Minecraft as a Tool for Fiction Writers

[Cuchonchuir]

And a thank-you for the mod, without which this would not have been possible.

I just finished a science fiction novel that involved sky pirates after the Civil War. In the story the main character's ship is large, and a lot happens within it. As a writer, it's easy to gloss over details like “They went to the bridge from the galley” without knowing exactly WHERE each location is. But I wanted to actually design it. To know exactly where everything was, to make it “work”.

Even though the book is written, I considered this my celebration for getting it done. Now just if I can get the damn thing published . . .

So I decided to build the ship in Minecraft. It's not exactly a “mega-project” like building the Death Star or a recreation of Middle Earth, but to me it not only was a lot of work but turned out a lot better than I expected.

I kinda wanted to share it, because I thought it was cool, and to show some appreciation to the mod, as I used quite a few of the mod parts in its construction. I made every aspect of the ship; the hold, armory, crew bunks, galley, head, et cetera . . . but I'm only posting a few pictures as I figure no one wants to see them all except me.

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Here she is. The ship's name is the Bold Deceiver

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The view from the helm. Those gray pipes are smokestacks; she's half-sail, half-steam in the story. I thought iron/gold blocks looked too huge, so I used stone siding – which I also used for the sails.

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To simulate the steam power, I hid a waterwheel inside the area of the ship where the boiler canonically is. It worked out great, as it is close to the area I actually wanted to have lifts, and the banging and smoke of the mechanical power adds an ambiance I wanted.
The lifts can be used to get into the ship from the ground (she's about 70 meters above the ground). I have it set so that when one is signalled to go up, another lowers. That way no one is ever stuck on the ground waiting for a lift to come. :) (thanks FC, not just for the pulley and platforms, but also for wonderful Lens so I can wirelessly summon it from the ground!)

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The gun deck. The Bold Deceiver has 34 guns, all twelve-pound Whitworth rifles. Civil War/history buffs will probably know them already, but they were rare and very accurate breech-loading cannons from the time. Not so rare in my story. And the reason they are only 12-pounders is because weight is at a premium on the skyships, and heavier guns can weigh many tons each.
I simulated the guns with axles poking from anchors. I think they kinda get the idea across.

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View standing and looking back along the Bowsprit. My friend is floating over there, he helped me with a lot of details (and yes, we constructed it in creative; I usually construct all of my projects in survival, but I get dizzy at heights, even virtual heights, so there was no way I was making this legit. :| [of course, this does make one wonder why I then wrote a book about SKY pirates . . .]).

From here you can see the four side-sails (one incomplete on the back left), the balloons (filled with a fictional flotation gas I call cavorine, I know they're not nearly big enough for helium balloons), main masts, crow's nest, and up front those gray blocks with holes are how block dispensers look in the texture pack I'm using – I used them to represent the bow chasers, carronades, which are short but large-caliber cannons (short keeps the weight down). I actually covered the tops of the balloons in wool slabs the same color as the rest of the balloons to prevent mob spawns.

Though during construction they were spawning like crazy.

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Take the helm, Mr. Spider.

All in all, it was a very fun project. It's on a friend's server, and he hasn't seen it yet, so I'm looking forward to showing it to him. :D I hid all kinds of surprises in it, such as logbooks with funny entries, and 13 hidden Companion Cubes I'm going to challenge him to find.

I built it in kind of a cheaty way, but I'm going to be referring back to it a lot, as I plan to write more in this fictional universe. :D

So thanks again FC, this wouldn't have been possible without your mod, for a lot of reasons. Or at least it would have looked like utter crap. -_-

[DaveYanakov]

This sort of thing where a toy can be used to enhance further creative ventures beyond the game always makes me smile. Whether it's in creating addonns or writing stories, the fact that this mod adds so much more potential to in game designs without clashing with the overall feel of the game is one of the biggest parts of why I love it.

I for one hope you'll be sharing publication details.

[Cuchonchuir]

Thanks for your interest in my work. :)

I'm currently looking around for a publisher and agent, but when I find one now I'll be sure to let you know.

If you want I can post a link to this world, the server owner said he'd give me a copy soon. You can explore the ship and find a lot of little details I hid in it - some of the logbooks have background information on the story, and I actually included the intro to the book in one. :D

[Andellmere]

I'd very much be interested in a world download!

Don't really have anything meaningful to add to the conversation, but it really is a nice ship.

When your book finds it's way onto shelves, do let us know. I like to see the contributions to the world of fiction that people I've interacted with(seen seems to be a stretch, aye?) send out into the world.

[Cuchonchuir]

Hey, thanks for the interest, truly. :) I will get that link up tomorrow - my friend's already gone for the night.

We run a small server, but you're also welcome to join us if you want - we play cooperatively (as opposed to anarchy). Just send me a pm if you are interested, and that applies to both of you.

I'm planning on building more ships/structures based on the work over time. :D

[FlowerChild]

Very nice man! Best of luck with your book :)

P.S. I could see tilted Cauldrons making decent Carronades ;)

[Cuchonchuir]

Tilted cauldrons, hadn't even thought of that! Brilliant, thanks for the idea, and the well wishes. :D

[FlowerChild]

Tilted cauldrons, hadn't even thought of that! Brilliant, thanks for the idea, and the well wishes. :D

I'm a bit of an 18th century naval warfare buff, so I both knew exactly what you meant about them, and that immediately sprung to mind ;)

[Cuchonchuir]

Oh brilliant, I don't know many people who are into naval history, so mostly I just have my own opinion to go on. :D

I was going for a look on the prow of a blend of a sailing ship but moving towards the shape of a pure ocean steamship. Even though it's a flying ship, I think for a long time they'd continue to base them on ocean going vessels.

And her length-to-beam ratio is 6:1, if you were curious, lol.

[Cuchonchuir]

Sorry for the double post, but I wanted to share:

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The Bold Deceiver's new bow chasers! Still have to do the stern chasers, but I'll get them, too. This also gave me an excuse to have axles and gearboxes going through the ship, which adds to the feeling of being crowded (as a ship would feel), and to the ambiance with the creaks and groans. :D

[LaserSushi]

You sir have inspired me. Time to build something that uses the windmills as the airship propellers, and yet somehow power the airship.

[Cuchonchuir]

That's cool to hear. I hope you post pictures when you're done.

I actually put waterwheels on the back of my ship to represent a screw propeller. They aren't in water or anything, so they don't provide any power. They look good, though.

[Cuchonchuir]

Have the world save - does anyone have a preference for how I upload it? I'm assuming some third-party site, though I also wouldn't mind e-mailing people individually if they wanted.

[DaveYanakov]

Mediafire worked for me when I shared my own build as a zipped world save folder.

[Cuchonchuir]

Here it is!

http://www.mediafire.com/?sprobba3w1ei5eq

You should spawn in the middle of a large base. Head to the industrial zone, and when you find the cow/pig farm, head in the direction of the back corner of it (near a stone tower). The ship will be on a plain flanked by a rain forest. There's a button on the ground with a lift that will take you up into it.

[LaserSushi]

Very cool.