Minecraft Modding with Forge: A Family-Friendly Guide to Building Fun Mods in Java

Playing Minecraft is a lot of fun, but the game is more engaging, entertaining, and educational when kids learn how to build mods—small programs that let them modify game elements and add content. This family-friendly guide teaches kids and parents how to create mods of different types, using the Minecraft Forge modding tool. No programming experience is needed.

You’ll not only build some amazing mods with the book’s easy-to-follow instructions, but you’ll also learn how to work with Java, the same programming language that Minecraft uses. Why wait? Get started with computer programming and be more creative with Minecraft while you’re at it!

This book will help you:

• Learn the fundamentals of Minecraft Forge and other tools, such as Eclipse
• Start out by building and testing a simple chat message mod
• Build cool mods that make things explode on contact, and help entities jump higher and climb walls
• Introduce new Minecraft content, including commands, blocks, items, and recipes and textures
• Work with Java fundamentals such as classes, methods, annotations, control structures, and arrays
• Learn techniques for creating your own mods

This guide is based on workshops the authors deliver to kids around the world.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. Block-Break Message
Chapter 3. Fun with Explosions
Chapter 4. Entities
Chapter 5. Movement
Chapter 6. New Commands
Chapter 7. New Block
Chapter 8. New Item
Chapter 9. Recipes and Textures
Chapter 10. Sharing Mods
Appendix A. What Is Minecraft?
Appendix B. Eclipse Shortcuts and Correct Imports
Appendix C. Downloading the Source Code from GitHub
Appendix D. Devoxx4Kids