I mentioned back in May that I was experimenting with creating a Minecraft adventure for my boys to play through. Well, I finished the adventure map and the boys have played in it. I watched them play an hour at a time, Saturday and Sunday, over a few weeks. They didn’t actually finish the adventure, and I’ll have to explain why.

First, I found a world seed for a good wilderness area. I placed three villages, each a little different from the others. One is larger, (the main and starting area), and has lots of villagers and food and supplies. Another is smaller but has different food and a magic book shop. And the third is medium-sized with different supplies. I paved a road between two of the villages, but I left the other off the trail so it would have to be found by exploration. I also placed a few little “hermit houses” hidden in the area that could be found. The hermits sell various potions. Basically, I wanted the boys to be rewarded for exploring the environment, not just the dungeon.

I then created a large castle/tower in the center of the area, central to the villages.

The above-ground parts of the castle, right up to the top, I filled with tricks and traps to test the boys’ puzzle-solving and team-working skills. These puzzles can only be passed by two people working together. For instance, there are buttons that open secret areas or passages in another location — one person can push the button, but the secret door will close before he can run to the opening. There are traps that can only be escaped by someone else pulling a lever or standing on a plate in the floor. There are only a few monsters, (some zombies and spiders), in this part of the adventure, and none of the traps are by themselves deadly. I wanted them to learn how to work together well before going down into the dungeon proper and facing real dangers and troubles.

After successfully navigating through the upper part of the castle, they bought better equipment, (armor, weapons, food), and were excited to delve down below the castle into the dungeon. The below is three separate levels. The first level is 20-some rooms designed like living areas for the former castle staff and guard. There are many monsters and a few puzzles, traps, and tricks. They navigated this level pretty well, working together, but Calfgrit12 was showing his bossy side.

Calfgrit12 wanted to be the leader of their two-person team, and he often complained when his little brother didn’t do exactly as he was told. Now, Calfgrit8 never did anything bad or wrong. He just didn’t want to always be ordered about.

Even though there was some serious arguments here and there, they mostly played really well together. But a couple of times I had to end the adventure time because of serious arguments. I was surprised at how heated their arguments got. One boy would cry and the other would get angry. I was stunned. But then the next time I let them play, they’d laugh and shout in excitement, and afterwards tell me that was the best time they’ve had playing Minecraft. There were no mediocre times; it was all either fantastic or awful.

They eventually finished the first dungeon level under the castle, and then made their way down to the second level where more and tougher monsters and challenges awaited them. This level was bigger than the one above, and they’d separate often to go in their own directions. This going different ways caused them to get killed a few times. I tried to warn them that they needed to continue working together. Calfgrit8 would urge caution and want them to leave the dungeon to heal and re-equip more often. Calfgrit12 wanted to keep pressing forward, leaving CG8 to go back to safety on his own. This would inevitably cause CG12’s death, and he’d get angry at his little brother for not helping him.

This all started to get very frustrating for me. I didn’t want to guide them on this adventure — I wanted them to do this on their own while I watched. But I kept having to defend CG8’s decision to play safer against CG12’s push for more dangerous activity. He actually was playing the wisest, and his older brother was going a bit crazy with wanting to just go everywhere and see everything without caution.

Eventually CG12 got stuck in a trap off in some back chamber while his brother was leaving the dungeon to repair his equipment. Being stuck mad him angry, and he blamed CG8 for not being there to help him. He couldn’t do anything until CG8 came to rescue him, and CG8 told him to wait while he finished his errand back in the village. Things got pretty heated, and I had to break up the argument and end the game at that point.

Geez! Really. They’d go from laughing excitement one minute to hating each other the next minute. It was more than I could stand, and it made me hate this adventure I’d built for them. So I not only ended that game session, I told them that was the end of the adventure.

I was terribly disappointed in it all. It depressed me so much. I’d put a lot of work into that whole thing, and I was so excited to see them play through it. They’d had some really great fun at times, but the really bad moments killed the good feelings.

A few weeks passed with them just playing their normal Minecraft survival and creative games, and then Calfgrit8 came to me and asked about the adventure game. He asked if they could play it again, and if they couldn’t play it together, maybe he could play it without his big brother. Knowing that it was dangerous to explore the dungeon alone, he asked if I would play it with him. That touched my heart.

Later and separately I asked Caflgrit12 about it. He said it was too hard and he wasn’t interested in continuing the adventure.

So I may just end up finishing it with my 8 year old, the two of us. That could be cool.

