Introduction: Your Complete Guide to Minecraft PE
My immediate reaction was "WAIT, WHAT?! A MINECRAFT CONTEST NOW?! WHY WASN'T THIS CONTEST HERE THREE MONTHS AGO?" This is because I was posting Minecraft tutorials frequently around three months ago. But no, Instructables was having the contest now. I suddenly realized "Hey, I once made a tutorial on Minecraft mobs, but never a COMPLETE guide to Minecraft..." And thus, this tutorial was born!
This is no average tutorial, though. Oh, no, nothing of what you are expecting. It's not going to be "How To Build a House" or "How to Mine A Diamond Ore". To that, I cry "HA!". For today, what you may or may not have known will be discovered, and you will go leave this 'ible thinking, "Wow! Not what I expected!". Are you still confused by my peculiar tone? Well, this 'ible isn't really a "tutorial", but it is more of a tour, you could say, of Minecraft, the block-based game everyone knows about! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you "Your Complete Guide to Minecraft", loompiggytutorials styles!
Step 1: So, What Is Minecraft, Anyways?
So, I'll give you the basic "definition". Minecraft is a pixelated world of building, where you use blocks to build things like towers, houses, farms, pools, theme parks, and just about anything your brilliant mind can come up with. There are many, many blocks in the Minecraft app, or Minecraft PE (Minecraft Pocket Edition). For a general picture, there's cobblestone, wooden planks, coloured wool, fences, flowers, animals, dirt, bricks, and so much more. All of this comes in a little app that comes with a fairly fair price of $6.99. Yes, yes, this seems really expensive, but why stick with the Minecraft PE Lite Version when this full version is available?
So, a brief history... Minecraft PE was released at different points in time for different devices. If you're on the awesome side like me, you're an Apple person through-and-through. For iOS, Minecraft was released on November 7, 2011. Now for all you Android fans out there, it was released a month earlier, on October 7, 2011. With over a million purchases of this app, Minecraft has fought its way to number one on the Best-Selling Games. Only recently has it lost its spot to this game called "Five Nights at Freddie's" or whatever it's called. Anyways, back to the subject. Within the year of Minecraft's release, the game won five awards, all relating to how amazing of a video game it was!
That's your lesson, because you don't have to process every bit of Minecraft's history to play it. You just... Play it with your own mind set. No knowledge needed, I say!
Step 2: Navigation Sensation
So, are you confused as to why this step is entitled "Navigation Sensation"? Well, it's because I, of all people, find Minecraft PE to have an amazing navigation system with easy-to-find options. And now, I will take you through the buttons and links and show you how to find your way around Minecraft PE. Please refer to both the pictures and the steps below, which correspond with each picture.
PICTURE ONE: Picture one shows the homescreen of Minecraft PE, which is pretty straightfoward. You only have two options, which include the SETTINGS and PLAY. The options of SETTINGS are expressed in PICTURE TWO. The PLAY button, if pressed, will direct you to your list of created worlds. So, this brings us to...
PICTURE TWO: Picture two shows you a list of options. On the left side, you see a column of pictures. The first picture you see is a sword and a pick-axe forming an "X". Click on this, and you will see another list of options. Let's first explore the options in the "Game" section, which is the first word you see. Okay, so underneath "Games", you see "Name". This is where you choose your name, which is automatically set to "Steve" until you change it. I, personally, cannot settle on any specific name. Two weeks ago, it was "meowmeow5", and last week, it was "support_spew". And now, it's a little more hipster at "forever.alone". So, if you can't choose just one, change it out every day or whatever you desire.
Now that you have your new name, let's look below this at "Difficulty". As this is only a guide regarding Mincraft PE in creative mode, you have no need for this option. But if you are playing in survival mode, this button determines how hard it will be for you to actually survive. To have no hostile mobs, simply scroll the slide all the way to the left. And to have it extremely difficult to play, slide to the right.
And now, since we have finished that, let's move onto the next one, "Third Person View". This option, if turned on, will enable the player to see themselves, or their actual character. If left off, you will only be able to see your surroundings, not your character. I suggest leaving this option off, as it is easier to control your screen without it.
Moving on, you see "Local server multiplayer". What this does is allow anyone on your wifi to play with you. If left off, no one can gain access to the world you are in. I personally love playing Minecraft with my siblings, so unless you're in a world you want to be kept 100% safe, you could leave it on.
And finally, the part entitled "Invited to Alpha Realms?- Login". This button can be ignored, for you most likely will not find a need for it.
PICTURE THREE: Now, these are the "Controls". Pretty straightforward, as you see. I do not believe an explanation is needed. If you have any questions about this picture of the controls, leave a comment.
PICTURE FOUR: This picture is all about the "Graphics" of your game. This portion is exactly what it sounds like and is completely up to you. Again, I will not elaborate much on this picture, so feel free to ask any questions!
