The Gaming Log: III

Another Gaming blog today, and perhaps one of my favourite games ever. Need I say more than Minecraft. This will probably become a regular blog the more I play it and sometimes it may have video links accompanying it.

Minecraft

For those of you who don't know Minecraft is an open world block-based game. You mine blocks, gain-materials and craft them to build defences from the creatures that like to kill you, and to build more creative and impressive houses and buildings. This allows it to be an unlimited game, you can always find more materials, there are always more monsters to kill and there are always more interesting houses to build.

Obviously, being a block based game, the graphics arn't it's main selling point. Infact, it has very little graphics at all. But that's what makes this game one of the best in the world. It's all about imagination, creativity and exploration. I have logged literally months on this game, because It never get's boring. Infact even if you do feel yourself becoming a little bored by the basic game, there are a million and one 'Mods' that people have made to make the game more interesting.

For those with no imagination, this is you looking a a hill with some trees,
holding a sword. Health, Armour and Inventory at the bottom.

The Basics 

The game spawns you in a world, you are a pixelated man, known as 'Steve'. You left-click to destroy/mine a block, and right-click to place the block in your hand. Simple, and to look around all you do is move your mouse and use WASD. Easy as 1,2,3. I think the fact it is so easy is another appeal. When your not fighting evil things, it is a very relaxing game. The block that you have selected will be the one that is in your hand on the screen, like the sword is in the hand in the screenshot above. To craft things, you place blocks in certain patterns in your crafting window in the inventory (2x2), or in a crafting table (3x3)

Terminology

Mobs - Term for the evil monsters that come out at night to kill you.

Smelting - Cooking things in a furnace

Ore - Blocks that can be smelted to make useful materials.

AFK - Away from Keyboard (used online)

Friendly Mobs - Sheep, Pigs, Cows, Squid, Ocelot, Wolves, Chickens - term for the mobs that don't usually hurt you.

Ingot - A bar of metal, usually found straight after smelting the ore.

CT - Crafting Table

Playing the Game

Usually I start by breaking trees with my hands. Wood, is the very basic block that you need at the start. It can be crafted into planks, which can then be crafted into a crafting table, which is very important for doing anything interesting on the game.
After getting wood, I will then kill and pigs, cows or chickens in the area for food, and go exploring to find a good place to start building. Sometimes this takes a long time, as you are looking for somewhere where useful areas are close by.

Once you have found the perfect area, convert 90% of your logs into wooden planks. (you need the 10% for charcoal in a bit.)

Start Building

Next you want to start building you house. Start by making a line of wooden planks, it works best if there is an odd number, say 9. Then when you get to the end, go 90 degrees and do another 9. Make it into a square, remove the middle block on one side for a door. Then build it upwards, till you have something rubbish like this. This will do to start with. Now place your crafting table inside, and make a door (wooden planks, 2x3 upwards) and place it in the gap. Beautiful!

Next I would make some tools and start collecting materials to get creative. I like to build a house that's out of the box, otherwise you end up with the same basic, 'shed-with-windows' look. But by now, it is probably night-time. DA DA DAAAA!

This means horrible nasty things are going to come and kill you. YAY!.... I mean... oh what a shame... :(

Night Time

Zombie (Left): The first guy your going to meet is probably a Zombie. Their moany growling noise is unmistakable, and they wound you by walking up to you and 'hitting' you. They are the most basic Mob, and you shouldnt have much trouble killing them with your hand, let alone a sword.

Skeleton (Right): Next up you'll probably be struck by an arrow, and think; "where the hell did that come from!" Well, it came from a skeleton, possibly my least favourite Mob, because they can be so far away to hit you, so you have probably already lost a few lives by the time your close enough to hit it. Annoying.

The Creeper: Then you will meet the weirdest and most horrible thing ever to walk the earth, well Minecraftia anyway. The mob inverted Souly for the purpose of pissing you off. Is it a Tree? Is it a Penis? Or Is it a weird Green Dildo? No, It's a Creeper. Born from a coding error, this beast, sneaks up behind you and explodes, killing you if you are within 3 blocks, and creating a crater in the ground, or in whatever masterpiece you have just created. "That Bastard just destroyed half my house... that took me ages." However, it has become the face of Minecraft, the droopy grin even appearing in the Letter 'A' in the Logo. All sorts of memorabilia can be bought with his face on, so be aware Minecrafter.

Once you have survived the night, the rest of the game is down to you, theres no 'ultimate way' of playing the rest of the game. It is whatever you want it to be, "The world is your oyster" So get out there. Imagine, Explore, Create.

Here's a house I recently made in the middle of a lake.

It took me a long time. Garden on the roof, the cobblestone tower in the middle is a spiral stair case, and the pathway across is red-powered, so when I flick a switch it falls into the ocean so that anyone visiting has to swim.  

Anyway, enough showing off, thats the end of my blog, thanks for reading.

Links and Things
Just a quick nod in the direction of the other stuff Obsidian Corp is doing

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Thank you from everyone at the Obsidian Corp

James "Womble" Richardson