So, I finally decided to delve back into the world of Minecraft. Well, actually that is a total lie because I have never left the world of Minecraft. However, I have decided to revive the blog in light of PCGamer's Tom Francis also writing one and despite the fact that I have pretty much seen it all and done it all, it is still pretty entertaining to read.

So!I spawn on a sandy coast area looking out to a small body of water with land and trees on the other side. Turning around I notice that I am actually standing halfway up a hill, at the top of which stand more trees. My first job is to find some kind of cavern or sheltered area to build my first, temporary hovel to stay in for the first night.Having scrambled to the top of the hill I realise it is a lot smaller than I anticipated and after smashing down 2 trees with my fist, I come to another small pond. Not wanting to stray too far from the spawn point in case I die, I decide that this will be my primary base when I get the supplies together, but for now I really need to get that shelter underway. I turn to my left where the hill continues upwards and start to climb to get a better idea of my surroundings.Not bad. Looking back towards the spawn point I can see that the large body of water from before is in fact the ocean. Therefore the best way for me to go for now is further inland. I turn around to see nothing but tree. I scramble to the top with haste and as a result, fall and lose 2 hearts from my health bar. Bugger it. I try again, taking my time.Wow. In the distance are a collection of massive mountains and cliffs. I will definitely want to explore those at some point in the future. Not to mention mining for minerals and supplies and obsidian. Then it's The Nether. There is so much for me to do. But I still need that bloody shelter if I'm going to survive the first night. I scramble back down the tree and onto the hill, then climb back down to my pond. First, I need a work bench to make the tools I will need to gather my first night's supplies. I break the logs from the tree's down into wooden blocks, then 4 of the blocks into a work bench.And there it is. My first crafted item in this world, a work bench, plonked right next to some mud. Using the remains of the wood I break some of the blocks down into sticks, to be used as handles, and then create a pick and a shovel. I then use these to make a small hollowed out space in the mud and stone.This is fine for now but when it gets dark, my little hole is going to get even darker. I need light, specifically in the form of torches. I need to find coal. I could very well dig further into the rock in an attempt to locate some, but the further I go it, the darker it will get and if I hit a cave I am basically screwed. I scramble back up the hill in order to spot rocky areas nearby. Unlike other minerals in MC, coal can form on the surface as well as deep underground so it is fairly easy to come by with little effort required. I travel in one direction so as to try not to lose my way back, before long I notice a dip in the ground. I have found a cave, and there, right at its mouth is...Steel... fuck. There is no way I'm going in there without coal either so it's back up to the surface to keep trekking. I walk around for a few minutes without any luck until finally I spot some coal. Remember that thing I said about being able to find it with minimal effort?Harvesting it is a different matter entirely. This could end badly. To make matters worse, it just got a little darker. I don't think I'll be making it back to my hovel. I shall probably have to dig another around here somewhere. I tear up the cliff face with my shovel like a man who fears the black of night. This is mainly because I fear the black of night. It brings death. It brings death at its most explosive. I rip through stone and mud in seconds until I finally hit coal. I mine through it and it drops into my inventory. I whip open the crafting screen and slap a stick and the coal together to make a torch. I then ram the torch into the nearest hard surface I can see. Phew. Then I turn around.Oh shit.

It is nighttime. I know it is nighttime because I can see the fucking moon. I know it is nighttime because the mooing of cows and clucking of chickens has been replaced by the hungry groans of fuck-knows-what. I turn back to the cliff face and make the most comfortable hovel I could ever imagine.This game could be a cure for claustrophobia. There is a massive expansive world out there to explore, but when the sun goes down, this 2x2 block hole, hastily dug into a cliff, with a single torch as a source of light... It's so good to be in here. I would like to say that I didn't panic, since it is only a game. Truth is, I never even noticed when my pick broke and I have no idea how many stone blocks I obliterated with my bare hands. I could very well mine further into the mountain to see what it has to offer, but with no weapons or armor, you can forget it. I spend the night watching orange glowing eyes moving around in the trees below the cliff. I can worry about those in the morning.

Luckily, I still have wood left over from the 2 trees I knocked down earlier and I now have a plentiful supply of mine stone as well. I use these to make 3 of each of the tools, pick, shovel and axe as well as 3 stone swords in case I need to deal with any mobs in the morning on the way back to my spawn area. I wander over to the window to see that the sun is finally starting to rise...OH HOLY FUCK! Out of nowhere a creeper pops up into view and I almost literally shit my pants. Had I got a few steps closer the resulting explosion would have probably taken out the entire hole and sent me tumbling down into the trees to my death. I approach to try and swing my sword at it and it stares back, letting out a loud, dry hiss. I back off. I am trapped. Stuck between a rock and a very nasty green thing with a tendency to explode walls and people. I carefully mine out the stone block next to the window so that I have a wider space to swing the sword. The last thing I want to do here is charge the creeper and bash my sword into the rocks. I take a deep breath, grab my sword and lunch. I hit before the creeper even has time to charge its attack, it staggers back and vanishes over the edge, out of view. I have no idea if it is dead. The only thing to do is go outside and check. As the sunlight spreads out across the land I approach the window. I'm sure things can only get better from here, right?