Few games spark the creativity of players to the extent that Minecraft does. The 3D open-world sandbox game features everything a person needs to build almost anything they can think up, using Minecraft blocks to build an elaborate medieval city, replicate real-world landmarks, or recreate iconic locations like Skyrim’s Solitude or Lord of the Rings’ Bag End. Perhaps the most ambitious project of all resulted from the pandemic, the idea to recreate the entire Earth in Minecraft.
In March 2020, PippenFTS presented a terraformed representation of the Earth’s surface in Minecraft, and his plan was for players to recreate the planet's buildings on a 1:1 scale with each in-game block representing one real-world cubic meter. The project, which soon attracted tens of thousands of players, is known as Build the Earth and is composed of a number of smaller teams focusing on different world locations.
Simultaneously to the launch of Build the Earth, a German Minecraft player calling himself MineFact began a project to rebuild New York City in the video game using data from Google Maps. He merged his idea with Build the Earth, and work soon began on NYC’s 9/11 Memorial. The New York City team of 2,731 members is now the largest in the Build the Earth project, and in two years they have made incredible progress. Rather than focus on one specific area or district, the Minecraft builders divide their time in an effort to keep the work interesting and make sure the entire city grows in tandem.
Initially, the plan was to build only the exterior of the buildings in New York City, to keep the gargantuan task more manageable. However, exceptions have been made for some landmarks like Grand Central Terminal, which are being fleshed out on the inside as well. The Minecraft players working on the New York City project are also paying close attention to detail, with some people actually going to the city’s transportation hub and taking photos for reference. Other team members regularly return to completed areas to double check accuracy and rework buildings from the bottom up.
Of course, players don’t need to be a member of the Build the Earth project to recreate real-world landmarks in the game. Recently, a Minecraft player built the tallest building in Vietnam, Landmark 81, which is also the 17th tallest building in the world. And while many Minecraft players demonstrate their skills by recreating locations from books, movies, games, or real life, others show their creativity by building elaborate home bases using just their imagination. These Minecraft mega bases are another example of what can be achieved using pixelated 3D blocks and a lot of determination.
Minecraft is available on Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
Sources: Build the Earth, New York Times Curbed
