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Hello. My Name is Steve.
GREGORY A. BAKER, PH.D
Our Family, Your Family, One Family
Compassionate care for those with life-limiting illnesses This past weekend I was officially banned from Minecraft. No, it’s nothing unseemly or sorted or anything like that. Actually, I never got further than running the Minecraft demo. However, that was enough to know that this was forbidden fruit. Let me explain. It all started about a week ago. My daughters somehow convinced my wife to buy Minecraft for our iPad. Now, installing a game on the iPad isn’t a big deal. Literally hundreds of games have cycled through our iPad. Just between the different Barbie fashionistas, American Girl Doll apps and Farm Story derivatives, we’ve downloaded enough electronic stimulation to keep a bus load of fourth graders busy for weeks. That said, we do keep tight control on content. All apps were downloaded and installed according to a couple of strict house rules: 1) Nothing inappropriate and 2) Free downloads only. (Well, except Angry Birds. And Animal Jam‌ but that’s on the PC, so it doesn’t count.) Needless to say, when I came home from work one evening and discovered Thing 2 enjoying the premium Minecraft app, I was somewhat shocked. I thought to myself, “Could it be possible that paid apps are now allowed?â€? Of course, that’s a ridiculous notion. With so many free apps out there, why would anyone want to buy one? Then I remembered that my wife recently authorized the iTunes purchase of all three seasons of “Veronica Mars.â€? Maybe a subtle shift of the tide was afoot. I moved in closer to see more. To the uninitiated, Minecraft might seem like a first-â€?person throwback to 1990s-â€?era graphics. It’s actually much more sophisticated. You are a character named Steve. Steve wakes up within a world where everything is made out of blocks. The ground, trees, water, animals, people. Everything is a block. The object of the game, just like in real life, is to ensure Steve lives and prospers. In order to provide for himself, Steve must learn to create tools and protection from the resources around him. For example, a tree can be chopped down to create wood planks, which can be made into a wooden pick-â€?axe, which is used to dig stone, which can be used to create a furnace, which can be used to smelt iron, which can be used to build better tools, and so on. Everything is not fun and games, however. During the night, zombies 12SEPTEMBER2013
and other monsters roam the world, specifically looking for Steve. The first night is particularly hard since Steve starts with nothing. If Steve can’t get a basic shelter created within the first few minutes, Steve will be sent back for reincarnation while the zombies enjoy a healthy serving of brain stew. My daughter spent the next hour walking me through the intricacies of Minecraft. She particularly likes creative mode where Steve accesses unlimited resources to build splendid castles (sans mobs). It was like watching a TLC decorating show as she walked me through every room in a 10-â€?story high-â€?rise condo. Personally, I like challenge of survival mode, but I found it very difficult to convince my little princess that I should get a turn on the iPad. Somehow, she didn’t think that was fair. That’s fine. As the Daddy, I have access to other resources. I grab my MacBook Air and download Minecraft. On my first day, a zombie kills me exactly three minutes after sundown. My second day is not much better; a Creeper tags me 10 minutes after I was respawned. The third day I learn to explore‌ and die by falling into a ravine. Time to ask Google. After a few minutes on minecraftwiki.net, I’m a new Steve. (BTW — You need to punch the trees.) Once you gain a few skills, it’s amazing what you can accomplish within the five-â€?day limit of the Minecraft demo. I’m about to enter my credit card to get access to the full version when my wife stirs me from my trance. “Honey, it’s 3 a.m. Don’t you think it’s time to come to bed?â€? Needless to say, I immediately recognize that I had stumbled into a place that must be treated with the greatest caution, an alternate reality that one must partake in measured doses, yet impossible to fully leave. Oh Minecraft, don’t suffer my loss, as we both know I cannot return to your land! Okay, so it wasn’t that dramatic. And I didn’t get completely banned. Our family has time limits on using electronics. My wife says that as long as I follow those rules, she won’t take away my MacBook. Sounds like a plan. Until then, I’m off the grid @gregory_a_ baker. GREGORY A. BAKER, PH.D, is vice president and chief rocket scientist for CMA, which provides technology services to CSRA buisness and nonprofits.
(706) 650-1522
www.united-hospice.com Services provided regardless of patient’s ability to pay. Lic# GA-036-0282-H, SC-HPC-079
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