by Stone Marshall | Jul 25, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
Max Brooks’s Minecraft book The Island was a bestseller last year. Now there’s a second official tie-in novel: Minecraft: The Crash.
Amazon Prime Day deals: see all the best early offers right here.
This action-packed thriller centres on Bianca, who ends up in hospital she and her friend Lonnie are involved in a car crash. Almost paralysed by her injuries, she decides to try a new VR version of Minecraft that responds to her every wish. Teaming up with two kids who are also playing on the hospital server to explore its virtual realm. Is Lonnie in there with her too? And can Bianca help him to return to reality?
Minecraft: The Crash is available to buy in hardback, ebook and audiobook formats now. Thanks to publishers Century we have five copies to give away, plus five signed copies of Minecraft: The Island; five lucky winners will get one of each. To put your name in the hat for the chance to win them, simply answer the question below.
Read more here: https://www.gamesradar.com/win-the-new-minecraft-novel-the-crash/
by Stone Marshall | Jul 24, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1882 classic Treasure Island tells of Jim Hawkins’ adventures on board the Hispaniola, as he and his crew – along with double-crossing pirate Long John Silver – set out to find Captain Flint’s missing treasure on Skeleton Island.
Now, more than a century later, children can try and find it themselves, with the bays and mountains of Stevenson’s fictional island given a blocky remodelling in the video game Minecraft. It’s part of the new Litcraft project aimed at bringing reluctant readers to literary classics.
From Spyglass Hill to Ben Gunn’s cave, children can explore every nook and cranny of Skeleton Island with Litcraft, a new partnership between Lancaster University and Microsoft, which bought the game for US$2.5 billion in 2015 and which is now played by 74 million people each month.
The Litcraft platform uses Minecraft to create accurate scale models of fictional islands: Treasure Island is the first, with Michael Morpurgo’s Kensuke’s Kingdom just completed and many others planned.
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.
While regular Minecraft is rife with literary creations – the whole of George R.R. Martin’s sprawling setting for Game of Thrones, Westeros, has been created in its entirety, as have several different Hogwarts – Litcraft is not all fun and games, being peppered with educational tasks that aim to re-engage reluctant readers with the book it is based on.
The lead researcher, Lancaster University English and Creative Writing Department head professor Sally Bushell, calls it “an educational model that connects the imaginative spatial experience of reading the text to an immersive experience in the game world”.
She says, of the Litcraft Treasure Island: “We hope it will motivate reluctant readers – we can say, ‘We’re going to read the book and then at one point, we’ll go play on the ship’. I would have loved it as a kid. It is an empathetic task – you do what the characters did yourself, so you understand why they act they way they did in the book.”
The Treasure Island map in Minecraft.
The Treasure Island “level” has been extensively road-tested by children such as Dylan, whose school is set to adopt Litcraft in 2019. “It’s really fun,” he says. “I enjoyed it because I’ve read the book, but you have to follow rules in that. In games, you can explore. Now I know exactly what the book looked like.
“I like that you get to see the pictures. You don’t have to make them in your head. And I liked the ship, Ben Gunn’s cave and the parrots. And there was that weird pig that kept jumping off that cliff. That wasn’t in the book!” (“That was a game glitch,” says Bushell).
The project, which is featured on Microsoft’s Minecraft education website, is currently being presented to schoolteachers and librarians across the United Kingdom.
Treasure Island in Minecraft.
Dylan, like many nine-year-olds, enjoys books but is more enthusiastic when talking about Minecraft, which he does with the casual expertise that many children have with their favourite games. He’s already made his own Hunger Games world in Litcraft, but couldn’t get some of his traps to work.
This know-how seems to both frighten and impress less tech-savvy adults – which Bushell hopes will not deter schools from adopting it. “The kids know how to do it more than the teachers do,” she says.
“It inverts the relationship: you’ve got kids who know more than the adults. You need quite confident teachers. They’re more worried about it. I want to say, ‘Don’t be worried, because all your eight-year-olds will know how to do this’.”
Libraries are particularly interested in the possibilities of multiplayer, Bushell says, adding that one of the future projects will be Lord of the Flies: “In that case, you want all the kids in there playing out a scenario and asking philosophical questions. We hope they do some reading, then play the game, then do some empathetic writing based on what they did in there.”
Lord of the Flies cover.
