Game Theory: The Tragic Story of Minecraft's Zombie Pigmen (Piglins)

Matpat: “netherwart is the only crop that can survive such a hostile landscape.”
Mushroom: “am i a joke to you?”

Matpat: "This is the main lore of Pigmen and Endermen"
Meanwhile Mojang just going with the flow: write that down, write that down.

My theory: Piglins and the ancient civilization were once allies, they went in the nether and met each other. At first they weren't aggressive, so they made a truce, piglins provide protection, and they build the bastions for them, but one critical mistake was made. The builders brought a zombie virus with them into the nether and they zombified the piglins, making them incredibly angry at them for obvious reasons, so they became hostile and hate the wither skeletons for obvious reasons. Nowadays piglins are desperate for gold because they think it may stop the virus, think about it, gold is obviously magical it cures villagers and makes golden food, so the piglins saw how the civilization used this and they use it in the hopes it will cure their race, with the ruined bastions being all they have left they use them to protect their sacred gold.

“Has no non-zombified versions of itself left anywhere on the planet” 1.16: im about to end this man’s whole career

Mojang: should we pay this guy? He is writing our lore for us.

Fun fact: nether wart grows on soul sand so the pigman kinda eat souls and start 2 think like human, (holding swords and standing on 2 legs)

Does anyone else feel like MatPat would be a great lawyer?

Or, the “nether pigs” first became Piglin Brutes, and some sort of monster zobiefieded them, so, the zombifieded pigmen are not hostile to Steve because they don’t remember.

We still need a Theory about why saddles aren’t craftable...
Wow me

Remember:
The soil that grows nether warts is made by dead human souls so I think that explains the evolution of growing human-like.

Theory. Perhaps the soul sand the pigs were buried on held the souls of the ancient builders. That’s why they are bipedal because the souls of the ancient builders went into the pigs, which could also explain how they know how to hold swords

Even if there is no actual lore, it's still fun to believe it's cannon it makes a simple game about building feel so much bigger and cooler.

"There are no pigs in the nether"
Pig that walked through my portal: Am I a joke to you?

Friend: “Hey what internet do you use?”
Zombie Pigmen: “Uh,it’s complicated.”

I feel like there is a lot of new theory content in the nether surrounding the piglins and this potentiol war between piglins and ancient builders and the zombie virus. A rework on this video would be amazing

Theory:
Since netherwart grows on soul sand, the Pigmen are partly eating souls. Since souls are kinda like ghosts and they used to be human, the tiny bit of conciousness left could be how the Pigmen have telepathy.

"The pigmen are related to pigs"
Hmm, the floor here is made out of floor

So you telling me that there gold swords last centuries but mine barely lasts 10 minutes

He's covered wither skeletons, and now zombie piglins (and somewhat native piglins). Hoping for a blaze theory next.
I think blazes are like the guardians in that they're robotic sentries, and with how their breathing sounds very dry but humanlike, they could be powered by souls. 😐 I got nothing on ghasts though.

I feel proud to be a Swede knowing that another one of my Swedish bretheren created this masterpiece of a game

Teacher: so does anyone know how glass is made?-
Me: *my time has come*

6:11 "1.6: The Nether Update"
1.6 Horse Update: *Am I a Joke to You?*

1.6 came out on May 26th, 2011. 1.16, (aka the NETHER UPDATE) came out on June 23rd, 2020. And yes, I did go through the whole video before posting this. Tho with the pigs eating nether warts theory, it would explain why regular nether warts (not counting the blocks at all) can ONLY be found in nether fortresses.

The only other natural foliage pre1.16 was mushrooms. So th wart shroom comparison is extremely valid.

MatPat: “If you found a random portal to a new world you wouldn’t just jump in would you?”
Me: “Yes I wo-“
MatPat: “-No you wouldn’t”
Me: “Yeah you’re totally right.”

6:11 “Minecraft 1.6”
*confused piglin noises*

Did the builders bring butter swords to the nether, or did they build them there, from the materials they had available?

