Month: June 2016

More Kid Friendly Minecraft You Tubers

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The content of this post can be found in its original form at Common Sense Media a great resource site for parents on a whole range of topics, not just games. This post was made by Caroline Knorr Senior Parenting Editor and Mom of one, and gives a detailed overview of other YouTubers out there delivering kid friendly entertainment, mainly on Minecraft, but some other games as well.

This is obviously something that we’ve aspired to do with We-Game.Live as well, so if you’re looking for some more options for videos, this list is good and features some of our absolute favourite YouTubers: DanTDM, Stampy, iBallisticSquid and Little Lizard Gaming.

ThxcyaI will say that from this original list, I’ve taken out TheAtlanticCraft, although a lot of their videos are OK, there are a few odd ones in there that make me think it’s not 100% suitable for kids, so I wouldn’t include here. It also misses off one of our other faves ThxCya, who is a good friend of DanTDM – aside from doing general Minecraft videos he has these great Minecraft music videos with amazing animation – lots of fun and with ‘in’ jokes for regular Minecrafters – he is definitely one to check out and at the moment is just shy of 1 million subscribers, so you could help him get to that milestone 🙂 Check him out here at his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/ThnxCya

(Original Post)

If Minecraft has taken over your kids and you hardly know who they are or what they’re talking about anymore, you’re in good company. But, although you may love that the game helps build 21st-century skills such as creativity, innovation, and collaboration, your kids’ obsession can be overwhelming. Perhaps most puzzling is that every waking moment they’re not playing Minecraft, they’re in front of YouTube watching Minecraft.

Minecraft videos on YouTube attract millions of views daily. There are tutorials (for ideas on new things to create), “Let’s Play” videos (footage of people playing the game), challenges (new gameplay ideas to try), mod showcases (which show off cool thing kids can download to modify their Minecraft worlds), and more.

But the unique things about the game, including the ability for any player to create anything they want, can result in wide variations in quality, age-appropriateness, and relevancy to your kid’s specific interests and gaming ability. There are hundreds of channels devoted to Minecraft, including popular but edgy ones such as Yogscast and SkyDoesMinecraft, and it’s hard to know which ones are good for kids. Although you could download an app such as KicVidz, which curates only kid-friendly Minecraft videos, you know your little fanatic will be begging — and searching YouTube — for more.

Even kid-friendly videos come with a few caveats. First, with many clocking in at 20 or 30 minutes, they can be a major time suck. Second, many have commercials that advertise products from cars to cookies to vodka. Third, some videos contain salty language so take note of our age recommendations below and preview videos when possible. But there’s plenty to explore to help fan the flames of this mostly worthwhile pursuit. Here are the top 12 best-for-kids YouTube Minecraft channels.

Stampy (aka Mr. Stampy Cat, aka stampylonghead). A British cartoon cat (voiced by Joseph Garrett from Portsmouth, England) hosts the lively videos on this lighthearted channel. Stampy offers Let’s Plays and tutorials on a range of Minecraft topics (and other games, all family-friendly), and his game worlds are distinctly colorful.
Best for: Younger fans. Stampy feels like a cross between Pee-wee Herman and Mr. Rogers.
Check out: His How To Minecraft series is excellent for noobs.

iBallisticSquid. Stampy’s best friend is a squid — remember, anything is possible in Minecraft! — voiced by Garrett’s real-life pal David Spencer. Squiddy (or Squid Nugget) exchanges mild, kid-friendly, English-accented banter with Stampy and uploads Let’s Plays, mods, and challenges (which are usually set for him by Stampy).
Best for: Younger fans. Squiddy’s squeaky-clean.
Check out: His Pixelmon Learning the Basics is a great introduction to a cool mod.

Paul Soares Jr. This self-described husband, father, entrepreneur, and gamer offers family-friendly Let’s Plays and tutorials in a kindly, straightforward style.
Best for: Younger kids, new players, and families. Soares mixes in a lot of how-to information while he’s playing.
Check out: Soares’ How to Survive and Thrive tutorials are newbie nirvana. Also, note the ratings on his videos; he’s the rare YouTuber who has bothered to have his content rated for families so you know it doesn’t contain mature content.

Little Lizard Gaming. Irish brothers Ryan and Scott Fitzimons run the super-popular Minecraft channel Little Lizard Gaming which features play-throughs, how-to’s, and mods.
Best for: Younger kids. The channel boasts that it’s “100% kid-friendly.”
Check out: Minecraft Pixelman Mod, a funny mash-up of Pokemon and Minecraft.

