Ah, the city is alive. The hum of cars on the street, the gentle fluttering of pigeon wings, the hustle and bustle of businesspeople heading to work or returning home. It’s nothing short of a rural existence—except for the pigeons. Those guys are everywhere.
In the past, cities were different. Instead of car noise, there was the sound of horses, and men shouted about meat prices. Rather than the everyday rush of modern professionals, it was the frantic activity of people desperately trying to avoid streams of urine cascading from upper windows. Sure, there were still pigeons, but probably not in such abundance. It was a simpler, cozier time.
This construction represents a more straightforward city merely by virtue of its historical context. Built by the French team ElysiumFire, this sprawling architectural marvel stands as a testament to designs that predate computers, inspired by (but not an exact replica of) Novigrad, a city featured in the acclaimed Polish RPG “The Witcher 3,” which draws heavily from classic European aesthetics.
“This map in Minecraft Pocket Edition isn’t a precise copy of Novigrad,” says ElysiumFire, referring to the main capital of “The Witcher 3” (which itself isn’t real), a medieval European town with red roofs perched on a hill. “It’s a tribute to a fantastic game we all enjoyed, inspiring us to create this project.”
You can see the European influence in the buildings throughout the world of Minecraft PE: red rooftops, cathedral domes, columns aplenty, and such a vast city that exploring every alleyway would take several days in MCPE.
“This is our largest project,” the team tells me. “The city is very expansive yet incredibly dense, leaving little room unused.” If you’ve ever traveled to a good old-fashioned city, you’ll recognize that feeling where every inch of space is occupied—by homes, cafes, shops, churches, or squares. Space is precious!
“Planning is quite simple,” explains ElysiumFire. “Our planners play a crucial role in terraforming… they start sketching out plans: drawing street lines on the ground, establishing positions, junctions, gardens… gradually covering the entire area in MCPE.” This is a port city, suggesting enormous, towering ships in the harbor, grand stone bridges spanning rivers, and long slender docks reaching toward vessels like fingers.
There’s an intriguing contrast between the vibrant stone and red-tiled roofs of the buildings on land and the more traditional wood and fabric of the ships in the port, giving this city the appearance of being caught in a temporal rift, halfway between the old and the new.
Amazingly, the city was designed without a model—no direct references to buildings, just the creativity of the builders. “Most of us are highly skilled builders capable of constructing anything! From small structures to majestic churches!”
One thing missing from this construction, as with most large urban projects, is interiors. You won’t find any furniture elements in this city within Minecraft Pocket Edition; its citizens likely just sleep on the floor. However, there’s a reason for this, as ElysiumFire explains: “Building interiors takes even longer than constructing exteriors!”
The entire city took around six months to complete, which would have taken just as long if interiors were included. Ah well. Sleeping on the floor must be good for your back. But if you do venture inside, you might stumble upon a secret. “Our builders love to joke, so they did build a few interiors after all. Players will find some Easter eggs!”
One of the most remarkable aspects of this project, aside from its size, is the impressive timeline of the city’s construction by the team. The work spans six months, as if the buildings rise from nothing into beautiful spirals, domes, and cobblestone streets, but the timeline holds a dark secret: it’s all a facade.
“Like most projects, it’s not a true turnaround,” ElysiumFire tells me. “It’s a reverse turnaround. This means we build first, then manually insert blocks and destroy what we’ve previously constructed. It’s time-consuming and rather tedious. Finally, our videographer put together a video!
