How to Create a Minecraft Adventure Map
Plan your map., Pick a type of map., Think of a theme., Brainstorm on the different parts and aspects of the map., Research on existing maps., Install world editing mods, like World Edit (part of the SPC mod) which can help you to easily terraform...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Plan your map.
Planning is one of the most important steps; while you can try to make a map on the fly, it is more likely to turn out badly. -
Step 2: Pick a type of map.
There is a wide range of different map types; some of the more popular map types are:
Survival.
These maps involve the player trying to survive within the parameters of the map.
Players can break blocks, build items and generally do whatever it takes to reach their goals.
Adventure.
This particular map type is much more linear.
Usually the player isn't allowed to break or place blocks, and generally has to follow whatever path the map maker has set for them, although the adventure can be more open.
Parkour.
A subset of the adventure theme that has gained a following all of its own.
In this type of map, you have to reach whatever the goal is, usually by going through a series of skill based challenges, such as a series of very precise jumps.
Different types of maps have different people who are willing to play them.
Parkour maps seem to be the easiest to build.
You can also include in your quest to find information in Horror style, Puzzle Style, Battle and War style (like defending a village from mobs) or a cool city or castle to explore. , A storyline that would guide the player to his adventures in the map.
Exploring a lost city? Running errands for villagers? Apocalypse? Escaping from a jail? Escaping from a castle dungeon? Questing? Stopping a timed bomb? or just survival?, If it's a parkour map, how are you going to make the parkour interesting and special? Will there will be traps? What kind of traps?What buildings are you going to create in a city? How are you going to build the castle?, If there are maps with similar ideas to yours, don't create it.
Research on redstone techniques and other relevant skills you can use to create your map., If your map is small, not using these mods is OK, but if you are thinking of creating a larger map with scenery and buildings it is recommended to utilize these tools., By now you should have already thought of generally how is the map going to be like.
On a piece of paper draw out how the layout of your map will be like (important!!!).
And list the different stages and parts of your map.
Will they be close together? Or will they be in different parts of the world requiring the player to teleport?, Write down everything that is necessary to your story, whether it be backstory, notes the player will find, dialogue, or anything else.
Create a new creative world with cheats on, and build up your map, block by block, following your original plan.
It is a time-consuming process, but don't rush it.
Focus on every detail of the map, like the scenery, or the distance between each jump if you are making a parkour map, etc.
Take your time to make sure it starts our easy, but increases in difficulty or elaboration as the map progresses.
Every jump or every quest should be designed to provide its own challenge to the player, but do not start out making it too difficult, or the player will give up after dying dozens of times in the first stage.
Remember to make checkpoints (like redstone-activated doors or command blocks to reset spawn points) so players will not lose too much of their progress. , Once you have the story fleshed out, and you know what type of map you are going to be building, draw out the floor plans for your map.
Include everything you feel is necessary for the map.
Grid paper is recommended for this step.
Figure out how you will implement all the features that the map should have.
Observe the latest update and decide how will you have it all figured out.
Remember that the game is limited and that it might have changed in your favor or not with the ongoing updates.
If there is an upcoming update that might drastically change the game, you might want to wait for it.
Decide what are the requirements for the map. , With your plans set up, you are now ready to build. , Before you can start building the structures of your map, you need a good landscape.
There are several ways to do this.
You can try to shape the world by hand, but unless you are doing a pretty small project, and have lots of free time, you are going to want to use one of these programs, or mods:
World Edit.
World edit is part of the Single Player Commands mod, which can be accessed via the aforementioned link.
It lets the player change and shape the terrain from within the game, although it does have a bit of a learning curve.
World painter.This is a program that allows you to "paint" a Minecraft Landscape.
It is a standalone program with a wide variety of options, though it is not as precise as world edit, working on a much larger scale.
MC Edit.MC edit is an open source program which allows you to edit your current world.
It is a bit clunky, but has many important features, such as the ability to use certain MC edit filters to do a plethora of things.
Voxel Sniper.
Voxel Sniper is a very powerful tool for terraforming your world.
It is very versatile and a great compliment to world edit. , Build for what is needed for your adventure/parkour map. , When you have finally built everything, you can add the story.
There are several ways of implementing the story:
Sign dialogue.
With this you use a sign to convey dialogue being spoken to or by the player.
If the former, you usually need to trap a villager, NPC, or similar in the area.
If you are using the most recent snapshots, you can use Sethbling's MC-edit filter to customize what the villager is going to trade.
It can be found in the description in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13LyPP43twE.
Found notes.
