Monday, December 17, 2012

So in keeping with the spirit of all things New Year's Resolution, I'm modifying my personal agreement with myself as witnessed by all 2 people on the Interwebz! I'm leaving the once a week gig intact, but instead of committing to an ACTUAL hour every week, I'm committing to a THEORETICAL hour every week.
In short, when it FEELS like I've been writing for an hour, it's been an hour and you are free to go (as am I!)
Sounds perfect, right??? Right???
This week you get my thoughts on Minecraft. I find myself watching my kids play this game as though it were an ACTUAL program tediously thought over and revised to bring the optimum amount of entertainment. They have both the PC and XBOX versions. I don't watch them play the PC version, just the XBOX. That's when they play together. And by 'play together' I mean 'lead creepers to each others homes to blow them to smithereens' Being a third party observer tells me a lot about my kids that they'd never say out loud to me, not the least of which is how competitive they each are. I don't think even THEY know how competitive they are. It's pretty amazing, considering there's no real goal to Minecraft and nothing to actually compete for. I noticed that they share better in this 8-bit world than they do in real life. They are constantly asking to borrow things from each other like they used to when they were smaller and less connected to the digital media. They say things like 'don't loose this.' and 'if you want to keep it, I'll take 'such and such' in exchange.' Currently one is yelling at the other because something that was borrowed was not returned properly. (read: They threw it away on purpose) The best part of it all? They don't come to me to settle the disputes! They simply lead a creeper to the others project and set it off. I remember when they used to bite each other. Good times.
The game has even found its way onto their wish lists. Minecraft torches that really light up, large foam creepers. They've already planned their costumes for next Halloween, and yes, it's Minecraft themed. I'm constantly being asked to look things up for them. "What does and Ender Pearl do?" "How do I use the Redstone?" I'm learning quite a bit about the game I don't even play. It's simplicity is genius. It's got the potential for hours and hours of bickering, laughter, and creativity. It's got my vote. Maybe one day when I have a spare moment I'll tinker around in the world of Minecraft myself. Not while the kids are around, naturally. I like to practice when they're not here and then impress them with my 'naturally' impressive gaming skills. :)
Alright, it feels like an hour.
Happy Crafting!
(yeah, I know, I'm still working on it) 

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