Welcome to FloodCraft, an innovative and engaging educational game designed to teach K-12 students about essential flood mitigation strategies in an interactive and enjoyable manner. Built on the popular Minecraft platform, this game provides a unique opportunity for players to explore and understand various flood preparedness techniques, empowering them with knowledge that can make a difference in their real-world communities.
The game is structured into different sections, each dedicated to a specific flood mitigation strategy. From implementing wet floodproofing to deploying sandbags, constructing flood walls, and elevating structures, players will embark on a learning adventure that demonstrates how these methods can enhance community resilience to flooding.
If you would like to play the game, please follow the setup instructions below.
Prerequisites:
- Java Development Kit (JDK) 21 (required for Minecraft 1.21.4)
- Minecraft Java Edition (Version 1.21.4)
- Fabric Loader (Version 0.19.3 or latest for 1.21.4)
You can find tutorials on YouTube for installing these prerequisites on your computer. Below are some links, but feel free to search for other tutorials specific to your operating system:
- Install Fabric Loader for Minecraft 1.21.4 using the installer from the Fabric website.
- Locate the minecraft folder on your computer (or your launcher instance's directory), then navigate to the mods folder inside it.
- Place the following required mods (compatible with Minecraft 1.21.4) into the mods folder:
- Fabric API (Download from CurseForge or Modrinth)
- CreatureChat (Provides the AI-powered NPC interactions, compatible with 1.21.4)
- Easy NPC and Easy NPC Config UI (Handles custom guide NPCs, compatible with 1.21.4)
To ensure the custom structures and items in the maps render correctly, you must download BlockMods.zip from this repository. Extract the contents of Block mods.zip and place the following mods inside your mods folder:
- Macaw's Roofs (mcw-roofs) – Used for tent shapes.
- Comforts – Adds sleeping bags used in the levels.
- BigSignWriter & AddonsLib – Adds the custom large lettering/signs in the world.
Locate the world folders inside the minecraft/saves directory of this repository:
Greenville Backup 5(Greenville Map)St. Bernard Parish(Saint Bernard Parish Map) Copy both folders and paste them inside thesavesfolder located in your local Minecraft instance directory.
When you open the game, you will see both worlds in your Singleplayer world list. Select the world you want to play and begin!
- Sandbag Defense: Learn how sandbags are used as a temporary barrier against rising water. Watch the educational video and place sandbags in the 5 perimeter gaps around the house to keep it dry.
- Storm Drain Hunt: Find and clear all 5 clogged neighborhood storm drains blockaded by trash and leaves to let the floodwaters drain from the streets.
- Wildlife & Pet Rescue: Swamp waters are rising in the Jean Lafitte swamp. Search the trees for the glowing outlines of a stranded cat and dog, leash them, and guide them across the bridge to safety.
- Save the Furniture: Move valuable furniture and electronics to safety in the attic before the ground floor of the house floods.
- Spillway Repair: Dive underwater to clear 3 jammed logs, retrieve the missing part from the toolbox chest, place it on the control panel, flip the generator switch, and pull the main lever to open the spillway gates and save the town!
- Save the Furniture: Move valuable furniture and electronics to safety in the attic before the ground floor of the house floods.
- Storm Drain Hunt: Find and clear all 5 clogged neighborhood storm drains blockaded by trash and leaves to let the floodwaters drain from the streets.
- Sandbag Defense: Learn how sandbags are used as a temporary barrier against rising water. Watch the educational video and place sandbags in the 5 perimeter gaps around the house to keep it dry.
- Tent City Rescue: Row a wooden boat through the flooded levee crevasse to rescue 4 stranded citizens from rooftops and bring them to safety.
- Relief Camp: Gather food and water rations from the supply table and deliver them to 4 refugees resting in their tents at the Red Cross levee Tent City.
We welcome your feedback! Please report any issues or suggestions by filing an issue on our GitHub page.
This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.
FloodCraft was developed by the University of Iowa Hydroinformatics Lab (UIHI Lab). Visit us at hydroinformatics.uiowa.edu.
Emiroglu, E., Grant, C. A., Sermet, Y., & Demir, I. (2024). Floodcraft: Game-based Interactive Learning Environment using Minecraft for Flood Mitigation and Preparedness for K-12 Education. EarthArxiv, 7815. https://doi.org/10.31223/X52Q55