School me on Minecraft

Ted

Ted

The pilot formerly known as Twin Engine Ted
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iFlyNothing
I don't play video games. We didn't have them when I was a kid. We had rocks. Actually we didn't, it was New York City, and we had concrete. But you couldn't pick it up, because it was concrete and attached to the ground, so you'd have to pick up the entire island of Manhattan to do that. Maybe Maui can pull islands up from the sea, but I can't. The trees were all planted by humans, which led me to believe that all trees in the world were planted by humans.

I think that's kinda what Minecraft is. Our son has played it some and likes it. I have an older iPad I let him play on, mostly Angry Birds. We also have a Kindle (mostly for shows) which is now 4 years old and not doing very well.

His birthday is coming up and we figured that we'd let him get Minecraft. I see that they sell it for PC/Mac/whatever, and we have some computers we could give him that we could probably put it on.

We were also thinking about getting him a newer Kindle or maybe putting it on the iPad. The thing I don't get is when I look the description on the iPad one, it looks like you buy the game, but you can't really play it unless you keep on buying other stuff. Meanwhile it looks like for the Java version (Mac/PC/whatever) all you do is put it on the computer and play it.

We're leaning towards putting it on an iPad for him. My question is, are the in-ap purchases mandatory or can we just tell him "No, you just get the game" and he can actually still play the game?
 
GRG55 said:
Buy him a baseball glove. ;)
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We limit him to roughly 30 minutes a day. Our kids get no shortage of outside time. Their favorite toy is outside.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
We limit him to roughly 30 minutes a day. Our kids get no shortage of outside time. Their favorite toy is outside.
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Let me guess...the 'dozer? :D
 
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If you get him minecraft, keep an eye on what he is doing. It's an entire universe and things can go from innocent building projects to animal cruelty and cyber bullying in a hurry.
 
As a 22 year old male, I used to play it periodically while in highschool along with some of my friends, many of which played it ALOT more than I did.

It’s basically just a game that allows you to build whatever you can think up. Mine for tools and things to build houses, boats etc. It’s actually pretty fun.

I’d suggest to get it on a computer rather than an iPad. It’s a lot easier to play with a mouse and keyboard. There’s really no violence or foul language if that’s concerning to you. There are some goblins that you’ll find underground that will try to attack you, but you just kill them off with your golden sword that you made from mining gold and oak. :)
 
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Whats is reference to ideal body weight?

Get him into cars, or guns, or sports, or something
 
CC268 said:
6’1” 210lbs 10% BF. Ideal.
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210 is a little high for 6 1
Im 6 and my ideal is a little shy of 180

Ether way, get him out of the house before that goes down hill
 
I think Ryan was a world class World of Warcraft player at some point.

 
James331 said:
210 is a little high for 6 1
Im 6 and my ideal is a little shy of 180

Ether way, get him out of the house before that goes down hill
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6’1” 210lbs 10%BF is borderline roids lol, but it’s doable. Ideal for someone natural would be about 185 10%BF. I was at 178 bulked to 195 so far. Still feel small.
 
Maybe get a PC and get him a flight sim lol
 
It does have microtransactions mostly for extra skins EG the default textures replaced with cartoon or W/E. Game is complete without any microtransactions though. Its fun engineering things just youtube some of the stuff you can do with it. Get it for PC if you have a decent one. The mods and controls make it much better than ipad.
 
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Ryanb said:
kill them off with your golden sword that you made
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Golden sword? Clearly inferior to the diamond sword! You take that gold and make redstone devices out of it!

James331 said:
Get him into cars, or guns, or sports, or something
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Or something that he's interested in? It doesn't have to be things -you- are interested in :rolleyes:
 
We have never bought add ons for my daughter and she has plenty of fun on it. She loves animals and would make pet houses for all the animals.
 
Yes, you can play without any in game purchases.

That said, I echo the advice about not getting it at all. Minecraft is a time suck. Sure you limit him to 30 minutes now, but what about when he isn’t near you? It is a building game and it is really easy to get wrapped up in the game and spend hours playing. Even then, the hours are not enough and you want to play more. That is more time spent by yourself playing, less time socializing and less time being prepared to be an adult. There is very little value in computer gaming and some rather disturbing parallels to drugs.

Take the kid flying and let him fly. Start an airplane building project with him. Start a car restoration project with him. Plant a garden. Volunteer at the animal shelter. There are hundreds of practical things you can do that aren’t computer games.
 
bflynn said:
Yes, you can play without any in game purchases.

That said, I echo the advice about not getting it at all. Minecraft is a time suck. Sure you limit him to 30 minutes now, but what about when he isn’t near you? It is a building game and it is really easy to get wrapped up in the game and spend hours playing. Even then, the hours are not enough and you want to play more. That is more time spent by yourself playing, less time socializing and less time being prepared to be an adult. There is very little value in computer gaming and some rather disturbing parallels to drugs.

