minecraft 10/28 - 11/3

Day 1 (10/28/13): 

A Struggle: I am still unable to access the game because I did not use paypal when purchasing the game -- I used skrillz (the equivalent of paypal, but british one) because I used the visa card option, and was asked to provide the last 4 digits of SSS and birthday. It said "verified by visa" so I did not think much of it, but then my bank called my mom of suspicious activity and locked my mom's bank account. After a lot of phone calls and misunderstanding of minecraft being labeled as fraud, I was finally able to clear things up and buy it and download it, but the initial struggle was just obtaining the game. 

An Accomplishment:

I was finally able to buy the game via paypal (after many tries and phone calls!)

An observation:

This isn't so much related to minecraft the game itself, but it made me think of the legitimacy of games and the real possibility of fraud- since I purchased the game ONLINE, not a CD disk from Best Buy or anything. It was only because minecraft is a renowned game was the bank finally able to realize that the purchase wasn't fraud. I question if the decision would have been the same if the game hadn't been popular... Made me think of how much technology has evolved, because I know that when I was growing up, I bought the physical copy of the game from a store, not off the internet.

Day 2: 

A struggle: I always seem to enter the game when it is night time, and it makes it almost impossible to see. It helps that some people have torches up, but I just seem to be getting lost. I mine for random things in the middle of nowhere, and because I have no sense of direction in real life either, I'm pretty much lost. I was so busy getting lost and "exploring" that I forgot to eat and I died.

An accomplishment: I was able to finally find coal and make myself a pickaxe! Now I don't have to just chop away at the trees and mine for material with my hands. The pickaxe makes things much more efficient. Huge difference from when I didn't have one, since the pickaxe makes mining faster. I was also able to find and eat carrots! 

Observation: I've been constantly having to look up the wiki to remember what each control does and what I have to look for in the game to make or mine a certain item. How do gamers just remember everything ? Do they spend that much time playing the game?

Day 3:

A struggle: I'm getting bored of this game already. Maybe it's because I still haven't quite mastered what the controls do and what I need to make. Especially because Thomas turned off the monsters, the game is actually boring because there's nothing to do but build! And there's not much fun building when I have to keep referring back to the wiki ....

An accomplishment: I found a place for a house in the mountain! I just dug a hole in the mountain near a body of water (I'm thinking like the old settlers when they tried to make colonies! they found bodies of water!) that was also near lots of trees. I'm hoping that by building a home next to many resources, I will be set in just mining more resources or adding on to my house when I need it..

An observation: This game is starting to feel like a colony now that a lot of us on the server have started building houses and farming. I had trouble finding a place to build my house because it seemed like everyone already took everything! There are so many trees without tree trunks. It makes me think of real life and depletion of trees and the environment.

Day 4: 

A struggle: I definitely think there's a "critical" period for learning to like games or something of the sort, because I am very uninterested with the game. I now have a piece of paper that I keep next to my computer so I can refer back to it when I forget what the controls are or when I need to build something. I miss human interaction -- I think it's because I play the game at wee hours of the night that no one tends to be in the server when I am. Does this mean I miss "human" interaction within the game too? Hm... I feel alone, and it's no fun being alone!

An accomplishment: I finally figured out a way to survive the night (and not die) and keep building when it's night time! I found all the necessary materials needed for a torch, so I've made multiple torches to keep my house lit! It's great.

An observation: I feel so behind from the rest of the class. Some people have gotten skins for theirselves (costumes and clothes, basically), and some have pools in their houses! Another person has a garden. Do you all have extensive time to do research on the wiki?? Maybe it's because I don't have the patience to learn through trial and error. 

Day 5: 

A struggle: I don't know how to cook my meat! I've captured and killed a cow but I don't know what to do with the raw meat. The moment I figured out how to make a fire so I could cook the meat, my vitals died and I lost everything. I now know to store everything in a chest.

An accomplishment: I learned how to swim! It seems like that skill should have come sooner.. but I just kept dying by drowning before. I'm still learning how to learn those basic skills.

An observation: I am still bored of this game. Maybe it's because I lack the creativity skills or just can't get over how leggo-ish and unrealistic it looks. But I don't think I would be more attracted to it even if it were more realistic and animated. What is it about this game that is so appealing to so many gamers and learners??