Limerick added to world's best-selling video game

LIMERICK city now features in the world's best-selling video game. 

MineCraft is a 3D computer game where players can build anything and has been described as an online Lego involving building blocks and creating structures across different environments and settings.

Limerick resident Mateusz Bartnik built the game that features Arthur’s Quay Shopping Centre, Arthur’s Quay Park, Shannon Rowing Club and the new University of Limerick City Centre Campus.

Now the digital creators of BTE Ireland are looking to expand the video project in detail into the surrounding County.

“Our project is currently looking for investment, and we are looking for funds or more collaborations with organisations to keep it going. We are dedicated to completing this work and hope to inspire and engage Minecraft players and fans of Ireland,” Mateusz said. 

“Our task values community involvement and volunteerism. It has been a work of volunteering dependent on kind donations, and we are always looking for additional support from organisations and groups who share our values. We believe that our project is a unique and creative way to showcase the beauty and diversity of Ireland and to engage with the  community, both locally and globally,” he added.

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BTE Ireland have also recreated St Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre, Grafton Street and O’Connell Street in Dublin as well as other locations across Ireland. 

“Currently, our team of builders is focused on major cities like Dublin and Cork, but of course work is being done in Limerick City, as it's an Irish city. To clarify the goal is to recreate the entirety of the Republic Of Ireland on a 1:1 scale in the video game Minecraft,” Mr Bartnik explained. 

“Therefore every single detail that makes up the country will be done. The project works by using the Build the Earth modpack, which generates the geography of the whole world within Minecraft to scale. The modpack includes some elevation details, rough road locations, and rough building outlines.

"Builders can then use reference images, Google maps data, and lidar scans to create the accurate measurements and locations of buildings within the game. Once builders have completed a build, they can submit pictures to a showcase section of the BTE Ireland discord server,” he told the Limerick Leader/Limerick Live.