The Minecraft Guide for Parents
Contents
1. Buy Minecraft a Buy a Gift Code for this account i to give away m Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition Minecraft PocketEdition Hats Available now on XBUN Now on iOS and Android devices FIGURE 4 6 The Minecraft Store 5 Click Buy Minecraft for this account On the purchase page you will see the retail price as well asa link to system recommendations Figure 4 7 You ll also choose whether to buy the game for yourself or as a gift minecraftparentsquide gmail com v Games v Help Minecraft 26 95 usp For PC and Mac View system recommendations for Minecraft GIVE AS A GIFT og I d like to buy this game for myself ig I d like to buy this game for someone else A redemption link will be sent to minecraftparentsguide Q gmail com upon completing your order E mail me a gift code can give to someone E mail the gift directly to my friend FIGURE 4 7 Purchase options Excerpted from The Parent s Guidebook to Minecraft amp by Cori Dusmann Copyright 2014 Prepared for Thornaby Academy Used with permission of Pearson Education Inc and Peachpit Press ky CHAPTER 4 GETTING STARTED Your payment options list only Visa MasterCard and PayPal but there is a more extensive list of options provided via the link below these choices 6 Complete your billing address and make your payment type choice 7 Click Proceed to Payment Details You are taken to a basic payment page 8 Enter your2. 1 6 2 Copyright Ho jana AB Oo nat distribute FIGURE 4 10 The Minecraft launch page OSX 1 Click the Apple logo button under Download Games Minecraft downloads to your Downloads folder 2 Drag Minecraft from the Downloads folder to your Applications folder 3 Double click the Minecraft icon 4 Ignore the coding and tabs at the top and press Play at the bottom of the page You ll find yourself at the Minecraft main menu ready to play Excerpted from The Parent s Guidebook to Minecraft amp by Cori Dusmann Copyright 2014 Prepared for Thornaby Academy Used with permission of Pearson Education Inc and Peachpit Press
3. MINECRAFT ONLINE Buying the game is pretty straightforward You will need a credit card or PayPal account as well as your Mojang account information Excerpted from The Parent s Guidebook to Minecraft by Cori Dusmann Copyright 2014 Prepared for Thornaby Academy Used with permission of Pearson Education Inc and Peachpit Press gi CHAPTER 4 GETTING STARTED 1 To get to Minecraft net directly from the Mojang page where you created your account click the drop down menu in the upper right hover your mouse pointer over Games and then click Minecraft or Go to www minecraft net in your browser Now that you are registered you will need to log in 2 Click Log In in the upper right corner and you will be taken to a log in page J Inthe Username field enter the email address you used to register and enter your password in the field below that New accounts with Mojang since mid 2012 use an email address to log in 4 Click the Buy Now button Figure 4 5 FIGURE 4 5 Buyit Excerpted from The Parent s Guidebook to Minecraft amp by Cori Dusmann Copyright 2014 Prepared for Thornaby Academy Used with permission of Pearson Education Inc and Peachpit Press PURCHASING MINECRAFT T You are redirected back to the Minecraft Store page Figure 4 6 You ll see that the price is listed in Euros but if you are in the United States it will be converted to US dollars once you move through to the purchase page
4. Trademarks Minecraft is a trademark of Notch Development AB Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks Where those designations appear in this book and Peachpit was aware of a trademark claim the designations appear as requested by the owner of the trademark ALL other product names and services identified throughout this book are used in editorial fashion only and for the benefit of such companies with no intention of infringement of the trademark No such use or the use of any trade name is intended to convey endorsement or other affilia tion with this book ISBN 13 978 0 321 95737 5 ISBN 10 0 321 95737 7 987654321 Printed and bound in the United States of America Excerpted from The Parent s Guidebook to Minecraft by Cori Dusmann Copyright 2014 Prepared for Thornaby Academy Used with permission of Pearson Education Inc and Peachpit Press CONTENTS Introduction IX CHAPTER1 m Let s Talk About Minecraft 1 What Is Minecraft Introducing Notch The Bigger Picture So Much More than a Video Game 10 CHAPTER 2 m The Basics of Minecraft 11 Game Modes 12 Multiplayer Minecraft 16 Game Formats 17 CHAPTER 3 m Fitting MinecraftintoYourFamily 21 My Thoughts on Technology 22 Online Safety 32 The Minecraft Connection 39 Growing with Minecraft 40 House Rules 42 A Word on Addiction 43 Behavio
