Editing Steve (Minecraft) (section)

===Character overview===
Steve is one of nine default character [[Skin (computing)|skins]] which are available for new players of ''Minecraft''.{{sfn|Goldberg|Larsson|2013}}<ref name=":2">{{cite journal |last=Smolčec |first=Marijana |date=August 2014 |title=Using Minecraft for Learning English |url=https://tesl-ej.org/pdf/ej70/int.pdf |journal=The Electronic Journal for English as a Second Language |volume=18 |page=9}}</ref> A skin is the appearance of the player's avatar that represents the player in the game world, which can be changed, altered, or replaced by the player.<ref name=":0" /> Players are allowed multiple options to change the [[Texture mapping|visual appearance]] of their player character's skin.<ref>{{cite web |title=Minecraft: Java Edition Skins |url=https://help.minecraft.net/hc/en-us/articles/4408894664461-Minecraft-Java-Edition-Skins |access-date=September 25, 2021 |website=help.minecraft.net}}</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0">{{Citation|last1=Lane|first1=H. Chad|title=Playing With Virtual Blocks: Minecraft as a Learning Environment for Practice and Research|date=2017|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318448771|work=Cognitive Development in Digital Contexts|pages=145–166|publisher=Elsevier|doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-809481-5.00007-9|isbn=978-0-12-809481-5|access-date=September 26, 2021|last2=Yi|first2=Sherry}}</ref> All zombie mobs found in ''Minecraft'' appear to be wearing the same clothing as Steve, although no official explanation was ever given.<ref name="Everything">{{cite web |last=Coles |first=Jason |date=December 24, 2020 |title=Everything you need to know about Steve in Minecraft |work=[[PC Gamer]] |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/minecraft-steve-skin-herobrine/ |access-date=April 15, 2022}}</ref>

Prior to Alex's introduction, Steve was the only official skin available to players on the PC and Mobile editions of the game, though players of the PC version could use skins they've designed themselves or found online. On the original console editions of the game, up to eight variants of Steve were also offered, none of them female, in addition to a greater variety of characters that were available to those who purchased them as part of bundles.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |last=Harwell |first=Drew |date=April 27, 2015 |title=Minecraft is finally fixing its huge gender problem |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2015/04/27/minecraft-is-finally-fixing-its-huge-gender-problem/ |access-date=September 26, 2021 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>{{Efn||name=editions}} Like Steve, Alex initially could not be manually selected in these console versions, and her use is randomly assigned whenever players start a new game.<ref name=":1" /><ref name="Everything" /> As of 2022, both Steve and Alex, as well as the other seven default skins, can be manually selected in all versions of the game, either via an in-game menu or in the game launcher, depending on the version of ''Minecraft'' being played.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Antonelli |first=Emma Witman, William |title=How to change your character's skin in Minecraft to give them a different appearance |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/how-to-change-skin-in-minecraft |access-date=2022-10-23 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref>

According to backstory provided in ''[[Lego Club Magazine]]'', Steve and Alex are in a romantic relationship and both have distinct interests outside of their shared aptitude for building: Steve has a penchant for mining and alchemy, whereas Alex prefers exploring and hunting. In the next bimonthly release of the Lego Club Magazine, it is told that Creepers got into their clubhouse and wrote over their original words, and that Steve and Alex are actually best friends instead, correcting the aforementioned statement in the prior release. Due to this, the characters in Minecraft are generally considered asexual, except for villagers and some animals, who can be seen having children in-game.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Max Comic |magazine=[[Lego Club Magazine]] |publisher=[[The Lego Group]] |date=September 2016 |page=2 |quote=In the August issue of Club Magazine, Minecraft Creepers got into our clubhouse and wrote over our words! Steve and Alex are actually best friends!}}<!-- page number guesstimated from https://www.parrygamepreserve.com/media/magazines/lego_club/2016/lego_club_2016_09_September.php Accessed 2023-08-10 --></ref><ref name="Everything" />