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    Per Landin
    Written By
    Per Landin
    Published
    12/30/22

    Happy Holidays

    From everyone at Minecraft.net! Even if we're late!

    Aaah, the end times! No wait, I mean: Aaaaah, the end of the year; a time of reflection, relaxation, and making promises you’re 99.9% likely to break before the end of January. But it’s also a time for creativity, to sit down and finally build that work of art or customize a character to perfection you’ve been thinking about for so long. You have, right? Riiiiight?  

    I’m doing my best here to set up a seemingly seamless segue, but since I’m failing miserably, let me cut to the chase: 2022 is coming to an end, and with only a day remaining before we leave this old ghoul behind, as is tradition, the writers of Minecraft.net would like to once again wish you Happy New Year! 

    We do so by taking one last look at the old year, as well as some of our own personal builds. With some luck, it’ll inspire you to create something from the ground up. Speaking of ground: since I’m already rambling, let me share you my dirt house-level build from me and my sister’s survival realm. For years, I’ve been working on my tall – and I mean tall – tower I started constructing back in 2016. Gaze upon its towering glory!

    What is The Tower in Minecraft Dungeons compared to this beast?

    With the current pace, I’m optimistic to have it completed by 2057. Then, finally, I can be featured in on my very own community highlights like the ones we’ve covered here over the years?

    But we have lots more to share than my humble jerry-build. Someone who’s been having a fun year and almost don’t want it to end is Minecraft.net’s very own Sophie Austin who’s been busy building all sorts of epic works – but also scaring the living daylights out of her colleagues. What did you think of 2022, Sophie? 

    For me, 2022 will go down as the year that Minecraft truly terrified me, because I foolishly bravely ventured into the deep dark not once, but twice! Firstly, for our epic Wild Tales “Craft Your Own Adventure”, where you got to pick how to explore the frog-filled Wild Update, and then for our deeply scary Spookyfest Halloween challenge, where I came face to face with the warden! This year was also the year that Batman swooped into Minecraft, and Bikini Bottom’s residents had their best (and blockiest!) day ever. In fact, these past twelve months have been so much fun I’m struggling to fit it all in one paragraph, so I’ve stuffed it into a picture instead! Here’s me and Luna (my llama) enjoying our new base, surrounded by all our favorite new things. How many can you spot from the Wild Update? See you next year, friends!

    SOPHIE AUSTIN

    Sophie: Luna is a lot less inclined to eat this mud base than she was the gingerbread house I built for last year’s holiday greeting!

    Now, I think you think my build is ancient, you haven’t met the all-knowing Associate Minecraft Professor Duncan Geere. Tell me Duncan, how long have you written for this honorable site?

    I’ve been writing for Minecraft.net for more than FIVE YEARS now, kicking off in May 2017 with glass. Looking back, that article had all the hallmarks of the stuff I write today – bad puns, real-world science facts, handy tips, myth-busting, and lots of incorrectly formatted dashes that my editor Per constantly has to change! To celebrate this momentous occasion, I wanted to give you some exclusive BEHIND-THE-SCENES snapshots of how I put my weekly columns together. There are three essential tools I use, and you can read more about them here below. Happy holidays – and here’s to another five years!

    DUNCAN GEERE

    Duncan: First – this big flat area with a crafting table and a Nether portal. I use this space to test stuff and take close-up screenshots. It’s empty because after I take my screenshots I’ll usually tidy it up to make sure things don’t show up in the background of the next set of screenshots.

    Duncan: Second – the golden block that I stand on that’s just the right distance away from a well-lit item frame to make the thumbnail images for my Taking Inventory easy and consistent.

    Duncan: Finally – the /locate biome command – my holiday gift to those of you who haven’t discovered it already. This command makes it incredibly simple to find the part of the game you want to see, and then the /tp command takes you there instantly. Life’s too short to walk, right?

    Next up is Cristina, who’s been covering all the juicy details on our upcoming title Minecraft Legends. What an absolute legend! And because I just made that joke, I’ll have no choice but to fire myself before the start of the new year. What did you think about 2022, Cris?

    It’s hard to look back on a specific year when time lost all meaning a while ago... but that doesn't mean I can’t try. One thing that’s impossible to forget (even for me) is the fact that this year we announced a whole new game! Minecraft Legends has not just been revealed to the world, but it’s also coming next spring. To celebrate that, I decided to build a festive little plank golem! Well, the plank golems in Legends are small, this one is really big. I’ve also included a couple of bonus images from our adventures as a team: The ship I built for Per as part of our SpongeBob challenge and a feast I prepared for an entire Minecraft village for Lunar New Year.

