Visitors to the exhibition Teotihuacan: City of Water, City of Fire (September 30, 2017–February 11, 2018) will be able to visit the city of Teotihuacan itself via the popular game Minecraft. The free downloadable map depicts the ancient city on a 1:1 scale and allows players to experience walking along the Street of the Dead, ascending the steps to the top of the Sun Pyramid, and even exploring the recently discovered tunnel under the Feathered Serpent Pyramid.
Produced with input from exhibition curators, the Teotihuacan Minecraft map was created using detailed archaeological maps, aerial and satellite photography, and even Google Street View. The de Young is the first American art museum to use Minecraft in its digital outreach efforts, and the project was Inspired by similar initiatives at institutions like the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Museum of the City of London. The map allows visitors to virtually experience Teotihuacan in an interactive, first-person experience that effectively communicates the size and scale of this ancient Mesoamerican metropolis.
The Teotihuacan Minecraft map re-creates the downtown area of Teotihuacan around the Street of the Dead, and includes major landmarks like the Moon Pyramid, the Sun Pyramid, the Feathered Serpent Pyramid, the Ciudadela, the Palace of Quetzalpapalotl, and more. Players can explore reconstructed buildings containing apartments, temples, and workshops. An included resource pack contains custom textures that transform the Minecraft environment into a realistic representation of Teotihuacan.
The de Young houses an important collection of murals and other artifacts from Teotihuacan, so the Minecraft map will continue to be offered to the public as an adjunct to the museum’s permanent collections and educational mission.
The map is available for download free of charge, and is playable in Minecraft Java Edition versions 1.11.2–1.12.2 for Windows PC, Mac OS X, and Linux. (The map doesn't work well with Minecraft 1.13 or above.) Players must have a Minecraft license to install and play the map.
