‘Minecraft’ News: Australian Government Asks Students to Design New National Park Using ‘Minecraft’

Child playing Minecraft

The Australian government has enlisted the help of young "Minecraft" players to design the country's next national park.

The project is a competition launched by the local government of Adelaide for primary school students to come up with their best designs using the popular sandbox video game, The Guardian reported.

As part of the rules of the competition, the participants are only allowed to use the basic version of "Minecraft." In other words, they are prohibited from using modded versions or those that come with special skin and texture packs.

In addition, since "Minecraft" offers gamers the opportunity to go wild with their creations, the submitted designs must be realistic and could be easily converted into a real park. The designs should also feature the environmental elements found in Mount Lofty Ranges and Adelaide.

"Whatever they create on the screen needs to be able to be translated into the real world," Australia's Environment Minister Ian Hunter said in a statement according to Sky News.

"We'd like to see trails and other built features that are creative, practical, usable and sustainable, that complement the natural environment and the plants and animals living in it," the official added.

To increase their chances of being selected, participants are advised to include various park amenities in their designs such as camp sites, bike trails and hiking paths.

The entries must be accompanied by five screenshots of the overall design. It should also come with a three-minute video with a narration of the design's general concept.

The winning entry will be used by the government as the main design for its newest national park. It will use an allocated budget of around $8.9 million to bring the chosen design to life.

The entries of the finalists will be posted on YouTube by the local government of Adelaide. The competition has already started and is scheduled to end on June 12.