Using Minecraft

Elliot, 14, painstakingly builds iconic city flats

Elliot Trela (inset) was just 10 years old when the multi storey blocks at the top of the Hilltown were demolished.

However, Elliot, who is now 14, has recreated the buildings that once dominated the city skyline using Minecraft.

The video game allows players to build structures.

The St John’s RC pupil told the Tele today that the structures represented a fusion of Dundee’s past and present.

He said: “My gran stayed in the multis and I always l oved going down there and staying with her. “I actually built the multis a few years ago on Minecraft, but I didn’t think the finished product was all that great. “I thought to myself that I knew I could do a better job, so I decided to do it all again. “I rebuilt it all from scratch and this time I was able to do a much better job on it. “It took me a long time to get it to where it is now, but I am happy with it and everyone else who has seen it has said that it is great.” Elliot said that he was inspired to recreate the now-demolished multis by the memory of the view.

He said: “I always loved the view from my gran’s window. I had so many great memories there.

“I started off by drawing it all out on paper from memory and then I went on the PC and used Minecraft to build it. Everyone who saw it said that it was really life-like – although I did show it to my gran and all she said was, ‘What’s that?’.

“The best thing about it is that it takes something from Dundee’s history and then you have the city’s games industry now.

“It is like you are taking two worlds and putting them together.”

Minecraft is a sandbox video game created and designed by Swedish programmer Markus “Notch” Persson, and later developed and published by Mojang.

The creative and building aspects of Minecraft enable players to build constructions out of textured cubes in a 3D world.

Elliot’s ambitions didn’t stop with Dundee’s lost landmarks such as Butterburn and Bucklemaker courts — he has now set his sights on recreating the Waterfront, including the V&A.

He said: “I am starting to expand a bit now because the multis were such a success.

“I had really good feedback on them, so why not keep going?

“I have been looking at doing the Waterfront and the V&A.

“After that, I am going to do Tayside House.”

Elliot said the key to being able to recreate life-like projects on Minecraft is simply time and effort.

He added: “I usually just come home from school and go on the PC. I sometimes play the piano too but if I go on the PC then I will usually go on Minecraft.

“I like to be creative — that is really what drives the whole thing.”

THEY were among the most iconic buildings in Dundee — and now a local schoolboy has recreated them on a popular video game.