Editing End Poem (section)

== Creation and use in ''Minecraft'' ==
{{infobox<!-- Adapted from {{external media}} -->
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|above=External media
| abovestyle     = font-size:115%
|data1 = [[File:Nuvola apps mycomputer.svg|16px]] [https://www.theendpoem.com/ A Web implementation of the poem], similar to the formatting used in ''Minecraft''
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[[Julian Gough]] wrote the End Poem for the [[end credits]] of ''[[Minecraft]]'' at the request of [[Markus "Notch" Persson]].<ref name="parker" /> According to Gough, Persson contacted him in 2011, after [[tweet (Twitter)|tweet]]ing that he was looking for recommendations for talented writers. Gough says that Persson gave him broad latitude in composing a written work for the end of the game. Gough had played ''Minecraft'' in [[alpha version|alpha]] at a [[game jam]] but had not thought much of it, and was unaware of its popularity until Persson reached out to him. Gough played it some more and then wrote the poem.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chatfield |first=Tom |authorlink=Tom Chatfield |date=2012-01-09 |title=Ending an endless game: an interview with Julian Gough, author of ''Minecraft''{{'}}s epic finale |url=https://boingboing.net/2012/01/09/ending-an-endless-game-an-int.html |access-date=2023-05-01 |website=[[Boing Boing]] |language=en-US |archive-date=12 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112024241/http://boingboing.net/2012/01/09/ending-an-endless-game-an-int.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=gough-2022>{{Cite web |last=Gough |first=Julian |authorlink=Julian Gough |title=I wrote a story for a friend |date=2022-12-07 |url=https://theeggandtherock.substack.com/p/i-wrote-a-story-for-a-friend |access-date=2023-05-01 |website=The Egg and the Rock |via=[[Substack]] |language=en |archive-date=8 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230508070936/https://theeggandtherock.substack.com/p/i-wrote-a-story-for-a-friend |url-status=live }}</ref> The poem debuted, alongside the rest of the end credits and the full endgame mechanics, in Beta version 1.9.<ref name=limer>{{cite web |last1=Limer |first1=Eric |title=''Minecraft'' Now Has an Ending Sequence and Credits |url=https://www.themarysue.com/minecraft-ending-sequence/ |website=[[The Mary Sue]] |access-date=1 May 2023 |language=en |date=11 November 2011 |archive-date=2 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230502012312/https://www.themarysue.com/minecraft-ending-sequence/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The poem comes on-screen after players kill the [[Ender Dragon]], thus winning the game, and step into the End Portal.<ref name="parker" /> It begins with the words "I see the player you mean" in teal and a reply of the active player's name in green, followed by about 1,500 words of dialogue between the two speakers, whose identities are never established but have been described in ''[[The Escapist (magazine)|The Escapist]]'' as "god-like".<ref name=thielenhaus>{{cite web |last1=Thielenhaus |first1=Kevin |title=8 Weirdest Endings That Left Us Saying 'Huh?' |url=https://www.escapistmagazine.com/8-weirdest-endings-that-left-us-saying-huh/ |website=[[The Escapist (magazine)|The Escapist]] |access-date=1 May 2023 |date=30 August 2017 |archive-date=2 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230502010808/https://www.escapistmagazine.com/8-weirdest-endings-that-left-us-saying-huh/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Small portions are intentionally rendered as glitched text.<ref name="creswell">{{cite journal |last1=Creswell |first1=Jacob |title=Does ''Minecraft''{{'}}s Ending Actually Mean Anything? |journal=[[Comic Book Resources]] |date=26 December 2022 |url=https://www.cbr.com/minecraft-ending-poem-meaning/ |access-date=2 May 2023 |language=en |archive-date=2 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230502010807/https://www.cbr.com/minecraft-ending-poem-meaning/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The poem culminates with twelve consecutive lines starting "and the universe said", ending with:{{efn|Formatted similarly to as in ''Minecraft'', except with colours modified and names added for accessibility. In the game, these words appear before a dirt-textured background.}}
<blockquote>{{monodiv|1=<!-- From [[MOS:COLOR]]: "Ensure that color is not the only method used to communicate important information. Especially, do not use colored text or background unless its status is also indicated using another method". --><p style="color:#006161;margin-top:0;">[teal]&nbsp; and the universe said I love you because you are love.</p>
<p style="color:#006600;">[green] And the game was over and the player woke up from the dream. And the player began a new dream. And the player dreamed again, dreamed better. And the player was the universe. And the player was love.</p>
<p style="color:#006161;">[teal]&nbsp; You are the player.</p>
<p style="color:#006600;margin-bottom:0;">[green] Wake up.</p>}}</blockquote>

The poem scrolls across the screen over the course of about nine minutes; speeding it up by manually scrolling is made intentionally difficult.<ref name="gough-2022" /> It is the only narrative text in the game,<ref name="moloney">{{cite news |last1=Moloney |first1=Eoghan |date=2022-12-08 |title=Irishman who wrote ''Minecraft''{{'}}s revered 'End Poem' gives words away for free after declining to sign over rights to Microsoft |language=en |work=[[Irish Independent]] |url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/irishman-who-wrote-minecrafts-revered-end-poem-gives-words-away-for-free-after-declining-to-sign-over-rights-to-microsoft/42206699.html |access-date=1 May 2023 |archive-date=2 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230502010807/https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/irishman-who-wrote-minecrafts-revered-end-poem-gives-words-away-for-free-after-declining-to-sign-over-rights-to-microsoft/42206699.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and the only text of significant length oriented toward the player.<ref name="anthony">{{cite journal |last1=Anthony |first1=Jason |date=2015 |title=Current Key Perspectives in Video Gaming and Religion |url=https://media.suub.uni-bremen.de/bitstream/elib/3156/1/00104919-1.pdf |publisher=[[University of Bremen]] |issue=3 |pages=7–15 |access-date=1 May 2023 |journal=[[Gamevironments]] |archive-date=2 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230502010810/https://media.suub.uni-bremen.de/bitstream/elib/3156/1/00104919-1.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|p=10}} {{as of|December 2022}}, it has not been significantly modified from Gough's original version.<ref name="creswell" />