February Roundup
February’s a short month but it’s really flown by this time around! While you’ve been waiting patiently for our next Marketplace release, we’ve been hard at work on our next adventure map, and it’s going to be a good one. It’s a quick post this month; we’re talking maps (old and new), new team members and our search for a new builder!
In our January Roundup we reminded you to follow our Instagram account for sneak peaks of upcoming content. With more of you heading over there we decided to give you a cheeky look at our next map, and used it as a chance to see what you thought of some of our keyart options for next month’s release, City Living! We posted a poll with three keyart concepts (big thanks to Skyao), and asked you to pick your favourite. We had hundreds of people get involved, and it was great to hear from so many of you with your thoughts about the poll and our maps in general. With our next adventure map underway, we’ve jumped back into two of our favourite things: storytelling and voice acting so we’ll have plenty more behind the scenes pictures and videos for you very soon, as well as some more screenshots of City Living which is scheduled for release on March 19th.
In team news, we welcomed the fantastic CrushedPixel into the crew! Marius Metzger, creator of the hugely popular Minecraft Replay Mod which allows players to record, replay and share their in-game experiences, has joined us to help make our maps fancier and even more exciting! And if that wasn’t enough, we’re once again on the hunt for a new Builder/Level Designer to join our team. If you or anyone you know has experience in building on both Java and Bedrock editions of Minecraft and are interested in a paid position with the Noxcrew team, we’re now accepting applications. Head over to our Careers page for the full job specification and to upload your portfolio. Successful candidates will hear back from us within the next few weeks.
Unfortunately, we were too busy creating to make a big deal of Valentine’s Day this year, but we know many of people love to celebrate it and so I wanted to bring you my pick of this year’s love themed Marketplace content! Magical Marketplace partners the Wandering Wizards released a Valentine’s themed HD skin pack that we think you’re going to adore, and even presented it with a beautiful poem to make sure you pick the right potion for you. Check out the poem, and get your hands on the 10 skins right now on the Minecraft Marketplace for 310 Minecoins. Thanks Wandering Wizards!
Finally, our Community Manager Noctis_Mori donned her investigative hat once again this month and published another behind the scenes article. As the winter draws to a close (we hope) and the days get a little longer, Noctis has graced us with an in-depth look at the bright and colourful Spring Mini-Games Festival map which we released back in March of last year. Her article takes us down the creative path and talks us through the way in which our level designers and artists puzzled out the fantasy inspired terrain and eco-tech architecture, as well as how they solved the problem of transport and the placement of each of the mini-games in order to allow the map to feel organic in such a colourful valley. Whether you’re a fan of the map or you’re just interested in the creative process itself it’s a great read, so click below to head over there!
That’s all from us this month. Let us know what you think and what else you’d like to see Noctis investigate down in the comments and we’ll see you next time!