I think it’s fine to get lost in Minecraft, because the amount of stuff in Minecraft is truly overwhelming and it can be difficult to know what you need and when you need it
Most people who just want to build crazy things do so in creative mode, where you don’t have to dig and you get infinite numbers of every material. So when you see crazy structures like entire cities replicated in Minecraft, just keep in mind they did not spend a trillion hours digging out half the planet.
In survival mode, where the actual gameplay part of Minecraft is, one of the first things they added when the game started blowing up was a rudimentary achievements system that’s mainly there to give you suggestions on how to start out. They may have added more achievements since then, but generally there are achievements for things like:
- Opening your inventory for the first time
- Punching down a tree
- Crafting a work bench
- Crafting a tool like a shovel or an axe using that workbench
I went through the Xbox 360 tutorial a long time ago in a demo version, but I don’t really remember what all they have you do. They probably explicitly make you do all that stuff.
From there, generally you just… dig. I think part of the appeal of Minecraft is that you learn by doing. Over the course of many hours you figure out what you’re trying to get out of the thing, what you personally consider the ideal location to start mining, things like that, but if you’re just starting out for the first time, really, all you do is pick a spot and start digging.
Digging with dirt is easier with a shovel, and once you hit stone, that’s easier to do with a pick-axe. You can make those out of wood to start with (start punching trees!) but as you gain access to more materials, your tools can be made out of stronger things so they last longer and can be used on tougher materials (you can’t use a wooden pick to mine for diamonds, for example – you need iron or better)
Stairs are a good idea. You can build natural stairs just by clearing away a layer of blocks, moving forward one row, and then clearing the next row down, and down, and down, and down. Always dig in such a way that you can easily get back out again. It’s rarely a good idea to dig straight down, but nobody will blame you if you do it for funsies.
Once you dig far enough down, you’ll need some light. The most common source of light are torches, made by crafting sticks and coal together. Carried torches don’t give off light, so you’ll have to place them along floors or walls. Monsters spawn in low-light areas, so dropping torches will keep areas you’ve dug out safer. The deeper you dig, less range your torches light have, so keep that in mind.
From there you just… dig. Dig until you find something. Underground tunnels are everywhere, usually filled with bats, zombies, spiders, creepers, lava, and better materials. Hollow stuff out, craft better tools or armor, make it safer to explore, and keep digging. Dig until you find something cooler, like an underground lair, or an abandoned mine, or even portals to other dimensions.
It definitely takes a sense of adventure and more than a little wanderlust, so if you just find you don’t have that, that’s fine, too. Just don’t sit in a wiki going “but how do I make a cake” because there’s like seven things you need to learn before you can get to that part and the best way to learn is to just play the game and discover everything for yourself.
“But what’s a golden apple?” is a question to be asked after you have a stable place to live built and feel confident you won’t instantly die unprotected in the woods the moment the sun goes down.
