Preliminary Structure Assignments

Here are the preliminary assignments for existing structures:

Grain Elevators - Aaron, Martin
Myrtle Edwards Park - Joshua
Olympic Sculpture Park - Joshua, Isabel, Margaux, Asher
Pier 70 (Restaurant) - Ben, Joshua, Asher

Pier 69 (Victoria Clipper) - Quinn, Ben, Asher
Pier 97 (Edgewater Hotel) - Margaret, Isabel
Pier 66 (Bell Harbor Conference Center, Marina, Cruise Ship Dock) - Aaron, Martin
Pier 62/63 (Concert Stage) - Joshua, Zane
Pier 59 (Aquarium) - Zane, Quinn, Ben, Margaret, Asher, Margaux
Pier 57 (Gift, Restaurant) - Zane, Asher

Pier 56 (Argosy Cruises) - Margaux
Pier 55 (Tillicum Village) - Margaux, Joshua
Pier 54 (Charters, Ivars, Ye Olde Curiosity Shop) - Isabel, Margaux
Pier 52 (Ferry Terminal) - Martin, Aaron, River, Zane

Here are some things we want to add:

Unicorns - Peyton
Food Trucks - Margaux
Fountain - Ben

Skate Park - Joshua
Dog Park - River
Slaughter House - TBD
Spleef Arena - TBD
Mall - TBD
Nuke Plant - TBD
Animal Parks/Zoo - TBD

Here are some additional existing structures we want to include:

Space Needle
Key Arena
Pike Market
Public Library
PSCS
Century Link Field

Here are some Minecraft things we want to build in the real world:

Pigs
Chickens
Creeper Head
Meat
Mushrooms

Diamond Ore Block

We decided to build a diamond ore block. We will need several shades of gray and blue to skin our block.

All the exits to the school are less than one meter wide. Scobie will help with the design to make sure we can collapse it so we can fit it through doors. We will build three sides of the block since that's all that show in a picture.

What Kind of Block Will We Build?

Wood, water, air, sand, dirt, TNT, wool, diamond, obsidian, or gold? Here is a page for all the block types.

People's Waterfront Coalition

Check out this site by local activists and urban designers. There is some great information on the waterfront ecology, economics, and design. I invited Cary Moon from this group to come with us on our Friday waterfront tour. Mouse over the images here to see before and after ideas.

Waterfront Server Getting Set Up

Adam found a way to generate a 1:1 Seattle map on the server. It is taking a long time to process the data but we are making progress. I'll keep you posted.

Server Update

When we loaded the Seattle map on the server we found out it was 1/10th scale. We will try to fix this before our third class meeting. Meanwhile, we will build the real one meter cube on Tuesday and visit the waterfront on Friday.

Current Waterfront Structures

Here's a list of existing structures we should consider for our design:

Grain Elevator
Myrtle Edwards Park
Olympic Sculpture Park
Pier 70 – Waterfront Seafood Grill
Pier 69 – Victoria Clipper
Pier 67 – Edgewater Hotel
Pier 66 – Bell Harbor Conference Center
Pier 63/62 – Summer Nights on the Pier concert stage
Pier 59 – Seattle Aquarium
Pier 57 – Gifts and Restaurant
Pier 56 – Argosy Cruise and Restaurant
Pier 55 – Argosy Cruise and Tillicum Village
Pier 54 – Charters, Ivars, Ye Olde Curiosity Shop
Pier 52 – Ferry Terminal

And some important icons:

Space Needle
Smith Tower
PSCS

Which ones are interesting to you? What should we skip? What should we add?

USGS Map of Seattle

We will be using the United States Geological Survey topographical map of Seattle to generate our Minecraft world. You can see the map and other cities available by clicking HERE. Thanks to Adam Feuer for finding this resource.

Adam also found a possible way to import the street grid from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics HERE. This will require some file translations that we hope Adam can figure out.

Waterfront Tour on Friday, September 23

We will take the M1 bus to tour the Seattle waterfront, take notes, take pictures, and take measurements.

Making a Virtual Minecraft Block Real

Next Tuesday (Sept 20) we will construct a life size Minecraft block out of cardboard.

Each Minecraft block represents one square meter.

We can decide what type of skin we want after we make the cube.

Where We Will Start

We will start with an inventory of buildings and features of the existing Seattle waterfront.

Then we will decide what features we want to keep (for example, aquarium, ferry terminal, sculpture park), what we want to skip, and what we want to add (dog park, rocket port, amusement park).

The borders of our project will begin with the downtown waterfront but may expand to include nearby landmarks (space needle, PSCS, container port).

Once we have our list of desired features/buildings, we can pick the things we want to help build and agree on where they should be located on the map.

Then BUILD!

Game Rules

Today in class we agreed that:

Everyone will be an operator (to spawn items)
Do not use TNT (this is a building, not destroying game)
Do not use bedrock (because it cannot be removed)
Game will be in Peaceful mode (no monsters)
No killing other players
No attacking other players (we may build a combat area and/or spleef arena)
No portals (because they have scary sounds)
People will be able to fly (but no other mods)

Design Goals

The city has these main design goals:

Create a waterfront for all.
Put the shoreline and innovative, sustainable design at the forefront.
Reconnect the City to its waterfront.
Embrace and celebrate Seattle's past, present and future.
Improve Access and Mobility.
Create a bold vision that is adaptable over time.
Develop consistent leadership-from concept to construction to operations.

These don't have to be our goals. Think about what you want and bring your ideas to class. Be ready to talk about why you think your ideas are important.