Beginners Guide to Writing Minecraft Plugins in JavaScript

The book is for anyone who wants to learn how to modify Minecraft--no previous programming experience required! The book uses JavaScript, a popular programming language for creating websites and scripting.

Aimed at kids who already play Minecraft, this guide will teach coding through a series of "Recipes" (the term used in-game when crafting new objects). For example, in the game, one of the first things any player must do is create a Workbench, or Crafting Table, which will in turn enable the player to create sophisticated tools. Recipe 1 in the book (the term Recipe and Chapter is interchangeable) is 'A modding Workbench' and its ingredients are the tools the reader will need to begin modding.

The goal of each Recipe/chapter is to introduce a new JavaScript concept or expand upon a previously introduced concept. The author will present each recipe as a useful addition to the game while gently introducing programming concepts in an approachable style. This unique approach gets over the problem of introducing JavaScript in an interesting way and avoids spending 3 or 4 chapters explaining JavaScript core concepts in a vacuum.  Several Recipes will be covered, including Rolling Dice, Snowball Fight, Piggie Pandemonium, Advanced Modding, and more.

Walter Higgins has been in software development and project management since 1992, working at IBM, Microsoft, Apple, EMC, and small and not-so-small Irish software companies. He leads Minecraft coding sessions at his local CoderDojo, a volunteer-led movement orientated around running free not-for-profit coding clubs and regular sessions for young people, with 341 dojos in 38 countries.

Introduction

Minecraft

CraftBukkit

ScriptCraft

Part I : Basic Modding

Recipe 1: Your Modding Workbench

Recipe 2: Rolling Dice

Recipe 3: Greeting Players

Recipe 4: Create a Fireworks Show

Recipe 5: Don't stray too far

Recipe 6: A number-guessing game

Part II: Advanced Modding

Recipe 7: Arrows that Teleport you.

Recipe 8: A TNT-Free Zone

Recipe 9: It's a small world

Recipe 10: Horse-Clicker, A simple mini-game

Recipe 11: Snowball Fight, A player-vs-player mini-game

Recipe 12: Piggie Pandemonium, A pig-herding mini-game