Tag Archives: Games

Free-to-play “Classic Space Adventure” game – interview with programmer Johan Alexanderson [Exclusive Feature]

Adult fans of LEGO sometimes have skills that go beyond building masterpieces with bricks. Once in a while, we discover great gems that showcase a different talent combined with the love for LEGO, like the amazing handcrafted wooden LEGO we recently featured. Not too long ago, while scouring the web for great creations to feature here at The Brothers Brick, I came across something that didn’t strike me as worth exploring at first glance. But something compelled me to take a closer look, and I’m glad I did! The effort behind the creation of what I uncovered is astounding! Over 400 pages of programming and 2 years in the making, LEGO enthusiast Johan Alexanderson coded a full-blown game in honor of the LEGO Classic Space theme in retro-classic gaming styles from the 80s.

Johan Alexanderson (who also goes by the online handle LegoJalex) will be familiar to readers of The Brothers Brick — we’ve showcased more than a few of his excellent builds in the past (including his E.T Phone Home movie classic), and we featured an exclusive interview with him about his his LEGO creations. This article continues from where our last interview ended, when Johan mentioned a programming project to be revealed later. Before we speak to him again on his 2-year journey creating “Classic Space Adventures,” let’s take a quick look at the game itself.

Find out more about Classic Space Adventures

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LEGO Nexo Knights meets Warhammer 40k

Although I have never played the tabletop games, I have always admired the aesthetic of the Warhammer 40k universe, particularly the vibrantly colored hardsuits and tanks. Simon Crocker has created an excellent Warhammer-Nexo Knights mashup with his razorback tank, which is based on a heavily armored variant of the Rhino APC from the Warhammer games.

Although the build may initially appear straightforward, closer inspection reveals the complex shaping and techniques used to make the front and back of the APC look so smooth, and to achieve the light bluish gray accents in just the perfect places. Although I overlooked it at first, the use of dark bluish gray panel pieces sticking out by 1/2 plates distance on the front viewports of the tank is particularly clever. As a finishing touch, custom stickers are used to add the fine details and make it especially accurate to the source material.

Seraph the Cyborg Angel comes to life

Builder Eero Okkonen is a master of bringing characters to life in brick form. This construct is of Do-It-Yourself-Seraph, a character from the Magic: The Gathering game. I must admit the concept of having a Cyborg Angel as a gameplay character is quite an appealing combination. I love the technique of the windswept hair and downcast gaze giving the character a solemn and thoughtful appearance. Builders who choose to work with only LEGO elements have their challenges, especially for creating unusual characters like this, but it’s always helpful to be able to reach into Technic and Bionicle as Eero has done. If those wings look familiar to you, that’s because the came off a set from The Lord of the Rings theme, Pirate Ship Ambush (79008).

Flip the One Ring into Mt. Doom with this LEGO Lord of the Rings playable pinball machine [Video]

Dutch builder Vladimir van Hoek has created a fully functional pinball machine from LEGO, inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The table includes scenes from all three books and movies, from Hobbiton above the ball shooter to Mount Doom in the opposite corner. Every element of the pinball machine is built from LEGO, including the targets, lanes, and flippers. Official minifigures from the Lord of the Rings sets add character to the scenes, but the microscale buildings and landscaping are excellent in their own right.

See more photos and the LEGO Lord of the Rings pinball machine in action

An old school game made with your favourite old school toy

Wire loop games are a common sight at carnivals. Sad Brick has combined this classic childhood staple with another, namely LEGO. Sitting on top of a very clean base is the loop itself with the hoop taking centre stage as a very clever little build. It even uses the official LEGO rope and winch as the wire. Next to that for a little added flair is a bit of circuitry, mostly for show, that makes good use of gold chrome pieces and transparent pieces.

Whack some moles at the Iron Arcade

With the latest round of Iron Builder underway, expect to see a flurry of LEGO creations featuring the Friends balloon piece, as we noted a few days ago with the lovely LEGO lotus blossom. Contestant Grant Davis is cranking out something new just about every day — and sometimes more than one new creation a day. One of my favorites so far is this Whack-a-Mole machine. The ill-fated victims of whackage peeking with their single eyes out of their holes are also the tips of the bulbous balloon piece, and I just love their adorable little hats.

The Golden Empress watches over you

While I’m not sure I’d ever pick a golden scorpion as the steed for my guardian angel, I can appreciate the beauty of this character crafted by Sean and Steph Mayo. Sean shares that this lovely creature comes from a online, forum-based LEGO role-playing game over at Eurobricks. The Golden Empress scorpion is a player’s Guardian Angel.

How many ways can you escape this LEGO maze?

Last month we featured a stunning maze made out of LEGO. But the design of that creation was stationary, leaving only one way out. In contrast, the walls of Jake Lee‘s LEGO labyrinth shift and move, which means the tiny maze runner inside has to constantly adjust and find a new escape route.

Jake’s maze is made up of 15 unique, moveable squares and one stationary “temple” square that serves as the maze’s starting point. The outside pieces can be moved around and worked like a puzzle. The ultimate goal? Preventing dead ends and finding a path to freedom. Just so you know it can be done, one solution to this maze is pictured below, but the builder claims there may be more than one way to solve this LEGO puzzle. Can you find another solution?

A rat in a maze is free to go anywhere, as long as it stays inside the maze

To be fair, this maze does have an exit, assuming, of course, the rat (or minifig) can find it. Kevin Moyer took the simple LEGO building technique of pressing tiles in between the studs on a baseplate and created something quite extraordinary. The slightly rounded edges of the tiles make this microscale maze look ancient and worn down by time.

Of course, the best thing about this build is trying to solve the maze. See if you can find the path to the exit. But don’t start at the end like I always do, because that is cheating.

Life-size LEGO Sword of Feast and Famine

Those who are familiar with the new Kaladesh Inventions cards from Magic the Gathering should recognize this spectacular creation right away. For everyone else, it’s a rare version of the Sword of Feast and Famine that, if you find one, is basically like finding a crisp $100 bill. Builder Alysa Kirkpatrick used tons of curved LEGO pieces to replicate the delicate filigree of the sword and attached plenty of greenery to the hilt. The resulting effect is lovely and spot on to the original art.

Lincoln Logs, Connect 4, Speak and Spell, and other classic toys from your 80s childhood made in LEGO

I remember playing with some of these as a kid. We’ve featured jtheel‘s work before with their fantastic Simon Says; I think it’s high-time to kick the nostalgia factor up a bit and relive the best toys from the 80s. Or 70s. Maybe a bit of early 90s. At any rate, let’s take a trip down memory lane, shall we?

To start, an alternative classic building toy: Lincoln Logs.

Click for more of your favorite childhood toys!

Wielder of a giant 20-sided LEGO die rolls a critical hit

How awesome would it be to show up to a Dungeons and Dragons game with this massive 20-sided die made from LEGO? It might not fit in your dice bag, but hauling this thing around would be totally worth it just to see the look on your friends’ faces as this behemoth clunks across the table. Builder Chris Maddison says this build was inspired by Critical Role, a web series where a bunch of voice actors play D&D. I think I may have found another show to binge watch. Thanks, Chris.

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