The Kensuke’s Kingdom map, based on Morpurgo’s story of a boy washed up alone, is particularly aimed at engaging reluctant readers.
“The library resources we are putting together include audio and in-game reading and writing as well as graphic novels as a step to the full text,” says Bushell. “The resources are designed to encourage them to either return to or connect with the book through the immersive experience.”
Bushell says more literary Minecraft islands will follow. “Treasure Island is the first world for Minecraft but they anticipate a series. Most likely, the next will be The Swiss Family Robinson, The Tempest and Robinson Crusoe,” Bushell says. A recreation of Dante’s Inferno, with a map for each level of hell, is also in development.
But what book does Dylan hope to see next? “The Hunger Games,” he says with no hesitation. “A proper one.”
Read more here: https://www.scmp.com/culture/books/article/2154945/minecraft-does-treasure-island-game-brings-classic-novels-life-new
by Stone Marshall | Jul 24, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
Minecraft released it’s most recent update on Tuesday, Update Aquatic Phase Two that lets you explore the oceans at greater depths in the Minecraft universe. The update will be on Windows 10, VR, mobile devices, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch immediately.
Microsoft and Mojang launched the first part of the Update Aquatic back in May, but the second phase adds an extensive list of added features and changes to the gameplay.
Autoplay setting: On
Some features include Sea Turtles now being in the ocean for you to protect their eggs, while underwater zombies who lurk in the deep waters called The Drowned will come up to attack you. Bubble Columns give you the ability to create upward or downward bubbles and Conduits can now be constructed underwater out of Heart of the Sea and Nautilus Shells.
A long list of changes includes themed menu backgrounds, undead mobs walking on the bottom of the ocean, improved player swimming at the surface, tridents can become enchanted with Mending and Unbreaking, skeleton horses can now be ridden underwater, and others.
Autoplay setting: On
A major change in this update is that Realms are now available on Nintendo Switch, giving players the opportunity to use private servers like other
Read more here: http://www.ign.com/articles/2018/07/10/minecraft-launches-update-aquatic-phase-two
by Stone Marshall | Jul 23, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
Minecraft is a bastion of creative ingenuity. Its player demographic is huge – children, adults, students, architects – and there are people from all walks of life with varying levels of skill and creativity who play this game across a number of gaming platforms. Anything you can think of, you can create.
8 amazing Minecraft creations that will blow your mind
1. Minas Tirith
Six million blocks and 20 hours later, this re-creation of Minas Tirith from Lord of the Rings was born. This project is absolutely enormous, and we cannot help but be wowed by the enormous attention to detail the creator put into it, all on his own.
2. Planet Earth
Even our very own Earth exists in Minecraft, albeit at a 1:1,500 scale. Time, passion, a lot of love and fiddly corners were put into this project which, although not as detailed as Minas Tirith, is impressive in its own right… it’s Earth, after all, and you can explore it in Minecraft!
3. King’s Landing
It was only a matter of time before Game of Thrones met Minecraft – one of the world’s most popular TV shows and one of the world’s most popular games were destined to cross paths at some point.
The project itself is astonishing, created over an eye-watering amount of hours by a team – yes, team – of builders who had to submit an application to join the project… it’s very serious stuff!
4. The Eiffel Tower
Although this design is more simplistic than some of the examples we have already seen, this is an example of the painstaking lengths some Minecraft architects go to, to create some of the world’s most iconic landmarks. It is no easy feat to create curved structures in Minecraft, and the fact that someone has gone ahead and built the Eiffel Tower – a windy, angular nightmare – is brilliant. This build even includes the real towers viewpoints and other intricate details… bonus points!
5. Flame Atronach
Image courtesy of Block_Fortress
Fans of Skyrim will instantly recognise this incredibly detailed re-creation of Flame Atronach. This is not just pixel art, this is a full 3D model of the fantasy character. We can only imagine just how long it took to place all those blocks to create such an amazing level of detail.
6. A 16-bit Computer
Using Minecraft’s answer to circuits, logic, and electricity – redstone – this player created an animated, sound-enhanced and color-coded fully functional 16-bit computer. The sounds, animation, and colors help you visualize the computer in action, and get an idea of just what is going on… sort of.
7. The Shire
This blocky re-creation of George R. R. Martin’s The Shire may not be technically correct (hobbits live in holes, not houses) but this creation is still a beautiful attempt at re-creating Bilbo and Frodo’s home. It is part of a wider ambition to re-create, you guessed it, Middle-Earth, and they seem to be doing rather well!
