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An Enderman is a fictional species of creatures in the sandbox gameMinecraft. It was created by game producer Markus Persson in 2011 with inspiration from Slender Man. Endermen are completely black, have long limbs and purple eyes, and are generated in all three dimensions of the game world, with the largest number in The End dimension. They can teleport and pick up or put down blocks. Although Endermen are neutral creatures, they will turn hostile to the player if the player attacks them, or makes eye contact with them.
The Enderman has become one of the most popular characters among Minecraft fans, appearing in numerous merchandise and as one of Steve's skins in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.[1]
Concept and design
I wanted something a bit more psychological. So to really drive home the point of looking at them being bad, I made the Endermen freeze and turn towards you when you look at them. As long as you look straight at them, they stand perfectly still and look straight at you. As soon as you look away, they will run (very fast) towards you.
The design of the Enderman was inspired by the horror character Slender Man. Both characters have slender figures and are activated by eye contact. The Enderman's movement when the player turns around is also very similar to Slender Man, which adds a sinister unpredictability to the character.[3] Although Persson originally intended to name the character "Farlanders", after the community noticed the similarities between the character and Slender Man, Persson proposed the current name based on this, and it was decided by the community through voting.[4] Originally, the Enderman's eyes were green, and it emitted smoke when it teleported. Later, Persson changed its eyes to purple, the same color as the nether portal, and when it teleported, it would leave a trail of purple nether portal particles around it.[3][5][6] Initially, the Enderman was more capable of carrying blocks and often left unsightly holes in player-built buildings, so this was nerfed shortly after its introduction by Persson.[7]
Persson detailed the appearance and functions of the Enderman on his blog, stating that "it's dark, it has long and narrow limbs, moves very slowly, and will pick up blocks and move them around."[8] Persson wanted the Enderman to be a "a mob you only saw in the distance and a mob you'd be afraid of". During initial testing, the Enderman's attack method was designed to be similar to that of a zombie, but Persson felt that this was not creepy enough to play with, so his speed and damage were increased, but this still did not satisfy Persson. Finally, the Enderman is designed to trigger hostility by looking straight at him, and has the ability to teleport.[9] Persson seemed quite certain that he created the Enderman to scare people: "So any helpless players who are galavanting around should take precautions to avoid getting into a stare down with the beast."[8] At the same time, in order to avoid catching players off guard, Persson set the Enderman to teleport into the player's field of vision as much as possible.[9]
The Enderman made its debut in the Beta 1.8 update for Minecraft released in September 2011.[3] It is three blocks tall, making it one of the tallest creatures in the game.[10][2] It spawns singly in the game's main dimension—the Overworld—in dark areas, and in small groups in The Nether in ecosystems. They are very rare in the Overworld and The Nether, but are numerous in The End. They are the only creature that spawns naturally in all three dimensions of the game. Endermen have the special ability to teleport randomly within a certain range, as well as the unique ability to pick up or drop blocks without changing their state.[6][11][10]
Although the Enderman will not directly attack players within its sight, it will become aggressive if attacked or stared at by a player.[11] When killed by a player, the Enderman has a default 50% chance of dropping an ender pearl, which the player can use to teleport.[12][13] They are weak to water, taking damage and teleporting away upon contact. Rain will cause them to continuously teleport until they find a dry place.[4]
In other media
Endermen have appeared in Minecraft'sspinoffs. In Minecraft Dungeons, the gaze mechanism of the Enderman is modified to a distance mechanism. When the player approaches, the Enderman will turn and its eyes will glow. The screen will be superimposed with static and trigger ominous sound effects. If the player gets too close, the Enderman will scream and become hostile.[14] The downloadable content Echoing Void also adds four variants of the Enderman: a Watchling with eyes all over its body, a Blastling that can shoot energy bombs from its arms, a Snareling that shoots goo to trap the player, and an Endersent with hammer-like arms.[15] In Minecraft: Story Mode, the Enderman is the theme of the third chapter The Last Place You Look.[16]
Game Rant ranked the Enderman ninth in their list of the 18 most powerful mobs in Minecraft, describing its gameplay as passive yet chilling: "They can teleport at will, using said ability to avoid projectile attacks, forcing players to fight them in close combat where they are at their most deadly."[19] Gaby Shedwick of Collider described the Enderman as the most evil and peculiar monsters in Minecraft: "They may not be the most powerful enemies in the game, especially with recent updates bringing in hugely powerful enemies. However, their unnatural design partnered with their unnatural appearance makes spotting one in-game particularly terrifying."[3] Jessica Citizen of VG247 believes that the introduction of the Enderman is intended to "remove some of the player's sense of control in the game".[7]
In the chapter Facing the Slender Man in Folklore, Horror Stories, and Slender Man, co-authored by Shira Chess of the University of Georgia and Eric Newsom of the University of Central Missouri, the Enderman is described as a product of the growing popularity of the Slender Man on the Internet, and the game designers' emphasis on character psychology and horror traits helps players connect the Enderman and the Slender Man.[2] Branislava Vranić and Valentino Vranić of the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava argue that the Enderman has been conceived from the outset as a mysterious creature possessing special abilities, such as the ability to teleport, both itself and the Ender Pearl it drops. The game only explains that the ability of the latter comes from the former itself. While this explanation is plausible, it leaves many mysteries unsolved. However, it also maintains the Enderman's uniqueness and avoids inconsistencies within the game. For many in-game phenomena, explanations are often part of the story, and the true answers often remain incomplete, becoming distracting or uninteresting.[12]
1 2 3 Shira Chess; Eric Newsom (2015). "Facing the Slender Man". Folklore, Horror Stories, and the Slender Man: The Development of an Internet Mythology: 118–128. doi:10.1057/9781137491138_7. ISBN978-1-137-49113-8.
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