Minecraft: Finale!

Now, finale usually indicates a climactic ending filled with suspense and awesome, and while I can provide awesome, it's more of a satisfying "sweet" finale. I have established a base a good ways away from my spawn point, I traveled through the nether and successfully secured a safe path between the portals, and I've even turned to decorations and other neat things.

My base looks awesome at night.

I cleared out the dirt to make a flat courtyard; I found a small tunnel behind the back wall to use as an escape route; I hung my first picture on the wall; and my best achievement is an actual mini-port.

Half-blocks prevent water flow, yet allow me to exit the boat easily.

I spent several days spelunking with plenty of success, mining plenty of gold, diamond, and redstone. I started a small farm and was pleased by how easy it was to build off just one seed.

Mmmm... Wheat!

But best of everything was just wandering this new region, with amazing mountain formations and huge forests; it's truly breathtaking to stand on top of a mountain with the fog set to normal. It makes everything look so much bigger than reality, which is what I appreciated most of all.

Awww... too bad it's over, huh?

I have had such a great time playing through on hard, and while I still prefer the risk-free settings available, it has allowed me to have the full experience of Minecraft. I have a new appreciation for all the various materials and objects available in the Minecraft world, where diamond and TNT was once the only tools I used.

While this story has reached a conclusion, my time in Minecraft is just beginning. The next project I am working on is a special with one of the best and most awesome-filled sandbox games available: Just Cause 2.

More gaming goodness to come!

Minecraft: Day 7-Creepers

I was beginning to notice a pattern to my time in Minecraft; mine until I was bored of mining, then work above ground until nightfall. With my house complete I turned once again to the caverns winding way beneath my shelter. I had explored most of them, but as it always is in Minecraft, there is no end. Sure enough, while mining out some coal, I broke through into yet another cave.

This cave proved to be even more expansive, with pillars, sudden drops, narrow paths above chasms; it was perfect for an exploration addict like me. With iron and bits of diamond here and there, it was wonderful to be free to wander as I wished. I managed to kill both a skeleton and a creeper trapped behind a waterfall, behind which was even more cavern to explore. I felt bold, like Indiana Jones; treasure was available everywhere I looked, and danger was proving to be inconsequential. Sure, I'd take a hit every now and then, but I would be careful to return when my armor started getting... oh... my armor IS getting a little worn, isn't it. Well, time to turn back and find my way out...

Oh... yeah, this place is huge. It's very hard to tell where I came from, but I couldn't stop and fool around. Following my trail of torches proved to be difficult too; with a cave this big, I often had to pick between several different paths that might lead back out.

Nope, not that one. Those glowing red eyes in the distance could only belong to a spider, and I didn't need to take that kind of risk.

After what felt like hours, I finally began to recognize where I was. That waterfall trapping the skeleton and creeper earlier was the culprit, effectively hiding the way out. I picked up my pace, anxious to reach safety when up ahead I recognized the cold, cruel sound of my worst fear.

*TWANG*

Really? Why are you doing this to me? This was beginning to feel like the director from Left 4 Dead: a virtual intelligence that judged how well you were doing and decided how much death needed to be thrown at you to finish you off. The skeleton had the jump on me, nailing me with a direct hit before I had time to react. I had to backpedal a good distance to find a rock to cower behind, but the skeleton was fast approaching. It wouldn't have surprised my if this was the same abomination that killed me earlier; I would make sure it didn't have that opportunity again. Simultaneously swallowing some bacon and jumping out at the skeleton, the enclosed area gave me the advantage I lacked in our first encounter. Skeletons tend to strafe while they fire at you, but in this cave it only managed to trap itself in a corner, allowing me to better predict and dodge the arrows as I charged in for the kill.

Finally, the skeleton fell to the ground defeated. The encounter had drained a good bit of my health and my armor had gaping holes in it, but I was alive, and my nemesis dead. Elated, I hurried on, determined to make it back before anything else attacked. My good fortune continued when I spotted the exit to my stairwell; a sight for sore eyes to anyone lost in a cave.

This is where my good fortune ended.

The director was back, and this time he felt he had something to prove. Imagine, if you will, playing Left 4 Dead, successfully fighting of a hoard of zombies, finishing off the last hunter pinning your friend to the ground, seeing the safe house in the distance, knowing that you have no more health packs to help you along your way. Suddenly not one, but two tanks appear between you and safety. Yeah, that sucks.

