Minecraft Player Spends two Years Building Virtual City
Minecraft player spends two years building virtual city By Zoe Kleinman Technology reporter, BBC News
17 October 2014
A Delaware student spent two years creating the virtual world was called Titan City in Minecraft.
Titan City is constructed out of 4.5 million Minecraft building blocks and contains 96 buildings.
Duncan Parcells says it has taken the two years he spent to construct, averaging up to five hours a week on the project.
His first structure was a virtual replica of the World Trade Center. It took 18 months to build.
The 19-year-old, however, says Titan City is not a real-life model of New York.
"It's inspired by New York," he told the BBC.
"A lot of people think that it's a pastime, but it isn't."
He first built the city using the Xbox 360 version, but he has since switched it to the PC version which, he claims, offers more construction possibilities.
Mr Parcells plans to build an airport and a sports stadium.
"I think it's a way to provide a outlet for energy and architecture," he said.
"I've always been a fan of architecture. I am most proud of Victorian-style buildings that are more traditional and less art deco.
"A lot of people drop in and are looking to explore the area or help in the construction." Many of them help to build roads.
While Titan City has received a warm reception online however, Mr Parcells stated that up to now he has kept his virtual world afloat from his daily life.
"I've kept it under wraps It's like a second life I don't talk about but people are starting to look into it," he said.
"My parents think it's cool . I think they're just glad I don't play it so much."
Microsoft recently agreed to buy Minecraft Studio Mojang for $2.5bn (PS1.5bn).
The game logged its 100 millionth user in February 2014, its creator Markus Persson, aka Notch announced on Twitter.
After you have made your initial purchase, Minecraft is free to download and play. However you can purchase in-game items.
The game is set in a virtual world composed of cubes of various materials. Most of them can be used to build blocks, and a few of them can be refined into usable raw materials (wood iron, diamond, and so on.).
The game is played by using blocks to construct a shelter and turning raw materials and their combinations into objects (swords or armour, bows) to defeat the game's numerous monsters.
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