5. you send someone a private message on a server you need to enter their full username Make it easy for others to communicate with you or your children and select a shorter name Also many commands and actions require the entry of your name and sometimes multiple names For example the teleport command usually requires the entry of two names And even with short names players will probably shorten them further Wrednax is usually called Wred l m known as Whimsey or Whims and I m lazy enough to shorten a friend s four letter username to the first letter J KEEP IT SIMPLE Usernames can be clever and descriptive and they can express something about the individual Keep it simple and easy to remember Long strings of letters or words can be hard to remember and even if they have meaning to the user other players may not bother with messaging Be sure that the name when shortened is acceptable to you and your child because chances are high that your name will be with you for a very long time BE CREATIVE Have fun creating a username Putting two semi random words together can result in a fun easy and unique name An adjective and a noun or a noun and a verb can work well together For example PowerPop AquaBlue or GiddyFrog which might be nicknamed or nicked in game language either Giddy or Frog Names can be playful or serious witty or goofy Excerpted from The Parent s Guidebook to Minecraft amp by Cori Dusmann Copyr
6. Guidebook to Minecraft amp by Cori Dusmann Copyright 2014 Prepared for Thornaby Academy Used with permission of Pearson Education Inc and Peachpit Press In Minecraft cats along with dogs and many other animals have distinct char acteristics and uses but taming cats is not the easiest of endeavors WHO IS THIS BOOK FOR This guide to Minecraft is designed to help parents guardians teach ers leaders and any other adults who are being called upon to help young people in their mining and building adventures I ll cover everything from the very basics of purchasing and installing the game to technical challenges such as updating installing mods and find ing custom skins and texture packs And l ll be sure that you actually understand what all of those things are and why they are important to the game and to your children We ll explore the various modes of game play Creative Survival and Hardcore as well as the difficulty X INTRODAMC EBA from The Parent s Guidebook to Minecraft by Cori Dusmann Copyright 2014 Prepared for Thornaby Academy Used with permission of Pearson Education Inc and Peachpit Press settings from Peaceful to Hard in other words from monster free to monster intense l ll teach you how to play the game so you ll be able to help your child when they become stuck and you ll have the skills to log on and play alongside them should you choose to In addition we ll explore the less tang
7. THE PARENT S GUIDEBOOK TO MINECRAFT DOWN TO EARTH ADVICE FOR PARENTS OF CHILDREN PLAYING MINECRAFT CORI DUSMANN n THE MINECRAFT GUIDE FOR PARENTS Cori Dusmann Peachpit Press Find us on the web at www peachpit com To report errors please send a note to errata dpeachpit com Peachpit Press is a division of Pearson Education Copyright O 2014 by Cori Dusmann Editor CLIFFORD COLBY Project editor ROBYN G THOMAS Copyeditor SCOUT FESTA Production editor TRACEY CROOM Compositor MAUREEN FORYS HAPPENSTANCE TYPE 0 RAMA Indexer VALERIE HAYNES PERRY Cover design CHARLENE CHARLES WILL Interior design MAUREEN FORYS HAPPENSTANCE TYPE 0 RAMA Notice of Rights All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means electronic mechanical photocopying recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher For information on getting permission for reprints and excerpts contact permissions dpeachpit com Notice of Liability The information in this book is distributed on an As Is basis without warranty While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of the book neither the author nor Peachpit shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in this book or by the computer software and hardware products described in it
8. TO CONSIDER BEFORE YOU BUY Before you purchase your account there are some things you need to take into consideration such as for whom you are purchasing the account what access they will have and how many individual accounts you d like to get The number of accounts Is important because once a single user has begun to invest in their Minecraft experience they are unlikely to want anyone else to manipulate their account and by extension their Minecraft worlds You also need to decide on a user name something that requires some forethought SEPARATE ACCOUNTS If multiple players are going to be playing either they can share an account and therefore won t be able to play at the same time or they each need their own account Although you can create endless saved maps you can play as only one character If at all possible buy a sepa rate account for each player in your family That way everyone has their own identity Remember that single player maps are saved to the computer they are played on and therefore anyone logging on to that computer can access them This means that individual accounts won t necessarily Excerpted from The Parent s Guidebook to Minecraft amp by Cori Dusmann Copyright 2014 Prepared for Thornaby Academy Used with permission of Pearson Education Inc and Peachpit Press THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE YOU BUY i stop your children from interfering with each other s work It s a good idea to establi
