For boys who like boys who like joysticks!

Archives:

Minecraft Monday - The Welcome To Sigil Edition

Fellow Minecrafters, 1.4 is out! If you're big in to the game, you probably already knew this and may have already domesticated a whole pack of wolves while chowing on cookies. Perhaps the bigger news (for me anyway) is that I found a server for LGBT gamers! Woo hah! If you're a member of the GayGamer.net forums you may have already seen posts about it; it's certainly gotten a lot of attention from queer Minecrafters (and their fun straight friends). Run by an amiable Brit who goes by the handle of reech, in a scant few weeks Sigil has gone from a quiet plain to a bustling hub of construction and exploration. Having seen a complete map of Sigil, I can confirm that it is absolutely massive - and very cool. Check out the Space Invaders homage and follow on after the jump to see more!

There's a lot to talk about in Sigil. As with most Minecraft servers, there are lots of very busy, very talented players and they all have different concepts of what to build. Because the denizens of Sigil come from all over the world, almost every new login presents me with new stuff to marvel at. Even though that's the case, there's still lots of wilderness and wide open spaces to explore.

For example, northwest of the spawn point is a massive sandstone canyon. Sigil is unlike any other server that I've played on - the geography is much more diverse, often spectacular, and the resources are a lot closer to the surface.

The abundance of sand makes for a lot of structures that aren't built out of cobblestone. There are several sandstone residences (including yours truly's) and even a pyramid made by the same people behind the Space Invaders homage.

That much sand also means many structures are made entirely of glass. While one player is working on a building entirely underwater, another has created a rather impressive glass sphere rising out of a hillside to the west of the spawn point. The variety of shapes that are employed in players' structures is most impressive on this server. A game that is composed entirely of cubes lends itself to the construction of squares and rectangles, but players here have definitely taken it upon themselves to stretch the game's hyper-retro look to great effect.

Not far from the spawn point you can find my big contribution to the server, which has been dubbed Sky Town. I began building a ladder, a central hub, house and a garden (the latter two are visible at the bottom of the picture below), and now that has been expanded to include gardens, more homes, a network of bridges and even a zeppelin.

Even though Sigil is not an official GayGamer.net server, most of the players are readers and members of the forums. This has provided me a delightful lack of having to come out again and again to stop other players from sounding like total homophobes. I'm certain many of you out there understand my pain. Perhaps to make a symbolic gesture to players on Sigil, the gentleman who built the server's hotel (where new players can bunk until they've constructed a proper, mob-proof room) festooned it with an enormous rainbow flag. You can see it, along with Sky Town's zeppelin, below.

I'll undoubtedly be bringing you more news from Sigil as I will no doubt continue to be impressed by its inhabitants' work. I've learned more in my few weeks playing on this server than I have from any other SMP server. Currently, plans are in the works for exciting collective efforts, including regular exploratory missions in to the wilds. I'm particularly excited about that. Hopefully I'll even be able to introduce you to some of the dedicated players who have made a mark on the server, too.

Of course, future Minecraft Mondays will still feature the latest Minecraft news, videos and more. If you have something you'd like to see featured please do let us know either by emailing me or putting it in the comments section below.

Until next time, happy digging!

Hal
Posted to Video Games on 4 April 2011 · Comments (4)
Other stuff like this: minecraft, minecraft monday, Sigil

4 Comments

Zettabyte said:

Hooray for Sigil!

April 4, 2011 8:27 PM

cerberus635 said:

Not sure if it was you that built the little farm in skytown, but I'm the anonymous grass donator who got the grass to grow all the way up there. :)

(Iaron)

April 5, 2011 11:30 AM

DC said:

Um... how do I get to Sigil? I've tried a bunch of searches but can't find anywhere that references it or gives it IP.

April 5, 2011 1:58 PM

Hal said:

Thanks Cerberus! I didn't actually put together that little patch of land, but I know where you mean. I put together the garden at the hub and the wheat farm as well.

DC, if you want to join Sigil you have to be a member of our forums. There's a thread there where you can talk to the server's owner about being whitelisted :)

P.S. Zetta just built an AWESOME Mario statue.

April 5, 2011 3:24 PM

And girls who like girls who like rumble packs!

Twitter Feed

GGP Mailing List

Are you gay and working in the games industry? If you are interested in networking with other folks like you within the industry, try joining the Gay Game-Industry Professionals mailing list.

The GayGamer Store

Help support GayGamer by purchasing your items through our store!