Spend 2 months recreating the in-game universe

Slayton spent 2 months designing and implementing the concept of the universe in Minecraft. Image: Christopher Slayton.

According to New York Times, Christopher Slayton spent 2 months exploring black holes, determining the color of Saturn’s rings and finding realistic images of the Earth. Slayton started building his ideas in Minecraft and he himself did not believe in his results.

“Everybody was amazed at the power and expansion of the universe, which I never understood so far. I didn’t even know how magical it was,” Slayton said.

On YouTube and a number of other platforms, Slayton is known as ChrisDaCow and regularly shares videos of the “buildings” he built. This has also been Slayton’s main job since graduating from high school. He said he wanted to develop his YouTube channel before college.

Storytelling through Minecraft

On the first video of the journey to build the universe in the game, Slayton begins by observing the planet from above to visualize the details. “The only way to accurately appreciate the beauty of our planet is to jump out of a plane,” Slayton said in the YouTube video.

Accordingly, this gamer consulted detailed photos in the Minecraft universe and redefined mathematical concepts to build his work in proportion, ensuring the most accurate angles. In addition, Slayton always has a notebook to sketch and jot down ideas in the process of creating his own universe.

Image of Saturn simulated by Slayton with blocks in Minecraft. Image: Christopher Slayton.

In videos, Slayton demonstrates his skills and ideas on a whiteboard, such as when talking about rings of planets or explaining a concept he created in Minecraft.

“It’s really satisfying to be able to fly through some galaxies or observe black holes, not just through the movie Interstellar or something like that,” added Slayton.

According to Slayton’s share, he is not the first person to try to simulate the universe in Minecraft. However, he admits that he makes a lot of efforts to have an accurate and meticulous work. In addition, the Xbox UK account and some other users also expressed amazement at Slayton’s work.

“I wanted to tell an entertaining story, but not in the same way that anyone else has done in the Minecraft community in particular and the gaming community in general. I wanted to raise the bar a little bit,” Slayton said.

Special application

Slayton’s latest rendering recreates the painting “Starry Night” by artist Vincent Van Gogh. Slayton said he hopes to explore more topics like the fourth dimension or the multiverse in future builds.

Minecraft, first released in 2009, with a more fully updated version in 2011, has become a passion for many people. In it, Reeja Jayan, an associate professor of mechanical engineering, regularly uses Minecraft as a tool to support a materials science class at Carnegie Mellon University.

Since 2017, Jayan’s students have been using Minecraft to connect their technical learning with the concepts they care about. In particular, a student created water worlds in the game, where they have different properties from real life and allow the creators to freely explore their ideas.

To ensure the perspective and detail of the universe, Slayton had to draw and balance complex proportions. Image: Christopher Slayton.

“This gives each person the ability to learn and visualize. I feel they can learn holistically. For many people, understanding the universe or new advances is a challenge,” said Reeja Jayan.

In addition, Jayan shared that it is easier to learn 3-dimensional concepts in Minecraft than reading chapters in a textbook.

“In my opinion, learning should be fun. Therefore, one of the advantages of using a game like Minecraft is that it is very flexible. It’s easy for a child to learn to play video games, but at the same time it is adapted to convey cutting-edge scientific concepts,” added Reeja Jayan.

According to the 2022 Game Industry Facts report, about two-thirds of Americans have played video games. As a result, Professor Ken Thompson at the University of Connecticut says people like Slayton can apply problem solving and critical thinking when working on projects similar to when creating game universes.

As for Slayton, he has felt more comfortable after completing the universe in Minecraft. The gamer hopes to soon move production from his bedroom to a studio to continue creating his works.

(According to Zing)