9. billing information and click Pay You may be asked for a verification of your card Follow the directions on your screen to complete your purchase When your purchase is complete you are automatically directed to a page that gives you your receipt information and tells you that you must still choose a player name 9 Click Check Your Inbox to be directed to an email that contains a link to the Create a Game Profile page and three links to download your new game for Windows Mac or Linux USING A GIFT CODE OR GIFT CARD Redeeming a gift code or gift card is a matter of a few quick steps Instructions are on the back of the gift card In the US and Australia cards can be purchased at many stores where gift cards are available Mojang has announced that cards will soon be available in Canada and Europe but hasn t given a date for this 1 Log in to your account at www mojang com You will be taken to your account page Figure 4 4 Excerpted from The Parent s Guidebook to Minecraft amp by Cori Dusmann Copyright 2014 Prepared for Thornaby Academy Used with permission of Pearson Education Inc and Peachpit Press PURCHASING MINECRAFT ky 2 Click the Redeem Gift Code or Prepaid Card button J Enter your code click the Redeem button and you are ready to create your Minecraft profile CREATING YOUR MINECRAFT GAME PROFILE Your game profile is where you select your username It is also the place you need to go i
10. e gmail com v Games v Help IMOJANG Success You re now a proud owner of Minecraft My Account E mail address minecraftparentsguide gmail com View account settings My Games Please note When you log in to Minecraft or on minecraft net use minecraftparentsquide gmail com instead of your profile name Since Profile Name Download Game Windows My Gift Codes Redeem Gift Code or Prepaid Card Click the button below to redeem your gift code or prepaid gift card Redeem Gift Code or Prepaid Card For more info on prepaid gift cards visit minecraft net FIGURE 4 9 An updated accounts page with Minecraft included WINDOWS 1 Click the Windows button under Download Game Your computer downloads the Minecraft exe file 2 Save it where you wish on your desktop or in a games folder for example 3 Double click Minecraft exe to run it Minecraft opens its launcher 4 Enter your Mojang account email address not your Minecraft username and password Excerpted from The Parent s Guidebook to Minecraft by Cori Dusmann Copyright 2014 Prepared for Thornaby Academy Used with permission of Pearson Education Inc and Peachpit Press B CHAPTER 4 GETTING STARTED 5 Ignore the coding and tabs at the top and click Play at the bottom of the page You ll find yourself at the Minecraft main menu ready to play Figure 4 10 Singleplayer Fultiplauer Options Quit Gare Hinecraft
11. e directed to a page stating that you have received a verification email Excerpted from The Parent s Guidebook to Minecraft amp by Cori Dusmann Copyright 2014 Prepared for Thornaby Academy Used with permission of Pearson Education Inc and Peachpit Press PURCHASING MINECRAFT gs 4 Open the email verification If you don t see the email in your inbox look in your spam folder 5 Click the link in the Mojang email and a new page will open Figure 4 4 This page has a clearly marked button for redeeming a prepaid gift card or gift code but no immediately obvious place to actually purchase the game 6 If you have a gift card or code click the Redeem Gift Code or Prepaid Card button to go to the redemption page and skip to the section Creating Your Minecraft Game Profile Otherwise follow the directions in the next section Buying Minecraft Online Se MOJANG My Account E mail address minecraftparentsguide gmail com View account settings My Games Did you know that if you have an old Premium Minecraft Account you can import it into this account If you do you should start using your Mojang account e mail as username when logging in to Minecraft My Gift Codes Redeem Gift Code or Prepaid Card Click the button below to redeem your gift code or prepaid gift card Redeem Gift Code or Prepaid Card For more info on prepaid gift cards visit minecraft net FIGURE 4 4 Your Mojang account page BUYING
