My Credentials

What is Minecraft?

Game play

Game Modes

Creative - Monsters are not a problem and the player does not have to search for supplies.

- Monsters are not a problem and the player does not have to search for supplies. Survival - Monsters, hunger and falling from high places are an issue. The player will need to search for resources. If the player dies they re-spawn either at their bed or the initial point on the map they started the game. If they are carrying any supplies when they die they have five minutes to return to their death point and reclaim their stuff.

- Monsters, hunger and falling from high places are an issue. The player will need to search for resources. If the player dies they re-spawn either at their bed or the initial point on the map they started the game. If they are carrying any supplies when they die they have five minutes to return to their death point and reclaim their stuff. Hardcore - Basically the same as survival however if they die the game ends and they can't reclaim their supplies.

- Basically the same as survival however if they die the game ends and they can't reclaim their supplies. Adventure mode - A relatively new mode in Minecraft that changes the rules of the game to be similar to a game with classic levels. The player has to follow rules set by someone else. The difference is that these adventure maps are not created by the game designer. Often they are created by other players in creative mode and distributed on-line.

How many people can play?

Single Player- If the player selects single player then only one person can play and the game is played entirely on the player's device.

If the player selects single player then only one person can play and the game is played entirely on the player's device. Multi player - Many people can play. There are two different types of Multi player environments. Unless you run the server the game does not stop when your child exits the game it continues until the device the server runs on is shutdown.

- Many people can play. There are two different types of Multi player environments. Unless you run the server the game does not stop when your child exits the game it continues until the device the server runs on is shutdown. LAN environment - One player decides to open their game to LAN. Once this is done any player at your house can connect to the LAN world. The original device becomes a Minecraft server at that point. Or if you are at Starbucks and your child decides to open to LAN then any player in Starbucks can access your child Minecraft world.

- One player decides to open their game to LAN. Once this is done any player at your house can connect to the LAN world. The original device becomes a Minecraft server at that point. Or if you are at Starbucks and your child decides to open to LAN then any player in Starbucks can access your child Minecraft world.

Online Server - Minecraft has a server version as well. You can install the server version on any PC in your home and anyone who has access to your home network can access the world. Anyone can create a Minecraft server can publish it on the Internet and your child can access the game in progress. Go to the beware section at the end of this post to read more.

Tools

Crafting table

Sword

Pick-axe

Axe

furnace

Day night cycle

Day- 10 minutes long Sunset - 1 1/2 minutes Night - Seven minutes Sunrise - 1 1/2 minutes

Monsters

Zombie - must get close to the player and if they touch the player loses health

Skeleton - Can attack from a distance with a bow and arrow.

Spiders - Jump and can attack the player from above. I have been attacked when I come out of my house during sunrise from above my door.

Creeper - must get close to the player but explodes and can do damage to any structure the player has built.

Cave Spiders - Smaller than other spider but fast and more deadly.

Enderman - Neutral unless you stare at him. If you stare at his he can teleport directly to you and attack.

Positive aspects

Adventure/Risk taking - This is especially true for young players. Most of the games young kids play do not have an element of risk where they can lose everything. Surviving the first few nights is a "little" scary for the really young but gives a sense of accomplishment to the player.

- This is especially true for young players. Most of the games young kids play do not have an element of risk where they can lose everything. Surviving the first few nights is a "little" scary for the really young but gives a sense of accomplishment to the player. resource gathering - While not exactly real life the player must search for resources to build food when they are hungry and ores if they want Iron or Diamond tools and armor.

- While not exactly real life the player must search for resources to build food when they are hungry and ores if they want Iron or Diamond tools and armor. Cooperative play - If all of the players are in agreement then they can build communities and share resources. They learn to segregate duties and someone directs work if necessary.

- If all of the players are in agreement then they can build communities and share resources. They learn to segregate duties and someone directs work if necessary. Disagreements - this may seem an odd topic for the positive aspects of Minecraft I believe it belongs. Just like any playground eventually kids are going to disagree and fight. If left unchecked this can turn into a negative element, but if handled correctly can turn into a teachable moment for the parent on how to deal with similar real life situations.

- this may seem an odd topic for the positive aspects of Minecraft I believe it belongs. Just like any playground eventually kids are going to disagree and fight. If left unchecked this can turn into a negative element, but if handled correctly can turn into a teachable moment for the parent on how to deal with similar real life situations. Building - With the simple elements of the game the player can build impressive structures and Beautiful buildings. Building in Minecraft teaches to think in three dimensions, and is an entry into more complicated topics like Auto Cad and Google Sketchup.

