So, I've been playing Minecraft since before the Nether was added (when was that, Alpha 1.4 or something? I can't remember), which basically means I've been playing this game for a good few years by now. You'd think that playing the game for that long would earn you some kind of status as a "Wiseguy of Minecraft" or "Grizzled veteran builder" or something jaw-droppingly cheesy like that... but for me, the only status I've earned is "Bored". This baffles me; the game has recently introduced all manner of machinery (Redstone or otherwise) that, with a bit of ingenuity, could be used to create massive functional structures that would have once been deemed impossible within vanilla Minecraft. And yet, I found myself devoid of inspiration to do anything more ambitious than build a relatively small house. I figured that maybe joining a good old fashioned Multiplayer server would throw that magic spark of inspiration right in my face - conveniently enough, that's when I found EMC on Reddit. I joined up on SMP5, took a look around at some of the amazing structures on the server, was blown away by a level of kindness rarely seen on the internet, started up a plot of land to build some kind of theme park in... ...and then proceeded to do absolutely jack squat for the next couple of months. I'm just idly sitting on an empty plot of land, surrounded by a stone wall and tending to an underground flock of sheep (I'm not even sure if it's still there, it might have gone derelict - yes, I'm that disorganized). I lack the will to dig up enough resources to actually build anything worthwhile. I can barely even chat on the server. I want to be able to build something great, but for whatever reason, I just... can't. Do I need to join some kind of mining party? Do I need to collaborate a build with someone else? Am I setting my goals way too high? What am I missing here?! Any and all help that can be offered would be greatly appreciated - seriously! I'm not ready to let go of this game yet. Thank you for taking the time to read this, ~Shredster7
Just go out and do something. I don't care if it's mining 8 blocks of stone in the wild to build a furnace, but just do it. That is, set an objective. Then achieve it. If you don't set objectives, before long you're playing aimlessly. If you set objectives too big, you get bored and wander off. Start small. Build a furnace. Craft a bow. You see, your brain has to get used to setting, and working towards goals. It's easiest in the short term, I can see quite clearly that selling diamonds is profitable, but in the long term, the benefits tend to fade out of grasp. Work in little steps, slowly condition your brain, your style of playing, to take on and actively participate in the massive, monumental, game-changing project you aspire to. Minecraft is a creative game. It's not like other games, with a campaign, in which you just follow out the steps laid out for you. Life isn't like that, it isn't organized, or preordained. You can do what you want to, or not. The goal is to do something. I may be sounding repetitive, but as long as you are working towards an objective, you are working well. This actually extends to real life too, but let's not bother with reality in a game, shall we? One of the big things about having big goals is being able to subdivide it. I wanted to build an enderman farm, but that's a big task. There's no way I could have done that all at once. So I split it up into managable tasks, and did each one bit by bit. Reach the end... check. Build a bridge away from the island... check. Build a kill space... check, and so on. It took me almost a month, but I got things done. And at the end of it (pardon the pun), it was good. The real fun of the building was the sense of gratification at the end, the "I achieved something big", not the fact that I could now have infinite enchantments/repairs, though that's always nice. It's that sense of delayed gratification that makes Minecraft so much fun for some people. Many people in the modern age want only instant gratification, they want to be satisfied, and they want it now. Studies have shown* that having habits of delayed gratification tends to produce better trends in mental health, as well as overall intellectual capacity. Fostering this sense in a game meant to have fun holds only benefits. By now, I've gone a bit off topic, but I'm sure you get my point. Go out. Do stuff. Have fun. That's my message, good luck to you! *-- Mischel, Walter; Ebbesen, Ebbe B.; Raskoff Zeiss, Antonette, 1972 http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/21/2/204/
Ever since watching the following videos from Zipkrowd, I've been trying to make what they had shown, and by the time I tested it on EMC, I find that it doesn't work. The arrows despawn too quickly after being fired. I had gotten sidetracked to the point that I unable to continue building my slime farm on EMC becuase now I feel like I must have a product with an equal to or greater quality than of Zipkrowd's which I don't have the skills for yet. But, the information you had provided could help me stop worrying. If I continuing worrying about something, I'm not going accomplish anything. Links (If the videos above aren't not working) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpGyRrH5OpQ&list=UUcMqxCVbo5wpWMxR3wHHZGw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_gb6BtbREc&list=UUzVkOGiIFUY47sWqMy7A4tA
