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This (pictured to your right) is the type of situation I am more than happy not to deal with anymore. Why? I play Minecraft on Peaceful mode. That means no creepers waiting to blow up in my face, no frantic first-day scrambles for coal to make sure skeletons and zombies don't spawn on my head, and no dying of hunger for taking too long mining.
Peaceful mode is ideal for individuals who enjoy the "craft" part of Minecraft, and it allows those players to create awesome and interesting structures. However, this takes away all of the survival aspects of the game, leaving little point to building monster-proof forts or making food to stay full and satisfied. Of course, if you're building giant block-based monuments of Link and Princess Zelda, you'll really not want monster interference.
However, I'm not one of those crazy crafters; I simply don't have the patience for such creations. Instead, I play the title to explore the world it created for me.
Every world in Minecraft is unique, but it's unlikely most people will see what the world has to offer. While the game doesn't completely shun the idea of exploration, it does discourage the concept unless you're fully prepared to go into dark dungeons and fight off hordes of enemies. In addition, you're always faced with the risk that an unfortunate misstep or a creeper in just the wrong spot could lead to you losing everything you earned during your current endeavor. Overworld travel is barely an option either since the moment night comes, monsters emerge and swarm you, and it's not viable to make fortresses every half-day's walk.
Of course, a crafty player can get by this, but I prefer not to dig for resources in order to see what's outside my door. In my peaceful exploration, I've found lots of natural caverns waiting to be visited. While most of them turned out to be nothing more than holes in a mountain, to me, the thrill of exploring new areas is what keeps me coming back to Minecraft. Right now, I'm investigating a huge labyrinth that I've been lost in for two hours — something that I could never accomplish if there were monsters and hunger to think about!
But really, that's the true joy of the experience. You can choose to play any way you want and fully enjoy the game. Whether you're mining, crafting, or doing something in between, Minecraft caters to us all.