Jonathan's ABC Project: Minecraft

Minecraft ABC Project

Grade 5

By: Jonathan

Greene-Hills

Introduction Minecraft is a sandbox construction game that can be used to build your imagination. The player has the ability to build creative structures and buildings on multiplayer or singleplayer servers using only their imagination.

It’s like virtual legos and has three options: Creative, Survival, or Hardcore (Adventure). Minecraft was created by Markus Persson (Notch is his nickname) and released on November 18, 2011. It is very popular and was awarded Player and Editors choice in 2011. As Notch said, “The sky's the limit!”

These screenshots were taken by me on June 4, 2014 while playing minecraft.

Dedication This book is dedicated to my best friend, Thomas L. He was the one who introduced me to this game.

Copyright Made on June-2-14 in the gaming factory.

A is for Armor Armor protects you from many dangers. For example, armor protects you from mob attacks, fire, lava, cacti, explosions, and enemy player attacks. You can make leather armor from cows or horses, golden armor from gold ingots, iron armor from iron ingots, and diamond armor from diamonds. It takes 24 of each material (leather, gold, iron, or diamond) to make a full set of armor. Chainmail armor exist in the game but you can’t craft it. You would receive it by trading with a villager, or by grabbing it when a mob drops it. On your hotbar, there is a row above your health bar. If you put on any armor correctly, another bar will appear above it showing mini iron chest plates. The more chest plates are filled, the better your protection is. If you have all diamond armor, your armor bar will be full. You can enchant your armor to enhance its protection, allow you to breath underwater to protect you even more from fire and falling. My opinion is to get iron armor first because leather armor barely gives protection, gold and diamonds are hard to find, and chainmail is hard to get.

This shows each type of armor from least to greatest in protection.

This is the recipe to create each type of armor.

B is for Brewing (Potions) Brewing is the process of creating potions and splash potions. You need three water bottles, one ingredient, and a brewing stand to brew a potion. Bottles can be crafted by glass or fished out of a lake using a fishing pole. There are many ingredients that you can use for example, pufferfish, spider eyes, golden carrots, and glistering melons.

Pufferfish are used to make water breathing potions, spider eyes make poison potions, golden carrots make night vision potions, and glistering melons make instant health potions. My favorite potion is the swiftness potion, brewed and created with sugar.

Here are all the ingredients to making potions.

C is for Creeper Creepers (aka Creepus Explodus) are the most dangerous mob of them all because their secret weapon is TNT. It is built with a TNT block in its body. It’s automatically programmed to follow any human, hiss, and blow up causing the player and everything near it to explode. It got its name from its creepy talent; to sneak up from behind you almost completely silently. It randomly spawns in the overworld, which is the normal land that you spawn in, at night. They can also spawn in areas with a light level of 7 or less for example, in dungeons and caves.

Unlike zombies and skeletons, creepers don’t die in the sunlight. If you manage to defeat it before it explodes, it will drop 0-2 gunpowder pieces which can be crafted into TNT. They have no arms but they can still climb ladders. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

This is a Creeper

D is for Diamonds Diamonds are arguably the most valuable mineral in the game. It is the second rarest mineral and is used to make swords, tools, jukeboxes, armor, and enchanting tables. Diamonds are collected by smelting diamond ore. Diamond ore is found near the bottom of the world near the bedrock layer and can be mined with a diamond or iron pickaxe. It can be found in clusters of 1-8. Diamond pickaxes are the strongest and most durable mining tool in the game. They are the only tools that can mine obsidian (obsidian is formed when lava and water collide). Diamonds are really useful to protect you because diamond armor is the most durable and protective type of armor in the game. I have mostly found diamonds near lava pools in huge caves.

E is for Enderman Endermen look like a tall black person with purple eyes. They’re 3 blocks high (taller than Steve) and they have purple Nether things floating around it. It’s a rare neutral mob and will attack you only if you look at it in the eye or if you attack it first. They spawn in pairs in the ender or in the overworld with a light level of 7 or below. Their secret weapon is the ability to teleport anywhere except the nether. Enderman can pick up blocks like TNT and flowers like orchids. It’s weakness is water and it can’t go under a ledge that’s 2 blocks high. They drop 5 xp and 1 ender pearl which can be used to teleport. Endermen come a place called the Ender. The Ender is like Nether but it has endstone and the enderdragon. I personally suggest putting your back to a wall or corner when battling and enderman so it can’t portal directly behind you, taking you by surprise.