As a way of foreshadowing, my framerate dropped suddenly, making it hard to move. There they were, a zombie and TWO creepers, just a few feet away blocking my path to freedom. I like to imagine that under normal circumstances I could have easily escaped them and found another route. But with my screen only updating every couple seconds, running away meant getting myself trapped in the same corner that was the downfall of the skeleton earlier. The dual exploding creepers sent my body flying several feet, and my armor several more. The game over screen flashed at me, and the taste of defeat made me gag.

Dead again so soon... with my stock of materials depleted from my last death, recovering now was going to be quite a task. Sure enough, there were no tools, no sticks, no wood to greet me when I made it back to my shelter after respawning. When morning came I would go out and gather more wood from the forest above my shelter. For now I sat and considered my options; I had for quite a while focused on building myself up enough to survive, but with death apparently haunting my every step it was starting to get a little tedious. I had little to show for all my efforts besides a the diamonds I had gathered earlier, but maybe that was enough. Maybe I was just stalling from what I really needed to do. At that point I determined, once I replenished my basic supplies I would build my first portal, and enter the Nether for the first time as a true mortal.

That's tomorrow, folks!

Minecraft: Day 5-Surprises

Giant creepy spiders... while they have a more intimidating presence than the rest of the monsters, they at least have the decency of being too wide to pass through small doorways. Other than being a little shaken, I was left no worse for wear as I eliminated it. I took a few precautions to prevent any more invasions by filling every corner with light from my stockpile of torches. This didn't stop other animals from entering of course, but they provided an opportunity to practice my archery on the new bow I was able to make.

After my ritualistic sacrifice, I crafted as many spare pickaxes as I could carry, and then I returned to my mining operation way down in the earth's core. I mined...

And I mined...

And I mined...

And I mi-LAVA!!!!

I had to act fast to close off the hole the lava was pouring out of. Even with every cheat and mod available, lava was always lethal; it was also in a way valuable. Lava could be turned into obsidian, a material used to create a portal into the nether. The nether was a place of pure terror, with very few objects of value and very full of everything that could ever want to kill you. Carefully, I mined my way upward until I broke through into the small cave with the lava lake. my bucket of water came in handy once again, and the dangerous substance was instantly transformed into the harmless obsidian I needed.

It would have to wait until I found the diamonds necessary to make a pickax strong enough to mine the obsidian, but it was the first lava I'd found so far. The cavern beyond proved to be rather expansive, so I chose to return to my base and empty my inventory of valuables once more. I had somehow collected enough sulfur to craft my first block of TNT, of which I was very proud. I left it in the chest with my other belongings and headed back down into the caverns. And sure enough, there was my first taste of diamonds!

Ah, sweet, sweet diamond! The most coveted material Minecraft had to offer, and I had found it in Hardmode. I hadn't even died once yet! I was a conquerer! I was a survivor! I was- CREEPER!

Argh! Danger seemed to be around every corner in this place. Fortunately for me, the creeper had a fear of heights; this was probably not the best flaw for someone in the business of suicide bombing. Well, enough with danger, I'm heading back up for some fresh air. The diamond, gold, and lap- lapis- la... blue stuff I had collected needed to be stored somewhere safe befo- ZOMBIES!

Stop doing this to me! Seriously, this is getting old. It seems around every corner there's something waiting to kill me. Zombies are the easiest enemies to deal with, so they proved to be of little consequence. Man, I was good! I figured it was time to work on the first of my goals: building a house. I returned to the mining operation and dug my way to the surface; where I broke through was admittedly a good distance away from my spawn location, but the tunnel I had dug would provide a safe passage between my two bases.

I returned to my main shelter and gathered all the cobblestone I could carry. Cobblestone is considered a rudimentary, ugly building material, but aesthetics are not my concern right now; wood may be more popular, but I didn't want to live in a giant fire hazard. By the time I returned to my selected building site it was beginning to grow dark. But I figured I would at least be able to get a basic wall built before anything came after me. I really, really regret this choice. I had just finished the first layer of my shelter when from the darkness came the sound of my nemesis.

*TWANG*

The arrow seemed to have lodged directly in my skull, as my health took an instant beating. I spun to face the skeleton, waving my sword courageously I called out my challenge. I had survived assault by zombies, creepers, spiders, skeletons, and even trees; one little skeleton was no real threat to me!