12. eate a password solely for your Mojang account especially if children are going to be logging in on their own because you cannot know how secure they might keep that password Pick something that is not obvious or easily figured out if you need it to be easy to remember make it personal to you but don t use birthdays your address your phone number or anything that can be easily guessed Excerpted from The Parent s Guidebook to Minecraft amp by Cori Dusmann Copyright 2014 Prepared for Thornaby Academy Used with permission of Pearson Education Inc and Peachpit Press PURCHASING MINECRAFT ts PURCHASING MINECRAFT If you are in the United States or Australia using a gift card may be the easiest way to buy Minecraft There is also the option of purchas ing Minecraft directly online For either option you need to create a Mojang account first This is not your Minecraft game account but an account with Mojang itself CREATING A MOJANG ACCOUNT Creating a Mojang account is easy 1 Ina browser go to www minecraft net Figure 4 2 n wysu LY Home Game Community Store Profile Help FIGURE 4 2 The Minecraft home page 2 Click Register in the upper right corner You are taken to the page where you ll set up your Mojang account before you purchase the game Figure 4 3 Excerpted from The Parent s Guidebook to Minecraft amp by Cori Dusmann Copyright 2014 Prepared for Thornaby Academy Used with permissi
13. ermission of Pearson Education Inc and Peachpit Press for players age 11 and older though we also play single player games and venture onto other servers Minecraft has been something we ve shared from the beginning and it has become a source of common ground with the kids work with as well E HOW BECAME INVOLVED IN MINECRAFT When Xander was 11 as write this he s 14 he was already pretty computer savvy l ve been a haphazard but avid gamer since childhood though less seriously in recent years so he s grown up in a house where gaming is just part of the culture Since teach him at home the computer is an important learning tool as well as a toy and he was well able to navigate it from early on often faster than could Xander was and is very interested in gaming vlogs blogs and popular culture websites and seems to always have a finger on the pulse of the gaming community He knows how to do his research and he knows the value of checking reviews or opinion pieces and of seeking more than one answer to a question When Xander started showing me pictures and videos of this new game he was interested in Minecraft was less than impressed It was still in its earliest version The company was hoping to raise money to expand the game and release a beta version Their marketing seemed basic and when watched video clips or saw pictures those pixelated cubes seemed positively simplistic and outdated But Xander contin
14. f you d like to change your character s appear ance known as a skin by uploading an image file more on this later You can find the Create a Profile page at www account mojang com When you purchased the game you were sent an email with a link to this page NOTE You will not be using your username to log in to Minecraft Rather you will use the email address associated with your Mojang account 1 Enter your username in the Profile Name field Remember that at this point names cannot be changed so be sure you are happy with your username 2 Click Check Availability to see if your chosen name is available If itis click Choose Name If your chosen name is not available try another until you find a free name Once you ve selected your name you ll be asked if you are certain this is the choice you want 3 Double check the spelling and be very sure before you proceed because you will not be able to change it Click the Choose Name button Figure 4 8 Excerpted from The Parent s Guidebook to Minecraft amp by Cori Dusmann Copyright 2014 Prepared for Thornaby Academy Used with permission of Pearson Education Inc and Peachpit Press CHAPTER 4 GETTING STARTED e minecraftparentsguide gmail com v Games v Help MOJANG Create a game profile igi Get going with Minecraft Before you can start punching trees and what not you first need to choose a name for your Minecraft profile This name will be shown t