F is for Farming Crop farming is very important to your survival in minecraft. To start, dig out a 5x4 rectangle 1 block deep and place dirt in rows. Next till the dirt using a hoe. Then pour water into the center hole and plant seeds from tall grass into the tilled dirt. Wait for about 2 minecraft days and harvest your full grown crops. Wheat plants give off 1 wheat bundle and 0-3 wheat seeds.

Wheat can be crafted into many different edible foods like cake, cookies, and bread. Carrots can be placed in tilled dirt to grow. Carrot plants give off 1-4 additional carrots and restore 4 hunger points each. Potatoes are just like carrots, they can be planted in tilled dirt to grow and will give off 1-4 extra potatoes. They restore 1 food point and can restore 5 food points if baked in a furnace. You and also grow watermelon which gives off a watermelon which can be crafted into 9 watermelon slices. I like to make a fenced off sheep and cow farm near my wheat farm so I can breed the animals with the wheat.

G is for Golems Golems are guardians or helpers. Iron golems can be made by a player, enderman, or can spawn in village to protect it with 10+ villagers and 21+ doors. Snow golems can only be made by a player or enderman.

To make a iron golem, shape iron block into a T and place a pumpkin head in the middle. Iron golems punch zombies, skeletons, slime, enderman, and silverfish (silverfish are like porcupines, not fish). They have 50 hearts and drop iron ingots when defeated. To make a snow golem, place 2 snow blocks on top of each other and place a pumpkin on the top. Snow golems throw snowballs at the same enemies but attack Withers. They also leave a trail of snow behind them which can be dug up with a shovel to receive snowballs. They melt in the rain or desert and drop snowballs. I like to make 5 snow golems trapped in front of my house so they can protect it.

H is for Herobrine Herobrine is the deceased version of Steve (you in the game). The story behind him is that the creator Notch, was playing with his brother on multiplayer and his brother was defeated by a creeper. Notch made a little grave for him and it was soon struck by lightning. In real life, someone asked Notch if he had a brother and he said yes but he is no longer with us. Rumors have it that his brother hacked into his account and added herobrine into the game before he passed away. It could also be a virus or a mod (modification) that a player installed. He’s been seen in caves, when lightning strikes, and when you spawn it with a mod. No one knows for sure what the explanation is for these weird sightings, not even the creator Notch. I think that it was a mod that a player installed.

I is for Iron Iron is one of the most useful items in the game. It is used to make railroad tracks, anvils, tools, armor, buckets, compasses, doors, bars, mine carts, and more. Iron ingots are obtained by smelting iron ore in a furnace. Iron ore is found almost anywhere where there is stone. It can be mined with a stone, iron, or diamond pickaxe. Iron ingots can also be collected by defeating an iron golem or zombie.

Chests can hold iron ingots in dungeons, NPC villages, and mineshafts. The first thing that I do with iron is make iron armor.

J is for Jockey Jockeys are an animal made by another animal riding on it.There are currently two types of jockeys, a spider jockey (left) and a chicken jockey (right). A spider jockey is a rare appearance of a skeleton or wither skeleton riding on a spider’s back. A spider jockey is very dangerous and is not easily defeated. They’re fast, have night vision, shoot arrows, can attack up close, and can climb walls. If the skeleton is defeated first, the spider will continue attacking and if the spider is defeated first, the skeleton will continue attacking. They spawn in the night at the surface and in caves anytime. Chicken jockeys are an extremely rare appearance of a baby zombie, baby zombie villager, or a baby zombie pigman riding a hostile chicken. They are easily killed with a durable sword but cannot be killed by leading it off a cliff. It will just slowly fly down to the ground without receiving any harm. Chicken Jockeys will also turn harmless if the player is holding wheat seeds. I like to spawn them using this code: /summon Zombie ~ ~ ~ {IsBaby:1,Riding: {id:Chicken,IsChickenJockey:1}}.

