Blockster, a team of Minecraft players and creators, have announced their latest map – a recreation of The Simpsons‘ hometown Springfield.
The map, which isn’t available to download just yet, will feature 25 skins, a fully decorated home, a custom-built texture pack and over 300 models. Blockster has also promised custom music and mini-games within their Springfield map.
Once it goes live here, players will be able to visit well-known locations such as Springfield High School, Moe’s Tavern and the Kwik-E-Mart. Screenshots from the Minecraft map also reveal that players will be able to meet characters such as Mr. Burns, Smithers, Apu, Comic Book Guy, Barney as well as the entire Simpsons family.
Alongside an announcement trailer, Blockster has also shared a walkthrough tour of The Simpsons’ home. Check it out below:
According to their website, Blockster is “a small team of creators who love to use Minecraft as a tool to inspire and create exciting adventures! We have a passion for making immersive worlds, filled with wonderful details and worlds to discover.”
In recent weeks, the sandbox video game has also been used as an educational tool. A new book written by Cambridge academic Steven Hunt suggests teachers use Taylor Swift lyrics, classic Disney songs and custom-made Minecraft maps to make learning Latin more accessible ahead of a £4million programme to introduce the language in around 40 state schools in England.
And elsewhere, the recently launched Rivercraft experience aims to teach young people about climate change, the environment, and flooding.
Three different games are built into the experience, all of which inform on flood risk. Managing Flooding sees players building flood defences and prevention measures, while Flood Prevention explores how an individuals actions alleviate climate change. Finally, Our Local Environment will give players a digital workbook and camera in Minecraft and task them with finding local wildlife.
In other news, Epic Games and the Lego Group have announced that they are entering a partnership to “build a place for kids to play in the metaverse.”
It’s described as a “family-friendly digital experience,” and plans to give children access to tools to encourage them as creators.
