Crispëhcraft: The Sniffer

My kiddo, a.k.a. Dabbing Devil, loves Minecraft. She's spent hours building multiple worlds in its block-based universe. I've played with her a few times, and it was fun. But being an old Atari 2600 guy who grew up with a one-button joystick, I'm going to need a lot more practice to get used to the 53,822 buttons and knobs on her Nintendo Switch controller. It's hard to teach an old dad new tricks, but I'm trying.

In an interactive game that features everything from llamas, chickens, and spiders to wandering traders, clueless villagers, and exploding creepers, there's a fairly new creature on the Minecraft scene that makes me smile every time I see it:  

The Sniffer.

I'm not entirely sure what a Sniffer is actually supposed to be. They're big, they're slow, and yes, they sniff. Their entire purpose seems to be to sniff out seeds and pods from the ground and dig them up. The player can then plant the seeds and pods and get either a torchflower or a pitcher plant. The flowers and plants don't really serve any purpose, other than just adding some prettiness to the game. (Also, I've been told, you can use torchflower seeds to spawn new Sniffers.)

I've included some Sniffer screen shots from Dabbing Devil's Minecraft world. She's named them all. They all have R-names. 

This one, Rufus, lives in a massive hotel that Dabbing Devil constructed all the way up to the vertical build limit. Some Sniffers live in luxury. (Luxurëh?) 

Sniffers, as you can see, are basically big lumbering rectangles, with six legs (why six?), yellow beaks, brown fur, and what I assume is moss covering their backs. I think of them as part sloth, part platypus, part Snuffleupagus, and part sentient covered wagon. They mostly just plod around and grunt a lot. But if you're lucky, you'll catch them digging up some seeds. When they do, they're so pleased with themselves that they do a cute little ear-flopping happy dance for you. 

They're pretty adorable overall. 

So what makes the Sniffer Crispëh? 

Well, the essence of Crispëhness is hard to pin down. But I think it has something to do with his uncomplicated earthiness. Not everyone is Crispëh for the same reason. That's just how it goes.

According to Dabbing Devil, some Minecraft players complain that the Sniffer is useless, that he doesn't serve any purpose in moving the game along. But I say: What's wrong with that? Why can't the Sniffer just exist for the purpose of being a Sniffer?

That reminds me of an old Taoist story that Mrs. Egg is very fond of. It's a story about a tree. All the other trees with straight trunks and thick limbs got cut down to be used for furniture, vehicles, and weapons. But there was one tree that no one ever cut down. It was an old tree with a twisted trunk and gnarled branches. It outlasted the entire forest, precisely because it was useless. 

So hooray for the very useless, very Crispëh Minecraft Sniffer. Welcome to the club, Big Guy.