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16-year-old Makes Working Scientific Calculator in Minecraft
- exch 14y agoHaving tried my hand at building computing systems in Minecraft myself, I must say this is very impressive work.
- tmh88j 14y agoI think this would be one of the few cases to list video games on a college/job application. I'll be honest that I didn't watch all 10 minutes, but it seems like he's using some complex methods, especially for a 16 year old. Props to him, one hell of a hacker!
- bryanh 14y agoCould Minecraft be that little thing that teaches kids about logic? Maybe Jeb and co. should consider adding even simpler logic based building blocks, more akin to Lego's Mindstorm as an alternative to relays and switches. I find it fascinating to think in 10-20 years many will be looking back fondly on how they learned to hack with an unassuming little game: Minecraft.
- cookiecaper 14y agoThere is an unbelievable amount of potential in Minecraft that is completely untapped. It's really an amazing environment and I'm surprised it hasn't spawned "sandbox games" as a completely separate and significant genre, especially since a big reason Minecraft remains "untapped" is Notch's reticence to open the platform up and push the game forward.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- withad 14y agoIt is steadily becoming a lot more open - Jeb's the lead developer now and a big focus has been put on adding mod support. They've hired the guys behind Bukkit (a popular third-party mod manager for servers) to help with that, I believe. Clones have also started to appear but it's still small indie companies making them, meaning it'll take time before many are at the same level as Minecraft. However, the bigger companies do seem to be paying attention (an EA bigwig spoke about Minecraft in a Gamasutra piece the other day [1], though he was saying fairly obvious things), so it'll be interesting to see what the genre's like in 5-10 years' time. [1] http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/167137/Minecrafts_future_depends_on_more_than_just_Mojang_says_EA_CCO.php http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/167137/Minecrafts_future_...
- elisee 14y agoJust thought I'd mention CraftStudio (http://craftstud.io/ http://craftstud.io/), the multiplayer game-making platform I'm working on. You could say it's a Minecraft-style engine but you get to make your own models, paint your own map blocks and (soon) write your own game rules (so you'll be able to make any kind of games, not just first person stuff). Video of CraftStudio in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1QbJO3y_O0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1QbJO3y_O0 Hacker News thread from yesterday: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3751455 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3751455
- mbell 14y agoHave a look at Spout[0]. Its an open source server that generalizes the minecraft concept. They are actually supporting 'minecraft' as a plugin called vanilla which communicates with the stock minecraft client. They also have an improved client which is currently a modded minecraft client but I believe the eventual plan it rewrite the client from scratch also. [0]http://www.spout.org http://www.spout.org and https://github.com/SpoutDev https://github.com/SpoutDev
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- ido 14y agoI'm surprised it hasn't spawned "sandbox games" as a completely separate and significant genre Maybe you haven't noticed, but "minecraft-like" is a a burgeoning young genre - every week I see a new one on the /r/gamedev subreddit or tigsource forums. And there are already a dozen or so commercially successful ones on steam and XBLIG.
- iwwr 14y agoThat's where mods like Redpower comes in. http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/365357-123-eloraams-mods-redpower-2-prerelease-4e/ http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/365357-123-eloraams-mods... The mods are really what set Minecraft apart.
- JrodS 14y agoRedpower is fantastic! I built an 8 bit ALU with it and its so much more pleasant (and faster) to work with than the standard redstone
- saulrh 14y agoBuildcraft[1] and Industrialcraft[2] are also good for teaching automation, logistics, and resource management. For example, buildcraft+redpower will let you build a machine that digs a giant hole in the ground, smelts the ores, incinerates the useless cobble, and sorts everything into the proper chests for easy access. [1]: http://www.mod-buildcraft.com/ http://www.mod-buildcraft.com/ [2]: http://wiki.industrial-craft.net/index.php?title=Main_Page http://wiki.industrial-craft.net/index.php?title=Main_Page
- ThomPete 14y agoHave you read Seymour Papert's book Mindstorm? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seymour_Papert http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seymour_Papert You might be on to something there.