15. hether your children will play Minecraft or you d just like to try it first then a shared account will work particularly if they are just playing on single player maps If you take this route make sure you create a username that will fit your child or yourself because usernames cannot be changed SELECTING A USERNAME Although Mojang has said on its site that you might be able to change your username in the future it is not possible at this time So put Excerpted from The Parent s Guidebook to Minecraft amp by Cori Dusmann Copyright 2014 Prepared for Thornaby Academy Used with permission of Pearson Education Inc and Peachpit Press iy CHAPTER 4 GETTING STARTED thought and care into selecting one With over 10 million games sold picking a good unique username can be a challenge You wont know if a name has been used before you try it during the registration process so you should have a few names prepared Otherwise you might find yourself hastily selecting something you or your child will regret PRIVACY When youre playing a single player game at home or on a private server where you know all the players your username doesn t really matter much You could use your real name and it would be fine But as soon as you start playing with other people on public servers privacy becomes much more important For example a personal name like Cori Dusmann or even CDusmann would be too revealing particularly for a chi
16. ible side of online games like Minecraft the questions of balance fitting gaming into your family navigating the world of servers and online communities sharing work through such sites as YouTube and much more l ll touch on Minecraft s educational uses and explore the social side as well DO YOU DO WINDOWS When Minecraft was introduced it was a PC game though it was quickly expanded to run on the Mac and Linux operating systems More recently Minecraft Pocket Edition for tablets and phones was released as was an Xbox edition This book focuses on the original Minecraft game as designed for PC and Mac The other versions share many components of the full game but are more limited Directions for playing the game will be primarily Windows focused with intructions for installation and accessing files on Macs as well WHO AM I wear many hats in a large nutshell l m a childcare provider a child and youth counselor a writer a gamer and a homeschooling mom Whenever can combine any of those passions I m as happy as can be and I m fortunate enough to be able to do so much of the time Under the username Whimseysgirl play Minecraft both on my own and with my son Xander who goes by Wrednax We are part of an amazing community on Rawcritics a family friendly server primarily Excerpted from The Parent s Guidebook to Minecraft by Cori DOSHRAHHUCTION xi Copyright 2014 Prepared for Thornaby Academy Used with p
17. ight 2014 Prepared for Thornaby Academy Used with permission of Pearson Education Inc and Peachpit Press 3 CHAPTER 4 GETTING STARTED Using an underscore _ or spare letters can help make the name unique but still easy to remember for example Fruity_Galore Some players use X or Xx to bracket their names for instance XxWhimseysgirlxX One way to generate some name ideas is to write down a list of adjectives and a list of nouns with your kids Cut them out and put them in separate bags Take turns drawing to create names and make a list of the top ones Remember that it s always good to have a few names when you start to make an account in case your preferred name is taken CHOOSE A NAME THAT WILL LAST Although Mojang has said they re working on a way to allow players to change usernames it may not happen for a long time Help your chil dren especially younger ones select a name that they can be happy with Longterm If they make friendships outside the game they may still be identified as that username so it s important to select one that actually represents them often call Xander Wred and he calls me Whims our usernames have just become nicknames CREATING A PASSWORD To sign in to Minecraft you will be using a username or the email address linked to the account as well as a password It is important to create a password that combines letters and numbers and that is not simple to guess or too short Cr
18. lay with him but at the same time it was exceedingly frustrating Xiv INTROBHCGIARM from The Parent s Guidebook to Minecraft amp by Cori Dusmann Copyright O 2014 Prepared for Thornaby Academy Used with permission of Pearson Education Inc and Peachpit Press Watching over his shoulder had given me much of the knowledge needed but soon discovered didn t have the skills was slow and clumsy died a lot got lost in caves and on land struggled with updates and maps was constantly referring to video tutorials wiki pages and fellow players many of whom are much closer to Xander s age and far more computer savvy than I can ever hope to be once again saw the need for a guide something that could refer to when got stuck Whimseysgirl and Wrednax Since then l ve become more competent but certainly not proficient My lack of skills is a bit of a running joke on our server but manage to stay alive create bigger and better builds and support new players who need help Xander and play together and apart but we constantly share what we re working on A wonderful and unexpected bonus is being able to connect in a completely different way with the children in the afterschool program where work Our discussions about Minecraft give us a positive common ground once they finish grilling me to ensure that am genuine and not a gaming poser In addition l ve been able to help their parents navigate this confu
