FOSS gamedev and creative worlds

# 01: Community Arts and Garden



I'm new to Minetest; started playing in April. It has only been a few weeks since I started playing multi-player.

The first time I built something on a multi-player server, I wanted friendly neighbors that I could share stuff with. I found an empty area within walking distance of some really cool builds and put up a "Community art and Garden." I gave it a new mine-shaft, some chests with building materials, and a sign saying people could take what they want and leave what they didn't.

Pretty soon the place got overrun by kids a good bit younger than I expected. They took the cool stuff out of the chests, built right in the "yard" I'd planned for the community center, and didn't wear proper safety equipment when they went down in the mines. The "Community art and Garden" building became a tiny afterthought stuck in the corner. I can almost imagine having a "get off my lawn" moment.

But not really.

The stuff the kids built around that area was much cooler than my little cobblestone box-house, and I could have protected the "lawn" if I'd been serious about it. The kids share a lot more directly. When they want something they just say so, giving and getting without letting perfectly good materials sit idly in a chest.

So that turned out fun, and I've learned a little about welcoming spaces and sharing with my neighbors.

# 02: My house. Mine.



Shortly after setting up the Community Arts and Garden, I decided I wanted a nice big, private house with a private lawn. I also wanted to build something cool that would get some use. So I build a big bridge across a lake and extended a path between the new community and an older one I'd seen. Then I made my house near the bridge, protected the lawn and have been keeping the doors locked. No, you cannot come in. A couple of folks have built houses along that same path. I also ended up putting in a travel-net nearby, so it's easy to teleport to other areas where people are active.

I like the bridge. It was my first "big" thing and it's actually good at being useful instead of just trying to be cool.

# 03: Ivory tower

Speaking of "trying to be cool..."



For a while I want content to dig materials out of the mine, farm some stuff and occasionally go exploring to see what else has been built. Until one day, deep under-ground, I found a Nyan Cat. I'm not generally into weird-cute, but accidentally finding the rarest thing in the world, even if it's just a made up virtual world, is actually kind of fun.

I wanted to show off that I had found it, without just giving it away or shoving on my stoop. Also wanted to build something big and impressive to prove that I was now "rich." So - another road off the edge of an active community, and a giant white marble tower topped with gold and some of the Nyan Cat rainbows.

Didn't even have to wait - as I was finishing up the tower someone came wandering up the road and asked if they could live in it. I said "sure," but obviously the whole place is protected. I didn't actually leave the Cat there, but I did realize I'd fallen for an obvious psychological phenomenon. I added sign by the door: "... or are you just happy to see me?"

# 04: Black Ward / Ward's Garden



So: I'd gone from wanting to find some neighbors, to building a place of my own, to unintentionally making a monument to my own ... "greatness." I was having fun, but also wondering if there might be something more to do than just build another house or try to impress people.

Another group community of players had founded a new city; not really near any of the communities I'd been visiting, but they were actually using travel nets to take advantage of the original mine shaft I'd built near the Community Arts and Garden. I took the opportunity to visit and decided to try something new.

Floating high above a lake in their city I constructed an airborne garden and house. I tried to make it interesting and engaging - there's dirt hanging off the bottom and lights trailing behind to make it look as if it had once been part of the ground and had been carried away by a magical force. I played a bit with asymmetry and different materials. I wanted to make sure that if you walk around it, you can see a lot of the city below, and also that there are a lot of interesting transitions in the space itself. I wanted to make sure that it would be a fun addition to the landscape for anyone else working in the area, something they might be tempted to include in the background if they screen-shot their own projects.

I bet a lot of people go through a similar learning process and start asking similar questions - what can be made that is interesting and engaging to people who visit? Can this be a tool for interactive illustration more than just a resource collection? Suppose that instead of just negotiating space and resources with neighbors, I try to add things that give a sense of fun and magic to whatever they are working on?

*cough* Noob *cough*

To impress people you could build a statue or something similar.
e.g. the monument of free from lincity ng:


note that you need to build it completely, if you give up before it's finished, you could feel exhausted and think you've only wasted time

Or maybe a little tower (and yes this is from survival :D)



Though I think the most important thing is to have fun, no matter what you do ;)

PS.: I am trying to rebuild Babylon atm :P

a good way to impress people is to build "unusual houses".
my Cactus House, which i build in a new founded desert town was very popular:



most important is to have fun and find your own style.
when you find something you are good at, then it will always be interesting ;)

coeseta wrote:Or maybe a little tower (and yes this is from survival :D)

Though I think the most important thing is to have fun, no matter what you do ;)

PS.: I am trying to rebuild Babylon atm :P

This is AMAZING

+1000 so nice :)