Take the kid flying and let him fly. Start an airplane building project with him. Start a car restoration project with him. Plant a garden. Volunteer at the animal shelter. There are hundreds of practical things you can do that aren’t computer games.
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I've never played Minecraft but if it's anything like World of Warcraft this is so true. 30 minutes will only whet his appetite. WoW could suck you in like a parallel virtual universe you could live in 24/7 and never miss real life at all. Gaming addiction is real.

That being said, the other side is that if one's friends are all into a game then one must also play in order to be fully in the group. Especially if it is a multiplayer game. If it's multiplayer then gaming is socializing. Not face to face, and that is problematic, but the players are real people with all the real friendships, loyalties, betrayals, etc, that come with real life socializing, minus the actual physical presence, except for your homies.

And there are individual variances depending on personality. Some kids are nerdy gaming types and IMO may actually thrive in computer gaming in ways they can't in real life, for example if football isn't their thing. If you prevent this type kid from gaming than you are denying him feeling successful in his natural arena.

If your kid ends up being this type and he misses the games his peers all played he could miss out on an important social meme. Those of us who were part of the Doom gaming revolution understand this. Or Dungeons and Dragons - one I missed out on because some religious person (mom?) who knew nothing of the game told me it was evil. I've regretted not playing D&D to this day.

Large complex virtual world games really cannot be played in 30 minute bites. You're only just getting started at 30 mins. If Minecraft is like this and I suspect it is, then it would be cruel to get your son this game and then limit him to just 30 minutes. You need 2 or 3 hours to feel like you've accomplished anything.

The world is increasingly computerized and kids will need to be organically comfortable with technology by the time they reach adulthood. Gaming is an excellent way to get and keep them interested in computers. But the danger that they'll spend too much time in that world is real and needs to be contained and balanced with outdoor activity.

Age is also a factor. The younger they are the less time should be in front of a screen. But as they age there is a point that you will be fighting a losing battle of the kid is at heart a gamer.
 
It's virtual legos man.
But him a copy and watch him build.

When they turn it on they can choose survival mode or creative mode. If it's in creative mode all you do is build no more dangerous than any of us sitting around playing flight simulator for a couple of hours like we probably all did when we were younger.

Put it in survival mode and you get to fight other guys it's very non-realistic violence everything looks really crappy cuz the graphics are stupid but kids absolutely love it. More than that you should play it and record yourself playing it and put it on YouTube doing that has made many many people multi-millionaires. I totally don't get it
 
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I worried about the time my now 20 year old son was spending "alone" playing games. Then he got a headset and we heard him talking all the time. Turns out he was doing far more socializing than we realized. Several of the gamers were local and they turned into in real life friends. And now he's studying computer programming and ... game design.

Give the kids the freedom to find their cheese. It's not going to be the flavor you force on them. My wife and I used to say, we're not raising kids, we're raising adults. That doesn't mean allow them to run amok. It does mean let them craft a life that's valuable to them. Hard to do, but so worth it.
 
James331 said:
210 is a little high for 6 1
Im 6 and my ideal is a little shy of 180

Ether way, get him out of the house before that goes down hill
Click to expand...

CC268 said:
6’1” 210lbs 10%BF is borderline roids lol, but it’s doable. Ideal for someone natural would be about 185 10%BF. I was at 178 bulked to 195 so far. Still feel small.
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Man I’d look like a bean pole next to both of you. I’m 6’ 0” and 165lb. ;)
 
Access to his games is one of the few tools I have to deal with my boy ;-) 30min may be a bit short, but if I let him wouldn't even bother to change out of his PJs.

Minecraft seems to work best on the x-box platform. Not really a game that works all that well on touch screens.
 
CC268 said:
I think Ryan was a world class World of Warcraft player at some point.

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Man, I actually never played WoW. I grew up on Call of Duty. Used to play that for hours on Xbox live.
 
Appreciate the helpful thoughts. Don't appreciate the unhelpful ones, but that comes with the territory. ;)

When I was a kid we actually did have video games. My mom started off with a "no video games" policy. Around 3rd grade a friend of mine gave me his Nintendo after upgrading to a Super Nintendo, and her southern upbringing (it's rude to refuse a gift) kicked in. So she implemented the 30 minute rule, and I played Super Mario, Duck Hunt, etc.

Warcraft II was the first "computer game" (as in on a computer) that I played, and we played it on the computers at school. The director of the computer department would get the games going and he'd join in. So we'd get 5-10 of us. I learned to build a Barracks quickly and take him out while he was busy building infrastructure instead of weapons and soldiers. On weekends my friends and I would often times dial up eachother's computers for one-on-one play. Unreal Tournament was fun, a few of my friends an I would tend to do the opposing towers (capture the flag game). Another game I enjoyed was "Myth" (not Myst, which I never quite got into but was popular in those days). Gran Turismo on the PlayStation, etc.

I never actually played video games a ton, but seeing an hour or two a day when I was over 10 was pretty common. The games were good for doing something with interests I had but couldn't do anything with in New York.

I was on the early edge of video games actually becoming pretty interesting and interactive, i.e. something more than Pong. There were a lot of kids who I think spent way too much time on video games. Of course, fast forward to today and they've all become productive members of society. In fact, some of them make several times more than I do (in some cases add a 0 to the salary), mostly in the computer industry in some way or another.

