This is my submission for the 2026 Hytale modding Contest: Experiences.

A playable, short, story-driven Adventure Map that is about grief, love, perspective, and a kind tribute to a gentle stepfather taken too soon.

Based on a true story.

About:

This solo project was built, detailed, scripted, recorded, edited, exported and published in under three weeks. It is entirely playable, food and armor is provided in chests you can find along the way.

How to play:

You are in Exploration mode with the Day/Night cycle on. Follow the seventeen carefully placed storyboards in order - they will guide you through the map and take you to chests with protection and food inside. Each statue is like a quest marker!

You will be loosely restricted and guided through the story with these statues, and leaving the designated areas is gently prevented by barrier blocks. They are marked out buy a hedgerow of bushes with green gems on top. Whilst you technically can leave the map area, I ask you not to! Only because you may not be able to get back in.

Self-imposed immersion is needed. Please do not break blocks as this may ruin some of the fun for you. Unless you want to, of course. I won't get in the way of our Chaotic Good friends 😈

Pumpkins, Water Essence and Diamond all represent different emotions in this story. Take note of where you see them and what size they are. Some of the evil Pumpkins are even playing harmless little tricks! I have spent days adding these finer details, they all play a part in the story.

As you follow along, you'll notice the pumpkins getting bigger and the Water Essence becoming more prevalent. These are used to illustrate your grief (Pumpkin) and sadness (Water Essence) and show how sometimes the sad things in life can feel far bigger than what they actually are - to the point of being all-consuming - and drowning out love, warm memories and all good things in life (represented by Diamonds).

Required Mods:

AdminUI-1.0.6
BetterModlist-1.0.5
BetterSigns-1_0_1
Lootr-0.0.9
nitrado-performance-saver

Version:
Version: 2026.03.26-89796e57b

Rambling:

Hytale is in Early Release, and creating a game inside an incomplete game was challenging to say the least. I was tasked with learning not only a new game, but mastering completely new editing tools whilst live on Twitch! As if life isn't hard enough, heh.

Thinking of creative ways to guide the player without losing immersion was difficult, and adding layers of detail to enrich the story telling without direct spoilers was super fun! I crashed out a few times online and offline, pushing far past fatigue and reasonable bedtimes (When did I get to the age where an 8pm bedtime sounds like a distant dream?!) But the pride I feel for making a map and telling a story is worth it.

Having made multiple adventure maps in Minecraft over the last fourteen years (All for free download on PlanetMinecraft - sorry CF!) I saw an opportunity to see if my skills were transferrable. Good thing I didn't write any cheques I can't bank... it was a whole new experience! I can not wait to see how Hytale continues to develop, and I am excited to come back to this project and expand on my storyline.

Credits:

Thanks:

As always, I would not be able to curate and present a project like this on such a tight schedule without the support of my Kimmunity and the wider gaming community. You're the best bunch of backseaters I have ever met and I couldn't do this whole online life nonsense without you all. #nowholesome
NodeCraft Server Hosting - such a good bunch of eggs over there. This map was built on a NodeCraft server, thank you for the flawless service, absolute Legends.
My beloved whānau. They're the ones who politely smile and nod as their eyes drift off in different directions whenever they accidentally ask me how my gaming is going. Sucks to be related to me! Thank you especially to my mum for supporting me in my own grief journey with Max. We all deeply feel his absence. Fvck Cancer

Song:

Dan Aux, Faster Than Light ft Ed Waaka - Clockwork

https://open.spotify.com/track/4CXxyOHi0EkcOSTg4bXYqF?si=6ff94cfbd6334011

My apologies to any of the sound engineers who worked on this song, I chopped up your hard work to make the cinematic video a bit shorter and I'm sorry! I am VERY proud to bring a few more ears to some awesome Aotearoa artists!

Thank you for your time,

Nga Mihi,

Kimmy

An Adventure Story Map by kimandjax