8. Razul
Razul is an adventure map inspired by Skyrim, and if you’re a huge fan of Bethesda’s monolithic game, you will absolutely be able to make the connection due to the Nordic architecture style and fantasy theme. Like many of the creations featured here, it was built single-handedly.
Read more here: https://en.softonic.com/articles/8-amazing-minecraft-creations-that-will-blow-your-mind
by Stone Marshall | Jul 23, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
Minecraft is a huge game. After each update, Minecraft’s die-hard fans spend endless hours searching high and low throughout the game to find hidden features or glitches which were not publicly announced, or even intended.
There are many hidden “features” in Minecraft, but we have narrowed it down to eight of our favorites – why not give them a try yourself?
8 cool things you probably did not know you could do on Minecraft
1. Torches can be used to destroy sand and gravel en masse
Sometimes, we want to build stuff in the sky. But to get there, you need to first build a pole up into the sky, so you can then build a platform on top of it. Afterward, you’re left with the task of tearing it down, which can be difficult (and dangerous). Thankfully, there is a neat trick you can use to tear down a platform much quicker.
As you may know, sand and gravel in Minecraft are affected by gravity and cannot float in the sky. This means that if there is a tower of gravel or sand and you remove the bottom block, the rest will fall by one. But if you remove the bottom block very quickly and then place a torch in its place, the gravel or sand will cascade down one by one, each being destroyed when it hits the torch, tearing the tower down.
The next time you need to build a tower up into the sky, make it out of sand (or gravel!).
2. Pressure plates can be used to trap water and lava
Two of the most useful – yet most dangerous and irritating – elements of the game, water and lava, like to spread far and wide when they are placed down, and can quickly get out of control. Just tame them with pressure plates – it’s very simple! You can also use signs and fences.
3. Signs can be used to breathe underwater
I’ve lost count of how many times I have died while mining for clay underwater or just forgetting to watch the breath bar. Now I always carry a sign with me when I go under the waves because it lets you stay down as long as you want. All you need to do is to place a sign down against a block while submerged and it will create a pocket of air – easy!
4. Pumpkins make you invisible to Endermen
The Endermen are quite possibly the most irritating mobs in Minecraft. They are absolutely fine until you accidentally look at them, and then they begin to teleport all over the place and intermittently attack you; they are very powerful, and it is an easy mistake to make. However, if you wear a pumpkin on your head (by going to your inventory and placing a pumpkin in your character’s head slot) and look directly at an Enderman, it will not notice and you will be safe from being attacked!
5. The Shining meets Minecraft
In Minecraft 1.11, the Vindicator mob was added, along with an easter egg reference to the Stanley Kubrick movie The Shining. By using a name-tag called “Johnny” to tag the Vindicator mob, it will wield an ax and attack any mob within its radius – this can be very useful at night when you want to save yourself the trouble of taking care of all the zombies and creepers.
Source: https://qph.ec.quoracdn.net
6. Milk a Mooshroom for Mooshroom soup
Just like cows (which can be milked with a glass bottle), the rare Mooshroom cows can be “milked” using a wooden bowl by right-clicking the cow. Mooshroom soup is a very powerful food item and can immediately fill the health and hunger bar. If you can catch one of these Mooshrooms, it can be an unlimited food source!
7. Create an infinite water source
Water is one of the most useful resources in the entire game. It is used for all sorts of gameplay functions – such as brewing potions – and it is very handy to have an unlimited source right at your fingertips, or even in your house. This is very easy to do, and it takes advantage of the game’s water physics, which fills space around a water source block.
Create a 2×2 box and fill each block with a bucket of water. Then when you take some water from it with an empty bucket, the spot from where you took the water from will immediately fill back up and you can do this over and over, and get all of the water you need.
8. Give your tamed dogs a colorful collar
By using one of the many colored dyes available in-game, you can personalize your tamed dog’s collar. Although it’s not such a useful tip, it can be handy to give all of your dogs’ collars different colors so that they can be easily identified, and it looks pretty nice too. To color a collar, just right-click your dog with the dye equipped in your hand.
Read more here: https://en.softonic.com/articles/8-cool-things-you-probably-did-not-know-you-could-do-on-minecraft
