Enchanting in Minecraft

What the screenshot shows

The screenshot is taken in first person inside a brick room: red bricks line the walls, bookshelves stand on the table and shelves, and torches are burning. Over the scene an Enchant window is open. On the left are a book and a button for placing an item: the window holds a sword and a stack of 64 units of lapis lazuli. On the right are three lines of options, each beginning with a symbol and a string of text, and ending with a green level number: 7, 15, and 30.

At the bottom are an empty inventory and a hotbar with a book, a diamond, blocks, and tools. Judging by the look of the window, the screenshot was taken from one of the early versions of the game.

What language is actually used

The symbols in the lines are the Standard Galactic Alphabet, a fictional font from the Commander Keen game series that later became known thanks to Minecraft. It is not a separate language but a set of characters that replace Latin letters, so in principle it can be rewritten with ordinary letters.

According to players’ descriptions, the lines do not contain the name of an enchantment but a randomly chosen set of words, so in most versions there is no meaning in them. In effect, the text serves as decoration that creates the image of a magic scroll, while the actual information about the enchantment is shown by the game after selection and in the tooltip. What exactly guided the developers in choosing this design is not reliably established, so it is not worth attributing specific motives to them.

Why the picture is used for jokes

The text in the window has an effect of recognizability: the lines look like real sentences, but not a single letter is familiar. This is an exact image of a situation where information exists but cannot be used: the fine print of a contract, handwritten notes, someone else’s handwriting.

It is not precisely known where and when this screenshot was first used as a template for jokes, so the article makes no claims about the date the meme appeared. What is undisputed is that players have long known about the alphabet, and the picture is shared as an image of illegibility.

Examples of captions

“A prescription the doctor wrote.” The caption fits, because doctors’ handwriting has long been a source of jokes, and the unreadable symbols convey the feeling perfectly.

“A letter from the tax office” with the enchanting frame: the text is in a native language, but the meaning slips away.

“Wardrobe assembly instructions without pictures.” Here the joke works on the feeling that the needed words are about to form an understandable phrase, but this does not happen.

“My notes from the last night before the exam.” The caption mocks one’s own haste and illegible handwriting.

How to use the picture

Captions about documents, handwriting, contracts, and instructions work best: anywhere there is real text but it cannot be read. For jokes about complex terms the picture is less suitable, because the words there are understandable and only the meaning is missing.

If you need a joke for players, you can play on the numbers 7, 15, and 30: they show the cost of enchantments in levels, and the choice between them is a separate topic about greed and caution.