19. ld Even using your child s first name might make you uncomfortable and it is fairly uncommon to see proper names as usernames There are many nicknames and choices available but you may need to be creative Wrednax is Xander s name spelled backward the W is the first letter of his last name People occasionally figure it out but there is nothing else revealing about it so was fine with his choice It s been a good one because it is short simple and easy to remember If youre concerned about your child being identified by gender be sure to pick a gender neutral name Although it s beginning to change girl gamers have traditionally had a harder time gaining respect I ve had few problems on Rawcritics and the Minecraft realm is actually very open and unbiased relatively speaking On less family friendly servers though l ve occasionally had to ward off unwanted attention and have at times wished l d chosen a less obviously feminine name Excerpted from The Parent s Guidebook to Minecraft amp by Cori Dusmann Copyright 2014 Prepared for Thornaby Academy Used with permission of Pearson Education Inc and Peachpit Press THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE YOU BUY is Keep usernames short especially for younger children Choose KEEP IT SHORT something that your child will remember and be able to spell easily Short usernames are also helpful in that other players can talk to you without doing a lot of writing For example when
20. ng music videos Inspiration passion and creativity were abounding and it really had me thinking about the ever changing role of technology and gaming in our lives It also had me thinking about Internet safety about commu nication between Xander and me and about my role as an educator and the parent of a pre teen in this new age of digitally connected peers B MY MOTIVATION IN WRITING THIS BOOK In addition to homeschooling Xander l ve worked with kids and teens for over 20 years in a variety of settings from daycares to classrooms to a psychiatric hospital My roles have ranged from care worker to educational assistant to school age daycare manager ve watched children and families get swept into gaming and the online world and l ve seen it become both a source of battles and a place of learning and connection l ve seen parents and children become hooked on online activities and am aware of the need for balance but I ve also seen people gain confidence through their experiences in online communi ties Navigating the positives and negatives finding balance creating dialogue and communication those are of vital importance too Xander eventually convinced me to get my own Minecraft account joined his server and immediately we were playing working and creating together soon formed friendships with players on the server some were Xander s friends and others were strictly my own It was exciting to be able to work and p
21. o other players that you meet in the game Choose a new name You might not be able to change your name later so please choose wisely Please note When you log in to Minecraft or on minecraft net use minecraftparentsguide gmail com instead of the profile name that you choose below Profile name Choose name Use your registered Minecraft name If you previously have registered for a free Minecraft account you can use your existing username instead Use my existing Minecraft name FIGURE 4 8 Creating a game profile Your page updates with your new account its start date and your username listed under the My Games section Now you are ready to download Minecraft DOWNLOADING AND INSTALLING MINECRAFT Once you have registered your game and set up an account you can download and install Minecraft If you are not already logged in log in to your Mojang account You will find that Minecraft has been added under the My Games section along with your start date your profile name and the download buttons for Windows Mac and Linux Figure 4 9 e NOTE ve included the download directions for Windows and Mac Linux users should search online if needing help Excerpted from The Parent s Guidebook to Minecraft by Cori Dusmann Copyright 2014 Prepared for Thornaby Academy Used with permission of Pearson Education Inc and Peachpit Press DOWNLOADING AND INSTALLING MINECRAFT e minecraftparentsguid