K is for Kings There are two true kings of minecraft, Notch and Jeb. Notch’s real name is Markus Persson and Jeb’s real name is Jens Bergensten. Notch was born in 1979 in Stockholm, Sweden. He began programming at a young age of 7 and produced his first game when he was 8! He soon had a job and started messing around with programming. He later quit his job in June 2010 to work on his seedling of a game now known as minecraft.

He has over 1,250,000 Twitter followers and is well known all across the globe for his famous game. Jeb was born also in 1979 and in Sweden. He is known for wolves, climbing spiders, redstone, pistons, nether fortresses, villages, etc. He took over from notch in 2012 as lead developer.

Hey Jeb!

Hey Notch!

L is for Leather Leather is an item that is used to craft many object. Leather can be collected by grabbing it when a cow or horse drops it. It also can be rarely collected when fishing. Leather is used to make armor like boots or helmets and can be colored. Leather armor gives minimal protection but is easier to obtain than gold, iron, and diamonds. It can also be used to craft item frames and books. Item frames are used to show an item on a frame and books are used to make book and quills, enchanting tables, and bookshelves. I think that leather armor is ok even though it gives minimal protection, because you can dye it different colors.

M is for Minecart Minecarts are used for many different things, not just to get around quicker. There are 5 different types of minecarts, the normal minecart, with a furnace, with chest, with hopper, and with TNT. The normal minecart has no special effects and is used to get yourself around. It can be also used to make a roller coaster in creative mode. You need 5 iron ingots to craft it. Minecarts with furnaces (a.k.a powered minecart) are used to push other minecarts around. It runs on coal or charcoal and will push mobs and other minecarts that are in front of it. To craft it, you need a pre- made minecart and one furnace. Minecarts with chests (a.k.a storage minecart) are used to transport blocks, items, and goods from one place to another. It’s crafted with a chest and a minecart. Minecarts with a hopper are used to pick up items and blocks that have been dropped on the rails. Minecarts with TNT are used to blow up areas. They are activated when they run over an activator rail. My favorite minecart is the furnace minecart because it can push mobs like creepers and other minecarts.

N is for Nether The Nether is a dark dimension different from the overworld and can only be accessed by creating and entering a portal. This is an area known for several hazards like fire, spreading lava, and hostile mobs. Some things that are naturally formed in this dimension are mushrooms, netherrack, soul sand, glowstone, and nether quarts. It’s home to mobs like ghasts, zombie pigman, blaze, magma cubes, wither skeletons, and chicken jockeys (described in J is for Jockey page). Water will turn into steam if placed anywhere in the Nether. There is no weather, compasses don’t work, and beds explode. There is a place called the Nether Fortress that is made of nether bricks and can hold spawners. It is also home to wither skeletons, blaze, and zombie pigman. I like to take over the fortress and turn it into my house.

O is for Obsidian Obsidian is a black material that is formed when lava and water collide. It can also be found in huge pillars at the ender. It’s the second hardest material behind bedrock and can only be mined and collected with a diamond pickaxe. It can’t be exploded with TNT however, it can be exploded with blue wither heads. Obsidian can be used to create the portal to the nether (explained in recent page) and to craft enchanting tables, beacons, and nether chests. The first two things that I do when I have 13 obsidian blocks is to create a one way Nether portal in my home and make and enchanting table.

P is for Pig Pigs are passive or friendly mobs that spawn on grasslands in the overworld. If defeated with a durable sword, pigs will drop between 1 and 3 raw pork chops and 1-3 xp orbs.

Raw pork chops restore 2.5 hunger points and cooked pork chops restore 8 points. Pigs are also used to move a player around. Place a saddle on a full grown pig and climb on. You are unable to control which way to go unless you have a carrot on a stick. If stuck by lightning, pigs will turn into zombie pigman, a hostile mob with a golden sword. I like to jump off a small cliff while riding a pig because the pig will get hurt, not me, and you get an achievement: When Pigs Fly.

