Minecraft wherever you go with the wearable Gameband

Minecraft has taken the gaming world by storm. Freddy is a huge Minecraft fan and has his own beautifully designed and built world (courtesy of his big sister's boyfriend's building skills) which he loves playing in. He is also pretty obsessed with watching other people playing Minecraft on YouTube. It is an all encompassing hobby for a six year old gamer.

He was very excited to receive a Gameband + Minecraft to try out, which allows him to take his Minecraft obsession to the next level. The wearable wristband allows players to backup their Minecraft game, meaning they can plug it in to the USB port of any compatible laptop or desktop and play their saved game. The computer doesn't even need to have Minecraft installed onto it as it launches from the wristband itself. Minecraft worlds can be taken to friends' houses, on holiday or played at the grandparents' when visiting. Players never have to leave their Minecraft worlds behind again!

Not only can the game be launched directly from the Gameband for playing, it also acts as a backup to keep Minecraft worlds safe. Data is saved both locally onto the band and remotely in secure cloud based servers. Even if your Gameband gets lost, you can still access your data by ordering a new one with your data intact, meaning your game is extremely safe, which is reassuring to serious players.

The Gameband also contains a collection of pre-made games, arenas and worlds, allowing players to experience a host of Minecraft action from the likes of Dragonz, Sethbling and Hypixel. This is a great feature allowing players to explore some incredible landscapes and buildings, giving them inspiration on just how amazing Minecraft can be.

The Gameband itself is a funky looking, sturdy black wristband, which comes complete with an LED display function showing the time, messages and pixelated images with the touch of a button. The band comes with pre-made settings, or you can customise it and create your own animations using the app Pixel Furnace.

The band clasps together with the USB port fitting securely into an opening with a click. It can pinch if you do it too close to the skin though so take care! The large Gameband is sized to fit an adult's wrist easily and comfortably and isn't too bulky to wear. The small one is great for kids. It is a really good looking, modern piece of kit and the watch function makes it multi-purpose.

The band comes in a snazzy little box with instructions on how to set it up. The Gameband comes with a demo version of Minecraft but needs the purchase of a licence to run the full game if you don't have it already. (This costs £17.95).  Once set up you can launch the game directly from the band by opening it and inserting it into the USB port of your computer. It is quite user friendly once you get the hang of it and Freddy is able to use it independently.

Take a look at this video to find out more about the Gameband with Minecraft.

        


The Gameband comes in Redstone and Diamond editions and is priced at £64.99. Find out more and order one from www.gameband.com. They make a great gift for Minecraft fans of any age...Christmas is only a few months away, never too early to start planning present ideas!

Hardcore Gaming at PLAY it! #PLAYitManc

We visited PLAY it! at the Museum of Science and Industry on the opening day for a family gaming session. The exhibition was quite simply a gamer's paradise, providing a huge range of games and consoles from the past 30 years for some hands on gaming action.

The event room at the MOSI is divided into six zones:

Zone 1: Retro Gaming - retro to modern computer games and consoles

Zone 2: Manchester - including games programmed by Ocean Games and the 80s classroom

Zone 3: Rhythm - music and dance based gaming

Zone 4: Minecraft

Zone 5: Celebrations - film, TV and character based games

Zone 6: Lounge - multiplayer gaming

Favourite gaming franchises such as Sonic, Mario, Tomb Raider, Star Wars, Street Fighter and LEGO games are represented in all their glory on a range of consoles. It was really interesting to see the evolution of characters such as Lara Croft across the different formats. We remembered having several of the games and it was very nostalgic having a play.

The Minecraft area was a real hit with Freddy who spent the time learning how to play the game on the PC rather than on the PS3 that he has at home. He got lots of tips from the other kids in the Minecraft zone.

I loved watching him concentrate so hard on mining, building, taming animals and blowing up his Minecraft world! Minecraft is such a phenomena, it was great to see it have its very own zone.

I introduced Kezia to some of my old favourites including Crash Bandicoot on the original Playstation. We also had a go at the Mega Drive, the Nintendo 64 and the SNES. There are plenty of consoles so we never had to wait for a go on anything. We just found a free spot and jumped in to try it. Although there was a lot of serious, hardcore gamers around, we never felt at all intimidated or embarassed by our lack of skill, in fact there were plenty of people willing to lend a hand or offer advice when we were obviously struggling due to our lack of gaming prowess.

