Students recreate uni in Minecraft... without visiting campus

A detailed replica of Abertay University in Dundee has been created using videogame Minecraft – by students who hadn’t even visited the campus.

It’s hoped the move will allow potential applicants to explore the university during the coronavirus pandemic.

Nine Masters students from the university’s School of Design and Informatics came up with the solution, recreating both the inside and outside of the university.

It took the team from MPPOP Game Development Preparation course the around six weeks to construct the replica, painstakingly using more than 700,000 Minecraft blocks.

The students, who study their first part of their degree in Beijing before moving to Dundee, finished the project before visiting Abertay, working from pictures and videos.

Team member Baron Zhang said: “We had a lot of material to work from, but to be honest it was quite hard.

“We gradually discovered tips and tricks in Minecraft to help us build our version of Abertay, and in the end we were happy with what we produced.

“We hadn’t been to the campus yet though, and we were a little worried that our Abertay would not look like the real thing.

“Now though, I feel like we did a good job and we all feel proud.”

The course is run in collaboration with China-based education and entertainment company Perfect World.

Dr Ruby Wang, senior-vice president of Perfect World Group, said: “The COVID pandemic has created both challenges and opportunities for videogames companies and students, and the fact the team have been able to adapt to remote working so successfully to create this replica is very impressive.

“It’s a good example of the kind of teamwork the partnership between Perfect World and Abertay looks to embed in students, as we cultivate industry-ready, high-end gaming professionals.”