[Minecraft] Survival Island - Day 1

I thought I would do a little Let's Play but in Blog form, kind of like I started with Order & Chaos before I got bored of it. I've been playing Minecraft on and off for about a year. This entry won't be of general interest unless you're a Minecraft player, or are just wondering what Minecraft is all about. A YouTube video would probably show you that much more clearly, in about 10 seconds, but why watch a convenient video when you can read my long-winded and boring adventures in excruciating detail, right here?

The seed I used was  -8320668148713193150 which you can copy-and-paste into your own game to try this island for yourself. It's small, with 1 tree, 1 sugar cane, some grass and sand, and a (deep) cave. Perfect!

I felt like Tom Hanks in Castaway. Flat ocean as far as the eye could see.

So first thing's first, I chopped down the tree. It only gave back 1 sapling but that's OK. So I replanted that, harvested all the grass and got 5 seeds, grabbed some sand, and headed into the cave entrance to set up my little base.

Ah my new home! A virginal cave, waiting to be entered and defiled. Or something.

I built a workbench. As opposed to a "normal" game of singleplayer, where you can't walk 5 meters without bumping into a tree, this island made me value every last plank of wood. I made a wooden pick-axe, dug out some cobblestone for a living space, and then used that cobblestone to build a furnace. I burned some wood to make a single piece of charcoal, which I delicately turned into 4 torches. So at least I could stop mobs spawning inside my cave tonight. These torches were worth their weight in gold. They were protection from the darkness, the certain death of sitting in a dark cave waiting for a monster to spawn and slaughter you like a pathetic little lamb. I would treasure each and every one of these 4 torches!!

I carefully climbed down deeper into the cave, and quickly came across a few blocks of coal -- I can tell you, I've never been so relieved to find coal. I made some spare torches, chucked a couple around the place to brighten up the mood, and headed back up to the surface to check where the sun was.

It was just past midday and to my surprise, the sapling had grown into a tree already! Bonus. So I chopped the bastard down and replanted the 2 saplings it gave me. Now we're cooking with gas. I made a stone pick-axe, stone sword, and stone hoe. I carved out a little garden space inside my cave and planted the grass seeds. With the 1.8 update, it's more important than ever to have a steady supply of food to keep your health regenerating. I'm not sure if any cows or sheep are going to spawn on this little island and if they don't, I'll need to bake some bread.

Here is my little cave at the end of the first day:

Home sweet home. Workbench, furnace, indoor wheat farm and a hole leading into the depths of the Earth.

Stay tuned for Day 2 tomorrow.