I kept the original melody, but I added more instruments,” Jang says. “We had a special new level-up animation with the character jumping, so the stinger needed to be more celebratory than the original game. Some things just required a simple update, like the game’s iconic level-up sound. “I had to think, what are the iconic Minecraft things that we definitely have to keep, and what new things can we do to make Minecraft Earth more modern and fun?” Jang says. On top of its visuals, the original Minecraft’s soothing synth soundtrack by C418 and its meme-famous sound effects have also become franchise signatures.
Greene worked closely on the team with Jang, who also had to think deeply about the Minecraft aesthetic and its impact on music and sound design. “The anecdotes I have from working on this game has made me very popular with my nephews,” Greene laughs. That Muddy Pig she initially struggled with eventually became one of Minecraft Earth’s most popular new mobs, getting turned into a plush toy that sold out on the official Minecraft store. Greene says her coworkers quickly helped her master the game’s specific style, the constraints of which she grew to love as she went on animating and designing many of the game’s new mobs and skins. It was really interesting honing in on that fine balance we needed between smooth and blocky.” “In general, you kind of take all the principles of animation you learn and throw out a few for Minecraft.
MINECRAFT EARTH BLOCK TRIAL
It was a lot of trial and error to get it to look right, move right, and have the right pacing,” Greene says. “I particularly remember struggling with this animated mud block for the new Muddy Pig mob. Getting used to the game’s singular style took some time.įrom early on, Kelly Greene was busy attending to Minecraft Earth’s numerous art and animation needs – but she still found time to play the game too. She quickly found herself deeply involved in a range of areas on the project, from pre-production visual development to gameplay animation, UI art, and beyond. “It blew my mind to see how very carefully thought out all the pixel art is, especially since you just have these 16-by-16 squares you have to stay within.” Greene joined Mojang as an artist on Minecraft Earth when the project was just getting off the ground as a prototype. “From an outside perspective, it doesn’t feel like Minecraft would have a ton of rules as far as art guidelines go, but it really does,” Greene, a BFA in Digital Art and Animation graduate, says. Minecraft Earth brings Minecraft into the real world for the first time by utilizing augmented reality, letting players adventure, explore, build, and even step into their life-sized block creations.Īlthough the game is a new addition to the Minecraft universe and afforded some new artistic directions, the team still had to make sure to adhere to the game’s famous aesthetic. Jang and a multidisciplinary group of 10 fellow DigiPen graduates helped make the game a reality, including Alexander Kandalaft (2019), James Vanderheiden (2017), Caspian Priebe (2009), Cody Centers (2016), Garret Allen (2016), Jeffrey Kumley (2017), Stephen Scott (2010), Jake Shirley (2016), Max Orth (2019), and Kelly Greene (2019). Now downloaded by over 2.5 million people, Minecraft Earth is an indisputable hit - one developed at Mojang with the help of something resembling “a DigiPen game team, outside of DigiPen,” as Jang puts it. We just instantly clicked, and it felt so comfortable.”Īll of Minecraft Earth’s original music and sound effects were crafted by Shauny Jang, who served as the project’s only audio specialist. “I started talking to programmers, designers, and artists on the team, and so many were from DigiPen!” Jang says. “I was really happy and grateful to get the job, but at the same time, I kept thinking, ‘Am I qualified to do this?” But quickly, thanks to another unexpected development, those fears subsided. The prospect gave Jang a moment of imposter syndrome. The project was later revealed as the cutting-edge, augmented reality mobile game, Minecraft Earth, on which Jang would serve as the team’s sole audio specialist. “They just told me, ‘This is a new Minecraft project, and it’s top secret,’” Jang says. When 2017 BA in Music and Sound Design graduate Shauny Jang got hired by Mojang, she didn’t know much about what she’d be working on.
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