Saturday saw the debut of Flap Festival – a bird-themed minigame tournament developed by HumanRice and Sparkour. With the first event out of the way, we spoke to applejaxxs a.k.a. Jax – the event’s social media manager, staff manager and roster manager – about its entrance into the Minecraft event space, and what’s in store for the future!
“Overall, I think the debut went really well,” Jax tell us. “From my perspective, people seemed to take it positively and enjoy what we put together, which is always the most important part. Of course, like with any first-time event, there were a few bumps along the way, and some things that didn’t go quite as smoothly as we hoped – but that’s natural when you’re experimenting with something new. What stood out to me most was that the overall rollout announcements, hype, and delivery landed the way we wanted. Seeing people engage with it and have fun really reassured me that the vision for Flap Festival works and has a place in the community.”
“Our vision wasn’t to create something super competitive or high-stakes; it was about something lighter, quicker, and more accessible,” Jax continues. “We wanted people to enjoy themselves without feeling pressure, and from the feedback we’ve gotten, I think we hit that balance. It had the fun and variety we were aiming for, and even with the hiccups, the tone felt right. That’s huge for a debut, because it means the foundation we’re building on is solid.”
“I really want Flap Festival to feel like a unique experience,” Jax says. “A lot of events out there kind of recycle the same things same rosters, same teams, same games – and that’s not what we’re about. Our focus is on being different, on bringing in creative concepts and ideas that people haven’t seen before.”
“One big thing is that all of our games actually take place in the hub. Even the race map is fully inside the hub, which gives it a totally different feel.” A familiar movement game, “Race”, the first minigame of each event, involves completing three laps – or “flaps” – around the hub island.
After this warm-up, the event moves onto its collection of original gamemodes: “Tempo Temple”, “Save Me!” and “Downgrade”, before the top two teams move onto the finale game, “Frenzy”. “We’ve avoided doing the standard round-robin PvP or a straight parkour game, because those have been done so many times already,” Jax says.
“Tempo Temple” is a team strategy game in which players navigate downwards through a temple through pattern parkour, whilst the roof is constantly lowering. Killing mobs rewards emeralds, which can be spent on raising the roof. As the game progresses, or as players fall, they end up in easier but less rewarding rooms.
“Save Me!” is another team strategy game, this one themed around hostages. One player is a hostage, who must relay a demand – a request for an item – to their three teammates. These teammates must then gather and deliver the item to the correct NPC, which they must deduce through context clues. Meanwhile, the hostage must battle waves of oncoming mobs.
“Downgrade” is a PvP game in which players have just one life. Every time the player gets a kill, their weaponry and armour are downgraded. Other mechanics include killstreaks, bonuses for outliving other teams, and avoiding toxic zones that appear around the map.
“Frenzy” is a fast-paced game in which spectating teams can destroy the arena with eggs. If a finalist falls, they respawn, but the other team gets points. This chaotic gamemode twists a classic game of spleef into a tense battle where nobody knows who is winning until the final scores are revealed, and that even players who have no chance to win the overall tournament can still actively participate in and enjoy. “We’re really intentional about how we handle spectating,” Jax says. “Sitting around watching after you’re eliminated is boring, so we try to design games where you’re always involved. We only have one elimination-style game right now, and even that works differently than what you’d usually expect.”
“Looking at the games individually, they each brought something unique to the table and delivered on the energy we were hoping for,” Jax continues. “That said, one big challenge was that players struggled to fully grasp how to play, even though we had provided how-to-play videos in advance. It showed us that while outside resources help, we can’t rely solely on them. We need in-game tutorials or onboarding that gives players the chance to learn while playing – that way, it feels less overwhelming and more natural. The potential of each game is definitely there, and the response confirmed that. Now it’s just about fine-tuning accessibility so players can jump in and immediately have fun.”
“Looking forward, we definitely want to keep things fresh and evolving,” Jax tells us. “One of the most exciting directions is doing crossovers – so people can expect a lot of Flap Festival x [insert thing here] type of collaborations. Whether that’s with other events, creators, or new game ideas, we want each edition to bring something surprising to the table while still keeping the same identity. The debut was just the beginning, and we’re already thinking about fun ways to expand the concept and keep the energy going.”
For those keen to get involved, the event is currently looking for more playtesters. “It makes such a massive difference in smoothing out issues before they reach the event stage,” Jax says. “The debut showed us how vital that process is, and having more testers will allow us to keep improving and delivering the best experience possible. It’s a way for people to directly shape the future of Flap Festival, and I’d encourage anyone who’s curious to jump in.” If interested, you can apply for the playtester role here. Other staff positions are also currently open – including for moderators (applications open here) as well as builders, resource pack artists, musicians, social media, and point balancing (open here).
You can stay up to date with Flap Festival at @FlapFestival_ on X, or in their community Discord.
About The Author