Our son (turns 6 in a couple weeks) has an interest in computers. So did I when I was his age. His other interests (which he actively participates in) include:

- Airplanes (he wants to be a pilot for a living, at least today)
- Helicopters (not a helicopter pilot)
- Go Karts
- Tractors
- Bulldozers
- Turning wrenches (he built his go kart, have you all missed my "DuPuis Family Cobra Build" thread?)
- Animals (plays with the cat and dog a lot)
- Riding his bicycle
- Digging holes and running around
- Chess (I've been teaching him and he really loves it)

You get the idea.

Yeah, video game addiction is real, but so is alcoholism and I think most of you have a beer or two. It's something to watch for and make sure appropriate limits are placed, not interfering with school, etc.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
I was on the early edge of video games actually becoming pretty interesting and interactive, i.e. something more than Pong. There were a lot of kids who I think spent way too much time on video games. Of course, fast forward to today and they've all become productive members of society. In fact, some of them make several times more than I do (in some cases add a 0 to the salary), mostly in the computer industry in some way or another.,
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Yeah, video game addiction is real, but so is alcoholism and I think most of you have a beer or two. It's something to watch for and make sure appropriate limits are placed, not interfering with school, etc.
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I am not sure what determines whether a gamer turns out to be the next wiz-kid or some 350lb vape-nozzle basement dweller.

Two of my nephews give me great hope. 6-7 years ago, whenever we saw them at family weekends like thanksgiving or christmas, they would disappear and play until the early morning hours. One of them was a bit chubby, the other one was picky that it bordered an eating disorder. Both of them turned into athletes during high-shool and are now off to good colleges, one with a business major, the other one in EE. So its not the obsessive gaming that determines it, there must be something else.
 
Who knows man he could become the next YouTube star making millions from Minecraft videos. Give it a shot!
 
Ken Ibold said:
I worried about the time my now 20 year old son was spending "alone" playing games. Then he got a headset and we heard him talking all the time. Turns out he was doing far more socializing than we realized. Several of the gamers were local and they turned into in real life friends.
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I had a friend in high school (2008) introduce me to Eve Online (like world of warcraft but in space). We played as freelance mercenaries and took a contract defending a mining/industry alliance from some people who declared war on them for fun. The head guy of the enemy fleet killed us over and over and finally messaged us and said "those guys suck, do you want to fly with us?".

9 years later he was the best man at my wedding. I met him three times before that in person and played with him (and a constantly changing group of people) at least 3-4 times a week since then. Not saying it is always going to happen and that there weren't people with iffy intentions (one guy stole multiple billions of credits and ships ingame from a lot of people once he was trusted enough to give access) but it works for me and it is easier to spend time with my friends online and create actual meaningful relationships.
 
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CC268 said:
Oh yea I used to play CoD in high school on Live...good times...
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I also played modern warfare 1 on XBL. I used nothing but sniper rifles and always got headshots. I had the golden Dragunov and used it to show everyone how awesome I was.

I play MW2 with my dad on PC today, there's still a little population. I now realize I was that kid who frustrates the crap out of everyone with godlike accuracy and reaction time that I can't keep up with like I used to.

You either get a 25 killstreak and nuke as the kid or you live long enough to call everyone better than you a hacker.

Sac Arrow said:
I have yet to outgrow Doom.
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My son used to play single-player (ie, not social) games like Solitaire, or Slither, or Spy Hunter on the iPad. It was always a battle to pry it out of his hands, very different than him watching tv. He reminded me of a gambler at a slot machine, which is exactly what it is.

It was a good day when he dropped the iPad in the toilet.

My wife recently got a kindle fire and we're back to where we were.

I'm fine with him watching shows or listening to music on a tablet, but the games seem to be a different beast that is harder to manage.
 
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GeorgeC said:
I'm fine with him watching shows or listening to music on a tablet, but the games seem to be a different beast that is harder to manage.
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Gets worse when they grow up and stop listening. All you can do then is drop the ipad in the toilet.
 
overdrive148 said:
I also played modern warfare 1 on XBL. I used nothing but sniper rifles and always got headshots. I had the golden Dragunov and used it to show everyone how awesome I was.

I play MW2 with my dad on PC today, there's still a little population. I now realize I was that kid who frustrates the crap out of everyone with godlike accuracy and reaction time that I can't keep up with like I used to.

You either get a 25 killstreak and nuke as the kid or you live long enough to call everyone better than you a hacker.


01c.jpg
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MW1 and MW2 were such good games. I remember going into 1v1 matches just to get the golden guns lmao. Honestly all the CoD games were just so fun. I remember playing Zombies for hours with my buddies and playing the glitches to our advantages lol. Before high school I played Runescape which was epic...I actually seriously miss that game from time to time. That was like my childhood. I played all sorts of games...even some MMORPGs. And I was far from a “gamer kid”. Halo 3 was epic of course. I still think the Halo games had some of the best story lines ever. I played travel baseball and raced motocross all through high school. Sadly I don’t even own a console at all anymore...just no time to play games anymore.
 
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