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When Max Schlosser writes a book, it’s no mere pamphlet – it can easily run to between 400 and 900 pages. Following on from his seminal work *Game Development with Unity: The Comprehensive Handbook*, published by Rheinwerk Verlag, he is now back with another title: *Let’s Craft Code!: How to Expand Your Minecraft World with Plugins”, also published by Rheinwerk, he is aiming primarily at young readers who love Minecraft and want to try their hand at programming.
Minecraft is the best-selling computer game. The game is also used in education to teach subjects such as chemistry, computer science and computer-aided design. In the game itself, you move around a cube-shaped world, gather resources, battle monsters and craft new items from those resources. Players can add their own new plugins, and this is precisely where Max Schlosser’s book comes in. The blurb reads: “Invent new crafting recipes, design epic battles, modify monsters and equipment – and learn the basics of programming in Java along the way. This way, you can reshape Minecraft step by step to suit your own ideas.”
Max Schlosser works as a research assistant in Professor Christian Roschke’s research group and is currently working on compiling a mobility dataset for the Free State of Saxony. In this interview, he answers questions about his motivation, the content of the book and the writing process.
How did the idea for this book come about?
I was fascinated by Minecraft even as a child, and it was what first got me into programming. I programmed my first plugins and discovered my love of coding through them. In that sense, this book is a tribute to ‘the spark’ that ignited my passion for computer science, a passion that continues to this day. I’d like to pass this on to as many people as possible.
Was there any content that didn’t make it into the book in the end? What happens to that?
Yes, unfortunately you can never cover 100 per cent of all possible ideas, but that’s not what the book is intended to do anyway. It calls on the creativity of all readers, which is why the book is designed to provide all the essential basics so that you can then put your own ideas into practice. And even better: it also allows you to explore more advanced topics entirely on your own.
Are you more of a planner, or do you just ‘write as you go’?
A bit of both. Although the book itself was preceded by an intensive planning phase, some of that gets discarded, rearranged or added to whilst I’m writing. Fundamentally, I usually let my thoughts and the underlying motivation take the lead, and on some days the book practically writes itself. I think ‘a methodical scatterbrain’ would sum it up quite well.
How important is the practical aspect to you compared to theory?
Practical application is particularly important to me; that was also the case with my first book. My guiding principle is: ‘As much theory as necessary, as much practice as possible’. This is also reflected in the new book through numerous hand-crafted exercises and opportunities to extend the plugins, which you’ll develop together with me. What’s particularly great about Minecraft is that the sometimes dry theory of programming basics is always directly linked to the game. So, instead of a boring text output, a monster suddenly gets blown up 100 blocks into the air, or a magic sword appears that can shoot fireballs.
What were the initial reactions to the book?
I’m particularly pleased to say they were very positive. Whilst the first reviewers from among my friends and colleagues were already very complimentary, we’re now also starting to see reactions from the wider community. I’m delighted to hear that exactly what I set out to achieve with the book seems to be working. That must be how Thomas Edison felt when his first light bulb lit up.
Facts
Max Schlosser’s books are published by Rheinwerk Verlag.
Link: https://www.rheinwerk-verlag.de/lets-craft-code-wie-du-deine-minecraft-welt-mit-plugins-erweiterst/autor/
At the Leipzig Book Fair, Max Schlosser will be presenting his book at the #buchbar under the theme #Jung sein on 21 March 2026 from 12.15 pm to 1.30 pm in Hall 4, Stand F 200.
The Leipzig Book Fair is the most important spring event for the book and media industry, bringing together readers, authors, publishers and the media – not only from Germany, but from all over the world. They all come to Leipzig to experience the diversity of literature, discover new releases and gain fresh perspectives.
The Leipzig Book Fair will take place in conjunction with the Manga Comic Con and the ‘Leipzig liest’ reading festival from 19 to 22 March 2026.
Further information about the fair is available at the following link: https://www.leipziger-buchmesse.de/de/
Mittweida University of Applied Sciences will be showcasing publications by its staff and students at stand D307 in Hall 2.