This theory makes even more sense when you remember the Ophiocordyceps uniteralis, a real-life fungus species that can infect and control the minds of insects, as how Minecraft's fungus did with the Minecraft cows and pigs as if the fungus in the game is a more powerful version of Ophiocordyceps uniteralis

Matt Patt: “butter sword”
Me: *intense flashbacks*

Kind of a stretch, but you've _already_ have *some clues* as to why *Pigmen* are *bipedal.*
At 11:07 in the *Wither theory,* you said that *soul sand* are possibly made of the *ancient builders' **_life force._*
*Pigmen,* who are eating the *nether warts,* which grows on *soul sand,* based on your *speculation,* have some of the *ancient builders'* life energy within them, which may also further explains their neutral nature towards the *player.*
Thanks to anyone for reading this.

Idea:the ancient builders brought their pigs into the nether and left them as the explored or built, the nether fortress, then they forgot them and they went home, but the pigs were there, forgotten, and then they evolved into the hoglins, adapting to the nether.

Theory extension: The over world has some sort of zombie virus in the air and that charges up the lightning (which is a form of plasma) reacting with the pigs and transforming them into zombified bipedal versions of themselves. The nether on the other hand has a weak form of plasma floating through the air and when the pigs ate nether wart (the base ingredient for most potions) it with the souls required to grow it trigger a similar reaction creating the piglin.

Everyone: notch made them on accident
Matpat: L O R E

Matpat: this is such a huge part of the lore and can prove my theory
Mojang: adds piglins
Matpat: *sigh*

Maybe when the ancient builder’s society collapsed, that’s how we got ruined portals. It also explains like in this theory, the ancient builders brought in golden swords, which is why we only get golden swords in the chests

MatPat "You are what you Eat."
Me, whose primary Food source is Chicken "Reject Society, become Chimkem"

"Pigmen may have been pigs that were sent through the nether as a test"
So when pee poo pushes felix into the end he was geting revenge?!!
BUT THATS JUST A THEORY

*that moment when you realize the ancient miners planted nether warts on their dead friends*

I have a theory on why they stand up: nether wart is a key ingredient in potion making, so it probably has some magical properties. While it could be evolution, I had the idea that it could have something to do with the making of potions or something, like how you were talking fire resistance and healing.

“Are you just gonna jump into a new dimension?” Me: yes, yes I absolutely would.

“They don’t like wither skeleton”
9 year old me in creative mode: it’s battle time

*Hears gold be called "butter"*
Me: Why did that hit different?

Theory Ideas
Nether Warts Feeds On Souls?
How Is The End Made?
What Are Shulkers?
What Is A Nether Star?

Common puffball fungus contains a compound called lycoperdic acid, which is a type of amino acid. Based on the structural similarity with glutamic acid, lycoperdic acid is expected to have antagonistic or agonistic activity for the glutamate receptor in the mammalian central nervous system. My theory is that nether wart is very similar to common puffball, and that it might enhance the effect of the ingredients that are used along with it on the nervous system, which would explain the powers that the potions give you.

How many trees should we plant?
Every youtuber: yes

*Minecraft had no lore*
*Game theory makes a theory*
Minecraft: Yea we have a lore, yea yea.

2:36
Mojang: Yeah, lets just ruin this theory by adding non zombified pigpen's in, im sure it'll be fiiiiiine

I’m interested to see a theory about the nether reactor from og bedrock. Perhaps a snapshot of an alternate universe where the original builders had far fewer skills and could only summon a piece of the nether in the overworld and were incapable of reaching the end dimension. Perhaps they were all lost to zombification.

Mojang: I just made some random stuff and I'm surprised you can connect this so flawlessly.

MatPat: “Hey, why are there no non-zombie pigmen? I should make a theory!”
Mojang, working on the Nether update: “Yeah...about that...”

With the fact that the Nether Fortresses were made by the ancient builders, I wonder where the blazes came from and why they spawn.

Funfact to the dimension theorie to prove it there is a april snapchot to reach over 2mil dimension even red dragon with magic books
Also on old beta mc u can find random steves walking around maybe its a easter egg to the old zivilisation?

I’m so used to him saying “Scott” instead of “Notch”

Me: 'taps multiple mushroom to hack into mushroom internet'
Me: I’m in.

