Awesome Voxels

Minecraft players know that you can craft swords from materials including wood, gold, stone, iron, diamond, and netherite. The team from Mini Katana challenged themselves to make real-world versions of each sword, then asked fans to vote on their creations. They had to cheat for the more expensive materials, but they still look cool. Which sword is your favorite?

If you’ve played Minecraft, you know to steer clear of Creepers. These bespeckled hostile mobs will blow you to smithereens. The Slow Mo Guys dropped by the Colorado School of Mines with a real-world version of the explosive enemy and detonated it in front of their high-speed camera. After a small test, they got a much bigger boom from a charged Creeper.

The creators of PIXIO magnetic building blocks have invented another fun toy for building 3D art. VOXART uses lightweight panels which click together to create life-size voxel art. They fold flat, so you can store thousands without taking up much space. Sign up for a pre-launch discount, or get notified on Kickstarter.

One of the most useful blocks in Minecraft is the furnace. It can smelt blocks and items, and works as a light source. After building a real-life mine cart, Joel Creates wanted to make a working replica of the game’s furnace. It has thermoelectric cells to convert heat to electricity with the ultimate goal of powering the cart.

CG artist and animator Mauri Helme imagines what The Office might have looked like if Dunder-Mifflin and its staff lived in the world of Minecraft. Jim, Pam, Michael, Dwight, and the rest of the dysfunctional gang from Scranton are here in blocky voxel art form.

Despite their primitive gameplay and rough graphics, we have a fond place in our hearts for the old Atari 2600. Mauri Helme pays tribute to the classic 8-bit console with a 3D voxel art animation, featuring scenes from Pitfall, River Raid, Frostbite, Keystone Kapers, and the oft-maligned E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

Game developer Dennis Gustafsson is working on a voxel-based engine that features incredible environmental destruction physics. While the video posted by Bluedrake42 is lacking in gameplay, to see how the world reacts to damage is one of the holy grails of gaming we’ve been promised and has yet to be delivered.

These small plastic building blocks have magnets built inside of them, allowing for quick-snap construction of your own 3D voxel art creations. A companion app will provide ideas for pre-made designs too. Bricks will come in 16 vibrant colors to start.