MINCERAFT DATAPRACKS

most of the time, when you think of minecraft, you probably think of the building, the survival, the redstone, the mods, whatever!
I have no doubt that almost everyone if not everyone reading this does NOT think of datapacks.

even if you do know what a datapack is in the first place, you probably have a very narrow vision of what they are
I've heard multiple people ask me "oh, like the worldgen thing?"
no!!! I mean, yes, but... No!

datapacks are much more flexible than you might think at first. in fact, I'd compare them to mods.
if done right, there are very few practical limitations.

survival

if you wanna know what a good datapack looks like, I implore you to go check out fathoms right now

in minecraft, a fish on a cutting board, with a mysterious clock and altar in the back

I could go on for hours about how damn tasteful this pack is. it skirts around using the jankier parts of datapacking so well that you could easily mistake it for a mod at first.

similarly good, crop & kettle rises above the rest right up there with fathoms. in fact, they're even collaborating :D
that's just one side of datapacking, the one I work in, and honestly, probably the least popular use. some of you might think of minigames instead.

minigames

though a good amount of minigames are run through command blocks outside the map, a large portion are done through datapacks
datapacks allow for even more flexible commands through the use of macros, and so, they allow for many, many things, things that minigames can take advantage of
I recommend you scroll through some minigames, either on a realm if you have one, or somewhere like modrinth

four islands separated by stone walls, meant for the DESTROY minigame

the things people create can be SO fun at times, I've had great times playing them with friends.
I recommend trying one out! it's all good fun.

they don't tend to have their fun last for long, though. you might want something that impacts the normal game itself. that's where worldgen comes in

worldgen

as I mentioned in the introduction, this is something that a lot of people know datapacks for.
datapacks have the capability to override certain parts of the game, and one of those things is world generation.
as a result, a good amount of datapacks simply override worldgen and leave you to have fun with the new landscapes

three of four seasons in a very mountainous region

even if there are no new structures, these just look SO BEAUTIFUL, and I recommend playing with them if you're tired of the normal landscapes :3
worldgen is amazing. it's seriously code magic. I guess I could say that about my work too tho :P

creation

though I've only posted elytrapark as of now, I have multiple survival datapacks in the works

I'm excited to post them, as I find a LOT of fun in making them!
making them is certainly not for everybody. it's easily one the jankiest modding scene in all of mainstream gaming, but that's part of why I find it fun, being a source engine kid and all :PPP

I'll definitely be expanding this section once I post my stuff, so look forward to that :3

conclusion

people have a narrow vision of datapacks, but they are WONDERFUL.
with the capability to act like mods, to create whole new games within, and even to entirely change the world around you, they are so powerful and fun.

if you're big on minecraft, go out and try one! especially fathoms. try that one in specific.