Our latest Add-On, GARDENING, bloomed into release this past Tuesday, and we’re thrilled to see all the incredible creations sprouting up!
Joining us today are two of the brilliant minds behind GARDENING: Malte, our lead Minecraft developer, and Bojan, our lead artist.
Malte (Powh)
My name is Malte (also known as Powh) I’m from Germany, I’m the lead Minecraft Developer at Podcrash!
When did you join the Podcrash team?
I joined about 4 years ago as a part-time level designer, mainly building maps. I’ve worked here full-time for 2 years.
How long have you been playing Minecraft?
I’ve been playing for around 11 years.
When did you start developing Add-Ons?
I began in October 2023, right when Podcrash started developing Add-Ons. My first project was FARMING. I’ve been into coding since I was young and I’m mostly self-taught. I started out experimenting with command blocks, and when I joined Podcrash full time I explored the Script API to create Add-Ons.
What has been your favorite moment developing Add-Ons at Podcrash?
Definitely the love from the community – especially the initial feedback when we released FARMING. That support has been amazing.
How do you usually come up with ideas for new Add-Ons?
Mostly while playing. I’ll think, “that would be cool to add!” We also have an internal team SMP, and I often come up with ideas while we play together.
What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned from working on Add-Ons?
That even if there isn’t an “official” way to do something with Script API (since it’s still being developed), we can often find creative workarounds. For example, in FARMING we built our own world generation system that checks chunks as they generate and spawns trees, something not possible with Mojang’s API when our Block Update released.
When did development for GARDENING begin?
We started in January 2025.
How did the idea for GARDENING first come about?
It actually began as a thought about adding flowers to FARMING, but we quickly realized there was far too much content to add, since we are limited to file size for Add-Ons. One of our early ideas was cottages- randomly generated structures filled with flowers, pots, and decorations, but they didn’t fit the FARMING theme. That’s when GARDENING started to take shape as its own Add-On.
What was the biggest challenge when developing GARDENING?
Custom flower pots! We don’t have access to the Vanilla pots tech, so we built a new custom system. We had to map flowers with unique IDs so they could be placed in pots, then create a copy of the vanilla flower pot that could support our custom ones. It took many attempts to get it optimized.
How did you make sure cottages and extra buildings feel natural when they generate?
We spent countless hours testing and adjusting how often they spawn, while designing them to fit Minecraft’s vanilla style. We also added custom buildings around the cottages, since they felt out of place on their own.
How did you design the Wildlife AI so birds use Bird Houses and Bird Baths naturally?
We experimented a lot with day and night behavior. Birds will find the nearest Bird House at night and leave in the morning. We created a system that “hides” the bird when it reaches the house to show that it’s entered.
How did you balance performance while adding so many plants and decorations?
We spread flowers across different biomes and made them blocks instead of entities, which keeps things optimized, even the flower pots are blocks.
Was there a feature you wanted to add but couldn’t?
Yes, more flower pots! We wanted pots in every direction, but that would have quadrupled the block count, and we were already close to the block limit.
What’s next for GARDENING?
First, we’ll monitor the release and fix any bugs. Then, like all our Add-Ons, we’ll be adding fresh content in future updates based on community feedback.
My name is Bojan, and I’m the Lead Artist at Podcrash.
How long have you been playing Minecraft?
I’ve been playing for about 10 years.
When did you start working on artwork?
Around 5 years ago I began experimenting with Blockbench, learning how to capture the Minecraft style and enhance it. I originally joined Podcrash in 2017 as a builder, but later moved into developing Add-Ons with the team.
What has been your favorite moment of designing artwork for Add-Ons at Podcrash?
Seeing everything come together in-game and look like it truly belongs there. My personal favorite project has been the MACHINES Add-On, since I’ve always been fascinated by machines in Minecraft.
What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned from working on Add-Ons?
Never underestimate the workload! Often, the finishing touches- like fixing small details or iterating on designs end up taking the most time.
What was the most challenging part of artwork for GARDENING?
Definitely the clover! It’s deceptively complex, with three planes stacked on top of each other at 120-degree rotations. Getting the pixel grid to line up was incredibly difficult.
How did you design so many different flower textures without making them feel repetitive?
I based the shapes on real flowers, focusing on giving each one a unique silhouette or structure. Whether it was the number of blooms or the overall outline, I wanted players to instantly recognize the resemblance to flowers they’d see in nature.
Which flower or plant design was your personal favorite?
Either the yarrow or the plumeria, they were especially fun to create.
How did you keep the art style consistent with vanilla Minecraft while still making the new blocks feel fresh?
Through lots of iteration and years of playing the game. You really have to play the Add-On extensively to understand what works and what doesn’t.
What inspired the look of the Gardener?
The design was loosely inspired by ‘Uncle Pom’ from Castle in the Sky, although he is a Miner (not a Gardener!)
Which structure or decoration was the most fun to design?
The hanging pots. They were a challenge since players often view them from below, a perspective that’s usually overlooked when creating models.
Were there any designs that had to be cut or reworked during development?
Yes, the clover was originally designed to be three-dimensional like the vanilla pink petals, but we decided to simplify it to improve performance.
GARDENING is now available to purchase on the Minecraft Marketplace.
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