Mojang’s sandbox building gameMinecrafthas been used for an uncountable number of creative projects, up to and including a1:1 scale recreation of the planet Earth. Not all of those projects need to be quite as huge in scope to be inspiring, though. As Hong Kong artist Cheryl Young has shown,Minecraftcan be used to plan projects for other games, like Nintendo’s recently releasedAnimal Crossing: New Horizons.
The artist posted an image of a creative world inMinecraftto Twitter Thursday with a design concept for “my future [Animal Crossing] residential area” that lays everything out to ensure buildings fit in the space allotted by Young’s randomly generated island map. Included under that is the scale used to approximate how actual structures would interact in the Nintendo Switch title, opening the possibility for fans to try out the concept for themselves.
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Without proper planning, Animal Crossing players will have to spend a lot of in-game currency in order torelocate the homes occupied by their villagers, currency that could instead be used to furnish their bedrooms or complete infrastructure projects like new bridges. Young’s solution to pre-planning is just out-of-the-box enough to be kind of brilliant, as it allows for three-dimensional thinking one might not get out of simply drawing on graph paper.
The Internet has been full of people talking aboutAnimal Crossing: New Horizonssince it released on March 20, as it provided a very timely escape from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic that has left many isolated in their homes. Aesthetic decorating is a huge component of the series, but especially so inNew Horizonsbecauseislands can be evaluated to unlock terraforming.
Minecrafthas also been a good escape from the generally panicked atmosphere of 2020. However, it has also been used to make more of a direct, positive difference on those whose lives have changed because of worldwide closures. It’s not alone, either, asMicrosoft made its educational content freeto facilitate learning with schools being shut down.
It’s not likely that Young will go down in history for suggestingMinecraftas anAnimal Crossingplanner, if anything the sheer amount of art in various styles visible on Young’s website is much more worth a perusal. Yet it is always cool to seeMinecraftbeing used for any sort of extended purpose, whether it be village planning or creating alibrary of forbidden and censored articles.
Minecraftis out now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One, along with many older platforms.