Also since nether wart is related to fungi,and fungi often thrive off of dead things that could also be an atribute pigs got from the nether wart,hence why they are often zombified.
(I know this theory is a stretch just something to think about)

Thinking about it today, minecraft update have been all about adding more things to the lore of minecraft, and it makes those update look like prequels to the oldest version's of mine craft, as in the older versions of mine craft you play, the more it seems like in minecraft the stuff that creates the lore of minecraft disappears like how the dinosaurs disappeared without any explanation as to how and why they're gone.

2 theories I wanna see:
*Villager & Pillager*
*Steve’s Inventory*

"Hey, Steve just attacked me. mind hopping on the server to help?"
"Yeah okay"
"Thanks"

Hay MatPat do a theory about Minecraft Story Modes wither storm and how dose putting a command block in the middle of a wither allows it to suck up blocks.

I just realized something: When you kill an evoker, they don't pop the totem, but when you kill it it drops it, so maybe the reason the illagers do raids is for souls that in turn are used for totems that would give them immortality.
like this so matpat can see

MatPat: “Minecraft 1.6”
Me: “It is called 1.16.”

Mat pat: golden BUTTER swords
me: now that's a name I haven't heard for years....

I think that the reason Mooshrooms came to existence isn't because of cows eating mushrooms for generations until mushrooms became a part of their anatomy but rather because of a symbiotic relationship, I have reason to believe the cows that became Mooshrooms ended up as such because of often being covered with the spores of mushrooms which ended up adapting to live in symbiosis with the cow in which the cow is mostly brain dead while the mushroom keeps it alive and does all the surviving. Here are the reasons why:
Reason 1: When you look at a Mooshroom's eyes all you see are two black squares, perhaps its because the eyes aren't needed because the mushroom has no need for it when they are controlling a cow in an area without predators.
Reason 2: The way mushrooms work is that the mushroom is connected to an underground hive mind known as Hyphae which is likely found in mushrooms in Minecraft as shown in Mycelium, it may be that there is a similar network inside of the cows body.
Reason 3: In this symbiotic relationship there is not much need for the cow to really be in a state that can be considered alive since the mushrooms are doing all the work. This is possible due to the fact that evolution is less of keeping the organism alive and more of preserving the DNA as noted in the Endosymbiosis theory, which claims that the mitochondria and chloroplasts started out as their own organism with chloroplasts specifically starting out as a kind of cyanobacteria but both ended up as endosymbionts which allowed the host to gain more energy and become more complex while the endosymbionts go from being considered alive to being another organelle with only their DNA being the last remnants of their days as actual living organisms, this is exactly the same except it's the host that loses their ability to be considered alive while the endosymbiont takes up the role formerly taken up by the cow itself and that both organisms are already multicellular eukaryotes rather than unicellular prokaryotes.

Such great story telling with the theory 😂 I believe whatever you say matt as long as it's entertaining like this 😂

Pigman: *You took everything away from me*
Steve: *I don’t even know who you are..*

9:02
*"Are you just gonna hop through?"*
_Me already halfway through the portal:_
Wha-

(Watching this in order, if this is brought up in a later video, my bad)
4 years later, but I think i have the main answer for why the Pigmen walk in two legs, the very same properties within soul sand must have mixed with the properties that bring the sprout to begin with, causing a mutation in which not only they develop their psychic tribal connection, but mutating into a humanoid form.

The only question I have with this is why don't piglins and zombie piglins express an aggressive behaviour towards endermen but produce it towards the wither skeleton (and Steve/Alex).

I just want to know who Steve really is because how did he even come to this world if everyone has been “dead” for centuries

MatPat: "it was the changes coming in Minecraft 1.6[...]"
Me: "..... teen?"
MatPat: "The Nether Update"
Me: "Dang it. So close."

I think the zombie pigmen are the most interesting mob out of the entire game as far as their origins are concerned. Awesome theory.

ALL THOUGH you may be going on your own journey
Your theories change a vast number of people's lives
Not a theory, not a fact far beyond that
A legend told with a smile as wide as ear to ear we will remember you and your career
From 2011 to 2024
You made a change like no one before
Thank you Mat Pat

Alright quick theory: the pigmen started to behave like humans becuase of the nether warts becuase they grow in SOUL SAND. As said in the last Minecraft theory the souls of the master builders are stuffed in the dang stuff

6:11 "Coming in MINECRAFT 1.6" Hasn't it been 6 years since that version came out? MatPat has a Time Machine confirmed

Minecraft trees would absolutely save the Earth if we had them, what with the whole growing in a matter of minutes thing. Unless it ends up like on Futurama where they overrun the planet.