- shantanubala 14y agoI honestly love seeing stuff like this -- it's really cool. But part of me always wonders, "I wonder what this kid could've built if he had a more meaningful project in mind?" I understand that you need to have a certain amount of "fun" before you can do "serious" things, but I can't help but feel a little disappointed that he didn't "dream bigger." It's not really a criticism. This kid is probably really smart, but I wish it was easy to create environments for such people to really flourish to their full potential.
- cookiecaper 14y agoAs I said elsewhere, I think Minecraft provides a great environment for prototyping for someone who doesn't have a background in electronics. I don't see anything wrong with this at all. I reckon the builder probably does "dream bigger", and uses Minecraft as an exercise and/or sandbox. Is there a reason he shouldn't do that? I am curious why so many people interpret this as a sign of an addiction and wasted time instead of a purely awesome accomplishment in self-education. Few people keep "build something cool in Minecraft" as their only aspiration in life.
- jacquesm 14y agoWhat do you mean by 'more meaningful'? I think it is fantastic that he managed to be so creative that he managed to turn a game into a calculator, something it clearly wasn't intended to be. That shows a lot of skill and resourcefulness, it also shows quite a bit of dedication and stamina. All of those are great traits and I'm sure the experience improved on these. This impresses me very much. Can you give an example of what you would consider to be a more meaningful project? Something that you would consider to be approaching full potential?
- shantanubala 14y agoI only now realized that my comment was a bit unnecessarily patronizing! I meant it as a wish that programming could be as fun as Minecraft, but also remain as efficient as something like Python. Imagine what that kid could build if a tool existed that was as interesting as Minecraft, but tailored toward making iPhone apps (or another very specific type of application). In the same amount of time, he could've probably made something even more impressive. I was trying to express a slight disappointment that the tools were a limiting factor to the ability of people (like this kid) to build amazing things. Instead of building a calculator, would he be able to do more in the same amount of time? In that case, could he build a game? An app? Really, it doesn't matter what the end product (or the project) is. I was only trying to express a little disappointment that there wasn't a more efficient way to channel his energy into a final product that would allow him to accomplish an even more ambitious goal.
- HardyLeung 14y agoThis is very very impressive, though I hope the kid's next project is some creative and useful applications rather than another Minecraft undertaking.
- cookiecaper 14y agoMinecraft is awesome because it provides a convenient and ready simulator for this kind of work. It gets people interested and involved. It just seems much more accessible than downloading a "real" simulator somewhere online. I think MC provides a great mechanism for exploration in electronics/circuitry and something like this proves it. What do you want this person to do instead?
- joe42 14y ago> What do you want this person to do instead? I get that Minecraft is fun, but wouldn't it have been more practical, in the long run, to have built something equally cool in a real CAD/HDL/etc. software? It'd be really cool if someone could build a CAD/HDL/programming "IDE" that was as "fun" to "play" as Minecraft, but still as "useful" as something used in "the real world." But I suppose this is the same desire that drives all of those "programming language for kids" projects that never really seem to catch on.
- jacquesm 14y ago> I get that Minecraft is fun, but wouldn't it have been more practical, in the long run, to have built something equally cool in a real CAD/HDL/etc. software? I find it all the more impressive because he used an environment that was not meant to be used like this. That's like running the marathon with a handicap and still winning. And if he can do it in minecraft I think that he'll take like a fish to water once he gets his hands on other, more powerful tools. That's mostly a matter of access, 16 year olds are more likely to have minecraft on the machines they have access to than CAD/HDL software and the hardware to go with it.
- joe42 14y ago
- fruchtose 14y agoSomebody get this kid a job!
- jacquesm 14y agoI watched the video all the way to the end, this is nothing short of amazing. Now I get why they call it 'creative mode'.
- tibbon 14y agoIf they pulled it off in survival mode, I would be absolutely floored. Well, I still am anyway, but still- Damn creepers.
