Linkages!

I’ve now added in a few links at the right-hand side of the page to other people’s sites, and this post is intended as a quick shout-out to each of them!

FRIENDS
I’m very pleased and proud to have these Minecrafters as friends:

BitBurner  – site: Minecrap
BitBurner is an outstanding Minecrafter, and so that he and his daughters JuneyBug and TiniestBit would have a central resource of Minecraft information, he created Minecrap. There’s a wealth of information on there, and you’ll also find Bit’s Blocks, his “Let’s Play” series which he plays along with JuneyBug and TiniestBit; it’s a lot of fun!

And, as previously mentioned, it was his idea for me to come up with this blog; not sure he was expecting me to do actual blog posts, though! 🙂

MinecraftChick – sites: Minecraft Misadventures; MinecraftChick (YouTube)
The self-confessed gaming noob has come a long way since she started recording her adventures in Minecraft (her previous gaming experience was The Oregon Trail!). Nearly sixty episodes in at the time of writing, you’d hardly think that in episode one, she didn’t even know how to walk around 🙂 As her following has grown, she decided to create Minecraft Misadventures, a community site.

Thefre ThiefKnight – site: Heavenly Pandemonium
Thefre (pronounce it to rhyme with “Jeffrey”) is, simply, an amazing artist, as well as a talented Minecrafter and Flash game programmer. Amongst his creations are his renditions of MinecraftChick, BitBurner, JuneyBug and TiniestBit, as well as fan art of the main character from my retail-based comic, Paper or Plastic? – which I liked so much, I got permission from him to feature it on that site 🙂

On his site – and I’ve linked it separately – is his wonderful web comic, Minecraft Misfits, where all the characters are cute, “chibi”-style girls, even the monsters! This works particularly well, because the monsters get into little conversations… Just as a point of note, Thefre says that there’s no fixed schedule for the comic, so check back frequently – there have often been several new comics released in a single day!

WelshPixie – site: Pixie’s Pad
My newest friend, WelshPixie, is not only a great Minecrafter with her own YouTube channel, but she’s also one of the administrators on Minecraft Workbench! She’s a fun person, and she’s been very tolerant and helpful as I’ve been struggling to wrestle this blog into submission 🙂

VOICES FROM ON HIGH (sort of)
As well as Notch himself, there’s a wealth of news sources about the world of Minecraft; some general, others specific. Here are my favourites.

The Shaft Podcast
“From the Dead Workers Party, the podcast about all things Minecraft. Enjoy your stay in The Shaft.” Couldn’t have said it better myself – though I’ve tried to imitate the voiceover artist’s voice… Wes Wilson, Eric Fullerton and Brent Copeland are the hosts of this excellent Minecraft-related podcast, which goes out live every Sunday at 3pm Central Standard Time with video and chat (though the start time is hugely flexible!), as an MP3 on Monday for free download, and on their YouTube channel around Tuesday.

The three of them, veterans of the gaming world and creators of several podcasts over the years, are very enthusiastic about Minecraft, and present their weekly show in a highly amusing and informative way. The show also usually features prominent personalities from the Minecraft community, and past shows have featured such celebrities as BitBurner, MinecraftChick (who also appeared in the studio!), PaulSoaresJr, Wolv21, and SatoriLove. These people, and other Minecraft celebs, frequently pop into the chatroom, too.

Listeners are strongly encouraged to send in contributions and, if they have any spare cash available, sponsor the show. I’ve been very lucky to have had several mentions, both as Astragali and Mark Cooper, ranging from reading out my emailed contributions, to a quick shout-out when I’ve said something in chat, and even featuring my Listener Contributions bumper in Show #19, when I tried to sound like Don LaFontaine, the legendary (and sadly missed) “movie trailer guy”. In fact, from Show #9 to #20, there’s only been #16 where I didn’t get a mention, or a reference to something I’d done… Either I’m doing something right, or they’re just amazingly generous 🙂

The show, and the hosts, can also be followed on Twitter: @TheShaftPodcast, @WesWilson, @Nailhead, and @BrentCopeland.

Mojang Specifications
Mojang’s main blog site, which features news from all the staffers about Minecraft and the next game they have in development – which is, at the time of writing, untitled…

The Word of Notch
Notch’s personal blog has become largely Minecraft-focused, although he does post things which are of particular interest to him, including gaming, and good food. It’s worth checking out regularly, because there’s often newsy stuff on there which you don’t find on the main Mojang site.