Welcome back to our Member Spotlight on Matt Stowball! In Part One, we learned about Matt's return to the LEGO hobby and how Rainbow Bricks inspired his MOC journey. Today, we are diving deep into the design process behind his incredibly popular Crossy Road LEGO Ideas project.
With 6,559 supporters and counting, the finish line to 10,000 is officially in sight!
The Interview: Behind the Build
Can you tell us about your latest creation?
After displaying custom, pixel art models of Super Mario, Pac-Man and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles throughout 2025, I wanted to try something different – something 3D! Of course, I couldn’t stray too far from my video game theme, and one day the idea just hit me: Crossy Road in LEGO. It felt like a perfect match. I couldn’t find many substantial or faithful Crossy Road MOCs out there, so it felt like unexplored territory.
Did you have a vision for how large it would get? How much was planned versus improvised as you went along?
I didn’t start with a fixed size in mind – I just wanted to do the game justice. I watched countless gameplay videos and browsed the Crossy Road wiki to understand the characters, obstacles and terrain types. I knew I had to include the core elements that players encounter in their first minute of gameplay. The design evolved organically, and what exists now is my interpretation of what makes Crossy Road fun.
Crossy Road has a very specific "voxel" look. What was the hardest part about translating those digital, square-edged graphics into physical LEGO geometry?
You’d think voxels and LEGO would be an easy match, but the real challenge was scale. I had to decide how a LEGO stud translated to in-game voxels without making everything enormous. Since most people know it as a mobile game, the model had to evoke that sense of scale while remaining readable. Where the game uses half-sized voxels on vehicles, I used curved and straight slopes to suggest that difference. I also intentionally scaled up the animal mascots slightly so they stand out from the terrain and feel playful and characterful.
You chose to use only currently available elements. Did that restriction lead to any "happy accidents" or creative solutions you wouldn't have found otherwise?
LEGO Ideas allows for recolours and new elements, but I built this for my enjoyment. That meant no purple cars because the right brackets don’t exist – but I don’t think that detracts at all; the feel of the game still shines through. For the smaller trees, not having certain 2x2 tiles forced me to use two 1x2 tiles instead. That ended up being better because it allowed the horizontal “lines” of the trees to contrast with the vertically aligned terrain tiles. Constraints often make the design stronger.
Do you have a favourite location or detail in the display that you’d like to highlight?
I love the variations in the truck cabs. They’re only different in colour in-game, but adding details like side exhausts makes them feel more alive. I also enjoy the little story of the train about to hit the duck – it captures that in-game tension. I’m especially proud of how the studs change direction halfway through the train carriages and how the recessed windows add depth.
"One young woman was practically in tears when she saw it. Crossy Road helped her cope with university! It was incredibly special to see my LEGO build spark that kind of emotional response." — Matt on public feedback
Will you continue to expand on the theme? Is it something you’d like to see grow collaboratively?
Crossy Road has many biomes and themes, so expansion is definitely possible. It’s built on 16x16 MILS plates, so it’s modular and easy to reconfigure. I’ve sketched out a version that’s 1.5 metres long, but I think the current model already captures the core experience nicely. If other LUG members want to collaborate on additional sections, I’d love to help maintain the visual language.
Thank you so much, Matt, for sharing more about your journey and creations!
Focus Gallery: The Details
