I Survive My First Night

My teachers (they're 11) said I should really get the Beta version of Minecraft, that way I could save my game.  Always listen to your teachers!

This time it was easy to create a world and begin moving through it.  I was fascinated by all that I saw, but was primarily focused on motion control, which is thank goodness rapidly improving now that I'm using a mouse instead of the keypad.  After exploring this new world for a while, I knew that I needed to begin building and thought that I should start to place blocks. To my horror, none of the methods that I had learned in the first version of Minecraft worked. I was right back to square one.  This time though, I knew that there was a logic to the control panel and I just needed to figure that out.

I went back to the first tutorial I had watched on how to survive your first night in Minecraft . This time it made perfect sense.


All I needed to do was gather a few resources such as wood and coal, build a workbench, make some tools and find a place to shelter for the night before the night creatures found me.

As you can see from the bottom, I am gathering wood.

For those who have followed my struggle to determine simply how to move in this game,  you can imagine my sense of satisfaction that I had reached this point. After chopping down a number of trees,  I went on to find coal in order to make torches before it became dark.  It was so exciting to find the hillside with a large vein of coal. I proceeded to dig away, but unfortunately, did not pay attention to the time.  It suddenly began to darken and stars appeared.  It was really quite beautiful, but I knew I still needed torches and shelter. I began to feel anxious. What would happen?

I had no option but to continue to problem solve.  I returned to my craft centre and that's when I found out that I hadn't been gathering coal at all!  No! I had been gathering ...

GRAVEL????

I could not make a torch.  I had not built shelter. I had no other tools.  What to do?  

My husband who has begun to take a keen interest in my progress and is thinking of becoming a player too, whipped out his phone and looked for assistance - Minecraft Buddy.  He scrolled through asking what resources I had. Minecraft Buddy confirmed that I was stuck.

I thought that I might as well continue exploring this world at night and ventured forth.  The moon appeared; it was quite lovely, but then I spotted a Zombie. Panic. That's it. I ran for cover and hid in a tree; it was nerve racking as I had no idea how long night would last or if I would live to play another day.   It felt real and lonely. Eventually the sun appeared and it was with a great sense of relief that I saved my game for tomorrow.  

Sunrise. 

It is the not knowing what to expect that makes this game so captivating.  As adults, it is not often that we put ourselves into unfamiliar situations where we need to problem solve without schema to draw upon.   Usually when we encounter a difficulty, we apply  previous knowledge  in order to work through it.  In Minecraft I have very little schema. Every move I make, I am making it for the first time.   I have to say though, that I am hooked!