r/Hamlet

Ever since I first read Hamlet in Senior Year English class, I’ve had the idea to fully recreate the play in Minecraft. However, I haven’t really been motivated to do so, mostly because of how much effort it would take. That was, until I saw Schpood’s recreation of Hamilton in Minecraft, which blew up and gave me the inspiration to go all-in on Hamlet.

First off, the entire project will be edited, acted, and recorded in Minecraft Java Edition, and will make use of the Flashback mod, which I intend on using to create interesting and engaging camera angles in the video.

The video itself will eventually be uploaded for free on a YouTube channel, which will soon be filled with behind-the-scenes, progress updates, and eventually, the full play itself, which will likely be uploaded as five separate videos to correspond with the 5 acts of the play. After all of it is finished, I will compile the five acts into one full-length movie.

This will be a not-for-profit passion project, and will be usable as a teaching resource to make the play easier to understand and more engaging to watch in a classroom setting. 

I know there’s a lot of debate on whether to use a Modern English version of the play, or to use the original Shakespearean writing. By using a modern script, it makes the play easier to follow along and more engaging for casual watchers. However, they usually lack the poetic weight and cheapen the effect of the words. 

One solution I thought of was to use YouTube’s special feature that allows you to listen to separate audio tracks in the same video. That way, the viewer can choose which version of the script they want to watch.

None of the characters have been casted yet, and auditions are not yet ready.

I will likely be sharing more progress on the project. If you are interested in learning more, go and check out the YouTube channel for Hamlet: Minecraft Edition. (At the moment, there are no videos uploaded, but I plan on posting more soon!

Let me know if you have any questions, feedback, or ideas!