{"href":"http://player.captivate.fm/services/oembed?url=http%3A%2F%2Fplayer.captivate.fm%2Fepisode%2F1b9a2206-e802-44af-b138-6b4b52fb2162","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Captivate.FM","provider_url":"https://www.captivate.fm","width":600,"height":200,"type":"rich","html":"<iframe style=\"width: 100%; height: 200px;\" title=\"Bonus/micro ep: The play of professional Minecraft building\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allow=\"clipboard-write\" seamless src=\"http://player.captivate.fm/episode/1b9a2206-e802-44af-b138-6b4b52fb2162\"></iframe>","title":"Bonus/micro ep: The play of professional Minecraft building","description":"<p>I&#39;m back! Well, partly. New episodes are on the way, and in the meantime I thought you might enjoy this excerpt from an interview I conducted a couple of years ago about professional Minecraft building (i.e., people getting paid to build elaborate maps and buildings). Most of what I discuss here with BlockWorks boss James Delaney (who at the time was an architecture student) didn&#39;t make the article, so I&#39;m pleased to finally bring it out to the world.</p>\n\n<p>You can learn more about BlockWorks and what they do at <a href=\"http://blockworks.uk\" rel=\"nofollow\">blockworks.uk</a>, and read the old article that I conducted this interview for <a href=\"https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/meet-minecraft-builders-who-craft-impossibly-detailed-virtual-worlds-124924/\" rel=\"nofollow\">at Rolling Stone</a>. I also have a great book James put together called Beautiful Minecraft [<a href=\"https://amzn.to/2Uzc8c8\" rel=\"nofollow\">Amazon</a>, <a href=\"https://nostarch.com/beautifulminecraft\" rel=\"nofollow\">Official</a>], which I highly recommend \u2014 it has lots of incredible Minecraft-made art and virtual architecture, plus several interesting essays.</p><p><a href=\"http://patreon.com/ludiphilia\" rel=\"payment\">Support Ludiphilia</a></p><p>Links:</p><ul><li><a href=\"https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/meet-minecraft-builders-who-craft-impossibly-detailed-virtual-worlds-124924/\" title=\"Meet \u2018Minecraft\u2019 Builders Who Craft Impossibly Detailed Virtual Worlds\" rel=\"nofollow\">Meet \u2018Minecraft\u2019 Builders Who Craft Impossibly Detailed Virtual Worlds</a> &mdash; It\u2019s enthralled an entire generation and sold more than 100 million copies, so perhaps it should come as no surprise that for some hyper-skilled players, the open-ended, Lego-like building game Minecraft has become an actual, money-earning occupation. Just as the most-talented Lego architects earn a living showing off their blocky creations, there\u2019s good money to be made by anyone with the skills to craft Minecraft\u2018s cube-shaped digital blocks into beautiful sculptures and stunning worlds.</li><li><a href=\"https://amzn.to/2Uzc8c8\" title=\"[Amazon] Beautiful Minecraft - Hardcover by James Delaney\" rel=\"nofollow\">[Amazon] Beautiful Minecraft - Hardcover by James Delaney</a> &mdash; With a bit of imagination and a heavy dose of artistic talent, Minecraft blocks can be used to build almost anything. But as you\u2019ll see, some artists are taking Minecraft building to a whole new level.\r\n\r\nBeautiful Minecraft is a compendium of stunning artwork built in Minecraft. Using millions of blocks and spending hundreds of hours, these artists have created floating steampunk cities, alien worlds, detailed classical sculptures, fantastical landscapes, architectural marvels, and more.</li><li><a href=\"https://nostarch.com/beautifulminecraft\" title=\"[No Starch Press] Beautiful Minecraft by James Delaney\" rel=\"nofollow\">[No Starch Press] Beautiful Minecraft by James Delaney</a> &mdash; \u201cA feast for the eyes, this book contains stunning images that will be an inspiration to players and admirers young and old.\u201d\r\n\u2014Forbes\r\n\r\n\u201cAre video games art? Yes\u2014this is proof.\u201d\r\n\u2014IGN's \u201cUp at Noon\u201d</li></ul>\n","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/4d332c23-a35f-4405-830d-c1ed2f3827fb/2494328-1571271849798-9d3517446209a.jpg"}