Console Kingdom

Sometimes it’s hard to know when to stop building.

“I started with a ship,” says Smurf Masher. “A ship that needed a harbour, a harbour that needed a castle to defend it, and then a castle that needed a village to justify it, and so on until I ended up with millions of blocks laid.”

The result is Ephedion, a sprawling fantasy kingdom, entirely built on Console Edition, that encompasses two major cities and a huge hollow mountain concealing a dwarven ruin. It’s as vast as it is intricately detailed, and largely the work of Smurf Masher alone, although many renowned Xbox builders have leant a hand or some advice.

“I started it when the 360 edition was released in May 2012,” says Smurf Masher. “I built in Survival Mode until Creative Mode came out which I jumped on immediately! I was very lucky to be featured on the Xbox Gamehub three years ago. Looking back now, my city was nothing amazing - however, being featured opened up the community to me and I began to meet amazing builders who were years beyond my level, and I befriended them, built with them, and learned from them. Some notable builders who have helped me over the years include The Dark of Mya, lH O lD O IR, LorD of GoDz - they did the dwarven statue - kiriC0uille, WafflyPum3736, and so many more.”

Even with expert assistance, it’s unusual to find builds of this grandeur that aren’t the result of a committed community effort. “I have never been in a build team,” says Smurf. “90% of my world was laid block by block, solo, on rainy Sundays. OK, most Sundays - even if the sun is shining!”

Smurf has clearly learnt a lot across the course of the build. One bit of wisdom Smurf imparts is to be aware of how a build evolves, from blocking out square houses with layered walls, through a detailing phase in which colours, slabs and steps are added, to a final remodelling phase in which straight lines are broken and large patches of uniform texture are muddled up, to make the build feel more organic.