There are several ways to implement this:
Books.
In the
1.3 update you can write books, and leave them in a chest for the player.
Image to map.This converts an image to an in-game map, though this requires some sort of image editor to use.
Note signs.
These are signs that say "read note 1" or something similar, and require the player to pause the game, go find the corresponding text edit document that you include with the map download, and then read it.
It is perhaps the most cumbersome, but also the most versatile.
Command Blocks.
Command blocks are the most "powerful" block in the game, but you must be in creative mode with cheats enabled to use them.
Some amateur redstoners use pressure plates connected to command blocks with the "say <message>" command.
Professional redstoners can use the /tellraw command.
In this example, the command makes "Example Text" appear in chat, in a red color: tellraw @a {"text":"Example Text"
color:"red"} And instead of pressure plates they use the test for command which tests for players within a given radius.
Check out the Minecraft wiki for use of these commands.
Or just search it up on YouTube Another option (though not encouraged) is to not include a story, which may be used in some maps, though rarely. , All that's left to do is add loot for the players (if you have any to add) and anything else you might want to add, such as red stone contraptions.
It is recommended that you are at least somewhat handy with redstone, as it can greatly affect your maps impressiveness. , Make sure mobs spawn in a controlled manner and will not interfere with the map.
Make sure that the player will not fall into unexpected places (like caves) and not being able to return to the map.
The scenery should be contained (in a gigantic glass dome or something).
Check that all spawn points are set, game rules are changed. , This is one of the most important steps.
If the map doesn't work, then it is a frustration for the players, and more work later. , It can be found in the .minecraft folder in your apps directory. , You need to compress the map's folder into either a .zip file, or a .rar file. ,, Be sure to also make your post interesting, adding information about the map, reviews, and most definitely pictures, as most people won't download your map if it doesn't have pictures in the post.
Once this is all done, the map is posted and finished! -
Step 3: Think of a theme.
-
Step 4: Brainstorm on the different parts and aspects of the map.
-
Step 5: Research on existing maps.
-
Step 6: Install world editing mods
-
Step 7: like World Edit (part of the SPC mod) which can help you to easily terraform your world and quickly build up large structures.
-
Step 8: Come up with your final plan.
-
Step 9: Write your story.
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Step 10: Draw the map.
-
Step 11: Build your map.
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Step 12: Build the landscape.
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Step 13: Build the structures.
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Step 14: Add the story/details.
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Step 15: Add loot
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Step 16: and extra features.
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Step 17: Finish up.
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Step 18: Test the map.
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Step 19: Open the "saves" folder.
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Step 20: Compress the map folder.
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Step 21: Choose a file hosting site to host the file on
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Step 22: such as drop box
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Step 23: or media fire.
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Step 24: When publishing your map
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Step 25: adhere to the site's rules.
Detailed Guide
Planning is one of the most important steps; while you can try to make a map on the fly, it is more likely to turn out badly.
There is a wide range of different map types; some of the more popular map types are:
Survival.
These maps involve the player trying to survive within the parameters of the map.
Players can break blocks, build items and generally do whatever it takes to reach their goals.
Adventure.
This particular map type is much more linear.
Usually the player isn't allowed to break or place blocks, and generally has to follow whatever path the map maker has set for them, although the adventure can be more open.
Parkour.
A subset of the adventure theme that has gained a following all of its own.
In this type of map, you have to reach whatever the goal is, usually by going through a series of skill based challenges, such as a series of very precise jumps.
Different types of maps have different people who are willing to play them.
Parkour maps seem to be the easiest to build.
You can also include in your quest to find information in Horror style, Puzzle Style, Battle and War style (like defending a village from mobs) or a cool city or castle to explore. , A storyline that would guide the player to his adventures in the map.
Exploring a lost city? Running errands for villagers? Apocalypse? Escaping from a jail? Escaping from a castle dungeon? Questing? Stopping a timed bomb? or just survival?, If it's a parkour map, how are you going to make the parkour interesting and special? Will there will be traps? What kind of traps?What buildings are you going to create in a city? How are you going to build the castle?, If there are maps with similar ideas to yours, don't create it.
Research on redstone techniques and other relevant skills you can use to create your map., If your map is small, not using these mods is OK, but if you are thinking of creating a larger map with scenery and buildings it is recommended to utilize these tools., By now you should have already thought of generally how is the map going to be like.
On a piece of paper draw out how the layout of your map will be like (important!!!).
And list the different stages and parts of your map.