*TWANG*

Despite my attempt to dodge the assault, it was a direct hit, and I realized I would not survive the next hit. My options flashed before me: I could run, but with his accuracy, the skeleton was unlikely to miss me; I could try to recover my health, but I had forgotten which of my pockets the hams were stuffed in; or I could keep charging, and hope to finish the creature off first, but it would take me four hits to kill him with the basic sword I had. When it comes to any type of game, I'm usually pretty cautious when I'm haven't attracted attention; but whenever it came to a showdown, I always chose to charge headlong. That was my choice here; like a scene from 300, I charged forward, ducking and weaving to make myself a more difficult target. Sword drawn, I screamed my battle cry and struck the skeleton directly across the chest.

*TWANG*

My open mouth caught the speeding arrow, and I fell to the dead to the ground.

Taking a break tomorrow. Happy Valentines Day to all!

Minecraft: Day 4-Zombies!

Well, hello there little buddy! I'm not sure whether I'm lucky or unlucky, but I made my home right next to a rare dungeon. Dungeons, I had learned, housed chests with rare items, as well as the source of a potential zombie swarm. The ever-burning cage in the center continuously generated zombies until it was destroyed; this would be impossible with the zombies in the way. I could see a couple chests down in the corner, so remembering a trick a friend had taught me, I began to dig around to open the chests through the wall.

It was quite unnerving reaching through the hopping zombies to open the chest, but I succeeded without incident. The chests provided gunpowder, a pig-saddle, a loaf of bread, a bit of the electrical redstone, and most importantly a couple of buckets. Buckets were extremely handy, as nothing put out burning flesh faster than a bucket of water, and as this was Hardmode, it was one more precaution against failure. Now, to deal with the zombies: I could probably dig up underneath the zombie-cage to destroy it safely, but I chose rather to attempt to harvest the zombies. Creatures in Minecraft drop useful items when killed, and while zombies dropped the least useful resource of the monsters (feathers... zombies apparently are OCD about collecting feathers), if I could successfully build a trap to kill them, I would be better prepared if I came across a skeleton or spider dungeon. I dug my way under the dungeon, clearing the area out entirely, and digging a pit to trap the zombies. The buckets came in handy for completing my trap with a waterfall to drag the zombies into the pit and drown them. The last step was to knock out part of the dungeon floor, and run to safety.

Success! The trap wasn't exactly perfect, but it was still successful. This was a first for me, and I could now mine in peace without worrying about the zombie-hoard. One of the most important lessons I've learned playing Hardmode in video games was prioritizing defense. A complete set of armor (and sometimes a spare set) always comes before iron tools and sword. With that achieved, I headed back outside to hunt for more pork.

Of course pigs proved just as rare as that first day of hunting. In my search, I came across a pumpkin patch;

A flower patch;

And a creepy, creepy, creeper. The best I can tell from studying them is: they never sleep; they explode when you come near; they always seem to be in a perpetual state of panic. Putting all of this together and all of this together I've come to conclusion that sleep triggers their (and often my) demise, and that they suffer from narcolepsy.

There they are! Cursed pigs are so hard to find in this place.

I stocked up on as much ham as I could carry, then I rushed back to my home to take shelter for the night. I was beginning to wonder exactly what was so different about Minecraft's Hardmode; as of yet I was still alive, and I had a solid foothold on survival. I explored the rest of the small cave surrounding the zombie dungeon with no incident, and so I decided it was time to begin mining down into the earth. This proved to be perhaps the longest, most uneventful stretch of the game yet. After what felt like hours I finally found something worth mining.

Finally, some redstone! And how far down did I have to dig to find this?

I really wasn't sure if it was actually worth it. Sure, it was probably the safest way to find resources, but spelunking always seemed to go faster. Well, I turned back to mining, knowing it couldn't be too much longer before I broke through into-

Great... a small enclosed underwater lake at the earths core. Seriously, I could actually see bedrock under the water.

Frustrated, I turned and started mining through the right hand wall of the cave. Fortunately this proved to be far more fruitful than mining down.

