Picture this: A Minecraft adventure begins with the player in captivity. To beat this dark dungeon, that player must escape by overcoming traps and defeating mobs!
Game creators should be asking themselves, what kind of obstacles or rooms might a player encounter in that dungeon?
Well, whether it's a dungeon, haunted house, or abandoned shopping mall, the thinking remains the same—what needs to put in the way so that players are forced to jump on, maneuver, and climb over to "win"? It could could bad guys like zombies or other objects hampering the journey as the player searches for a path through flowing lava, etc.
Course Storylines & Settings
Speaking of lava, the first step in coming up with boiling hot Minecraft obstacle course ideas is thinking about the different adventure settings and traps and storylines that go with them.
Heare are a few suggestions:
1. Lava World: Make a lava hallway that will begin to close once the player is on the path!
2. Safe Room: Maybe the player needs to get to a safe room, away from the lava, but if they can't figure a way out, they’re trapped forever!
3. Desert: Stranded in a desert is an old RPG favorite. The player will first need tools to survive before setting out into the world.
4. Flying Islands: Islands in the ocean are really cool, but islands in the sky offer a brand new set of challenges.
5. Tree House: Build a dream tree house, but be careful with flint and steel. If a fire is accidentally set, it can get out of control fast!
6. Underwater Levels: For underwater levels, put a layer of ice at the top of the water and create mazes the player has to swim through!
Read More: How to Teleport to Coordinates in Minecraft
Simple Activations & Traps
Beyond the storyline, there are simple redstone contraptions that can be activated by a device, like a lever, pressure plate, button, or tripwire.
1. Trapdoor: Place this over a hole to trap bad guys or a hero in an adventure. (Each trapdoor needs redstone wire touching it to work!)
2. Two Pistons: Redstone can activate as many objects as it's touching—the piston can push something out of its way.
3. Redstone Torch: This torch powers redstone wire and devices but, unlike a switch, whatever it touches is always on.
4. Piston Door: Why have a door made from rocks attached to sticky pistons? Imagine having a secret passage that only appears when a lever is pulled. This is also a great way to collect a group of people into a single area before opening another part of a map.
5. Dispensers can shoot objects at an enemy or send food and weapons to a friend. It can attach to a pressure plate, a lever, or a button. (The pressure plate is great as a trap because it uses the stone flooring texture, which hides it). Bonus: A hidden command block under the pressure plate can reload the dispenser every time it shoots!
6. Water Trap: How about a trip wire that sends a signal to four sticky pistons that open to a water trap? Specifically, the tripwire activates when a player or mob walks through it. The Gold Block block will carry a redstone wire signal for a single block. (This is really helpful when hiding traps or making more complicated traps.)
7. Tripwire Hooks: Tripwire hooks are connected by string and provide power while a player or monster is standing between the hooks. These are great for traps because they can be hard for players to see if they’re covered up.
Remember—there are many ways to make different redstone contraptions!
For instance, a redstone block provides constant power to anything connected to it. Three pistons connected to it and in the up position is perfect for devices that need to be on all the time. Other blocks, output mechanisms, and redstone torches can be attached to redstone blocks.
To end, for any young creator, it's important that they playtest as they go, and experience the challenges themselves to see how hard they are. Then, they can adjust the difficulty and make sure the course isn't too difficult or too easy for the player to figure out.
Have a child ready to learn more? Check out how to create a Minecraft obstacle course or learn more about our Minecraft coding classes.