PrestonPlayz. This young Minecraft YouTuber has earned a large following based on his solid playing, awesome parkour maps, and positive attitude.
Best for: Intermediate players who know the basics and want to expand their Minecraft skills.
Check out: Preston’s “Draw My Life” video explains his unique background and the source of his motivation.

Popular MMOs. Although it’s known for epic battles and massive explosions, Popular MMOs’ host is a friendly, folksy guy named Pat, whose knowledge of and enthusiasm for the game plus killer mods draw big audiences. He also frequently plays against his fiancĂ©e, Jen (who hosts her own Minecraft channel, GamingwithJen).
Best for: Older kids with a taste for excitement.
Check out:The Minecraft Kitty Cat Challenge, where Pat and Jen honor the passing of their cat by duking it out on Minecraft, shows the human side of the game.

Minecraft Universe. Charming TrueMU (real name: Jason Probst) hosts this popular channel that’s jam-packed with adventure maps, parkour maps, mini-games, and even original electronic songs available for download. He often plays spirited games against other advanced Minecraft players in a group called Team Crafted.
Best for: All ages. There’s a wide range of content.
Check out: The “Hottest Girls Ever” Let’s Play, wherein Jason and an opponent play as female avatars, can spark a conversation about gender roles in games.

The Bajan Canadian. Twenty-year-old Canadian video game commenter Mitchell Hughes offers a wide range of technically adept Minecraft videos, mostly played with a gentle, nerdy patter against his mild-mannered gamer pals.
Best for: Older players who really want to geek out on Minecraft.
Check out: His parkour videos and downloadable “wacky parkour maps” are some of the best.

Maricraft. Hosted by female gamer Mari Takahashi on the ultra-popular gaming channel Smosh Games, Maricraft features mostly Let’s Plays of spirited battles with her pals in wacky Minecraft worlds.
Best for: Older fans. Players swear, but the words are bleeped out and there’s some juvenile humor.
Check out: In Splegg in Your Face!, Mari and friends pummel each other with spleggs (Minecraft eggs).

TheDiamondMinecart. Hosted by twentysomething Dan Middleton of Northamptonshire, England, TheDiamondMinecart is popular for its wide variety of entertaining, creative videos. The videos’ quality across all genres (Let’s Play, mod reviews, characters, and so on) has made it one of the most highly subscribed-to and most highly viewed channels on YouTube.
Best for: More experienced players; the offerings are pretty advanced, but they’re mostly clean.
Check out: The Hunger Games video wherein DiamondMinecart takes on Stampy has a fun twist at the end.

CaptainSparklez. With one of the biggest audiences on YouTube, CaptainSparklez dazzles with his technically advanced worlds and warm, entertaining commentary. Recently purchased by Disney-owned Maker Studios, CaptainSparklez is beloved as much for his intricate, atmospheric, and complex worlds as for his parody videos.
Best for: Experienced players who can grasp the technical jargon. He can get a little edgy, too.
Check out: His Super Modded Survival Series takes fans on an epic adventure full of dungeons, new dimensions, and mighty foes.

 

Tried and Tested (#3) BuildCraft

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Following on from yesterday’s post on BuildCraft, here’s HopperBoy’s mod showcase demonstrating the basic features and how the game works… Hope you enjoy it and it gives you some ideas for how to get started with your own epic machines in BuildCraft – hit that ‘Like’ button if you do!

Just Testing… the ‘BuildCraft’ mod

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When HopperBoy got Minecraft on PC, the first mod he wanted to try was ‘BuildCraft’, having seen it on several videos by DanTDM.

BuildCraft is a great mod which allows you to build more complex machines and structures, than the basic ones you can do with just redstone and switches in the vanilla game. The major feature of BuildCraft is pipes… You use them to transport items around the place, from fluids to blocks mined up – the pipes can move it all, transport it to new locations – even sort the items out – and then drop into chests… When you need resources, you can see how this could be a very helpful mod.

The pipes are made of different materials (such as gold, diamond, cobblestone) and each one has a unique function. Pipes can also be combined with Pipe Sealant, which allows them to become Fluid Pipes that can transport liquids; you can even combine with Redstone to make Kinesis Pipes which transport mechanical energy.

