Getting Started...

Minecraft is one of the finest creative tools I've ever encountered. As someone who has always tapped into his creative side, I've tried a lot of different outlets over the years. Writing is something I've always gone back to (as a matter of fact, I self-published my first novel earlier this year), and computer graphics is another area I've dabbled in and had quite a bit of fun with. Photoshop is my "desert island" program. Or at least it was until I came across Minecraft.

I love games of all kinds. Board games, card games, computer games. But the games that always intrigued me most were those  that allowed me to explore a world. Dungeons and Dragons is a great example of this, but it does take a lot of work on the dungeon master's part, and it can be challenging to get a group of players together on a regular basis.

Computer games have really advanced in the "world exploration" area over the last few years. With games like Skyrim, The Last of Us, Grand Theft Auto, and others, we have the opportunity to explore a virtual world and go whever we want. Despite their open-endedness, however, many of these games have set goals that the player has to meet before he/she can advance to the next section or level. I've always longed for a game where I set the goals and determine at what pace I want to proceed.

Enter Minecraft. It's a game. It's a sandbox. It's a world generator. It's a dessert topping and a floor wax. It's a lot of things to a lot of people, and it's versatility is nearly unbounded. I first tried it out on the PS3, and was hooked almost immediately. I started reading the wiki and found out about these things called "mods". Well, one thing led to another, and before long I had the game on my Mac as well, and shortly thereafter on my iPad and my Samsung Galaxy. And I started learning how to write mods.

I can't remember the last time I was so deeply immersed in something. I'd even venture to say I'm obsessed. I'm certainly addicted at the very least. But it's a good addiction. I'm using both sides of my brain, designing things that look nice, and getting back into computer programming again. I've always been a fan of keeping my brain cells active. Lifelong learning is what it's all about.

And now here I am on Planet Minecraft. This is a wonderful site, filled with fantastical creations and talented and helpful people. It's very inspiring. Gives me lots of ideas and makes me want to do more.

I think I'll wrap up this inaugural blog post, but I have a feeling I'm going to have lots more to say.

And since we're well into December now, I'd like to wish everyone a wonderful Holiday Season. I got into the spirit of things last night and set up a little scene on my server. I'm attaching a screen shot. Hope you enjoy it.

Take care.

--Cireer