Marketplace Fan Favorites: Year 4

The community creators that make up Lifeboat are a prolific bunch, but they took skyblocks to a new extreme with “Original One Block Challenge”. If you want a new type of block, you’re going to have the break the one you have until you find one you want to build with. And with two different game modes, this is a map that you can lose yourself in for hours and hours on end.  

Rein Teder from Lifeboat was kind enough to give us a little insight into the process that goes into not just Original One Block Challenge, but all their maps: 

"Our map “Washington DC” came about because I had gone on a school trip there with my daughter, and wanted to recreate the experience. This was a community made map, and many of the young adults that made it had been to DC as well, and they really had fun making the map. For me, inspiration always comes from stuff outside of other computer games, such as real life or media. “Stonks” because a meme awhile back, and a map for us. My kids sometimes use the phrase “Opposite Day” to mean just about any contradiction, so it became a Minecraft map."

Craftable Dragons

By Lifeboat

When they aren’t taking skyblocks to new heights, Lifeboat are adding a new dimension to the already exciting world of dragon taming. In “Craftable Dragons”, you need to craft your own dragon eggs that you then hatch into eight different types of dragons. Rein told us that “In Minecraft, the Ender Dragon egg proves you persevered and defeated the Ender Dragon, and that’s the end of the challenge.  We extended the game a bit by allow you hatch it.  But we don’t make it easy!” 

Dragons were a very hot commodity in 2020, and not just because of the actual fire that they breath on a regular basis. They are just awesome creatures! Don’t believe me? Then check out Advanced Dragons 2 by Pixelbiester and Ultimate Dragons by Gamemode One and prepare yourself to become an instant fan of these noble beasts.

PrestonPlayz Hide and Seek

By Meatball Inc

Some creators have been around since the early days of Minecraft, like Meatball Inc. These creative veterans joined us for a look back at their long, blocky history: “Since 2012, we have made maps for servers and videos. We always dreamt of being able to contribute to the actual game with new mobs, gadgets, decorations, and more. Being a Marketplace creator gave us the ability to pour our creativity directly into Minecraft!” 

Their take on the classic game doesn’t only raise the stakes, but also adds bespoke currency and merch! Find all the best hiding spots in three enormous maps together with your friends or on your own. There’s even some parkour for all the thrill seekers out there! We asked the creators at Meatball Inc for some advice on how to play:

PrestonPlayz Hide and Seek was inspired by the years of Preston’s videos with his friends. You’ll be entering Preston’s world with super secret spots to hide. If you’re playing alone, you’ll need to be aware of Preston’s skilled seekers! Try to run the time out to win! 

Blocks of Inspiration

From this week’s creators

The start of the new decade brought so much fun, innovative, and creative content! From creating our own dragon eggs, to extreme hiding, unique skyblocks, and calm, sandy shores. A veritable smorgasboard of maps, but before you grab a plate and dive in, let’s check in with our community creators for some final words of wisdom.

Rein Teder from Lifeboat shares some sound advice: “Make a quality checklist, and use it to make sure you don’t submit a map with floating trees.” 

In the same vein, Meatball Inc urge creators to learn from their mistakes: “Always make backups! We had been working on a lot of final edits to a map, without making a backup. After setting up TNT displays in the spawn (that were still configured to explode), a creeper caused a chain reaction of explosions! This set us back a few days, but most importantly reminded us of the urgency to make backups.”

Finally, Clint Ferguson at Imagiverse leaves us with this: