Meet The Creator: 4KS Studios

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Meet The Creator: 4KS Studios

With over 600 packs in the Minecraft Bedrock Marketplace, 4KS Studios is a strong name in the Minecraft Marketplace. Joining the Minecraft Marketplace in 2020, with an average rating of 4.35 stars out of 5 across the Minecraft Marketplace. Daz Man managed to get some questions over to the 4KS Studios team, who very nicely answered them, so, lets go and Meet The Creator!

Find 4KS Studios socials at:

Daz Man Interviews 4KS Studios!

Look out on September 24th for a MAJOR announcement from 4KS Studios in regards to an exciting new project!

Q1: Can you tell us a bit about your journey into Minecraft and how you became a Marketplace creator?

Our core team all met playing Minecraft Java over 10 years ago. We were all originally members of the creative building community side of things building various projects for fun but also picking up some commission work for various servers. To make a long story short, most of us stopped playing Minecraft in order to pursue university and full-time careers. We reconnected at various points to pursue Minecraft part-time again with the Marketplace creating skin packs and survival spawns. This eventually led to us rejoining forces to form 4KS in 2019/2020 and are now full-time Marketplace creators building even more advanced and creative content for the last 5 years.

Q2: What inspired your latest creation on the Marketplace, and what was the creative process behind it?

Although not our latest creation in terms of release date our latest big project is Weapons Add-On. We recently released the 2.0 update which almost doubled the amount of content in the Add-On and felt like an entirely new project itself. We've always known the core survival experience of Minecraft is one of the best facets to build off of and we have a history of making various weapons and tools content that players love. With that in mind we wanted to create an Add-On that would add unique diversity to the survival experience. With a core focus on new weapon types and materials that gives small bonuses to the system that players already knew while being as compatible as possible with other Add-Ons and content like Actions & Stuff animations, custom enchants, etc. We have at least 2 more updates planned for this Add-On right now and don't plan on stopping after that. Update 3.0 is taking us some time and will be setting up many foundational components for more longevity with future updates, and 4.0 is themed around Defense with plans on new armors, pet armors, shields, and more. We're really happy to keep expanding this content while we have ideas for it.

CHECK OUT; 4KS Studios big project, Weapons Add On (Chunk.gg)

Q3: Walk us through your typical workflow when developing a Marketplace map or content pack — from idea to finished product.

An oversimplified workflow is generally something like; come up with a concept, document all the components, have developers verify it's feasible, gather modelers/artists to create the components, implement the components, test, refine/fix/modify, repeat the last 2 steps 1000 times, finish marketing, release product! Easier said than done for sure.

Q4: What are the biggest challenges you face when creating for the Marketplace, and how do you overcome them?

The Marketplace changes fast. You really can't get too confident in any single strategy or get lazy in your content creation. If you're not adapting with it you'll find yourself getting caught behind in both content type and quality. We find it very important to be up to date on all the new tech to provide the best experience for players and provide content that works well and is worth the purchase price. One of the decisions we've had to make many times is to completely halt a project because it was simply before its time and would lead to janky player experience or just isn't up to quality. It's not easy to make that decision and really stinks to tell our hardworking team to have to completely stop on a project but it's usually for the best when required.

ALSO: Another creation from 4KS Studios, More Tools World (Chunk.gg)

Q5: How do you balance creativity with the limitations and guidelines of the Minecraft Marketplace?

It's a balancing act for sure. You need to know what is possible while simultaneously having enough knowledge of the platform to know where you can push the boundaries. I like to come up with ideas first and let my developers tell me I'm insane for thinking we can accomplish some of them. Sometimes discussions can flesh out ideas leading to a viable solution, and sometimes it's just not possible. Our devs are the best and we've been able to accomplish many new ideas because of the right combination of creativity and knowledge/skill.

Q6: What’s next for you? Any upcoming releases, ideas, or collaborations we should watch out for?

We have a few projects in the works but one is huge. We have been hard at work at something we've kept secret for awhile. We're planning on releasing a teaser on September 24th so keep your eyes peeled. I will say it is biomes related, and you'll have plenty to choose from. If you've been waiting for a good biome Add-On, wait just a bit longer. It'll be worth it.

Q7: Do you have any advice for aspiring Minecraft creators who want to get onto the Marketplace?

Competition is tough now, I can't lie. There's a huge catalog of content to take inspiration and learn from though. If you want to get onto the marketplace you have to make content up to the quality bar like any already approved partner. Find friends to work with, come up with ideas, and apply with an approved publisher. Remember not every idea is going to be a hit, and some ideas are a little stale so take the time to come up with a few project plans to narrow down the best and most unique one. Then get creating! Don't get discouraged if the first idea doesn't work out either, we've all had our ups and downs. Each project is a learning experience.
A MASSIVE thank you to 4KS Studios for allowing me this interview and a glimpse behind the scenes at how they and the Minecraft Marketplace works. Remember to check out their socials at:


Check out my previous Meet The Creator Interview with 5 Frame Studios, or check out all of my Meet The Creator Interviews!

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