PICTURE FIVE: I feel silly explaining this part. It's just sound. Yep, that's it. This scroll bar you see allows you to adjust the volume of your game. I do not suggest turning it up all the way, especially if you're playing at ten o'clock at night in survival on the highest difficulty. You'll probably wet yourself after a surprise ambush of zombies. Trust me, it happens.
Okay, so now you see why I, a native to video games and video game controls, find Minecraft so easy to find my way around. I actually feel like I can understand this...this...electronic nonsense of the twenty first century! That's weird of me to say, being a kid myself, but I'm not really the "gamer" type. I prefer the term "nerd".
Step 3: Let's Find Some Serve-ers
This step's title is a simple play on words that you are supposed to find humourus and amusing, but now it just sounds weird... Okay, anyways, back to Minecraft. Now, you've learned my opinions and have been through my odd lectures, but now, we actually get to the new stuff. Have you ever wanted to delete a world you created and saw this word "External"? Never knew what it meant, perhaps? Well, now you'll get the a chance to learn!
Alrighty, let's lay down the facts. First, there is a way you can interact with a million different players and access new worlds, challenges, etc. through your own mobile device. If you connect to a server, you can have the chance to play with other players in new worlds. Let's look at an example. In the picture, you see a page that looks slightly confusing. To get to it, go to the home screen, then press on the "Play" button>Edit>External. Now that you're at this page, type in the information. This is the info for a server called "Lifeboat". I love this server because of it's awesome Hunger Games! Here is a list of other servers that you can enjoy!
Step 4: Exploring Your Many Options
Another option exploring step? Awesome! This time, you'll get an insight on the several options you have while creating a new world. First, go to the home screen of Minecraft, then press the "Play" button, and then, in the upper right hand corner, you will see a button that says "New". Take a chance... *click*!
Woah! Look at all these options you have... Just on one page! Not a lot, as you were expecting. This is only the first page. Just wait, you'll be surprised. First of all, you have to choose a name for your world. At this moment in time, you cannot change the name after the world is created, so create with caution! Now, choose if you would like to play in "survival" mode or "creative" mode. For the time being, please click on the "creative". Okay, now the fun part! In the upper right hand corner, you will be able to see a rectangular button that says "Advanced". *Click*! Okay, let's get this over with... OH MY GOODNESS! What is all of this?! Let's decipher the codes, shall we? First, you'll see something called "seed". A seed is simply a code that will create a specific world. You can look up "Minecraft PE seeds" on Google and get some really cool seeds! There are also some cool instructables that have seeds for your taking! So, next. You see three buttons: Old, Infinite, and Flat. By clicking on "Old", you will be able to have a world from the older version of Minecraft PE. "Infinite" is the newer version. And "flat" is just a flat world. Seeds will not work with flat worlds! Now, press the "Create World!" button and see you masterpiece! I'm so excited for you if you are following the steps and creating a world right now!
Step 5: Moody and Mad Mobs
Now, in your new world, you'll notice some creatures walkin' around like they own the place. Wanna teach 'em a lesson? Well, you have to know your stuff first. And by stuff, I mean your mobs. In Minecraft, there are three types of mobs: Passive, Neutral, and Hostile. Look below to categorize your mobs.
Passive Mobs: Passive mobs are harmless. They kill easily, for the most part, and never attack you, even if provoked. These mobs include cows, sheep, chickens, pigs, villagers, and Mooshrooms. All of these will never attack you, so do not be afraid if you happen to encounter one of these.
Neutral Mobs: Okay, now they're starting to get fiery. Neutral mobs will not harm you unless provoked. If you hit them or make contact with a certain body part, they will charge and attack you. Watch out for wolves, zombie pigmen, spiders, and Endermen. Endermen will only attack you if you hit them or look them in the eye, so be careful!
Hostile Mobs: Run. My advice is to run if you ever come near these vicious creatures. Hostile mobs attack you even when you've done nothing to them! NOTHING! Just let them see you or get close to them and BOOM! they're attacking you and you're loosing hearts! This mob includes Creepers, Skeletons, Silverfish, and Slime. Beware and steer clear of these... MONSTERS!
Step 6: Quick Conclusion
I believe this wraps up your lesson in Minecraft... There really isn't much to "learn", but instead, go do a little hands-on exploration! Buy the app ($6.99 on the App Store). If you purchase the PC version, the computer version, or the Xbox version, you will get way more mobs and skin textures. Not to mention the amazing electronics and blocks you'll get to experiment with! I hope you enjoyed this guide, and don't forget to vote for me in the Minecraft contest! Help me be the winner (or a winner) of two contests! Also, follow me and make sure to comment! Leave suggestions and questions in the comment area, and I will be glad to respond! Happy building, everyone!