The way you tell these videos, also the music in them, AND me being a wimpy 11 year old scared of fnaf, these videos give me nightmares. ITS FREAKING GREAT

"there's no food in the nether"
Sad mushroom noises

MatPat: Nether Warts Are The Only Food Source On The Nether...
Mushroom: Am I A Joke To You.

I think a more likely theory would be:
The pig's are struck by lightning in the overworld and turn into pigmen, the humans then force all of them into the Nether in order to keep them out of the overworld and to banish them to a realm, out of sight out of mind.

I have 2 theory first is that pig kept reproducting in the nether. evolving to survive the temperature and get used to it. (that would explain why they turn zombified when in the overworld). Second they would always eat netherwart, making some nether stay in their body. And when they would die, that netherwart would take over like some types of fungus does to ants, possesing the bodies of millions of pigmen.

*"zombie pigmen are related to pigs"*
Every 60 seconds in africa a minute passes

THEORY: What are Slimes? They're just globs of boogers that appear in swamps. What else appears in swamps? Witches. So, What if witches created slimes?

MATPAT! Here's a crazy theory for ya on the origins of skeletons. Your zombie disease video makes sense, but doesn't explain the skeletons. No disease is going to keep a pile of bones floating around. You'd need magic to do that. Here's a quote from the Mobestiary, " Some have proposed that skeletons are ancient adventurers raised from death by an evil sorcerer." In the game Minecraft Dungeons there is a group of ancient necromancers who live in a desert temple. They have blue glowing eyes (the color of souls) and when they summon skeletons, you can see small blue souls float away from the summoning area. They even shoot soul fire blasts! But why are they themselves undead? Maybe because when they (or some other humans) summoned the wither, they noticed that it doesn't attack undead things, and they turned themselves undead to protect themselves. I hope you read this!

Im kinda confused, I know its old video but werent there zombified piglins right with the update too? And fire resistence potion is not from glowstone but from magma cream ( also dont remember if it was different in older versions ).
edit: They even added new bioms with vegetation so they could eat that and normal mushrooms grows there too. but yeah the trees there are actuall shrooms and Crimson Roots with Warped Roots
also I guess.

Matpat: Finds lore
Minecraft: Changes game completely.

I am 100% still referring to the “zombified piglins” as zombie pigmen

"butter sword" took me out harder than it should've 🤣

How about striders? I wanna see a theory about that!

When a game doesn't have lore
MatPat: Fine I'll do it myself.

"20 million dollars for 20 million trees by 2020." We've found the true 4 20 mode.

"H E double toothpicks"
"Butter swords"
"Ruining your childhood since 2011"
This is killing me XD

Maybe the ancient builders found out that pigs turn into pigmen and started using them as a source of labor to gather supplies for their fortresses and the pigmen became enslaved over time. Whenever the ancient builders disappeared they freed and armed themselves. Not ever wanting to harm someone for no reason like they were but promised to protect each other to prevent them from being enslaved again.

Everyone “no food in the nether “
Mushrooms” damm okay “

"Time travel is impossible"
MatPat:.....
MatPat: "In the new Minecraft Update 1.6..."

That does make a lot of sense actually.
In fact, I forget what the tree is called, but there is a literal forest that exists where it's technically 1 tree all interconnected by the roots...

Ok so I was just rewatching this video and Matt if you are reading this could you try and explain the ghast and the blaze
I’m honestly stumped on what they ACTUALLY are

Steve: *punches zombie pigmen*
*_"now all of China knows you're here"_*

Matpat tells people how strong they have to be to punch down a tree
MrBeast: We need him to help us plant trees

I noticed the cover for the documentary by Mojang has the cover of Giants Causeway, in ireland, which I went to recently...

Could it be that they walk on tow legs because the souls of the builders (wither skeletons) and the souls of the pigs somehow mixed in the soul sand making them a half human half pig?
(I know this is old I just was rewatching these and thought of it lol)