Here are some screenshots from the dungeon delve:

Bullgrit

I took the boys to get their haircuts Saturday morning. We let them bring their Nintendo DS games with them so they have something to do while sitting still in the chair and while waiting for their turn in the chair. This time, Calfgrit8 was the first to take the chair, and Calfgrit12 sat on the waiting couch with me.

Within a minute of the stylist starting on CG8, CG12 got up and walked over to his brother. Now, to get there, he had to navigate through two other stylists and customers and the various cords dangling about at the chair stations. He spoke something to his brother, then made his way back to our couch. I didn’t realize what he was getting up for until he was already getting in the way. And it was too late to stop him after he was sitting back down with me.

Maybe a minute later, he got up again to go to his brother. I was distracted with reading at that moment, so, again, I couldn’t stop him before he was walking through the crowd. He again spoke to his brother, said, “OK,” then came back to sit on the couch. That “OK” made me think the conversation was finished.

But another minute later, he got up yet again. This time I stopped him. “Don’t keep going through everyone. Leave CG8 alone to get his haircut.”

He showed me his DS, and said, “But we’re playing together. I need to tell him what we’re going to do next.”

“Well then stop playing together,” I suggested. “You can’t keep walking up there. CG8 needs to stay still for his haircut, and you shouldn’t walk through everyone’s business.”

He gave me some explanation why they had to talk to get their game straight. I sighed, then gave him permission to go up one more time, to finalize things. But I also gave him directions to walk around the stations so as not to get in anyone’s way.

He went around as I told him to, talked to his brother, and then started back to our couch right through the work stations. I was about to scold him for walking back through the stations, but when he was only halfway back, he turned around and went back to his brother.

I slapped my palm to my face. Oh for the love of . . . !

When he came back, I did scold him for walking back through the crowd. His defense was, “But you told me to go that way to go to CG8.” He sat down next to me again.

A minute later, he got up again. But this time I immediately stopped him. “No!” I said. “No more going through everyone’s way.”

“But I’ll walk around,” he said.

“Still no,” I said. “Just sit here.”

He again explained why he needed to talk to his brother because they were playing online together.

I sighed. “Then stop playing together.”

“But if I stop, CG8 will wonder why I’m not helping him.”

“Then quit the game.”

“If I quit it will cut off his game too.”

“Just . . . geez . . . don’t . . . oh my God!” I was at my wit’s end with this. “Just sit here. Do not get up.”

A few seconds passed and CG12 shouted to his brother, “Sorry, CG8, Dad won’t let me play!”

“Don’t shout in here,” I said, barely below yelling at him. I was flummoxed. What in the world?

CG12 sat there and eventually got back into the game — without having to communicate with his brother.

A few more minutes, and it was time to swap turns in the stylist’s chair. CG8 came and sat with me, and CG12 went and sat in the chair.

To catch the problem before it came up, I immediately informed CG8 that he wasn’t to get up and go to his brother. I was still aggravated by having to stop his brother.

He bristled at me. “You don’t have to be so hard on me. Why are you being mean?”

Sigh. I apologized for my tone. But I repeated my instruction to not get up from the couch.

“OK,” he agreed.

A few moments later . . . “CG12! Let’s change games!” he shouted across the room.

My head a’sloded and I collapsed to the floor a quiver pile of insanity.

Bullgrit

I was in a conversation the other day where a woman mentioned that she once quit a job because her boss expected her to sleep with him. Although I have a similar story, I chose not to bring it up in that conversation, in that crowd, at that time. But I’ll talk about it here.

In my early 20s, I was hired as a “Salesman Representative.” The job duties were: I sat in an office, with a computer, and sort of tracked inventory for salespeople, (all men), who called in. This was the late 80s, before laptops or common mobile communications. I was excited to be sitting at a computer all day. The computer was just a terminal with an amber CRT display — just letters and numbers, nothing more graphical than an asterisk. But still, I was “working with computers,” and I expected it to be a first step in a career of “working with computers.” I had only half a college education at this time, (two years of computer science), and I thought this was a shortcut into a relevant career. [I eventually went back to finish college, with a completely different degree, (English), a few years later.]

Anyway, on to my failure as a manwhore…

A few things about the job interview and the office culture crack me up, now that I realize what was going on. But at the time, I was oblivious to it because I was excited for taking my first steps into a career. In hindsight, certain comments and questions stand out. It was mentioned, (not by the woman who would be my boss), that my boss was divorced and mostly without a social life because she was married to her job. There were subtle and indirect questions about my own relationship status, and my willingness to sometimes work late. To a young guy interviewing for his first “real” job, these didn’t phase me at all. I just thought such stuff was normal chit chat.

