Not currently on display at the V&A

Creeper

Action Figure
2015 (manufactured)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Minecraft was created by Swedish games designer Markus ‘Notch’ Persson. At its most basic, it is a first-person, open-world sandbox game, in which players build constructions out of textured cubes. The ‘Creeper’ is a hostile character encountered in the Minecraft world. It attacks the player by creeping up on them, then exploding. The sprite has become the most recognisable and marketable character, and is usually seen as the mascot of the series.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • Creeper (assigned by artist)
  • Minecraft (popular title)
Materials and techniques
Plastic, printed card
Brief description
Packaged 3" action figure; 'Creeper' (from Minecraft), made by Jazwares, China
Physical description
Packaged action figure, a Minecraft 'Creeper'. A green, fully articulated creature, long and upright in shape with a cube for a head and a frightening face, and a 'skin' of pixellated green. Included in the pack is a red, grey and white plastic cube marked 'TNT', and a grey teardrop-shaped object. These are packaged in a clear blister-pack adhered to a card backing, printed with Minecraft characters and information.
Dimensions
  • Card back height: 18cm
  • Card back width: 14.5cm
  • Action figure height: 7cm
Production typeMass produced
Object history
Purchased by the MoC in 2015 [2015/516].
Historical context
Minecraft was created by Swedish games designer Markus ‘Notch’ Persson. At its most basic, it is a first- person, open-world sandbox game, in which players build constructions out of textured cubes. There are no specific goals, players are given freedom to choose how they would like to play the game. Cubes with different textures represent different resources, which are needed to craft items and create players’ constructions. Hostile creatures, such as zombies, attempt to hinder the player when gathering resources and building. Non-hostile creatures, such as chickens, can be hunted for food and materials. The game passed 1 million purchases less than a month after it entered its beta phase in January 2011, despite having had no commercial advertising. By the time of its release in November of the same year, Minecraft had been purchased 4 million times and had 16 million registered users. The game has generated an enormous following, especially among children and teenagers, and it has created much discussion around the positive, creative role which can be played by video games. Mojang, the publisher of Minecraft, was acquired by sector giants Microsoft in November 2014 for $2.5 billion.

The ‘Creeper’ is a hostile character encountered in the Minecraft world. It attacks the player by creeping up on them, then exploding. It was apparently created accidentally by Markus ‘Notch’ Persson, as he wrongly programmed the code to create a pig. However, sprite has become the most recognisable and marketable character, and is usually seen as the mascot of the series. The physical merchandising of video games goes back almost to the origin of video games themselves, good examples being the Pac-Man board game (1980), or the countless Super Mario branded products of the 1980s and early 1990s. The ‘Creeper’ appears on merchandising such as toys, homeware, clothing and personal accessories.
Summary
Minecraft was created by Swedish games designer Markus ‘Notch’ Persson. At its most basic, it is a first-person, open-world sandbox game, in which players build constructions out of textured cubes. The ‘Creeper’ is a hostile character encountered in the Minecraft world. It attacks the player by creeping up on them, then exploding. The sprite has become the most recognisable and marketable character, and is usually seen as the mascot of the series.
Collection
Accession number
B.93-2015

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdApril 18, 2016
Record URL
Download as: JSON