    CRISTINA ANDERCA

    Cristina: As I was building the golem, it felt like the Overworld’s mobs were drawn to it. It's like the rabbits and polar could sense they’re a friend! Also, you might have noticed that this golem only has three arrows. That is because having bigger arrows means that you need fewer of them, and not due to any shortcomings on the builder’s part. 

    Cristina: For the SpongeBob building challenge, Per told me he likes boats and dogs, so I built him a ship and put lots of dogs on it! So many that you’d probably need earplugs just to stand on that boat, but it’s totally worth it. Where did he sail it to? Nowhere, because I don’t have the technical chops to create a usable boar for Minecraft, but at least I picked a nice spot for my stationary one, right?

    Cristina: For the Lunar New Year, I decided to treat a nearby Minecraft village to all the delicacies the Overworld has to offer. Just look at that spread! And unlike my IRL cooking, everything tastes like it’s supposed to. Allegedly. Sadly, the only reaction I got was one villager approaching the table, letting out a skeptical "Hrmmmmm” and then walking away. That’s right, this villager would rather just stand there and stare at nothing than taste my dishes. Having all the food to myself did ease the pain of rejection, though.

    From one Cristina to another (yes, I put them next to each other just for the sake of this transition), we welcome Kristina, who’s heading up our very own Community page here on Minecraft.net!

    Greetings from the Minecraft.net/Community side of the website! I was tickled to be invited into this article... it's like finally getting to sit at grown-ups table during the holidays! Anyway, folks on the team know me as the one who loves all things pink, and cute, and sparkly. That's why my favorite build I did this year was this pretty pastel house up in the clouds. Er, maybe don't look so closely. I seem to have left my softserve machine on again, and there's at least a half mile splash zone down there at the bottom. Oops!

    KRISTINA HORNER

    I'm not too sure I would turn it off, actually. Seems the gray scenery below could use some color! Someone that also has a machine is Sofia, and a nifty one at that!

    When I look back at this year, I am amazed that it spanned more than just the past few months. Who remembers March? Not this writer. Luckily, I have a time machine known as my screenshots folder. It may not be as fancy as a Delorean or cave in the German countryside, but it will do. For now. But even though I can only offer you the humblest of time travel trips, I will ensure that the view matches the transportation by presenting you with a blooper reel of builds past! I could have shared something more polished, or epic, or you know… good. But at the end of the day, and in this case – year, I like to remind myself that one of life’s purest pleasures is being able to laugh at yourself. 

    SOFIA DANKIS

    Sofia: This was the first iteration of the pizza I tried to bake for Cristina in our Best Day Ever challenge. It may look like a carpet you buy for the sole purpose of hiding a stain on the floor than a delicious deep dish, but at least there isn’t any pineapple on it.

    Sofia: Ever hear the expression that something is like “herding cats”? I scoffed at it when I set out to celebrate the Year of the Tiger for Lunar New Year. If anyone could do it, it was this friend of all felines. Dear reader, please learn from my mistakes. Cats will not be herded. In fact, they will punish you for trying. WHY WON’T THEY EVEN LOOK AT ME? I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. 

    Sofia: I cannot tell you how many iterations of this I went through in order to include it in our Craft Your Own Adventure: Wild Tales, or the number of hours I spent trying to recreate the classic Windows desktop wallpaper. I mean, I could. But I am making the very conscious choice not to, to save one sliver of self-respect for the new year.

    Good words to live by! I laugh at my work every day! Next up is Oskar, star writer of Minecraft.net’s most popular column: New on Java Realms. One could only guess what this distinguished gentleman wish for at the end of the year. Or you could ask him, literally.

    I'm a man of simple needs and desires, and one of the highlights for me every year is summertime when I get to go swimming! Therefore, I'd like to present this pool design I've made, which I can hopefully send forward to my local municipality so they can start throwing up a couple of these around my neighborhood! Check out the acacia wooden tiling that will be comfortably warm under the summer sun. Pay less attention to the creeper photobombing in the background!

    OSKAR THYSELL

    Well, it’s all good until they go “Ssssss....”. Last, but certainly not least is Lindsey who, just like Kristina, covers our vast community over at the Community Page (yes, do check it out). What was your greatest work this year, Lindsey?

    Inspired by my love for dance music from the late 90's, this year I capitalized on the opportunity to build castles in the sky, bringing a club to the clouds. With plush carpet, an elevated dance floor, comfy couches for lounging, and a bubbly water wall, this is one hot spot that's sure to bring in the crowds. Joel, who heads up our Community Team, even helped build a working redstone disco ball!

    LINDSEY SCHAAL

    From all of us here at Minecraft.net, we wish you the best of endings to 2022 and the best of beginnings to 2023! May your builds be beautiful and your caves full of diamond ore!

    Happy Minecrafting and see you next year! 

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