I'm a 40 year old dad and my son (6) is really into minecraft and he would desperately like to learn how to create Mods. I promised him that this summer, I would help him. My dream as a child was to make video games, but I never really had access to the tools/guidance to get there, so I want to encourage him as much as possible if this is something he is interested in.
The problem is...I have no idea where to start. I have a general understanding of coding (I know a little bit of C# and also other languages that are probably now obsolete). I've never dabbled too much with Java. I've also played around a bit with gamemaker and unity (But again...very basic understanding).
He's six, so he doesn't have a full understanding of coding but I would like to help him at least make little changes to his world (even if it's just colours or adding little elements...I don't even know what the possibilities are with minecraft). I have never really played much minecraft myself only watching him play and some of the youtube videos he watches.
My question is that I don't know where to start. He has a chromebook and also the switch version of minecraft (not sure if he can do anything with that or if he can even do anything with his chromebook or if we need an actual pc)
Anyway, if anyone could share how they first got started with making very simple mods and what tools they had to use or what I could use today, or if there are links to any tutorials that would be helpful, it would be greatly appreciated.
Hey, I think that is really awesome! Honestly, I think you would be doing most of the work with the code, as it is written in java, but he could definitely help out with ideas. Unfortunately, only the java version of minecraft has support for mods, so you would have to use a computer. For getting started modding, I really suggest Kaupenjoe and his modding tutorials. The current version of minecraft is 1.19, but I would suggest using 1.18.2 because tutorials for it are much more established/complete. The next thing you would have to decide would be what modloader to code the mod for. The longest standing one, and my favorite, is Forge, but Fabric is a newer modloader that is almost just as good or better in some ways.
In terms of making modifications to the game, there are three major 'tiers' of changes, each with a different level of power, but an inherent increase in challenge.
The easiest is creating a resource pack. Resource packs allow you to change the appearance of the game in most aspects, anything from changing the textures of blocks and items, changing noises mobs make, changing the words in the game, anything to do with this. Here is a good tutorial: . It's a bit old, but it mostly still applies, and you can read the comments/do a brief bit of googling to find what's different; the reason I recommend this one as opposed to a newer one is that most of the newer ones are made by kids who think they're too cool with their 'whats going on guys its hicraft123' and edm over the top intros that add nothing to the content of the video.
The second easiest to create is a datapack. Here you will be working with JSON, a relatively easy 'language' (I say language quite loosely) to change things like loot tables, properties of armour, and other similar things. .
The hardest is making mods, in a programming language called Java. For a 6 year old, I would not recommend this. Even as an avid programmer (closing in on 10 years of passionate developing), I struggle a lot with modding. That said, it isn't impossible, especially for simpler things, such as a simple item or piece of armour. Although, if you want to start modding, I would suggest having your child learn the fundamentals of programming, and learning java outside the scope of modding first.
Hi everyone,
I'm a 40 year old dad and my son (6) is really into minecraft and he would desperately like to learn how to create Mods. I promised him that this summer, I would help him. My dream as a child was to make video games, but I never really had access to the tools/guidance to get there, so I want to encourage him as much as possible if this is something he is interested in.
The problem is...I have no idea where to start. I have a general understanding of coding (I know a little bit of C# and also other languages that are probably now obsolete). I've never dabbled too much with Java. I've also played around a bit with gamemaker and unity (But again...very basic understanding).
He's six, so he doesn't have a full understanding of coding but I would like to help him at least make little changes to his world (even if it's just colours or adding little elements...I don't even know what the possibilities are with minecraft). I have never really played much minecraft myself only watching him play and some of the youtube videos he watches.
My question is that I don't know where to start. He has a chromebook and also the switch version of minecraft (not sure if he can do anything with that or if he can even do anything with his chromebook or if we need an actual pc)
Anyway, if anyone could share how they first got started with making very simple mods and what tools they had to use or what I could use today, or if there are links to any tutorials that would be helpful, it would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
Hey, I think that is really awesome! Honestly, I think you would be doing most of the work with the code, as it is written in java, but he could definitely help out with ideas. Unfortunately, only the java version of minecraft has support for mods, so you would have to use a computer. For getting started modding, I really suggest Kaupenjoe and his modding tutorials. The current version of minecraft is 1.19, but I would suggest using 1.18.2 because tutorials for it are much more established/complete. The next thing you would have to decide would be what modloader to code the mod for. The longest standing one, and my favorite, is Forge, but Fabric is a newer modloader that is almost just as good or better in some ways.
Here is a 1.18 tutorial from kaupenjoe for forge: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKGarocXCE1Hut51TKKqZKqVZtKLZC48x
Hey there,
In terms of making modifications to the game, there are three major 'tiers' of changes, each with a different level of power, but an inherent increase in challenge.
The easiest is creating a resource pack. Resource packs allow you to change the appearance of the game in most aspects, anything from changing the textures of blocks and items, changing noises mobs make, changing the words in the game, anything to do with this. Here is a good tutorial: . It's a bit old, but it mostly still applies, and you can read the comments/do a brief bit of googling to find what's different; the reason I recommend this one as opposed to a newer one is that most of the newer ones are made by kids who think they're too cool with their 'whats going on guys its hicraft123' and edm over the top intros that add nothing to the content of the video.
The second easiest to create is a datapack. Here you will be working with JSON, a relatively easy 'language' (I say language quite loosely) to change things like loot tables, properties of armour, and other similar things. .
The hardest is making mods, in a programming language called Java. For a 6 year old, I would not recommend this. Even as an avid programmer (closing in on 10 years of passionate developing), I struggle a lot with modding. That said, it isn't impossible, especially for simpler things, such as a simple item or piece of armour. Although, if you want to start modding, I would suggest having your child learn the fundamentals of programming, and learning java outside the scope of modding first.