Now that I actually had something to show for this, I headed back up to empty my inventory of valuables; nothing would be more frustrating than losing these diamonds in a creeper explosion. Strangely enough, there was a skeleton waiting for me in the main room of my base. It didn't prove too dangerous in the enclosed space, but it forced me to double-check for openings it might have come through. I couldn't find any weaknesses right off, so I turned my attention to another problem I had encountered on my first run of the game: wood shortage. Last time, I had tried growing a tree underground, and this had proved fatal. This time, I decided to plant trees on top of my shelter; I would have to leave safety to get more wood, but at least I could fix the problem with the tree shortage. When I first started up in this world, I had managed to collect two saplings when I cut down those trees; and now that I had a bit of bonemeal, it was only a few minutes of plant-grow-chop down to have a decent forest available.

I was starting to feel comfortable in this world. As bleak as it was, I had managed to beat the odds, surviving long past where I should have. I had little difficulty eliminating the threats that I encountered, I had resolved most of my resource shortage issues, and I had a friendly spider move into my house while I was out. Wait a minute...

Oh dear.

More tomorrow!

MInecraft: Day 3-Starting From Scratch

I did it... I made perhaps the worst mistake I could have made:

The entire focus of this blog was on the hardest setting available to video games, and I only just noticed it was set to normal. I was curled up in that dark corner of the cave sobbing to myself, and the difficulty was set to normal. Of course I realized I would have to change it to hard, but that also meant I would have to start over entirely with a brand new world so I could experience that first terrifying night as I was supposed to.

I had to double-check to make sure there wasn't an 'extreme' setting so I wouldn't have to go through this again. Then I did what was necessary and deleted that first, beautiful world and started a new one in its place. This new world was like a bleak wilderness; no forests, no giant mountainous formations, no floating bits of land, no forgiveness.

This was the best view available; every other direction was even more empty. And to top things off, the first sound I heard was the growl of a zombie. I wasted no time, setting off toward this closest tree I could see in the distance, gathering enough wood to survive, and looking for the nearest source of coal. Normally there are cliffs, exposed rock and other amazing formations that have coal sitting right in arms' reach; however, there was nothing for me. Every hill that gave a glimpse of stone was just as bleak as the surrounding wasteland. Time was beginning to run out as the sun started to descend in the sky. I had no choice but to look for the necessary coal in the last place I ever wanted to go this early in the game:

The growls of zombies still filled the air as I peered cautiously into the dark abyss; sure enough, a small patch of coal was just visible in the receding light, as though placed as bait meant to lure me in by the ungodly creatures that hunted me. Desperate, I approached the coal, checking every shadow for sudden movement. I could barely see, but I could still hear things: things wanting my tasty, tasty brains as an entrée. I reached the coal, quickly mined some of it, and then dashed out as fast as my pixelated legs would carry me. Once back into sunlight, I realized how very little I had left, and it became a race against time to find a "safe" place to bury myself for the night. I found a small, steep hill and dug straight into the side, closing the entrance off behind me.

I was safe. I would survive my first night in the Minecraft's Hardmode. The number of monsters had multiplied, and resources were extremely scarce, but I had found all the necessary ingredients for survival: wood for a workbench and tools, coal for torches, a shelter, foo- oh dear. I hadn't seen a single pig all day. I had no idea what to expect from the enemies I would encounter, but without food I was doomed. It was night time, so hunting for them was out of the question, so I would have to play it safe. I had to be extremely careful widening out my base, as the zombie groaning made it very clear that there was a hunting party in a cave very close to me. Miraculously, clearing out my hovel yielded some iron and a bit more coal, but also lead to the discovery of the cave of zombies.

I couldn't see any of them, so I very carefully widened the hole, keeping it strategically shaped so the zombies couldn't enter my safe haven. I still couldn't see them, but least for the moment I could work on something else without worrying about running into them. Just a little more mining yielded exactly enough iron to craft a chestplate, and as the sun rose I felt a little of the edge wear off. I had made a solid start, survived my first night, and could see just one skeleton bold enough to stay in open sunlight.

Yes, you think you are so smart staying in the water so you don't burst into flames. Don't you worry buddy, your time is coming. For now though, I turned to the task of gathering as much pig-meat as possible while the sun was up. As I expected, pigs were extremely scarce. In the entire day I only found a few pigs, and of those only two yielded anything edible. But it would have to be enough for now; with nightfall I needed to focus on finding the zombies that continuously haunted my home and eliminate them. Back in my base, I examined the cave beyond the little hole in the wall, and very carefully started placing torches to light the area. Nothing jumped out to bite me immediately, so I broke through my barrier into the world beyond. I stumbled across the zombies a lot sooner than I thought. More to come!