Adventures in Minecraft
Over the course of the last couple of years I have seen several friends post about an odd video game called “Minecraft” – an open ended sandbox where you could build all manner of structures, dig holes, and fight zombies (yes, you read that right). It always sounded just a little bit too far off the end of the geek gang-plank for me to dare looking at.
Until today.
Part of the reason for installing it was because my nephew has by all reports become something of a guru, and given our girls propensity to spend every penny I earn on Lego, I thought an infinite virtual sandbox might be more fun – and provide a connection to their cousin.
Miss Seven seems to love Minecraft. She doesn't know how to control it (neither do I, really), but that didn't stop her running off across the landscape, digging holes she couldn't climb out of, and somehow learning to fly. Yes, you read that right too. Her maiden flight took her almost out of the Minecraft atmosphere...
“Dad – it gone wrong. I flying, and can't get down”
“What did you press?”
(she shrugs)
“Can you make him land Dad?”
“I don't know how to control it”
... at which point she giggled at me.
In the grand tradition of parents the world over, I sat down with the game after everybody had gone to bed tonight to give myself half a chance of knowing how it works, ahead of showing them the game properly next time. Half an hour of piddling around digging holes in the ground, and building zombie defences rapidly stretched into three hours.
While so many people were probably out with friends this evening, having fun, dancing, and getting drunk, I sat in a dark corner of our house hitting pretend zombies over the head with a pretend wooden sword, and dug an unfeasibly deep pretend hole into the pretend ground of the Minecraft world.
I need to get a life... a real one.