City on the Hill

If your walls were alive and could speak, what would they say to you first? Most likely, they’d notice how much time you spend playing Minecraft. Perhaps that’s why people air out their rooms—to refresh the memories of the walls.

Although the walls in your bedroom can’t share information beyond their confines or reveal how long you’ve been sitting at your desk staring at a screen, let alone mention those socks stuck behind the drawer for years. Given the limited capabilities of walls, might a mountain have more stories to tell? After all, it has witnessed the rise of civilizations and the fall of entire empires. Do you think it would share everything with us? This was the question that inspired Lmaoki, who sought to answer it through his project “City on the Hill”.

As a potential participant in the contest “Journey Through Time”, the “City on the Hill” project became an epic tale of its era. “The whole idea started with the main question: what would happen if I tried to bring a mountain to life, and is it even possible?” – shares Lmaoki.

After posing this initial question, curiosity grew, and he felt increasingly compelled to put his ideas into action. He wanted to explore how an intelligent mountain would interact with humans and how relevant that concept truly is. Thanks to Lmaoki’s ever-evolving mindset, his list of ideas kept expanding, leading to the creation of the story about the City on the Hill.

“I found particular inspiration in Greek tragedies, as they provoke deep thought with their somber endings rather than typical happy conclusions.”

Lmaoki’s admiration for the legendary tale of the 300 Spartans, where everyone meets their end, wasn’t the only source of inspiration drawn from the Greeks. He also borrowed elements of their design for his architecture. “The building is modeled after one in Santorini in the Greek islands. In fact, I haven’t seen similar projects in Minecraft Pocket Edition that capture such a unique style, so I believe I’ll be the first.”

The City on the Hill undoubtedly serves as a remarkable medium for storytelling, utilizing dynamic and evolving builds instead of mere images to convey a complete narrative.

“Storytelling through Minecraft Bedrock revolves around visual communication; you narrate through blocks rather than words. To effectively depict historical events, it’s crucial to convey key themes and ideas without straying from past occurrences, using text solely to label details,” he explains.

The most intriguing hidden details are often found in the minutiae, from tiny houses to narrow streets. Lmaoki shares some of his favorites. “The best part of the build is the final result when you see your achievement, perfectly capturing all the winding stairs and buildings, looking just like they do in real Santorini.”

Santorini is an island in the Aegean Sea, thanks to Wikipedia!

Creating such a vibrant city center on the island proved so challenging that Lmaoki missed the deadline for the “Journey Through Time” contest.

“I joined the competition late, and I had only about 12 days to finish everything,” he explains. “By the time the contest ended, parts of the island were still empty, and there was hardly any vegetation. Ultimately, I didn’t meet the deadline, so I dedicated an additional four days to finalize the remaining details.”

So, what lessons can be learned from all this? Trust yourself and your team during the execution of a project, never hesitate to overwork if necessary, and don’t back down until you achieve your goal.

Lmaoki’s hard work paid off for him, but not for the people who lived on that mountain. “The story I created for this village revolved around a civil war sparked by corruption. Eventually, it escalated and led to a fire that destroyed the empire and its inhabitants. A few survivors fled to neighboring lands, forming factions as refugees.”

Then came silence.

Oh, how eerie and terrifying! But Lmaoki loves dark tales—one might say he prefers them exclusively. When asked if he considered elaborating on the story further, he answered without hesitation.

“Probably not; in my view, a tragic ending is the only way to conclude a story,” he replied.

Perhaps it’s best to leave the mountain undisturbed, allowing it to slumber peacefully in Minecraft.

Check out the cinematic film by The Bird.