Kezia and I had some fun at the selfie table, trying on Mario and Luigi hats. It was a bit of light relief from our attempts at gaming. and donning the iconic headgear definitely made us feel the part!

There is a cafe area selling drinks and snacks including some brilliant gaming cupcakes. The guy who served us told us the legendary story of when Atari tried to make an ET game after the release of the film, which was so rubbish that the whole lot was resigned to landfill. This became the stuff of urban legend until many years later when thousands of the games were unearthed when the land was being developed! The chocolate cupcakes played homage to this tale. Comfy seating allowed us to have a nice rest while we sampled a drink and one of the cakes.

Seeing the range of games and consoles makes you realise just how far the gaming industry has come, from the old original video consoles such as the Spectrum and the Commodore, right up to the most modern, contemporary games. The advancements over the last thirty years really are quite mindblowing. When I had my first console, the Intellevision, back in 1979, I could never have imagined what my own kids would be playing in the future.

The nostalgia of seeing the Sega Master System and the Mega Drive made my day, bringing back many memories of a younger me playing for hours and hours. I used be quite good back in the day, but the advancements in technology saw my skills lag further and further behind. These days I leave it to the kids, but I enjoyed this trip down memory lane.

With individual 90 minute sessions costing just £4 and full day passes £10, PLAY it! is a great opportunity to experience some blasts from the past as well as trying your hand at some modern gaming. Whether you are competitive and looking at taking on other seasoned gamers or if you are like me and looking for a nostalgic way to revisit your youth, it is well worth a visit.

Find out more and book at: www.mosi.org.uk/whats-on/play-it-manchester

Freddy's 6th Birthday Minecraft Party

Freddy turned six on July 9th and although we celebrated his birthday with a pizza party complete with pinata, presents and family fun, we couldn't have his official birthday celebrations until July 18th. His big sister Megan was away in Bali and we needed her back in the UK in order to have a proper McDonald family do. An erupting Indonesian volcano almost threatened her return home in time for the party, but thankfully the ash cloud blew south and my girl was able to return to Manchester. Joe and Jade were able to come up for the weekend, and as Ella is home from uni I had a full set of children home under the same roof. Perfect.

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So on the 18th, we hosted a Minecraft themed party for my little lad. Almost all the home baked food was vegan including five different traybake cakes (coffee, strawberries & cream, iced vanilla, chocolate with vanilla frosting and chocolate & coconut) and two types of cookie (choc chip and oat, cranberry & sunflower seed). We also served up a veggie barbecue with an assortment of homemade salads and sides. I enjoy the challenge of making a party spread that all my guests can enjoy without worrying about what they are eating. I printed off some Minecraft food labels, banners and posters from the internet to decorate the room and we made plain green balloons and cups into Creepers using black tape. A grass green tablecloth and square green paper plates completed the Minecraft theme.

Ian made an Enderman pinata, which was filled with sweets and toys that the kids thoroughly enjoyed hitting with a stick (the grown up kids joined in to with head butts, karate chops and drop kicks aimed at the very tough, extremely well made pinata!) until it gave up its load of goodies on to the grass.

There was plenty of fun and games and lots of laughter as my five kids, my sister and four of her children plus assorted partners, my mum and dad and my gorgeous little grandson Ted, enjoyed the much appreciated sunshine. For the first time ever Ted told us that he loved us...hearing "I yuv you Nana Wendy and Guitar Grandad" was heartwarmingly wonderful.

Freddy had a wonderful day with his siblings, cousins and his little nephew. The trampoline and sandpit were well used and we lost about six footballs into the next door neighbour's garden due to over zealous football and baseball games. I really enjoyed seeing everyone have a good time together. It was a lovely opportunity for my parents to get to see nine out of their thirteen grandchildren and one of their great grandchildren. Family time is particularly precious right now as my sister will be moving away shortly, meaning we won't be seeing her or her two little ones very often any more. We will miss them lots

It was a great day celebrating Freddy's special day (albeit a bit late). He had a lovely time and for me, my birthday party planning and birthday cake baking is finished until next time!