The Dark Mirror

Mirror Mirror in the study, why’s a spider right behind me?

Mirrors, in addition to saving us from the scourge of spinach teeth, are supposed to reflect the world around us. But what if, when we peer through the looking glass, we see a world darker than we expect? Where our bright lights become creeping shadows, and all the smiles in the family portrait are still there but with sharper teeth and red eye so red it looks almost bloody? That’s the chilling vision Robin_rgx and his Gravity Dream team created in their Dark Mirror project.

Now I’ve seen a lot of fantastic builds, and I know Tom and Marsh would be upset to see I’m playing favorites (sorry not sorry!), but the Dark Mirror is by far the most creepy, creative one I’ve ever seen. And it’s that capacity for boundless creativity that hooked Robin and his building team friends Speryosse and Nugus.

“From the start, we played Minecraft like a survival game,” explains Robin_rgx. “But from there, we realized this game has an unlimited potential for creation and an outlet for our unique expression. That’s how we got started making builds together. Like everyone else, we started out small. But eventually our style evolved, leading us to making the Dark Mirror.”

Unsurprisingly, given the level of detail in the build, it took a dedicated team of builders and thousands of blocks to create. Robin explains the process.

“To make Dark Mirror on such a large scale, we first had to construct it in miniature. We started working on the project in a much, much smaller and detailed scale. That way, when it was time to recreate it full scale, we had a model to work from to keep everything coherent. Altogether it took us about a month to build.”

Robin says the organics gave him and his team the toughest time, such as the girl, the teddy bear and the unfortunate man trapped in this nightmare. “His hat was also difficult to build but looked really good once completed. The furniture and the walls too gave us trouble but ended up looking amazing.”

Speaking of interior design, Robin goes on to explain where the inspiration from Dark Mirror came from... besides the dark depths of the human soul. Nobody tell them Halloween was months ago.

“We borrowed heavily from the interior design styles of Versaille and King Louis XVI. You don’t really see that kind of opulent style in Minecraft very often, so it makes our map unique.”

I think it’s more than just fancy French wallpaper that makes this build unique. The concept, the intricate details, and the subtle horror all make this the most impressive build I’ve seen so far. Dark Mirror, like a good movie, is something that’ll take multiple viewings in order to catch everything, and even then you’ll always see something new.

I didn’t notice the broken grandfather clock until my third look and let me tell you, I was shook.

“Sure we want to spook everyone. But we also want them to focus on the mirror in the center of the map,” says Robin. “We didn’t make a ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ side. That’s up to each individual to decide. To choose for themselves which side of the mirror is the real world.”

I don’t know about you, but I’m choosing the side with less blood and spiders.

Renders by Kryiie, IRoboMatic, Sweerd