Items appear as two-dimensional sprites in the player's inventory, only appearing slightly three-dimensional when in the player's hand (as opposed to Blocks, which take on a three-dimensional appearance in both the player's hand and inventory). Blocks and Items make up all usable resources in Minecraft.
Types
- Raw materials are components that are used with or to construct other items.
- Food is eaten or crafted by the player to regain health.
- Plants are items found growing in the environment that can be collected and planted on grass and dirt blocks within certain conditions.
- Tools are primarily used to break blocks faster than mining by hand, and are required in order to retrieve resources from some blocks.
- Buckets can transport liquids.
- The clock and compass cannot be used in the conventional manner, but display useful progressive images to orient the player.
- A fishing rod has a variety of uses other than fishing.
- A flint and steel is used to set certain blocks on fire for varying periods of time, and is necessary to create a portal to the Nether.
- Saddles can only be used to ride pigs.
- Weapons are used to defend the player from from hostile mobs roaming a map or to kill passive mobs for food and materials.
- Armor protects players from damage of any kind, with the exception of suffocation. A full set of armor is comprised of a helmet, chestplate, leggings, and boots.
- Vehicles allow the player to travel great distances over land or water with speed and ease.
- Records are inserted into a Jukebox in order to play a certain tune.
- Decorations are items that only have aesthetic uses. As of Beta 1.2, paintings and dyed wool are the only decoration items available.
Items first appeared in Indev and continue to be available in Infdev, Alpha, and Beta. Notch has confirmed that all items from the current survival mode will be placeable in the future Creative Mode, but how items will eventually work remains to be seen.