Will they be close together? Or will they be in different parts of the world requiring the player to teleport?, Write down everything that is necessary to your story, whether it be backstory, notes the player will find, dialogue, or anything else.
Create a new creative world with cheats on, and build up your map, block by block, following your original plan.
It is a time-consuming process, but don't rush it.
Focus on every detail of the map, like the scenery, or the distance between each jump if you are making a parkour map, etc.
Take your time to make sure it starts our easy, but increases in difficulty or elaboration as the map progresses.
Every jump or every quest should be designed to provide its own challenge to the player, but do not start out making it too difficult, or the player will give up after dying dozens of times in the first stage.
Remember to make checkpoints (like redstone-activated doors or command blocks to reset spawn points) so players will not lose too much of their progress. , Once you have the story fleshed out, and you know what type of map you are going to be building, draw out the floor plans for your map.
Include everything you feel is necessary for the map.
Grid paper is recommended for this step.
Figure out how you will implement all the features that the map should have.
Observe the latest update and decide how will you have it all figured out.
Remember that the game is limited and that it might have changed in your favor or not with the ongoing updates.
If there is an upcoming update that might drastically change the game, you might want to wait for it.
Decide what are the requirements for the map. , With your plans set up, you are now ready to build. , Before you can start building the structures of your map, you need a good landscape.
There are several ways to do this.
You can try to shape the world by hand, but unless you are doing a pretty small project, and have lots of free time, you are going to want to use one of these programs, or mods:
World Edit.
World edit is part of the Single Player Commands mod, which can be accessed via the aforementioned link.
It lets the player change and shape the terrain from within the game, although it does have a bit of a learning curve.
World painter.This is a program that allows you to "paint" a Minecraft Landscape.
It is a standalone program with a wide variety of options, though it is not as precise as world edit, working on a much larger scale.
MC Edit.MC edit is an open source program which allows you to edit your current world.
It is a bit clunky, but has many important features, such as the ability to use certain MC edit filters to do a plethora of things.
Voxel Sniper.
Voxel Sniper is a very powerful tool for terraforming your world.
It is very versatile and a great compliment to world edit. , Build for what is needed for your adventure/parkour map. , When you have finally built everything, you can add the story.
There are several ways of implementing the story:
Sign dialogue.
With this you use a sign to convey dialogue being spoken to or by the player.
If the former, you usually need to trap a villager, NPC, or similar in the area.
If you are using the most recent snapshots, you can use Sethbling's MC-edit filter to customize what the villager is going to trade.
It can be found in the description in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13LyPP43twE.
Found notes.
There are several ways to implement this:
Books.
In the
1.3 update you can write books, and leave them in a chest for the player.
Image to map.This converts an image to an in-game map, though this requires some sort of image editor to use.
Note signs.
These are signs that say "read note 1" or something similar, and require the player to pause the game, go find the corresponding text edit document that you include with the map download, and then read it.
It is perhaps the most cumbersome, but also the most versatile.
Command Blocks.
Command blocks are the most "powerful" block in the game, but you must be in creative mode with cheats enabled to use them.
Some amateur redstoners use pressure plates connected to command blocks with the "say <message>" command.
Professional redstoners can use the /tellraw command.
In this example, the command makes "Example Text" appear in chat, in a red color: tellraw @a {"text":"Example Text"
color:"red"} And instead of pressure plates they use the test for command which tests for players within a given radius.
Check out the Minecraft wiki for use of these commands.
Or just search it up on YouTube Another option (though not encouraged) is to not include a story, which may be used in some maps, though rarely. , All that's left to do is add loot for the players (if you have any to add) and anything else you might want to add, such as red stone contraptions.
It is recommended that you are at least somewhat handy with redstone, as it can greatly affect your maps impressiveness. , Make sure mobs spawn in a controlled manner and will not interfere with the map.
Make sure that the player will not fall into unexpected places (like caves) and not being able to return to the map.
The scenery should be contained (in a gigantic glass dome or something).
Check that all spawn points are set, game rules are changed. , This is one of the most important steps.
If the map doesn't work, then it is a frustration for the players, and more work later. , It can be found in the .minecraft folder in your apps directory. , You need to compress the map's folder into either a .zip file, or a .rar file. ,, Be sure to also make your post interesting, adding information about the map, reviews, and most definitely pictures, as most people won't download your map if it doesn't have pictures in the post.
Once this is all done, the map is posted and finished!
About the Author
Ashley Phillips
A seasoned expert in lifestyle and practical guides, Ashley Phillips combines 4 years of experience with a passion for teaching. Ashley's guides are known for their clarity and practical value.
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