“The best way to deal with a fear is to study what you’re afraid of. Because then you actually have something tangible, as opposed to the worst thing, which is your own imagination.”

ALL QUOTES FROM MAX BROOKS.

“Zombies, Minecraft, and Dealing with Uncertainty”

• Max Brooks’ son and Brett McKay’s daughter play the game. They discuss how Minecraft’s open world nature can be translated into real life, and how it contrasts to other typically linear games. This game can teach kids everything about how to become resilient, creative problem solvers.
• Themes of responding to change and uncertainty are present throughout Max Brooks work. For example, Minecraft: The Island centers on a character who spawns inside Minecraft, confused.
• “Initially there is shock and paralysis, sometimes there is denial. Some people simply cannot accept the world has changed, and is doing everything possible to get back to where they were.”
• “There is frustration, anger, tantrums, bargaining…it depends…But that’s always what I study, because my life has always been constant change…(Depends on) How you struggled in your formative years”
• Fight, flight or freeze: Apparently, everybody freezes: It’s a question of how long do you freeze.
• “From what I have seen, we have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable…Train ourselves.”
• Brooks suggests that we are at our best (With the most potential and willingness to face uncertainty) precisely at our lowest point (Like the first year of school, or a changing industry at the workplace).
• In the case of survival in Minecraft or the books, you have to adapt to the circumstances or die!
• Brooks mentions how he hates post-apocalyptic stories featuring a lone wolf. You have to know the limits of your individuality and admit when you need to reach out to a friend. 🙂

OLD BUT RELATED: A blocky review of Minecraft: The Island book – Premium Minecraft Blog