Towers of Power

You don't know true pain until you've tried to build a round object in Minecraft. Our cube-based game just isn't cut out for spherical creations. I once tried to build a giant egg, and just ended up with a big, cream oblong of failure. The local chickens were so disgusted, they pecked me to death. I deserved it, too.

That's why I'm always impressed when someone manages to pull off sloped, curved and round builds in Minecraft. How did they do it? Witchcraft? Probably witchcraft. It was witchcraft, wasn't it?

Actually, YES! Well, actually, no. These curved towers and spherical domes are the hard work of Azacore, a Turkish builder who specialises in spires to inspire! (which was almost the much better name of this article, until I realised Marsh had already used it. Curse you, Marsh)

Azacore was actually reluctant to get into Minecraft, worrying that playing a computer game “wouldn't improve me much”. Luckily, a friend of Azacore's was having none of it.

“He wanted me to join him and everything started with that,” explains Azacore. “We used to play Minecraft to explore new lands, hunting mobs or trying to survive. But building wasn’t on my mind until I discovered the creative mode.”

But in a game about cubes, how did he make round structures with such ease? What's Azacore's secret? “Thank you!” he says, when we compliment his spherical skills. “I can say that I am not one of the best builders but I believe that I can put my ideas into my creations correctly.”

“Patience is a very important thing that every builder should have,” advises Azacore, of the perseverance required to improve your building skills. “As I said, finishing projects and planning them requires patience. You can’t create some qualified things in one night.

“Confidence is another important thing you should have. You can’t think that you are not good enough to do a project or share it to the community if you want to have success and be happy. There is always gonna be better builders and good projects in this industry. Focusing on being unique and being happy is what you should aim [for], not to get angry to each other and argue.”

“Also, sometimes seeing other perfect creations or builders makes me really ambitious. When I feel like that, I just focus on my project and ask myself, am I doing my best? Being ambitious, that’s the only motivation I have.”

Still, in a game that lets you create almost anything, why commit yourself to realism? What is it Azacore prefers about realistic builds?

"Realistic buildings requires more effort.

“If you decide to make a realistic build, you must be able to do some texturing and choose correct concepts,” Azacore continues. “I have a project named 'Island of Daqhat'. It was one of the projects that I have tried a realistic build."

“Castorotto helped me to discover this style and I really liked it. Also I tried it on my last project, named 'Gecturova Palace'. They take a lot of time, but when you finish it, you will see it totally deserves all of the time you gave.”

Azacore's style isn't completely dominated by realism, though. He's also shown a flair for sci-fi, with his vision for a futuristic, sustainable city, The Aviona.

“I am always into something futuristic and modern,” explains Azacore, of how he developed The Aviona. “When I hear 'futurism' and 'modern' words, there is a city that appears in my mind and I feel excited. I planned it like I am living on this city, so I felt like that I need to do other stuff (highways, bridges, cars and other things) to complete it as a sustainable city.

“So, planning the project before was the reason that this project looks different (I don’t usually plan my projects). I wasn’t sure that I will have great result when I am done with this, but now, I am pretty sure.”

Well, I'm so inspired, I might just have another go at building something spherical in Minecraft! Or maybe I'll just take a nap. For more of Azacore's work, follow him on Twitter or take a look at his Planet Minecraft portfolio!

Renders by Krylin, Castorotto, Killerack, JoeBricksy and Hylarion