Creeper (Minecraft)

Creepers were created as a result of a coding error when creating the pig mob in the pre-alpha stages of Minecraft's development in 2009.[1] Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson mixed the dimensions of the pig model up, swapping the length and height. This, combined with the AI of looking at the player, led to the creeper becoming a hostile mob.[2][3][4][5] On September 1, 2009, the monster was officially named "Creeper" and was added to one of the early pre-alpha versions of the game,[6][7] officially designated 0.24_SURVIVAL_TEST_03.[8][7] In 2011, the Minecraft logo was redesigned to integrate the creeper face into the letter "A".[4]

The original color of the creeper was dark green.[7] In 2021, an investigation revealed that Persson simply took the texture of leaves, one of the building blocks of Minecraft, and painted on it a characteristic face.[8] With the new updates, the hostile mob received a new texture, sound, and unique behavior. Initially, creepers attacked players directly like zombies and exploded only when they were killed, but Persson decided that this was not enough and made the explosion a basic mob attack.[7]

In Minecraft, the player exists in a large world made up of cubes. The world contains a number of enemies, of which creepers are commonly encountered. A creeper is practically silent until it comes near the player, at which point it emits a quiet hiss[6] and detonates after a short delay. The explosion kills the creeper, can kill or injure the player, and also destroys surrounding blocks.[9] In an article for Games and Culture, Daniel Dooghan characterized the creeper as a "suicide bomber".[10]

Over time, the developers decided that creepers were not unpredictable enough, and increased the destructive power of their explosions by having creepers become charged if a lightning strike occurs near them. Mobs killed by charged creepers, including other creepers, drop their heads, which can then be worn in the player's head armor slot as a disguise against mobs of that type.[11][7]

The creeper originally appeared in Minecraft in a pre-alpha update as a common hostile mob that silently approaches players and hisses, then explodes. It appeared later in Minecraft spin-off games such as Minecraft: Story Mode,[12] Minecraft Dungeons,[13] Minecraft Legends[14] and Minecraft Earth.[15]

Outside of Minecraft, it also appeared in Terraria (2011), Torchlight II (2012), Borderlands 2 (2012), Octodad: Dadliest Catch (2014),[16] and in Nintendo's crossover fighting game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018), where the creeper has been featured as a Mii Brawler costume.[17]

A woman wearing a Creeper head, alongside another wearing a head depicting Steve, one of the default player characters in Minecraft

The creeper is considered to be one of Minecraft's most iconic enemies and icons.[18] The pixelated face of the creeper has been integrated into the "A" of the Minecraft logo, as well as being used in numerous Halloween costumes and cosplays.[3] Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition listed the creeper as tenth in their list of "top 50 video game villains".[19] The creeper has been featured in multiple Lego Minecraft sets and has been the main focus of one.[20] In 2021, PC Gamer ranked creeper as 9th of "the 50 most iconic characters in PC gaming," stating that "The Creeper is the star of Minecraft, which is ironic considering that the Creeper's effectiveness hinges upon not being seen."[21]

The creeper image has been used on a wide variety of Minecraft merchandise, including clothing, bedding and lamps.[22][23] In July 2020, a joint partnership between Mojang Studios and Kellogg's led to the announcement of Minecraft Creeper Crunch, an official Minecraft branded cereal prominently featuring a creeper on the packaging. It was set to be available for release in stores in the United States in August 2020. Every packet additionally includes a unique code which can be redeemed for a Minecraft cosmetic clothing item.[24][25][26]