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Top Things NOT To Build on Creative Servers [Right From a Long Time Staff]
To start off let's address a few things. Why should you listen to me? Well, as the title suggests, since about June of last year I have been a proud member of several staff teams for several servers. Ranging anywhere from a Helper to a full on Co-Owner, I have monitored the day to day happenings of creative servers. As any fellow creative staff will know, the primary and most time consuming job of the day is checking builds. Most servers have a system of being ranked up for a build which must be deemed worthy by a member of staff. Now, servers can get a lot of members. Hundreds and even thousands of unique players joining each day. Lots of players = lots of builds = lots of work. After looking through EASILY thousands of builds over my time as staff, I have become quite good at reviewing a players submission. Anyways, on to the topic at hand. Keeping in mind that everyone has unique styles and skills, I have created a list of the top things not to do/build on a creative server. Keep in mind these are things you should NOT do!
1) Build a Pyramid
For reasons I can't explain, a large proportion of the community enjoys building these triangular structures. Usually taking the small plot given to them, a member will repeat the square pattern smaller and smaller, higher and higher, many times taking hours to finish. After all those minutes spent working hard, it breaks their heart to have me come over and tell them that their creation isn't up to par. To be bluntly honest these builds are simple and take little to no skill. It is made up of a simple pattern over and over, making it the easiest thing to build since the dirt house. Looking at it from a "Is this person showing skill" stand point (which most staff will be) the pyramid just isn't the best way to show what you can do.
2) Build "Statues" or Simple Pixel Art
These super sized skins are an eye sore in the creative staff world. While un-doubtably fun to build for some, it has the same problem as the mighty pyramid. The mammoth players take very little skill to make, as it is simply copying what you see. Pixel art is a slightly different story as it is a wide variety of things. Small pixel arts that are simple are just not something we want to see, most likely because we have see it many times before. If I had a dollar for every time I saw a Mario, Zelda, or Nyan Cat sprite I would be a very rich man. Now if I come across a towering blocky portrait of the Mona Lisa I might stop and take a look. (Really happened one time) In my own personal opinion, the best kind of pixel art is your own. I'm not talking a Google'd picture you have opened in Photoshop, I mean a raw display of your own mind.
3) Use Lots of Gem Blocks
I know some times the glint of a diamond block or the sparkle of emerald in the sun can be alot to over come, but please resist the urge to use these. The only time to use gem blocks (Emerald, Diamond, Lapis, Gold, Iron) is if you are using it as a slight accent. Only here and there should there be one. How do you know if your build uses too much? Well if the shine coming off your diamond floor blinds me as I enter your Golden Palace, the amount of gem blocks should probably come down. The reason for this is simply because it doesn't look good.
4) Build Square/Flat Structures
This one is probably the biggest. This is the one that most people do. If I had to estimate, I would have to say an easy 2/3 of the minecraft community falls into this category. This problem has become so bad that I actually get excited when I see someone building something that isn't a straight up square. So please, do NOT build something that is a square or rectangle, or for that matter, has a base that contains a 90 degree angle. I'm not saying make all your builds circles or ovals, but don't make all of your creations have that dreadful lifeless sharp turn. Add some curve to the build. I'm not going to write a tutorital here (Unless you want one) but I'm sure you could find some place to learn how to make a creatively shaped building. To quote a very good friend of mine, "My god, the Box houses. Basically, if you're thinking of building a quadrahedron. Don't." ~ TheXald.
5) Ask for Staff to Check Your Build in Public Chat
To start off, I'll show you the wrong way to ask staff to check your build. "Can someone in staff come check my build?" I know, sounds simple and polite enough. Let's point out some of the problems. "someone in staff" is just impolite. Staff has names and they would prefer that you use them. Names are not hard to find as staff usually are marked with extravagant titles/names (too fancy for my taste). Next, asking over a staff in public chat is a bad idea. Not only will your message get lost in the rabble of the server, it creates spam that the members will ignore. Send them a message using the commands provided which are most commonly /msg, /tell, or /whisper. Also keep in mind that staff are busy people, so lets see the right way to ask a staff to check a build. *In a private message* "Hey [Staff Name], I've finished my build and if you're not too busy I'd love if you'd come and check it out." They almost always respond to you, even if its with something like "One second I'm a bit busy" or "I can't right now :/ try another staff" Not only will they respond to you, it will most likely make their day because among all the "Staff I'm done with my build"s, it's nice to see a polite message straight to you.
6) Build a Parkour Map
Now not ALL parkour maps are completely horrible, but the most common map is a few diamond blocks above grass. People will argue that they have made it challenging and beg for staff to try it but to be honest, the difficulty of the "map" doesn't really matter. When judging a build, we are looking for skill in putting aesthetic on a build. If you are able to create a stunning build that also doubles as a challenging parkour map, then go for it. But you should really focus on the look of the build rather than making it a few floating blocks.
Thanks!
If you read this far then 1. Hope you enjoyed it and 2. Good to see people still read, reading is good for you. I hope you all take this knowledge and make the creative world a better place. Have something that bugs you? Tell me and I'll gladly add it with credit to you. Thanks to SoggyTractor for inspiring me to write this with his wonderful writings found here :P ( http://www.planetminecraft.com/member/soggytractor/ ) and thank you to all of my staff family I've had over the years thathave made my Minecraft experience the best! This was fun for me and I hope for you, so let's hear some ideas for the next one.
Stay Creative,
Devin
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