With a canny look that could quite easily mistake one for the other, gamers have been bugged for a long time as to whether or not there’s a relation between Minecraft’s Steve and GTA Vice City’s Tommy. After some 11-long years, the answer is finally revealed.
Crossovers are nothing new in gaming. Throughout its history, we have all been witness to titles that feature characters from beyond its own universe. A trend that remains in practice to this day as it was back then.
Take, for example, Fortnite, which is perhaps the most famous for this vogue. Which, just recently, introduced a slew of Marvel characters with the opening of its new season. But there are also other games as well that seem to delight in seeing characters from various universes coalesce into a single space.
Is Steve, Tommy?
Therefore, it makes us all wonder whether some crossovers are meant to be subtle and hidden while others are just blatant about it. With this question in mind, it beggars the question as to whether Minecraft’s Steve is actually GTA Vice City’s Tommy, after all. If not, perhaps a persona heavily inspired after the latter protagonist.
From the hairstyle to facial hairs, and up to clothing color preference, Steve seems to be Tommy, but in Minecraft sprites. If these similarities are not already telling as such, the other likely explanation is that it would simply be a coincidence.
After more than a decade of silence—or is it that nobody just dare ask until only recently?—Markus Persson speaks on the real story behind the enduring mystery.
Surprising reveal
Known otherwise in the gaming community as “Notch,” Persson reveals what could possibly be the greatest bombshell in gaming history. Coming in a form of a tweet, Notch explains how Steve came to be and how GTA Vice City’s Tommy has actually nothing to do with it.
0% intentional reference to tommy afaik. I just picked some colors.
There might be some subconscious thing going on since I indeed was super into GTA Vice City, but I can't confirm that. Heck, I'm not even sure the timelines match up.— notch (@notch) October 16, 2020
In it, he specifically states how there’s literally “0%” intentional reference to the popular GTA protagonist. As for the clothing color, he explains how random he chose it, which he vaguely remembers as an influence by Tommy. That is, despite being a huge fan of the game. Notch even went so far as to confuse the time when he made Steve in relation to GTA Vice City’s launch as a product.
Coming from the horse’s mouth itself, it seems that Steve is an original character, after all. One that was created based on one person’s creative whims as affected by random factors at play during such time.
Image used courtesy of Alpharad/YouTube Screenshot