I imagine a secret garden as a private area of beauty. Buildings, fences, trees, water could all be used if desired. This is a suggested 'theme' rather than a required format, so be creative and keep it in mind. Even in a huge city there could be a secret garden on a roof top or courtyard. A story book or pictures from a better homes and gardens magazine could be an inspiration if you are stuck on where to start. Don't be afraid to experiment. I hope everyone has different ideas and enjoys bringing them to life.
For those who have never done it this might help as a general guideline for the world upload (even if its not meant for that site its basically the same steps)
When you say "single player" I am assuming this does not mean we can use a "creative mode - single player game". I feel like that would give an unfair advantage to those choosing to build it in EMC. Am I correct?
Since the OP states that there is no restriction on version almost any single-player world will have an advantage as there are more items to build with in 1.8.x - this includes stuff like armor stands , more stone variations etc
You're in luck! I've created a guide for such problems. Click here for a tutorial on how to upload a world!
No, you can use creative. I'm simply stating for the people that WANT to build it on EMC that they are allowed. That was a big confusion point in past contests. Often times the expensive materials don't look as good in the design anyway. For those that are confused about the theme: It is intended to be a open minded build. Secret garden might mean following the idea of a hidden garden behind a piston door, or it might just mean quiet and secluded or any number of things. The theme should be interpreted how YOU want to see it, to a limit. Obviously it doesn't mean a giant skyscraper in the Tron world though =P As for custom mobs in the build: This is a build contest, not a code one (hence why Cmmand Blocks are disallowed). Any custom mobs created will have no influence on judging the build.
I'm a little confused with the "secret garden" theme. I thought of making a structure with a compound that got taken over by nature and long abandoned. So, it would be more of a hidden garden. Would this work? I am still going to add flowers to it in a creative way also with plants.
Since the build, even if made in single-player, is residence-size, does this mean the winning build will live somewhere official on the Empire?
Nope, it just means that it was a good basic size to use for the contest to avoid confusion when on a player's plot =P