Q is for Quarts Quartz is an item that is collected by mining nether quartz ore in the Nether. Nether quartz ore is common and can be found nearly anywhere in the Nether. It doesn’t need to be smelted in a furnace, it’ll automatically drop nether quartz when mined with a wooden pickaxe or another pickaxe higher in strength (unless enchanted with silk touch). Nether quartz is used to create quartz blocks, daylight sensors, redstone comparators, diorite, and granite. Quartz blocks are used to craft pillar quartz blocks, quarts stairs, and quartz slabs.

Quartz is a great block that can be used to make castles and to show off how good it looks.

It isn't that valuable however, it is very hard to obtain.

R is for Rails There are four types of rails, powered, detector, activator, and normal rails. Powered rails are used to control where you are going on a minecart better than the other rails. When it is powered with redstone (lit), it automatically pushes the minecart and when it’s off (not lit), it acts like a brake. They are crafted with gold ingots, redstone, and a stick. Detector rails are used to detect when a minecart runs over it and activates whatever is next to. For example, if a minecart runs over it and it’s next to a dispenser, it will activate the dispenser, making it shoot something. It’s crafted with a pressure plate, redstone, and six iron ingots. Activator rails activate different minecarts for example, if a TNT minecart runs over it, it will set the TNT off in seconds. They are crafted with two sticks, a redstone torch, and iron ingots. Regular rails don’t have any special effects and are the only type of rail that can turn. They are crafted with one stick and six iron ingots. They can also be found in abandoned mineshafts. I like powered rails more than the others.

S is for Skeletons Skeletons are a type of hostile mob that holds a bow in its right hand. It has a gray bony body and makes creepy bone rattling or xylophone noises when near. They spawn in dim areas and burn in the sunlight. They are smart enough to find shade or water when daytime arrives so they don’t burn up. Skeletons can also pick up pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns which also prevent them from burning, making them more dangerous! They aren’t hurt by harming potions but are harmed by healing potions. Swords and bows that are enchanted with smite enhances the damage on skeletons. When defeated, they will drop some bones and arrows and rarely drop their bows or armor if they are wearing some. Their bows can be enchanted with power l, ll, lll, lV, or V and can also drop them when defeated (extremely rare). Blows from their bow push the player back a little so don’t stand near a cliff or lava when dueling with a skeleton!

T is for Torch There are two types of torches, normal torches, and redstone torches. The regular torches are blocks that create light. They can be found in villages and abandoned mineshafts. They can also be crafted by using a wooden stick and a piece of coal or charcoal. They are a solid block however, players can still pass through it as if it wasn’t there.

Torches melt ice and snow that is nearby. Three main reasons why putting a few torches in your house is smart is that it allows you to see inside your house like the sun outside, it lets you see at night, and especially because it prevents monsters from spawning inside your house. Redstone torches do not give as much light as normal torches but do help when creating redstone circuits (really advanced). They can be crafted by using a stick and a piece of redstone. I like normal torches better than redstone torches because they give off a lot of light, keep monsters from spawning there, and is easier to make.

U is for Updates Updates are used to make minecraft more fun than it currently is, to add items and blocks, and to eliminate bugs (bad glitches).

They also add many different animals, plants, and hostile mobs.

Other updates are used so that the players can go on different servers that require certain updates. For example the 1.5 update is used for many different kinds of servers like skyblock islands, mineplex, and many more. It also added items and blocks like redstone comparators, hoppers, daylight sensors, trapped chests, weighted pressure plates, redstone, and more. This was known as the Redstone Update. The latest update was 1.6.1 and includes horses, villagers, iron golems, carpets, etc and it fixed many more bugs and glitches. This was known as the Horse Update. I think that minecraft wouldn’t be as good as it is now without the horse update.