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Once we had BuildCraft downloaded, HopperBoy spent time creating all sorts of machines. Some of the biggest were automatic mining machines which quarry out huge areas of stone and material and then feed it to pipes which carry it away to various hoppers and chests (I wonder how HopperBoy got his name?) With other machines piping water long distances for crops, or combining with lava pipes to create your own obsidian block maker…

Overall, this has been a great mod and has encouraged HopperBoy to get more and more creative with Minecraft machinery, creating bigger and more complex systems. He rates it 5* for the scope of what you can do with the machines and new things you can create, just by playing around with the features. Honestly, I’ve never even tried using this mod, so it’s certainly user-friendly enough for a kid to pick up and play with a little trial and error.

Want to try it yourself? Here’s how:

http://www.mod-buildcraft.com/   Official BuildCraft website, with all the information on how to download and use the mod

Check out HopperBoy’s first solo video, showing you the basics of the BuildCraft mod and how to use them, CLICK HERE

Minecraft Realms – Getting Started (#1)

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Hey everyone! Welcome to the first video in the latest series from We-Game, the family gaming channel.

In ‘We-Game Realms’ we will be showing you all the basics of playing vanilla Minecraft in survival mode, whilst exploring what it’s like playing in the new Realms environment.

Our first couple of days? We take over a house, steal some diamonds from a blacksmith and then knock his house down to make ours bigger…Erm, we were feeling a bit naughty that day…

Realms…Our new Minecraft Adventure

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For a while now we’ve been chatting about trying out the new-ish Minecraft Realms add-in to the game. Anyone familiar with Minecraft PE on Android or iPad will know that it’s lots of fun being able to play with your friends on their tablet, if you’re sharing the same wifi signal.

Until Realms came along, this wasn’t really an option on PC Minecraft – you either played servers with random people (and possibly logged in with real-world friends) or played the main game alone.

Realms allows you to set up your own private mini-server effectively, where you can invite up to 10 friends to join you. You can log-in to the world at any time, as can your friends, wherever they are! So, it’s a nice, safe way to play in Minecraft with your friends, without being on main servers.

So, we’ve decided to do a little series, where HopperBoy and I create a survival world in Realms and work from scratch together to see if we can make it all the way through the game, in the hard setting. If you want to see how we manage, check out our new video series ‘Realms’, where you can follow us day-by-day as we adventure through a new world together. The series starts tomorrow, so look out for the first video 🙂

If you want to try Realms for yourself, check out these links for more information:

https://minecraft.net/en/realms/ – Official Minecraft Realms

http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Realms – Gamepedia Minecraft Wiki

 

Just Testing…Cubeville

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OK – so on our last outings on Minecraft severs, HopperBoy and me were in the process of discovering how everything worked. To get things started we spent some time in the Cubeville server (details at the bottom of this post, if you want to try for yourself).

Spawn

And this is what we thought of it!

Cubeville is generally PvE Minecraft server – it offers you a community to interact with, that has additions like a money system and games for players to interact. It allows up to around 150 players on at one time, but from what we found it was never too busy and the players we met in game were nice and helpful. There are also Mods online (majority of the time we played) and they assist with any issues or inappropriate behaviour, which is great.

HopperBoy’s thoughts on Cubeville:

The Good

Gameplay was pretty much the same as normal Minecraft

The community was generally nice and helpful – thank you MrFunnyBonesMeow 🙂

The huge world to explore with fun fairs, large buildings and other ready built creations for you to play around on

Spawn points and ‘drop areas’ onto bouncy grass were lots of fun

 

The Not-so-Good

Difficult to find a free area to build your own house on – there are lots of ‘areas’ to go to, but are heavily built on already and/or protected

Because finding a free space was difficult, when we gathered resources we could not store them safely anywhere and we played several times and lost everything when we died which was v. frustrating!

Getting food when you first start can be a bit tricky, so when you die of hunger and lose your stuff, that is even more frustrating (although a few lovely players we met who were well established did help us out and gave us bits and pieces).

 

Overall, we’d give it 3* – it was a nice introduction to sever gameplay, however, not being able to easily establish yourself and complying with the rules made it a bit tricky and at times upsetting when lots of hard earned items were lost on dying. I would have thought some way of creating little ‘land packets’ that clearly create boundaries for someone to build within (and see if they are free or not) would be a great improvement from a grown up point of view and make establishing yourself much easier and allow you to ‘bond’ with the server environment more easily and feel at home.

In our next blog post, you can check out our video to see how our first visit to Cubeville went…

 

Want to try it? Here’s how!

http://www.cubeville.org/