FOSS gamedev and creative worlds

A recent update to Linux Mint 13 MATE Edition left Minetest unworkable. I'm trying to isolate the issue, but until then:
IF YOU USE LM13, DON'T INSTALL UPDATES!!11

Oh, dang. It was the blasted graphics driver. >.< Fixed now.

*Facepalm*

Just introducing myself. I am a "mom" of a new user. He is 8 yrs old; and so, I am his advocate for the time being. I will be reading through what is here in an attempt to assist him from time to time to learn his way through the single player Minetest. Occasionally, we may ask "ignorant" questions. I thank you all in advance for your patience and willingness to help us.

Eventually, I'm certain, he will want a more interactive (multi-player) experience. We live in remote wilderness though; and therefore, are on satellite for internet; and so, unfortunately, we have download allowance issues. ;-{

My gratitude to Perttu Ahola for the responsiveness via email to our issues in trying to get the program downloaded and working. I've learned "technical" stuff during my own efforts, like what Processors are on our various laptops (all Dells from old, obsolete to as new as a warranty time period) and why we need support for SSE2, and MSVCR100.dll, along the way - which I would have gladly skipped; but it appears, I am going to have to get up to speed with the Minetest program, at least a tiny bit, for the foreseeable future.

This little one is an experiential learner. He has been mastering adult software by trial & error since probably the age of 4 or younger. One of his earliest feats of daring do was learning to replicate his desktop icons and proudly brought our attention to his having created literally thousands (which did take a bit of time to remove). However, perhaps, someday he will be our in-house tech support !!

Hello there,
Nice to see that I'm not the only one to duplicate icons ad nauseum - Oh, dear, where are my manners? I'm tinoesroho, a freelance computer technician (Don't laugh, most of us "repair guys" can't code a lick), and a somewhat reliable member of the community.

For the time being, you could probably hold the lad's interest with the animalsmod; it adds over a dozen creatures to the game and allows for much more interesting gameplay. Also, the Workers mod. I can't help but recommend it. And if you haven't got the Walking Light mod, you may want to grab it.

If you need a hand, you can contact most of us by forum, and some of us by email. I was once a beginner too - still am - and I'm willing to lend a helping hand to others.