CheatsUnlimited - Getting Started with Minecraft: An Introduction, Surviving the First Night and the Basics of Building

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Copyright (c) 2012 ICE Games Ltd

Minecraft, while having only been available to play since 2009, has exploded into one of the most significant and popular video games on the scene today. Minecraft began when its creator Markus "Notch" Persson set out to develop games independently. He was influenced by games such as Dwarf Fortress and Infiniminer; both games with emergent game play and a theme of detailed construction.

The earliest versions of Minecraft were basic when compared to the more recent patches. The game began as a sandbox building game set in a limited space. The player had infinite resources and didn't need to actually mine to obtain them. Notch soon built on this, however, and the game grew to include random terrain that is procedurally generated. From this point on early Minecraft becomes more familiar to those who have seen the most up to date version; enemies are included, items like food become necessary for survival and blocks must be mined for the player to gain resources.

Alpha and Beta versions came and went throughout 2010-2011 and now the game has been released fully. Since the release, however, the game has continued to be expanded and developed with constant updates free of charge. Notch has passed the task of managing development on to his co-worker Jeb and the game is still growing fast. Since the game was released it has remained an important part of gaming culture.

A quick glance at Youtube will reveal how strong Minecraft remains to this day. From construction time lapse videos to series that follow the adventures of players in the game, there are countless new videos going up everyday. They are still popular videos as well- Minecraft as a search term is used millions of times per month on Youtube. There are also metagames in existence; the Minecraft Hunger Games and Minecraft Defence of the Ancients are two noteworthy examples.

There is good reason for this continuing popularity. Minecraft is evolving constantly in a variety of ways. It can be helpful to have a look at these aspects of the game before delving into it yourself. The transient nature of Minecraft can leave new players feeling like the rug has been pulled out from under them when the game updates and new concepts are introduced.

Minecraft evolves and changes in three key ways. The first is in your hands as a player; the world is randomly generated but it is then under your control. The evolution of the lands around you is limited only by your imagination. Sculpt a fantasy world to live in, or set out with massive construction projects, the choice is yours. Minecraft provides an enormous selection of materials for you to customise your world with but there are so many ways to mix and match these resources that the sky really is the limit when it comes to your creative options. This guide and those that follow will help you to hone these ideas while providing some inspiration in the form of some of the more interesting concepts that are out there.

The second and perhaps most sweeping way in which Minecraft changes is almost completely out of our control. Throughout Alpha and Beta Minecraft developed considerably, with new concepts and impressive new game play mechanics being added. Unlike most games, however, Minecraft has continued to be developed long after its official release date. Mojang regularly updates and improves the game, adding new features and threats.

You will be prompted to install these updates when they become available and it is your choice when to do so. Uninstalling updates and rolling back to a previous version of the game is difficult (although it can be done and we'll get around to that in a later guide) so make sure you know the facts before you update. The Minecraft Wiki is very useful for keeping track of the updates and what to expect in each new one so visit regularly to stay on top of this. There are also optional downloads for experimental versions of new updates that are yet to be released. These are called pre-releases and if you want to dabble in these you can download them and manually install them to get a glimpse of what to expect in the next official update. How to do this will be covered in detail in a later guide.

The final and most varied way in which Minecraft can change is due to modifications or "mods". Players with skill in coding often set out to develop mods for games and Minecraft is one of the most popular recipients of these wonderful creations. There are countless types of mods and there are always new ones getting started. You can add new terrain to your world, new resources and new threats or even add completely different game play mechanics. These mods are, of course, unofficial and have nothing to do with Mojang so there is always a danger of encountering bugs or the game failing to work when using them.

Despite this drawback mods are certainly worth looking into; you are in control of which mods you install and which ones you pass up so it's possible to build your own version of Minecraft with a unique mixture of mods running. Later in this series we will discuss the best mods and how to go about using and installing them. We will also explore the important precautions to take when dealing with mods- backing up your world saves and making backups of the Minecraft installation folder. For now it's just important that you know that these possibilities are out there and that we'll be covering them later.

Minecraft is an ever changing and evolving game. Some of these changes are in your hands while others are not; either way it is possible to retain control over when they take place. The first part in this series of guides will focus exclusively on introducing the basic game and how to get started. We will, however, eventually get around to exploring the other possibilities out there for an intrepid builder.

Minecraft was once limited to a single player experience but this is no longer the case. Survival multiplayer, the standard multiplayer option, has existed since the early Alpha version of Minecraft. It has since bloomed into a varying and community based game with branches reaching out to Youtube, forums and even major games magazines. Joining the world of Minecraft multiplayer can involve as little as popping on a server and exploring or as much as signing up to become a part of a major construction project.

You can also set up a server for you and your friends to work together in a private multiplayer world. The options are vast and it's up to you how extensively you become involved in the community of the game. We will explore the multiplayer aspects of Minecraft later in this series but for now we'll be keeping things purely solo.

Minecraft began as a PC based game but its explosive popularity has propelled the game beyond its original platform onto two others. Xbox 360 owners can enjoy the game as an Xbox Live Arcade downloadable title. This version of the game differs noticeably from the PC original but the fundamentals of Minecraft are there. The biggest change (or limitation) is that world size is restricted to around one thousand by one thousand blocks- a severe drawback considering the theme of exploration in Minecraft. Naturally the Xbox 360 version of the game is also unable to utilise mods or other third party utilities. It does, however, have multiplayer both in online and split screen forms.

The other version of Minecraft available to players is the Pocket Edition. This can be played on your mobile phone (on either Xperia Play, iOS or Android) and it is an extensively stripped down version of Minecraft with a world size of just 256x256 blocks. This version of the game can only be described as a casual game for tinkering and it lacks the depth of the PC version.