Minecamp SG 2013

So I got into Minecraft earlier this year and somehow along the way, I decided to run an event in Singapore about Minecraft. Ended up calling it Minecamp SG 2013 and ran it last Saturday 8 Jun 2013.

To make the event different from other events, I got Lauises my brother to assist and we toyed with a few ideas. We managed to get Epic Loot to sponsor some goodies as give aways and they were generous. They gave 8 Tees, 1 Creeper head and 1 Enderman head.

We printed swags as we felt that everyone should walk home with something. Something that they can remember having attended Minecamp SG 2013. We also built a 40cm cube and made it look like a Minecraft Grass Block.

My wife was busy that afternoon, so all 3 of my girls hanged out with me at the venue 50 Scotts Rd (WPP Building). Its good that Cli? and Cleo are bigger now and don’t really need much of my attention so I could focus on running the event.

I’m so glad to run this event with my brother Lauises. We had NO MEETINGS and almost NO CALLS. All we did was Facebook Chat + Google Docs. How awesome is that.

We got Vodien as a sponsor as well. They agreed very quickly when I bounced the idea off them back in April. Jervis shared who Vodien is, what Vodien does, etc. They provided us funds inorder for us to get the swags, the grass block built and also some refreshments.

The event started with almost a full house. When people trickled in later, we had to add chairs at the back. Awesome turnout. To think that this was just a Facebook Event page and with minimal marketing, still 70 people turned up.

iquf starts off the presentations with their world CubicWorld. I think it could be one of the oldest Minecraft Multiplayer Servers in Singapore. If you know its someone else, do let me know in the comments below.

York Seng then shared about the hardware aspects of operating a Minecraft server. They really seem complex.

Ian, being an aspiring architect shared his perspective of the buildings and architecture in CubicWorld.

Someone brought their own creeper head and when he stood up, then room bursted into laughter.

ToadKing and RNinja shared about Realms of Walrussia and also their collaboration with Sudden Dawn.

WurmpleAss is the server admin of Sudden Dawn and I feel he is so knowledgeable. He shared on how he used custom terrains for his server and if you login today, you will see trees that are not typical and areas within the world are not typical as well.

My kids were outside and this is a wonderful picture taken by Lenon I beleive.

Cleo plays Minecraft when ever she gets her hands on them. She is quite an addict, so as parents we are trying to control her.

After all 3 servers have presented, we had a panel session and allowed the floor to ask them any questions they may have. For every question asked, we gave away a Minecraft Tee and when that ran out, we gave away Epic Loot vouchers.

Some of the questions I recall asked if the servers had a specific target audience, someone asked about the server’s vision, someone asked how long will they remain server admins, etc.

The last two final prizes was done lucky draw style and here are the two lucky winners.

We had setup a photo taking area at the back when the event was over. People could take pictures with the heads, the grass block and also a pickaxe.

This is the full team that made this possible. Lauises for making the grass block, getting the stickers printed and negotiated the sponsorship with Epic Loot. Hwee Peng on registration and event day support. And of cause me.

It was a successful event and we managed to get to know so much more people.

Some people who got to know about this event ask me why I did it. Well, I work at VML Qais which is a full-service digital marketing agency, so its natural that I love virtual worlds and online communities, more so when its filled with passionate people doing epic stuff. Also I think Minecraft succeeded in where Second Life failed by lowering the barrier of entry as users in Second Life did not really get to enjoy the platform if they did not know 3D modeling.

Till next time.

Photo Credits: Lucian, Lenon, Sam. Thanks guys.