Infinite building possibilities from Lego and Google collaboration

Back in the good old days of yore children whiled away their afternoons in idol play, lost in their imaginations with nothing but bed sheets, twigs and a muddy pit at the back of the house as props for their elaborate role-playing. Kings waged wars, empires fell and everyone had to get cleaned up before tea. Then came Lego and the shape of play changed forever, so much so that those little coloured blocks and weekend afternoons will be linked in my mind forever.

Fast-forward a couple of decades and Lego’s gone digital, offering fans the opportunity to rebuild the world (well, Australia for the time being) in its own blocky image. Build, a collaborative project between Lego Australia and Google Chrome, fuses WebGL, the very latest in in-browser graphics, and Google Maps to allow users the chance to build, share and even renovate their very own digital Lego structures on a global platform. Complete structures can then be shown off to friends and family via email or Google+.

This may not be the tactile experience we’ve come to expect from Lego but their commitment to pursuing projects on digital platforms is impressive for a product so naturally grounded in the physical world. The online Build experience also encourages the more social aspects of Lego play that long-time fans hold dear. Best of all however is the staggeringly awesome possibility of INFINITE BLOCKS, a literal impossibility in the physical world.

Eat that bed sheets and sticks.