I already know all the in's and out's of the game, and I just finished Ep. 1.
So far it's just a multiplayer game, but yes that's exactly how it works.
 
I'll update this when I get further on! And thank you for the tip, these guys are great :)

I just watched a bunch of their videos too. They were cracking me up. I think towards the end of those videos when the NPCs show up, its all staged. They had someone else controlling Old Peculiar, Israphel etc. (I think this is the one your referring to) But, other than that all the game play aspects are true to minecraft.

OMG YES! I started watching their Cataclysm beta videos back in October and I've been a fan ever since.
 
The quests and all aren't real. It's just people on their server RPing. Nobody really knows for sure if it's staged or if they genuinely had no idea what was happening. They're videos are awesome either way. If you really like Simon & Lewis (the 2 guys who play), you should go to their website and check out their podcasts, they are hilarious.

Alright, just got back from Episode 6 with the pyramid. 
Yeah I started suspecting their awareness when the camera guy had a steel pick with them not even mining anywhere close
to steel. And the pyramid is player-built. It's made of smoothstone which the other guy started making a few videos back.
 
So to answer your question, no.

" OMG YES! I started watching their Cataclysm beta videos back in October and I've been a fan ever since.
 
The quests and all aren't real. It's just people on their server RPing. Nobody really knows for sure if it's staged or if they genuinely had no idea what was happening. They're videos are awesome either way. If you really like Simon & Lewis (the 2 guys who play), you should go to their website and check out their podcasts, they are hilarious. "

Toby Turner is going to do a Minecraft Let's Play. 
 
TobyTurner + Minecraft = Fountain of Win. 
 
Edit: I watched all of these, and this is also a fountain of win.

The Yogscast, Simon and Lewis, are two incredibly funny persons to listen to while they play games.
Yesterday they posted a minecraft Star Trek texture mod with someone building the Enterprise. First thing they manage to do is get stuck together in a jefferies tube.
 
Also I'm quite certain that all of the weird things that happens in their survival videos are staged. But it's more that they themselves only know that SOMETHING will happen, but not what.
Their reactions just feel too genuine to be planned down to the minute on their own behalf.

They are the reason I have the game right now. Otherwise, I do not think I would have picked it up.

And what i want to know, is this what minecrafts actually like? or have they set all this up to make some incredible videos? Because if minecraft is really this creation game where slowly quests and weird people appear thats AMAZING!  So, is it real?! "

Yeh i watch it and love it. And yes we all know its staged, but paople watch it because simon and lewis are so god dam funny.

I just found out about this with the new season and it's really interesting to me. Is it worth watching the dozens of earlier videos to understand the setup? Supposedly in episode 7 of the Island Survivor series people claim to have seen a flying airship but I didn't notice it at all. I enjoy the banter between the two guys but I just don't have the attention span to pixel-hunt for strange goings-on.

This has to be one of the funniest web series out there, i'm always astonished at how funny it is.

The quest stuff is all part of the act, but you can create all that craziness if you want.

" @PhatSeeJay: That's awesome, i'm going to start with season 1 which is called "survival island" I believe.  "

" @benpicko: Is this the first episode? I wish they would make a playlist. 
 
  

   "

This series has gone batshit insane! I love it!
 
Diggy diggy hooole! 
  

I started watching it last month. It's really good. I wish I had a group of friends like that.

I adore this series, and the Yogcast.

They've really pulled out the works for the current episodes like when they had to fight israphel while trying to rebuild the wall. The series seem to keep getting better and better.

I AM A DWARF AND IM DIGGING A HOLE 
DIGGY DIGGY HOLE 
DIGGY DIGGY HOLE

I love the series, the Yogscast people are funny and I've learned some fun maps from them. The show is great, I love how they are doing a show with Minecraft :) 
 
But they really are great. Heck, I've watched their WoW stuff and don't play at all.

They have learnt to fly.
 
They create their first plane at about 11:50...

I love these guys. I've been paying attention to the Yogscast for a while, so I already had them in my subs when they started making them. The first 20ish videos was just them messing around in the world, but if you have seen the more recent ones, it is much different. They get their friends to make this amazing settings for Lewis and Simon's adventure to take place in, and it continues to be of awesome quality. A really good series imo, but it's not really the game of Minecraft. 
 
Unfortunatly minecraft in itself is much different. There isn't a massive quest for you to follow and you wont just find a city after wandering for awhile. Minecraft is just a big sandbox, and while there is infinite possibilities, it's not really a game for someone who wants a huge quest to go on, rather a game for creative people to express themselves. 

Well they downloaded adventure maps that people made for it, but  yeah minecraft is awesome

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Think Simon's Dwarf Hole song just took it to a new level.

Think Simon's Dwarf Hole song just took it to a new level.

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I discovered these guys mid-June and have been religiously watching them ever since. They're channel is fantastic.