Once I got the job, (almost immediately), I met the other folks in the “Salesman Rep” office: four Salesman Reps, (women), plus two secretaries/admins, (also women), and the boss, (the top woman). Everyone was flat neutral with me. I figured it was a totally professional operation, with no friendly interaction. This felt weird, but what did I know? This was my first experience working in a “real” job.

The overall department office arrangement was one main room with three adjoining rooms. I was seated in the main room with the two admins and another rep. Two senior reps were in two of the adjoining rooms, (with no doors), and our boss was in the other adjoining room, (with a door that was often closed). The front door from our department lead to other departments, and the back door lead to the huge factory/warehouse floor. The front departments had about half a dozen women and two men. The factory/warehouse had maybe fifty women and three men, (a couple of mechanics and the floor boss).

Yes, that’s a lot of women, between the ages of 18 and past retirement. I was just barely of man age, but I was the only man under the age of 40. That whole situation just makes me laugh out loud nowadays. It had the makings of a sitcom, or porno, or horror. But I was very conscientious about the separation of “work” and “social.” I didn’t want to screw up the first step in a potential career.

My treading carefully through the work-and-women minefield didn’t stop some rumors going around the factory/warehouse floor, though. I heard about my “exploits” with two different women back there. Although these trysts were pure fantasy, some of the women apparently believed them. I was polite and tried to be friendly with everyone in the company, but for some, “friendly” was taken as flirtation. If only I was really that smooth. Fortunately, it seems all the tall tales about me were positive “experiences,” so in the end, the lies were good for my reputation, even though I didn’t actually get any tangible benefits.

I avoided all real outside social “interaction” with any of the women who worked at the company. But that wasn’t believed by anyone. Even by my direct coworkers.

The chilly shoulders I got from the women in my department was a bit uncomfortable. The two secretaries warmed up to me eventually, but there was always a strange, knowing smile in their eyes. There was a rumor going around our department, too. The term “rumor” really doesn’t define the situation. It was an assumed fact that I was servicing the boss-lady after hours. These rumors I didn’t learn until I was let go after three months on the job.

When I got “let go,” I was disappointed. I had tried my best, but I just didn’t live up to their expectations. I took what they told me about my performance at face value: that I just didn’t have the experience they needed. (They praised my affinity with the computer, though.) Almost immediately after my departure from the company, I became friends with a couple of the workers there, after we met outside the office: one of the department secretaries, and one of the factory workers, both my age. I learned a lot from them that I hadn’t already learned while working there.

The biggest surprise, for me, was when the secretary explained in direct terms what I had not known: I was specifically hired to sleep with the boss-lady. The “expectations” that I didn’t live up to was banging the boss. The “experience” I lacked was recognizing the opportunity presented to me. I learned from the secretary, and later from two of the other Salesman Reps, that all the women in the department were surprised when I was let go. They each said they must have figured wrong about what I was doing on the occasional after-hours work time. One even offered me an apology for not being nicer while I was employed there.

It was after learning this information that many pieces fell into place in my mind. Some of the seemingly ridiculous make-work I was given that held me past regular hours. Some of the behind closed doors, one-on-one training I was given by the boss-lady. Some double entendre from the boss-lady, some of the innuendo from coworkers, both in my department and out in the factory.

God, I was so dumb. But I was concentrating on starting a career with only two years of college. Sexing up the boss was something that only happened in movies, right. Some situations that came up made me nervous because I just didn’t know how to take them in an office environment. I mean, nothing was presented to me blatantly and clear; it was all subtle hints and assumptions.

Thank God I was so dumb. I can imagine how some things might have turned out had I taken and acted on the clues, and most of those some things lead to poor results. Bad results. Considering how things were at that job when people just thought I was sexing the boss, how awful might it have gotten if I had actually been doing it? What would my “career” have become?

Looking back, I laugh at that 90-day period of my early adult life, and I feel that I probably successfully navigated through a potentially disastrous personal situation. I avoided a difficult situation by clueless bumbling like a drunken master avoids punches and kicks by staggering and stumbling around a room. I lost a job, but nothing more. I gained valuable insight and some friends. Fair trade.

Bullgrit

Calfgrit10 asked me a couple times this weekend if I we could play some Dungeons & Dragons. Since both boys were pretty good all weekend, I finally agreed Sunday evening.

