Some gorgeous (custom) Minecraft terrain

[Whuppee]

I just ran across these and, most of them, holy fuck.

http://imgur.com/gallery/XlPEO

[BinoAl]

Wow, those are incredible. Still, I learned my lesson on things like this a long time ago; These sort of grandiose looking maps are usually exceptionally boring to play on. The level of detail put into all the features just really doesn't translate when you're playing.

[abculatter_2]

Found this in the comments:
http://imgur.com/u3Sg1fh

JEBUS $2000 for a fucking minecraft map!?

[DiamondArms]

Found this in the comments:
http://imgur.com/u3Sg1fh

JEBUS $2000 for a fucking minecraft map!?

People pay for art, I guess.

I'd seriously question forking out that much, but some people have more money than good sense. If they're happy, I don't see why he should stop.

[abculatter_2]

Found this in the comments:
http://imgur.com/u3Sg1fh

JEBUS $2000 for a fucking minecraft map!?

People pay for art, I guess.

I'd seriously question forking out that much, but some people have more money than good sense. If they're happy, I don't see why he should stop.

Well, I mean, I was kinda harsh with that, but I didn't really mean to say that they shouldn't pay that much. Just that it seems completely ridiculous to me...

[Ethinolicbob]

Im sure they don't pay that much per map, its more that maps that are popular and sell a lot of copies that would accumulate up to the $2k mark

[Gilberreke]

I don't get why you guys find that a lot of money? $500 seems pretty cheap to me, $2k seems about right. Never do stuff for less than you get payed at work, that's just common sense. Say, you take 50 hours to make a map, at $35 per hour, that's $1750. Seems quite reasonable to me.

[Miss_Kat]

Perhaps most of us are used to used to minimum wage. Or are thinking about the fact that $2k is several months worth of rent/bills.

[Caboose]

Yeah, I won't argue that the value is there, but I imagine that a lot of us consider spending that much on a minecraft map to be rather extravagant. But hey, if you can afford it, more power to you I guess, these do look quite nice.

[Wafflewaffle]

Makes me wonder how much a Custom made texture pack would cost.

[Calo290]

Perhaps most of us are used to used to minimum wage. Or are thinking about the fact that $2k is several months worth of rent/bills.

Don't even have to mention minimum wage, Gil's $35 is still 10 dollars higher than the national (US) hourly average.

But besides that, I believe, as someone else mentioned, the artist is referring to the total sells off of each map to multiple buyers. Unlike physical art, digital art can be sold over and over again.

[abculatter_2]

But besides that, I believe, as someone else mentioned, the artist is referring to the total sells off of each map to multiple buyers. Unlike physical art, digital art can be sold over and over again.

I hadn't considered that, yeah that makes a LOT more sense...

[MaxAstro]

I would hope that an artist that skilled makes more than the US average hourly wage... :)

I mean, I know people in the tech support business who charge $35/hour or more, and I feel like that is less skilled labor than artwork of that quality.

Gorgeous maps, by the way.

[Uristqwerty]

It looks to me like they weren't talking about selling maps directly, rather that the up to $2k was what it cost to commission their team to build a custom map for you.

The price seems more reasonable for having a large built-to-specification custom map made in a few weeks (an imgur comment mentions "Hours to weeks, anywhere from 500x500 to 6k x 6k").

[Rob]

Also, he said he builds maps for servers. Which have access to large amounts of disposable income, because kids will pay real dollars to turn into a cow on a server for 60 seconds.

[Gilberreke]

I think the real disconnect is that you guys don't seem to consider this to be a valid professional job. Why wouldn't a specialized skill like that be a valid job option? Because games are not a valid job choice?

Also, $2k is not "several months worth of rent/bills" in this knack of the woods I guess. $2k wouldn't cover my monthly expenses for two months and I'm living a pretty moderate lifestyle. I have a really cheap apartment (240 square feet, hasn't been done any work on since the 70's, bad plumbing, bad electrics, old windows that just syphon all the heat away) and I'm paying close to $600/month. With a tank of gas being $70 or so, spending less than $1k/month is really tough. My sister's a single mom and she pays just over $750/month for her apartment in a social projects site.

Minimum wage in Belgium is $1700/month for reference, I'm personally earning below minimum wage.

[FaceFoiled]

Because games are not a valid job choice?

Best hand in my notice :P

[FlowerChild]

Also, $2k is not "several months worth of rent/bills" in this knack of the woods I guess.

I think the euro being at an all time low relative to the American dollar may be skewing your perceptions on this slightly (not sure if your local economy has adjusted costs to reflect that as that tends to happen very slowly, if at all), but yeah, I don't think I've lived many places where living below 1K a month is very doable, at least not within cities, or without roommates.

[Sarudak]

My rent alone is $1800/month and I live in a one bedroom apartment... :(

[Mason11987]

My rent alone is $1800/month and I live in a one bedroom apartment... :(

Yikes! My house is $800 a month. I have a friend who lives in manhattan and her and her roommate pay ~$1500 each for their two bedroom though so I get it. I can't imagine that.

[BinoAl]

I think the real disconnect is that you guys don't seem to consider this to be a valid professional job. Why wouldn't a specialized skill like that be a valid job option? Because games are not a valid job choice?

I think, for me, it's not as much that I don't see it as a valid job, as much as I couldn't see someone spending hundreds or more on a single map, even for a popular server. Anything that fulfills someone's need is a valid job choice, I'm just surprised to see that this is in heavy enough demand to be a sustainable business

[Miss_Kat]

I live in the country, so 2k would last me quite a long time. *shrug* But I wasn't even saying paying that much for the map isn't valid. It totally is. Just trying to give reasons why that much money is that much money for some of us.

Like, my fiance earns OVER minimum wage (by a little) and he doesn't take home anywhere near 1700 a month, haha.

[FlowerChild]

Like, my fiance earns OVER minimum wage (by a little) and he doesn't take home anywhere near 1700 a month, haha.

While I'm pointing out regional differences though, hasn't the minimum wage not been adjusted in the U.S., even for inflation, since something like the 1970's? Like Gil with the euro, I suspect your perspective may be slightly skewed as a result. On the other hand, if we're talking gross pay, then I suspect income tax in the U.S. is likely lower than that in Belgium, so it may go further.

I think I'm realizing that having a conversation about relative value with an international crowd gets rather difficult. Perhaps we should convert everything to a potato standard for the sake of this discussion? :)

[DiamondArms]

I think I'm realizing that having a conversation about relative value with an international crowd gets rather difficult. Perhaps we should convert everything to a potato standard for the sake of this discussion? :)

I read this and thought of potatoes as a currency. that was a confusing minute.

Big Mac Index. This might help with currency/buying power comparisons

[FlowerChild]

I read this and thought of potatoes as a currency. that was a confusing minute.

I actually mentioned it because of a documentary I recently saw that had a bit in it about a small community in Russia that had adopted the potato as the basis of their own currency due to the instability of the ruble, so perhaps not as strange as it may first sound ;)