Google, LEGO partner for virtual brick building with Build With Chrome

By Mike Flacy Published January 28, 2014

Detailed on the official Google Chrome Blog, Google and LEGO have partnered to create a creative Web-based tool that allows users to build and publish virtual LEGO structures. Called Build With Chrome, the WebGL tool provides a base LEGO sheet to get started and users can choose from a variety of brick sizes as well as colors when building. The tool was originally built by a team of Google developers in Australia during June 2012 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the LEGO brick, but was recently published for the entire world to enjoy.

After spending some time within the creation tool, users can publish their design and allow others to check out their creation. Published designs are overlayed on Google Maps, thus interested users can check out creations that have been published nearby. The tool is also tied into Google+ and allows users to view LEGO creations designed by anyone in their Google+ circles. Logging into the tool with Google+ is also required in order to view other user creations on Google Maps.

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Google has also included a Build Academy tutorial feature that directly ties a character from The LEGO Movie into the tool. The LEGO Movie, an animated film developed by Warner Brothers, will launch nationwide on February 7, 2014. The tutorial walks the user through the basics of the user interface.

Anyone that wants to play with the LEGO tool can launch BuildwithChrome.com within the Chrome browser as well as the latest version of Firefox. However, the site doesn’t seem to work very well within Internet Explorer. If you prefer a touchscreen over your computer mouse, you can also load the site on a smartphone or tablet that’s using the latest version of Chrome for Android.

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