22. on of Pearson Education Inc and Peachpit Press gi CHAPTER 4 GETTING STARTED e Log in Games v Register new Mojang Account In order to buy Minecraft or to play the demo version you first need to register for a Mojang account To do that simply fill out the form below If you already have a Mojang account you can log in to it here ACCOUNT CREDENTIALS E mail will be verified Password Repeat Password Password strength Too short Cl I m happy to receive Mojang news and updates Why should I check this box FIGURE 4 3 The Mojang account registration page J Enter your email address and password Enter your password again in the Repeat Password field to verify they are identical You will also be asked your name and birth date as well as three security questions to verify your identity should you forget your password Note that children under the age of 13 must have a parent or guardian create an account for them though this is something many kids get around simply by changing their age on the form You or your children will be using this email address to log on to Minecraft so if you are planning to have more than one Minecraft account you need to register for individual Mojang accounts as well Select the check box at the bottom of the page to accept Mojang s terms and conditions and privacy policy Links are available for both and then click the Register button Once you enter your information you ar
23. r Concerns 44 Balance 45 Managing Rising Emotions 45 Helping Your Child Lead the Way 55 CHAPTER 4 m Getting Started a nonoo aaa ee es 57 Things to Consider Before You Buy 08 Purchasing Minecraft 63 Downloading and Installing Minecraft 70 CHAPTER 5 m Surviving YourFirstNight 0 50000 73 Game Settings 74 Getting Started 79 My Confession 86 Excerpted from The Parent s Guidebook to Minecraft by Cori DusmfaRNTENTS vii Copyright 2014 Prepared for Thornaby Academy Used with permission of Pearson Education Inc and Peachpit Press CHAPTER6 m BasicGameplay lll ee ees 09 Starting a New Game 90 Basic Commands 95 Biomes and Terrain 99 Mobs 104 What To Do in Minecraft 122 CHAPTER7 m Digging Deeper Technical Specifics 145 The Minecraft Folder 146 Skins Resource Packs and Mods 149 CHAPTER8 Playing on Servers lll ln 163 Introduction to Servers 164 Home Servers 165 Minecraft Server Hosts 177 Public Servers 177 Online Safety 184 Online Communication 186 CHAPTER m SeeWhatlMade lll ll ee ees 195 Sharing Online 196 CHAPTER 10 m The Bigger Picture lll 209 Community 210 Minecraft and Education 213 Creativity 219 Video 224 MineCon and Other Gatherings 224 APPENDIX m Parent Child Computer Contract Ln 227 Contract 228 Additions 230 Glossary 231 Index 235 viii CONTENESroted from The Parent s Guidebook to Minec
24. raft by Cori Dusmann Copyright 2014 Prepared for Thornaby Academy Used with permission of Pearson Education Inc and Peachpit Press INTRODUCTION WELCOME TO THE WONDROUS creative challenging and occasionally mad dening world of Minecraft If you are an adult who has found yourself drawn or perhaps dragged in to the world of a Minecraft playing child or youth you may be feeling as though you ve entered a slightly askew parallel universe Your children seem to be speaking another language one where biomes skins mods and screenies have become everyday vocabulary Everything is now formed of pixelated cubes from trees and livestock to the very landscape Itself And your chil dren may alternate from being absolutely proficient at everything they do to becoming incredibly stuck calling on you for assistance for the most confusing of activities such as taming a cat or crafting a potion stand You d like to help your child you really would and you know a thing or two about computers Check the tutorial you might say Or perhaps you look at the directions yourself only to discover that this amazing game one with literally endless possibilities and variations does not come with a user s manual Nor is there a tutorial a walk through or any other form of guideline It is a learn as you go game and without any idea of the purpose the goal or the steps to be taken you may flounder Excerpted from The Parent s
25. sh clear house rules and consequences see Chapter 3 Fitting Minecraft Fit into Family Having separate accounts becomes more Important when playing on a server because it is confusing to others on the server if the person behind the username is constantly shifting For instance if Wrednax and were to share an account it would cause many challenges beyond not being able to play at the same time We have very different interests when we play he is much more interested in PVP than l am and tend to be the server mom sharing resources and helping new players get settled If we had one account other players wouldn t know which of us was logged on unless we clarified each time someone new joined which could be confusing and tedious And if we were playing on a server that uses the Towny plugin a special modification we d really have challenges Towny lets players create and join towns and it blocks other players from building or breaking blocks in those towns which is valuable in terms of protecting your materials Were we to share a username on the Rawcritics PVP map however only one of us could join the town of our choosing because players can be members of only one town And since Wrednax is mayor of a PVP town and l m a member of the only neutral town on the server that could cause challenges On other servers there would be the potential for similar challenges perhaps with different plugins If you are uncertain w
