They’ve run the gamut from astounding to hauntingly accurate, and although to the uninformed observer they may just come across as a crudely drawn digital lego painting, most of us are well aware of the sheer breadth of some of the more ambitious Minecraft concoctions. But there are a few that define categorization, and even logic. They’re masterpieces in some regard, just not in the more traditional sense – if Minecraft creations could ever be defined as traditional anyhow. Ranging from genius to bizarre, Modern Fictum recalls some of the most awesomely ridiculous Minefract creations to date.

First off is a fully functioning scientific calculator. We can hardly put our feeble brains around this one. Featuring 14 different functions that allow users to do everything from simple addition to quadratic equations, the calculator spans over 5 million cubic meters and is slightly disjointing to behold. Granted, it works similarly to how a real calculator works, but is so cumbersome to use that it stands more as a proof of concept than something of much practical use. But what a proof of concept. We’re still in awe of this one.

The aptly titled Moment of Impact is another insanely intricate piece of work that depicts a meteor, or other destructive projectile, as it crashes on to the ground. Liken it to a freeze frame of sorts. While the concept is not ridiculous, the pinpoint execution most certainly is. From the placement to blocks that simulate debris flying in a million different directions to the chaotic swatch of colors seemingly melting into the ground, Moment of Impact is more accurate in its depiction of destruction than we would have assumed possible within Minecraft. Kudos to chaos.

Speaking of explosions, next we have the 15 Kiloton Detonation of TnT. While the aftermath of the explosion looks thoroughly mind-boggling, it is the effect the explosion had on the game that makes it so memorable today. In a word- the blast shut down the servers for the better part of two hours while the game struggled to make the calculations necessary to correctly render the final result. Once the servers went back up, it still took an additional 20 minutes for the render to complete. Shoddy servers are typically viewed as an annoyance, but in this case they made a priceless story. In addition, the 15 Kilotons is the exact power of the Atomic Bomb used to level Hiroshima, adding a layer of controversy to an already very bizarre creation.

No one has ever seen the inside of one, but one ambitious player gave us their interpretation of a black hole, Minecraft style. And while it isn’t the most impressive visual in our collection, the fact that it’s residing far off in virtual space is quite amusing. Will Minecraft eventually provide scientists the answer to one of the universe’s greatest mysteries? Probably not – but it sure is fun to speculate.

In the end, there is no physical or even in-game reward for building a Minecraft representation of your cat, a car or the Empire State Building – nothing. So why do gamers keep trying to top one another? Well, if I had to guess, the recipe consists of a tablespoon of personal pride mixed in with a dash of intrinsic competition. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go back to recreating my interpretation of the big bang. Wish me luck!

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