- With the simple elements of the game the player can build impressive structures and Beautiful buildings. Building in Minecraft teaches to think in three dimensions, and is an entry into more complicated topics like Auto Cad and Google Sketchup. Redstone - On the surface redstone ore seems useless in the game, but that is misleading as I believe it is one of the hidden gems in the game. Using redstone the player can engineer many things. I have watched videos of guys building replicas of Hoover Dam and with a flip of a switch opening massive doors that will let water flow from the top of the dam with impressive precision. My son watched a series of videos on how to build a computer in Minecraft while he followed along. I did not learn most of this until I was in college working a computer science degree. From this experience he has designed his own Tamagotchi pet in Minecraft that gets hungry and sleepy. All of this from the basic building blocks of Minecraft.

Here is a link to Redstone Wiring basics.

Here is a video of a 16-bit ALU (Computer) designed in Minecraft.

- On the surface redstone ore seems useless in the game, but that is misleading as I believe it is one of the hidden gems in the game. Using redstone the player can engineer many things. I have watched videos of guys building replicas of Hoover Dam and with a flip of a switch opening massive doors that will let water flow from the top of the dam with impressive precision. My son watched a series of videos on how to build a computer in Minecraft while he followed along. I did not learn most of this until I was in college working a computer science degree. From this experience he has designed his own Tamagotchi pet in Minecraft that gets hungry and sleepy. All of this from the basic building blocks of Minecraft. Here is a link to Redstone Wiring basics. Here is a video of a 16-bit ALU (Computer) designed in Minecraft. Modding - Many players want to take the game to a new level and modify the Minecraft code. To be able to do this they need to learn to program in Java. If they are interested in the topic the player basically extends the game and learns a viable skill at the same time. There are several video tutorials, but you still need a rudimentary understanding of Java to make any real progress.

- Many players want to take the game to a new level and modify the Minecraft code. To be able to do this they need to learn to program in Java. If they are interested in the topic the player basically extends the game and learns a viable skill at the same time. There are several video tutorials, but you still need a rudimentary understanding of Java to make any real progress. There are many more positive aspects to Minecraft but this post is already far too long

Beware:

Getting addicted - The game is extremely addictive and the player can easily lose track of time and forget important things like dinner or going to the bathroom.

- The game is extremely addictive and the player can easily lose track of time and forget important things like dinner or going to the bathroom. Getting addicted - This is here on purpose. Kids who play can often think of nothing but the game. I know several parents who have woken up in the middle of the night and find their kid playing Minecraft even though they went to bed several hours before.

- This is here on purpose. Kids who play can often think of nothing but the game. I know several parents who have woken up in the middle of the night and find their kid playing Minecraft even though they went to bed several hours before. Online multi player servers - Minecraft allows multi player servers but it does not manage the server nor is it responsible for the content. There are absolutely no parental controls so you have no idea who your kid is playing with on-line. This is one of the main reasons I get in the game to monitor the chat and if necessary have him leave the server.

- Minecraft allows multi player servers but it does not manage the server nor is it responsible for the content. There are absolutely no parental controls so you have no idea who your kid is playing with on-line. This is one of the main reasons I get in the game to monitor the chat and if necessary have him leave the server. Chat in on-line servers - In multi player servers the players can chat and often in on-line servers there is "a lot of foul language". If you are not careful you and your child will learn most of the glossary of cuss words.

- In multi player servers the players can chat and often in on-line servers there is "a lot of foul language". If you are not careful you and your child will learn most of the glossary of cuss words. You Tube videos - While videos are not part of the game and are not created by Mojang they are an important part of the Minecraft culture. Many times players get ideas from watching Let's Play episodes of Minecraft. The only real concern is language; many of the video creators are college kids or are geared to college kids not your ten year old. In Chat they will learn the words in the videos they will learn pronunciations and context.

- While videos are not part of the game and are not created by Mojang they are an important part of the Minecraft culture. Many times players get ideas from watching Let's Play episodes of Minecraft. The only real concern is language; many of the video creators are college kids or are geared to college kids not your ten year old. In Chat they will learn the words in the videos they will learn pronunciations and context. Creating your own Server - The only concern is knowledge of what you are doing. If you want to create a server that only the people in your home are allowed in it is pretty easy. However, if you want to create a server that allows your kids friends to play remotely then it gets more complicated. I would not recommend this unless you are very technical and really understand what you are doing. There are several resources on-line that will walk you through the process but if you set it up incorrectly you may open a security hole in your home network.

List of kid friendly YouTube Channels

I received several comments that I should add a list of kid friendly Youtubers. This is by no means an exhaustive list there are many great guys on youtube and these are some of the best. I am very familiar with Ethoslab, Paul Soares Jr, and Direwolf20, and have heard good things about Vintage beef. ﻿