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BTPixels 2022: the construction game gets an award
BTPixels is a weekend where 150 players, including YouTuber Aypierre, came together to turn Minecraft into an eco-friendly construction site, watched live by more than 3,000 viewers. Skytale took on the challenge of designing it in just two months with ADEME and Endorah.
During this weekend, participants were invited to complete quests that led them to meet various building trades. Their main mission was to design and build the most eco-friendly house possible, thinking about materials and integrating renewable-energy solutions. The winners were rewarded by engineers and researchers from ADEME.
Skytale at the heart of ecology
In 2022, barely recovered from the success of La Cité des Nations, Skytale found itself facing many opportunities. Among them, one project particularly caught its attention: BTPixels, a collaboration with ADEME and Endorah, aiming to immerse players in the world of building and eco-friendly construction for a weekend. Beyond the technical challenge, it was also the first time Skytale worked with a government institution on an environmental theme.
The key missions that guided the event:
Behind this project, Skytale mainly took charge of infrastructure and development, a mission accepted thanks to a reasonable two-week workload. At that time, the association grew from 30 to 40 volunteers in six months, requiring particular attention to team management.
The start of big-cause projects
"Working with ADEME on BTPixels was a real source of pride for Skytale, explains Rémi, Skytale's president. Looking back at the context of the time, you remember this project came right after La Cité des Nations, which had been more demanding in terms of workload. But in terms of meaning, it was about giving substance to an environmental cause and having a real impact at our scale; it was a chance to seize."
The experience was also rewarding on a personal level. It was a chance for volunteers to learn more about the building trades. It wasn't just building for the sake of building: several architects came to play and participants pushed the level of detail very far. Light orientation, mirrors to maximise sunlight, an internal circuit for water management, solar panels, vegetation to cool the walls… so many ideas that gave rise to ingenious, realistic builds.
At Skytale, no project has ever been chosen at random. We've always insisted on keeping full control of our creations, with the ambition of establishing ourselves as a team that delivers impeccable, high-impact work.
10 daysTime players spent on the server in 1 weekend
So, would we do it again? Yes, but in a different form. For it to be relevant, it would need a different approach, with another angle or a theme that speaks to us. BTPixels was in fact recognised with several communication awards, and above all, it opened the door to other impact projects, like the charity event Children of Steel the following year. Today, our goal is clear: every project must be, at the very least, neutral but ideally positive, bringing something to players and to the world around us.
