Have you ever had an idea for a creative world that just wouldn't fit on paper? Do you want to create your own world for others to explore and enjoy? Do you enjoy the popular game "Minecraft"? If you answered yes to all these questions, then read on to learn how to create an adventure map in Minecraft.

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Steps

Planning your map

1. 
   1Plan your map. Planning is one of the most important steps; while you can try to make a map on the fly, it is more likely to turn out badly.
   
   
2. 
   2Pick a type of map. There is a wide range of different map types; some of the more popular map types are:
   • Survival. These maps involve the player trying to survive within the parameters of the map. Players can break blocks, build items and generally do whatever it takes to reach their goals.
     
     
   • Adventure. This particular map type is much more linear. Usually the player isn't allowed to break or place blocks, and generally has to follow whatever path the map maker has set for them, although the adventure can be more open.
     
     
   • Parkour. A subset of the adventure theme that has gained a following all of its own. In this type of map, you have to reach whatever the goal is, usually by going through a series of skill based challenges, such as a series of very precise jumps.
     
     
   
   
   
3. 
   3Write your story. Write down everything that is necessary to your story, whether it be back story, notes the player will find, dialogue, or anything else.
   
   
4. 
   4Draw the map. Once you have the story fleshed out, and you know what type of map you are going to be building, draw out the floor plans for your map. Include everything you feel is necessary for the map.
   • Grid paper is recommended for this step.
     
     
   
   
   

Building your map

1. 
   1Build your map. With your plans set up, you are now ready to build.
   
   
2. 
   2Build the landscape. Before you can start building the structures of your map, you need a good landscape. There are several ways to do this.
   • You can try to shape the world by hand, but unless you are doing a pretty small project, and have lots of free time, you are going to want to use one of these programs, or mods:
     • 
       
       
       
       A quick mountain made in worldeditWorld Edit. World edit is part of the Single Player Commands mod, which can be accessed via the aforementioned link. It lets the player change and shape the terrain from within the game, although it does have a bit of a learning curve.
       
       
     • 
       
       
       
       A moon terrain made with World PainterWorld painter.[1]This is a program that allows you to "paint" a Minecraft Landscape. It is a standalone program with a wide variety of options, though it will not edit existing maps, only create new maps. It is not as precise as world edit, but works on a much larger scale.
       
       
     • MC Edit.[2] MC edit is an open source program which allows you to edit your current world. It is a bit clunky, but has many important features, such as the ability to use certain MC edit filters to do a plethora of things.
       
       
     
     
     
   
   
   
3. 
   3Build the structures. This one should be pretty self explanatory.
   
   
4. 
   4Add the story/details. When you have finally built everything, you can add the story. There are several ways of implementing the story:
   • 
     
     
     
     John the ButcherSign dialogue. With this you use a sign to convey dialogue being spoken to or by the player. If the former, you usually need to trap a villager, NPC, or similar in the area.
     • If you are using the most recent snapshots, you can use sethbling's MCedit filter to customize what the villager is going to trade. It can be found in the description in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13LyPP43twE.
       
       
     
     
     
   • Found notes. There are several ways to implement this:
     • Books. In the 1.3 update you can write books, and leave them in a chest for the player.
       
       
     • Image to map.[3] This converts an image to an in-game map, though this requires some sort of image editor to use.
       
       
     • Note signs. These are signs that say "read note 1" or something similar, and require the player to pause the game, go find the corresponding text edit document that you include with the map download, and then read it. It is perhaps the most cumbersome, but also the most versatile.
       
       
     
     
     
   • Another option (though not encouraged) is to not include a story, which may be used in some maps, though rarely.
     
     
   
   
   
5. 
   5Add loot, and miscellaneous features. All that's left to do is add loot for the players (if you have any to add) and anything else you might want to add, such as redstone contraptions.
   • It is recommended that you are at least somewhat handy with redstone, as it can greatly affect your maps impressiveness.
     
     
   
   
   

Publishing the map

1. 
   1Publish your map on a site like Planet Minecraft or Minecraft Forums. Once the map is finished, it's ready to be posted for the whole world to see.
   
   
2. 
   2Test the map. This is one of the most important steps. If the map doesn't work, then it is a frustration for the players, and more work later.
   
   
3. 
   3Open the "saves" folder. It can be found in the .minecraft folder in your apps directory.
   
   
4. 
   4Compress the map folder. You need to compress the map's folder into either a .zip file, or a .rar file.
   
   
5. 
   5Choose a file hosting site to host the file on, such as dropbox, or mediafire.
   
   
6. 
   6When publishing your map, adhere to the site's rules. Be sure to also make your post interesting, adding information about the map, reviews, and most definitely pictures, as most people won't download your map if it doesn't have pictures in the post. Once this is all done, the map is posted and finished!
   
   

7. Video

   
   
   
   
   
   This video provides an introduction to building an
   

8. Tips

   
   
   • Build in creative mode, it would just be far too hard to do in survival!
     
   • Keep lots of backups.
     
   • Monitor your post, and look for bugs, or ways to improve your map.
     
   • Always be polite to other players.
     
   
   
   

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   Things You'll Need

   
   
   • Grid paper or similar and markers
     
   • Minecraft
     
   • Suitable programs/mods that tie in with the game
     
   • An account on somewhere like Planet Minecraft or Minecraft Forums etc.
     
   
   
   

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   Sources and Citations

   
   
   
   1. o http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/231255-worldpainter-new-map-creatorgenerator-work-in-progress/
      
   2. o http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/13807-mcedit-minecraft-world-editor-now-open-source/
      
   3. o http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/394966-imagetomap-v112-in-game-text-and-images-on-map-items/
      
   4. o http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Minecraft-Adventure-Map