- BHSPitMonkey 14y ago> creepers So THAT'S what was causing the memory corruption.
- LesZedCB 14y agobrings a whole new understanding to "debugging"
- Derbasti 14y agoBut isn't that basically where the term came from? Actual insects frying on circuits and shorting contacts?
- brazzy 14y agoNot really, it was always largely figurative. The famous Mark II logbook with the moth taped to it had the note "First actual case of bug being found." - so that clearly indicates that A) the term had been in use for a while (a very long while, there is a record of Edison using it) and B) Real insects were typically not involved.
- cadab 14y agoThere was a article on HN a few weeks back, the link escapes me. But there was the first ever bug, an actual moth. It was taped to the error log i believe. Edit: Brazzy explains it better and indeed seems more informed :)
- PhrosTT 14y agoCan a 'minecrafter' explain a little more please? I know you get 1x1 blocks of wood/stone/etc. How do the pieces move? Are there simple on/off switches? Gunpowder + fire for wires?
- dyselon 14y agoThere are a variety of switches and buttons, wire, NOR gates, and a small handful of mechanical devices, the most important of which are pistons that allow you to move blocks around.
- pixelcort 14y agoIn the game there is a resource known as redstone. It can be acquired underground when mining in the game or made available in the game's creative mode. With it you can build various kinds of circuits. The game also includes various input and output blocks, such as buttons, switches, lights, and pistons. Put together, the player can do anything from as simple as a button opening a door to as complex as the article describes.
- lisper 14y agoSo... did this kid assemble the whole thing manually brick-by-brick, or did he use some kind of compiler? Does minecraft have macros? Stored procedures? Hard to believe every individual brick was placed by hand.
- yew 14y agoNo macros or compilers per se. There are map editors that allow you to make copies of existing groups of blocks, like replicating seven-segment displays. There are not really any repositories of existing designs, so the logic was probably all done 'by hand'.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- cschneid 14y agoMost likely he used an out-of-minecraft editor to put together logic gates that can be copy/pasted, and then larger structures. The map format for minecraft is pretty easy to edit, and there are CAD like programs that'll build out an environment you want.
- arithma 14y agoI am really afraid that although this 16-year old (I don't like the patronizing kid word) has made something of immense creativity and of intrinsic value, he'll face such a drastic world that limits a lot of creative potential by the idiosyncrasies of mature reality. I really hope talented people like this guy be given full-throttle. They are the real capital, not the tools.
- Melyan 14y agoWhy is it necessary to include the age in the title?
- artursapek 14y agoAre you serious?
- DanBC 14y agoIt's not necessary. But it does make a difference to the story. Some one who'd had years of education and gone through a good college and has worked in the industry could have made this, and everyone would have been impressed. The fact that this young person created this without all that is impressive. And, depending what media you have access to, there's not often good news about young people.
- psycho 14y agoWell, the kid doesn't have to worry what to answer on a question about the most impressive thing he did if he decides to apply to YC someday.
- arethuza 14y agoI'm hoping his next step is to create a full computer and port Linux to it... :-)
- Zaak 14y agoMy mind boggles at the sheer size of 8M RAM in minecraft...
- prophetjohn 14y agoIt would be neat, but honestly the complexity of a modern CPU is not something that any individual would be able to recreate in a life time if they were building it piece-by-piece. I imagine that's true for any CPU capable of running recent Ubuntu releases or even something light like, I dunno, Puppy.
- jacquesm 14y agoI'll settle for OS/9.
- 14y ago
- simonbrown 14y agoSee also: Working 8-bit CPU in Minecraft http://boingboing.net/2010/11/12/working-8-bit-cpu-in.html http://boingboing.net/2010/11/12/working-8-bit-cpu-in.html
- jebblue 14y agoAmazing kid, wonderful invention.
- 10dpd 14y agoHas anyone verified that this is in fact real? It seems like it would be rather easy to fake this.