Rebirth 08: Can a mobile game company also build a tech empire?

Li Hao's idea was unanimously approved by his roommates.

Build a Jiangnan garden using blocks.

This is indeed a challenging yet creative topic.

The following week,

He devoted almost all of his spare time to this project.

Every day after class,

Li Hao hurriedly returned to his dormitory.

Immersed in the blocky world of my world.

He first researched extensively online about Suzhou gardens.

The layout characteristics of the Humble Administrator's Garden, the Lingering Garden, and the Master of the Nets Garden were studied.

Then try to recreate it little by little in the game.

This is more difficult than I imagined.

My world consists of only blocks.

This means he must use right angles and planes to express the beauty of curves.

How can we use water blocks to create the feeling of a pond or stream?

How can we use blocks of different materials to represent white walls, blue tiles, and rock formations?

Li Hao tried countless solutions.

He learned to use inverted stair blocks to create the eaves curves.

Use half-bricks and steps to create a sense of depth.

Use vines and green plants to add a touch of greenery.

As the deadline approached, Li Hao's garden became more and more complete.

"Mission accomplished!"

4 p.m. on April 18.

Li Hao finally put down the Journey Z1 and breathed a long sigh of relief.

At this moment, an engineering document named Jiangnan Dream Garden lay quietly inside the equipment.

It includes several parts such as the main hall, study, pavilions, corridors, rockery, pond, and bamboo grove.

More than fifty different block materials were used.

Although the limitations of the blocks prevent a complete recreation of the exquisite details of a real garden.

However, Li Haojun did his best to express the artistic conception of the garden, where the scenery changes with every step and the winding paths lead to secluded spots.

Next, we will record the video.

Li Hao downloaded the screen recording software officially provided by Journey Technology.

He meticulously designed a tour route.

Start from the moon gate at the entrance of the garden.

Walk through the bamboo grove path, around the artificial hill, and across the stone bridge to enter the main hall.

Then walk along the long corridor to the pavilion by the water, and finally end at the pond in the sunset.

4 month 19 day.

Li Hao uploaded the edited four-and-a-half-minute video to the architecture competition section of the Z-Dimensional website.

The moment the submission was successful,

Li Hao let out a long sigh of relief and slumped into his chair.

Regardless of the outcome.

He has already completed his work.

at the same time,

There are tens of thousands of players like Li Hao across the country.

They are busy preparing for this match.

Someone is trying to recreate the Temple of Heaven in a game.

Someone built a steampunk-style airport.

Someone even tried to create a large, moving mechanical dragon using redstone circuits.

The competition started on April 10 and the submission deadline was April 20.

In just ten days,

The Z-Dimensional website's competition section received over 17,000 entries.

This number shocked everyone.

Midnight on June 21.

The voting channel opened on time.

That night

Countless Minecraft players are glued to their computers.

The Z-Dimensional website is being refreshed.

The voting interface is designed to be simple and clear.

The left side is the category filtering area.

In the middle is a waterfall-style video list page.

Each thumbnail is a meticulously designed architectural work by the players.

The right side displays the real-time leaderboard.

Each registered user can cast ten votes per day.

Beijing,

Zhang Ming, a programmer at an internet company, is a Minecraft player.

Despite his busy schedule, he still made time to follow the competition.

After voting began, he made himself a cup of coffee and started browsing the works.

"So many?!"

Zhang Ming looked at the total number of works displayed on the page, a total of 17324 pieces.

He started browsing by category.

In the category of modern architecture

Someone built a skyscraper that is as tall as 500 blocks.

Someone has replicated the National Centre for the Performing Arts.

Others have designed futuristic cities, with floating vehicles and glowing sidewalks that exude a sci-fi feel.

The classical architecture area is a vibrant and diverse collection.

The Forbidden City, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Colosseum in Rome, the Taj Mahal, and so on.

Landmark buildings around the world are rebuilt by players using blocks.

Zhang Ming paid special attention to a replica of the Great Wall.

The winding city wall stretches endlessly, and the author even meticulously recreated the details of the beacon towers.

"That's amazing."

Zhang Ming cast his vote for the Great Wall artwork.

He searched through the list again, and a title caught his attention.

The title is just four simple characters: Jiangnan Dream Garden.

The works are categorized as original classical works.

The video started playing, accompanied by soothing guzheng music.

The camera slowly zooms in from a stone archway, passing through a moon gate, revealing a cluster of white-walled and gray-tiled buildings bathed in the light of dusk.

Zhang Ming was immediately drawn to the atmosphere.

Using simple blocks, a unique artistic conception of Chinese gardens can be created.

The screen was completely covered by comments:

"Holy crap, is this even humanly made?"

"Am I playing the same game?"

"The uploader must be a top-tier architecture student!"

"I need a save file! I need a tutorial!"

"I've already voted! It would be an injustice not to win first prize!"

Zhang Ming was dumbfounded.

He's been playing Minecraft for a while now.

I never expected that someone could create a work of this scale and quality.

After the four-and-a-half-minute video ended.

Without hesitation, Zhang Ming cast all his remaining votes for Jiangnan Dream Garden.

Not only that,

He also shared the video link in his gaming group:

"Look at this! A true work of art!"

There are tens of thousands of viewers like Zhang Ming.

The first day of voting.

Z-Dimensional website experienced an explosive growth in traffic.

By 4 PM on April 21st.

The website's total visits have exceeded one million.

The number of people online at the same time exceeded 100,000.

The server was under tremendous pressure.

But thanks to the relentless efforts of Xu Yi's team, it was successfully protected.

It always runs smoothly.

Discussions about the architecture competition are raging on forums and social media.

Netizens spontaneously campaigned for their favorite works.

Analyze the creative and technical challenges of each building.

Some people have even created a "Top 50 Selections from the Competition" recommendation list.

Li Hao's Jiangnan Dream Garden is renowned for its unique Eastern aesthetics and exquisite detail.

It quickly stood out among netizens, and the number of votes soared.

"This Jiangnan garden is almost exactly the same as the Suzhou garden I visited when I was a child."

One netizen wrote in the comments section.

"Although it's made of blocks, the details are handled very well."

"The author's use of light and shadow is fantastic!"

"Please save this page! I want to go inside and explore it myself!"

On April 22, the competition entered its most intense phase.

On the real-time rankings, the votes for the top twenty works are very close.

The first place winner is a replica of the Roman Colosseum.

The number of votes reached 87,000.

The second place went to the Future Eco Dome, with 85,000 votes.

Li Hao's Jiangnan Dream Garden is currently in third place with 83,000 votes.

Among the top ten are works such as Forbidden City, Sky City, and Steampunk City.

April 23, the last day of voting.

Li Hao was restless all day, refreshing the leaderboard page every few minutes.

His Jiangnan Dream Garden surged to second place at 10 a.m.

It was less than a thousand votes behind the first-place Colosseum in Rome.

"Keep it up, Hao-ge!"

Wang Lei and Zhang Wei also stayed in front of the computer, helping Li Hao campaign for votes.

"We've posted the link in every group we can!"