Yes, as the title image for this blog suggests, Year in Review is coming soon.  I've been working hard creating hand-made pixel art plaques, trophies, and crowns.  Come January, we shall celebrate the best PMC projects of 2015!  But, for now, let us talk about the best PMC projects of the week.

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Topping off the Life on Mars Contest here on PMC was an impressive structure called Triangular Ascension, created by Denzarou.



Triangular Ascension is what would happen if humanity tried to colonize Mars.  You see, it wouldn’t work.  Not because of the lack of resources or the inhospitable atmospheric conditions, but because humans are naturally lackluster at keeping up with contingencies.  That’s what allows disasters like Hurricane Katrina, Chernobyl, and the Exxon Valdez to happen.



This time, the setting is a man-made Martian base with a gravity regulator, and the contingency is a shielding failure, followed by a meteoric strike that causes mass destruction.  Bad luck, I guess.



Whatever Triangular Ascension was before the disaster (a utopian paradise or perhaps an interplanetary marvel), it’s in tatters now.  Denzarou took great care in constructing an elaborate web of space-age structures and technological goodies, and then embraced his more destructive side and blew everything up.



You see, I like that ethos.  I like the idea of using one hand to create, and the other to destroy.  It’s like playing God.  Giveth, taketh, and laugh at the cataclysm that follows.  There’s nothing quite like building something, just to knock it down.



And credit to Denzarou for using the entire starter terrain to construct a single silo, with about as much detail as you could squeeze into it.  Couple that with some insane backstory and brilliant presentation, and you have a winner.

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The best terraforming of the week comes in the form of a rectangular plot called Fantasy World, by TeamFycius.



This is an ultra-concentrated piece of terrain, composed of deep ridges, towering peaks, and some inspiring structures and organic work to boot.  But, for the sake of Week in Review, we’ll focus on the terraforming.



The terraforming here is rather ethereal, and a result of a lot of in-game manipulation.  This isn’t a result of WorldPainter, but rather an old-school, hand-made terrain.  And it definitely shows in terms of quality.



There’s layers to the landscaping in Fantasy World.  Swirling, elliptical bands of rock twist and turn above a vast field, adorned with hills, trees, and little organic creatures.  It’s got a lot of character, especially for something of such small scale.



But it’s not just a terrain, it’s something more.  It’s an immersive environment, and the terrain exists to complement a myriad of structures and ideas.  It’s got a theme, and a purpose.  Rather than just ‘being’ a terrain, it elevates itself into a higher realm of creativity.



It’s good to see quality terraforming being incorporated into maps such as this.  When it’s done right, it can really transform the ordinary into something extraordinary.

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And what would be more festive for the first week in December, than a Christmas-themed map?  Well, it just so happens that the best organic work of the week is a map titled Merry Christmas, created by EthyriaBuildteam.



Merry Christmas indeed, because this map is nothing more than a large-scale model of somebody’s living room on Christmas morning.  And, as you can imagine, it’s filled with all the classic Christmas motifs.



The room is composed of stacks of presents, a winding toy train track, a fireplace lined with stockings, and a heavily decorated tree.  What more could one want?



This is one of those things that requires a lot of hard work to execute.  The impeccable details on the lighting fixtures, the portrait, and the bookshelves are a reminder that Minecraft can produce some really vivid stuff as long as you put the effort into it.



And it’s the heavy amount of details that transforms this room into a cozy, Christmas abode.  The warm glow from the candles, and the spectacular render are just the sort of aftereffects a build like this needs.



But what I really love about this is how thematic it is.  You don’t even need the ‘Merry Christmas’ title to instantly recognize what this build is.  It’s a perfect microcosm for the holidays.

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And just one month after the last blogging contest, we find ourselves at the end of another.  Of all the entries for the Survival Guide Contest, my personal favorite was Hungry, written by SaucyBird.



Almost all of the entries came in the form of the standard written format, with some going further and adding narratives.  But the most innovative and groundbreaking survival guide came in video form.  Hungry is a combination of written entries and edited, in-game footage.



The result is an immersive experience like something out of a found footage film.  The video tapes are brilliantly edited to look like something that was actually captured with a camera.  They incorporate an uncanny sense of suspense, something that no contestant mastered the way SaucyBird did.



There’s a sort of professionalism present here, which only adds to the overall feel and enhances the viewing experience.  And, for added measure, SaucyBird was kind enough to add a ‘Behind the Scenes’ section, showing the process he underwent editing the videos.  It’s a true show of hard work and talent, and it deserves the win it will almost certainly get.

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Thank you very much for reading!  I've got to get back to work, as there is much still left to do.  See you guys next week!