CG10 wanted to take a whole team on the adventure: 5 characters run by himself, plus a 6th run by CG7. He went through my miniatures collection and pulled out his team, and his little brother picked out a warrior, also. But after putting some thought into it, I determined that I really just didn’t have enough time to pull together and run an adventure for a whole bunch of characters. And I didn’t think it would be a good idea to let one novice 10-year-old try to run multiple characters. So I limited them to one character each, but I created their fighters at 3rd level, (so they could survive some monster encounters as just two).

CG7 told me he wanted to adventure in a volcano, with lava, and fight a dragon. So, I quickly threw together a very small dungeon set in a volcano with lava and a dragon:

A dragon had stolen the king’s crown, and taken it back to its volcano lair. The king hired CG10 and CG7 to go after the dragon and retrieve the crown. The king would reward them if they could accomplish the quest.

I wrote some monster stats on note cards for reference, but I was going to create the dungeon completely on the fly, based on how well they were doing and how much time we had left before bed time. Unfortunately, I had not adjusted the clock in my office/game room for the fall back to Standard Time, so I ended up shortening the game session by an hour. This meant we only played through three encounters for the adventure.

The adventurer pair rode their horses to the volcano, and found the cave entrance to the dungeon guarded by a pair of hobgoblins. CG10 played daring and reckless, going right up to the guards and attacking them. CG7 played cautious and sneaky, choosing to approach from behind after CG10’s fighter got into the fight. The first fight ended quickly, but the noise attracted the attention of other hobgoblins inside the cave. These five more hobgoblins rushed out to find out what was going on, and both boys’ fighters jumped to attack them.

In the fight, CG10’s character was seriously wounded, (from multiple hits), and CG7’s character was only lightly wounded, (from one hit). Some of the hobgoblins retreated and escaped from the attack. Both adventurers decided to pull back from the cave and go make camp. They needed to bandage up and rest to recover their hit points before any more monster encounters.

After a night’s rest, for which they fully healed, the boys went back to the cave entrance. There were no guards outside this time. So they lit a torch and went into the volcano dungeon. They found another guard post, with two hobgoblins, (who had retreated from the previous day’s fight). The fight went easy. CG10 slew the two hobgoblins while CG7 hung back being safe.

Then they moved deeper into the dungeon, CG10 leading the way. Down the tunnel they came to a large cavern with a lava stream down the middle, and a lava pool off to the side. CG10 saw a treasure chest in the far corner of the room, past the lava stream, and he immediately moved forward toward it. CG7 still hung back, just outside the room — he secretly told me that his intention was to run in and take the treasure if CG10 got into a fight with a monster.

As CG10 got to the middle of the room, a winged, snake-like dragon emerged from the pool of lava behind him. The dragon breathed fire, damaging CG10. And then the fight was on. But CG7 continued to stay out of the room, safe from the dragon.

CG10 put up a good fight. He considered retreat when he was down to 4 hit points, (probably one hit away from being killed). But when his turn came around again, he threw the thought of retreat out of his mind and continued attacking the dragon, all by himself. He severely wounded the dragon, and forced it to retreat back down into the lava pool. Then CG7 rushed into the cavern and jumped over the lava stream to reach the treasure chest before his brother.

In the chest was a large pile of gold and silver coins, with the king’s jeweled crown on top. CG7 grabbed the crown as CG10 caught up. CG10 scooped up some coins as CG7 jumped back over the lava stream to get back out of the cavern with the quest goal.

But the dragon came back up out of the lava pool, saying they will not leave with the crown. The dragon breathed fire on CG7, damaging him, and CG7 halted his dash out because he didn’t want to get close to the dragon. CG10 then held the treasure he had scooped out of the chest over the lava stream. He threatened to drop the coins into the lava unless the dragon let them leave.

The dragon, having only 2 hit points left, and not wanting to loose all his treasure, decided it could let them go away with just the crown. So it told CG10 to put the coins back into the chest and leave. CG10 honored the bargain, put the coins back into the chest, and then jumped back over the lava stream to follow CG7 out the tunnel.

The adventurers left the dungeon, got their horses, and rode back to their king. The king was so happy to get his crown back that he rewarded them 2,000 gold pieces. He was so proud of their bravery in taking the quest that he knighted them and held a feast in their honor. And there was great rejoicing.

Both boys told me they really had fun, and they both wanted to hold onto their character sheets and keep them in their rooms. It all went pretty well, especially considering how quickly I threw it all together in about 20 minutes.

The game table:

Negotiating with the dragon:

The dragon’s stats:

CG10’s character sheet:

CG7’s character sheet:

Notice that CG7 drew the crown on his sheet, completely on his own idea.

Bullgrit