V is for Village A NPC (Non-Player Created) village is a place where villagers spawn. Villages can be found in the desert, plains, and savanna. Plain and savanna villages are made of mostly wood planks, wood, cobblestone, wooden stairs, and glass. They also have gardens that have a perimeter of wood and have wheat, carrots, and potatoes growing. Sand villages are made of sandstone, smooth sandstone, sand, glass, and sandstone stairs. Sometimes, iron golems will spawn if any village has 21+ villagers. There are 5 types of villagers that spawn here, butchers, priests, librarians, farmers, and blacksmiths. They go inside a house when it rains, when it’s nighttime or when zombies come and can turn into zombie villagers. They make hmm noises and are mainly used to trade objects. I love to find the blacksmith shop because it holds a chest. I once found 2 diamonds and one pair of iron boots in one chest!

W is for Wither A wither is a three headed black wither skeleton with no legs. It floats above the ground and can fly as high as it wants to. It can only be spawned by a player and will attack anything living that is near it. You need four soul sand blocks and 3 wither skeleton mob heads to spawn it. It shoots wither skulls at any living thing near it and will send out a huge explosion seconds after it is spawned. There are two types of wither skulls that it shoots, a blue wither skull, and a black wither skull. The blue wither skull is more dangerous than the black one because it sends more of an explosion when it hits something, however, it travels slowly and in a straight line. The black wither skull curves a little to hit its target and travels fast. The dangerous part about withers are that they have this effect on you that continuously hurts you like poison potions and turns the hearts on your hotbar black. Their weakness is regeneration potions and swords or bows with smite enchantment. I usually spawn it in a cave full of snow golems because they can defeat a wither by themselves if you have many of them.

X is for Xp Xp (short for experience) is used to work in anvils and to enchant things in enchanting tables. Xp is gained by achieving hard goals like defeating the wither or ender dragon, mining ores like coal, using a furnace, fishing, etc.

Withers give 50xp, ender dragons give 1200xp, mining coal gives 0-2xp, and breeding animals give 4xp. Your experience bar is above your hotbar and under you food and heath bar. I like to use commands to give myself 120000 xp by saying: /give jonathan0122 1200 xp.

Y is for Yellow Dye Yellow dye (a.k.a dandelion yellow) is used to turn different things different colors. For example, you can make yellow wool with wool and dandelion yellow dye. Dandelion yellow is also used to make yellow stained glass, yellow stained clay, orange dye, and yellow firework stars. It can also dye sheep yellow, make a tamed wolve’s collars yellow, and make leather armor yellow. Dandelion yellow dye is crafted with a dandelion or a sunflower. I like to use the dandelions to make my house prettier and use the sunflowers to make the dye because one sunflower makes two yellow dyes when one dandelion only makes one yellow dye.

Z is for Zombie Zombies are one of the most common hostile mobs. They have green bodies spawn in the dark. They slowly walk toward you, making growling noises, and inflict damage when 1-2 blocks away. Like skeletons, zombies can pick up armor like helmets and tools like shovels and will burn in the sunlight. When defeated, zombies will drop rotten flesh. They can rarely drop carrots, iron ingots, and potatoes, and shovels, swords, or armor (if equipped). Zombie pigmen are half zombies, half pigs. They are naturally spawned in the nether and are created when a pig is stuck by lightning. They are like wolves, harmless unless provoked. I like to make a dark cave that zombies spawn in to collect the materials that they drop.

Work Cited Minecraft Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 June 2014. <http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/MinecraftWiki> Minecraft Information. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 June 2014. <http://www.minecraftinformation.com> Minecraft Info. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 June 2014. <http://www.minecraftinfo.com/welcome.htm> Minecraftopia. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 June 2014. <http://www.minecraftopia.com/minecraftblocks> Notch! Markus Persson, n.d. Web. 3 June 2014. <https://mojang.com/notch/>

About the Author My name is Jonathan P. I am 11 years old and live in Bristol, CT. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m in 5th grade at Greene Hills School. I belong to the gifted program and tech club. I like to go on vacation to Maine, Cape Cod and New Hampshire. I play two sports, lacrosse and basketball. I love fishing and hiking with my family. I love nature and enjoy exploring in the wilderness. I have several types of fish and a bunny. I also love growing a veggie garden every year. My 3 favorite subjects are math, writing workshop, and gym. Minecraft is my favorite video game. I hope you enjoyed reading my Minecraft ABC Book!