26. sing new world assuaging their concerns and helping them support their children I m looking forward to doing the same for you hope to help you find ways to connect with your child through this amazing game even if you never mine or place a single block yourself though certainly encourage you to give it a try you might be pleasantly surprised Excerpted from The Parent s Guidebook to Minecraft by Cori D d ay CTION xv Copyright O 2014 Prepared for Thornaby Academy Used with permission of Pearson Education Inc and Peachpit Press CHAPTER GETTING STARTED MINECRAFT IS VERY EASY to purchase You can buy it online from the Mojang website or you can go directly to Minecraft net and buy it there both end up in the same place but the Minecraft net route eliminates several steps Alternatively you can buy a gift card available at many retailers and then use it to purchase your game You can also buy a Minecraft account for another person and have it emailed to them or it can be sent to you so you can gift it directly Figure 4 1 We ll walk through the entire process a from The ag p E Copyrightacl ae as Peal iy CHAPTER 4 GETTING STARTED or or p Buy game card to buy Minecraft to buy a gift code E in friendly stores Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition RSL e T eA Tais Available now on XBLA Now on iOS and Android devices FIGURE 4 1 There are many ways to purchase Minecraft THINGS
27. to What he found astounded me It was a community a true community with players of all ages There were staff keeping an eye on things and providing support and activities There were groups factions and teams gathering and pooling resources creating amazing builds and banding together in battles and raids to protect their creations and materials Yes there was drama and some negative attitudes between players but there was also caring friendship and mutual support Players knew that was watching and commenting over Xander s shoulder and they began to ask if they could show me their work and their skins the appearance of their characters in the game drawing me in to their community alongside Xander watched him slowly gain confidence and ambition until he Excerpted from The Parent s Guidebook to Minecraft by Cori DUERRIBHCTION xii Copyright 2014 Prepared for Thornaby Academy Used with permission of Pearson Education Inc and Peachpit Press started his own town a town that grew and gained members under his leadership It was then that realized the potential of Minecraft to be far more than a simple building game It could be an educational tool a creative outlet a social platform and so much more There was space to work independently as well as with others By that point there were countless communities and servers and people were making YouTube tutorials and game walk throughs and even writing songs and maki
28. ued to explore it and soon enough the story of this new game with its small independent game designer taking a chance had me in its thrall too We ordered a copy Suddenly we found ourselves well into the unknown not only were there no directions but even fan made YouTube tutorials were scarce at that point The learning curve was steep But Xander soon learned the ropes and began playing in earnest creating cool structures and farming mining and exploring started my own game slowly learning as went and often calling on his expertise Xi INTRO BYCHAN from The Parent s Guidebook to Minecraft amp by Cori Dusmann Copyright O 2014 Prepared for Thornaby Academy Used with permission of Pearson Education Inc and Peachpit Press In Minecraft large cubes are the basis of everything Decorating a tree means giving up the notion of rounded ornaments It wasn t until Xander discovered online servers though that became truly involved in his gaming Until then he d played only on his own The idea that he was playing with strangers and conversing with them in game chats was worrying to me Although I m far from being a controlling parent do like to know who he s playing with and what he s doing He settled on the Rawcritics com server a family friendly community that offers a PVP player versus player world as well as a more peaceful build world And was right there watching over his shoulder to see what he d gotten himself in
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