It's no secret that I am a huge fan of Minecraft, and all it's blocky, free-building goodness. For about as long as I've owned the game, I've had dreams of tackling an extravagant and carefully crafted project to imprint my legacy and vision on the Minecraft world. Unfortunately, my Minecraft skills leave much to be desired. So instead, I've had to content myself in observing such enormous projects created by people far, far more talented than I am. Over the course of time since Minecraft's release, there have been several such projects that have stood out to me.So, I thought I would take the time to share a few of my favorite projects. This is by no means a definitive 'Best Of' list - since I know that claiming things are 'The Best' is internet nitroglycerin - but rather a few projects, both new and old, that simply stuck with me.
5. 3D Printer
On occasion you will stumble across a project that is so technically complex, it manages to stretch your mind a bit. That is the way I felt when I first saw the Minecraft 3D Printer. Beyond it's tongue-in-cheek cleverness of having a Minecraft creation that produces other Minecraft creations, the actual mechanics behind this monstrosity are bordering on absurd. With most structures, you can at least conceptualize the work that went into it. But with a project like this, with so many moving and interacting parts, the logistics behind it are staggering, leaving you spending much of the video simply in awe that this is a thing.Considering my general experience with redstone in Minecraft is building something, realizing that I'm off by two blocks and having to tear it all down again, it's no wonder this one ended up on my personal top 5.
4. Starship Enterprise
I feel like this was one of the first mega-projects that many Minecraft users will have come across, and it still holds its position as one of the most impressive. What we have here is a scale model(in fact, its a little bigger) of the Starship Enterprise from Star Trek. Starting out as a solo project and then progressing to a communal effort, The Enterprise has been crafted in loving detail, with a number of small touches that fans are sure to appreciate. Complete with bridge, turbolifts, crew quarters, engine room, docking bays, every element is here, recreated based on actual Enterprise blueprints. Can't get much more authentic than that.3. Minecraft within Minecraft
I love counter-trolling, I really do. Hans Lemurson was a Minecraft user that had built up a following for his creation of Minecraft computers, basically using the redstone mechanics within Minecraft to create (relatively) simple processors and calculating engines. And every time, he would be forced to deal with the same joke: "Well, can you play Minecraft on it? Hurrhurrhurrhurrhurr".Likely tired of people thinking they are exceedingly clever, Lemurson went ahead and did it. That's right, he built a system in Minecraft that allowed him to play an - admittedly simple - version of Minecraft, allowing you to move and manipulate blocks. So beyond an impressive display of redstone badassery, you had a nice little "take that!" for the Youtube commenters of the world.
2. King's Landing
Man, do I love me some Game of Thrones. I've been an avid follower of this critically acclaimed HBO series ever since episode 1, and the world that they have managed to create is high on the list of reasons why. The varied settings, general epicness and widespread popularity made it almost inevitable that someone, somewhere would try and recreate this world in Minecraft.What I didn't expect is for it to be created in such intricate detail. Though still a work in progress, the completed elements are grand, expansive and truly awe inspiring. You get a sense of how much detail the team is putting into this world, and how impressive it is going to be once complete.
1. Minecraft Middle Earth
Okay, so you thought the last few entries were absurd. Well, they don't even begin to scratch the surface of what the team behind Minecraft Middle Earth are tackling. What they are endeavoring to do is recreate the entirety of Tolkein's vision for Middle Earth. All of it.And damn it if they aren't succeeding.
This video takes you for a tour of The Shire, Bree, Rivendell and Moria, and I have to say, the level of detail they are pouring into this world is amazing. Ever Hobbit village is created, ever farm, path and field is hand crafted. At one point while standing in the Shire, the commentator asked how long it would take to get to somewhere an average fan would recognize. The answer: Moria is about six hours away. Six Hours. I have never seen a Minecraft project to-date that can touch this one for scope, scale and ambition.
At one point, the host states about the creators "You guys are sick, you need help" in reference to the hours they have sunk in to this project. And he's probably right.
But for the love of god. Please. Don't. Stop.
