One Block Skyblock

Overview

One Block Skyblock reimagines the classic Skyblock formula into a single regenerating block that drives the entire survival experience. Each time the player breaks the block, an internal state machine advances progression, introducing new blocks, loot tables, mobs, and events.

The project was built for Minecraft Bedrock Edition and released on the official Minecraft Marketplace, requiring strong performance across mobile, console, and PC platforms while remaining approachable for casual players.

---

Core Design

At the heart of the experience is a simple loop:

• Break the block
• Advance the phase
• Survive the chaos
• Build something that looks nothing like where you started

Progression is governed by a phase-aware system that controls drops, entities, and event probabilities. The challenge ramps gradually to avoid soft-locking new players while still creating tension and surprise.

---

Phase Structure

The experience is divided into themed phases, each with its own pacing and mechanics:

• Plains — early-game resources, friendly mobs, and safe experimentation
• Caves — stone, ores, and light combat to push upgrades
• Biome phases — desert and ocean-inspired drops, structures, and events
• Nether & End — high-risk, late-game materials and difficulty spikes

Each phase was tuned to balance unpredictability with recoverability, ensuring progression always felt earned rather than random.

---

Player Experience

Players spawn on a tiny platform suspended over the void with a single “magic” block. That block becomes the entire progression surface:

• Breaking the block increments an internal progress counter
• The counter rolls against phase-aware drop tables
• The world gradually expands from a fragile island into a dense, multi-biome base

Difficulty is intentionally forgiving early and more punishing later, encouraging creativity instead of cautious, grind-heavy play.

---

My Role

• Designed phase progression, drop tables, and difficulty curves
• Implemented block regeneration logic using Bedrock behavior packs
• Tuned entity rules and performance for low-end devices
• Assisted with Marketplace submission, QA, and balance patches

---

Tech & Tools

• Bedrock behavior and resource packs
• JSON-driven content definitions
• JavaScript scripting hooks
• World and level editing tools
• Console and mobile performance profiling

---

Impact

• 1.7M+ downloads via Minecraft Marketplace
• 4.8 / 5 average rating
• Reached #1 most-played and most-downloaded map during its peak
• Helped establish single-block, phase-based progression as a popular design pattern

---

Links

• Marketplace Listing
• Trailer