I’ve been running Minecraft events for around three and half years now, and it’s safe to say that my projects have come on in leaps and bounds from our first show, back when I built everything by hand and had never even heard of a command block. It’s been quite the journey to get to where my studio, WraithStation, is today, so here are some of the key lessons I’ve learnt along the way!
PLAYTEST, PLAYTEST, PLAYTEST
QA is absolutely critical to the success of an event – not just to make sure it’s technically functioning, but also that it’s fun to play. Ideally, testing should be done with the same number of players as the real event. It’s also a good idea to get testers to deliberately try to break your event – because real players love breaking things too! Whether that’s flipping all your trapdoors to ruin the aesthetic of a build, killing important mobs, taking things off armour stands and item frames, trying to find a loophole in the rules or map or code, or trying to escape the map – make sure you’ve thought through and tested everything you need to.
LEARN NEW SKILLS
A basic understanding of lots of different areas – building theory, commands and command blocks, making resource packs, marketing, etc. will help you out massively as an event organiser. You don’t have to be an expert in every field by any means, but basic knowledge that you’re continuously building upon can help out massively. Not only does this let you help out in lots of different production areas, but it can mean the make or break of an event if something goes wrong and you need a quick fix or a replacement team member.
MARKET YOUR EVENT
This may sound silly, but I see a massive number of events – even established ones – failing to market themselves properly to new audiences. Firstly, make sure you explain what your event IS – what’s the genre, the format, the gameplay? Write it down in a few sentences and put it where it can be found easily. Also, don’t forget to post on socials on the run-up to an event – weeks before, days before, hours before, and of course at the start. Get it on people’s timelines and tell them what to expect – don’t assume that everyone will know what you’ve said elsewhere, or that people will show up to watch an event they’ve never heard of just because you post when it goes live.
DON’T START TOO AMBITIOUS
You don’t have to make “the next MCC” for your very first event. You may want to start with simpler concepts and work your way up. Concepts such as build battles, hide & seek, MCCI tournaments, short survival events, etc. are all good ways to start out, build connections, and learn what works well and what doesn’t. Custom minigame tournaments, whilst often the inspiration to make your own events to begin with, are a comparatively complex event format to make – and whilst they can be amazing if pulled off well, they need a lot of time, expertise and commitment to get off the ground.
PUT YOUR OWN SPIN ON THINGS
There are lots of different events in the space, so the best way to stand out is to do something unique and memorable. This doesn’t have to be just in gameplay – this could also be strong theming, an unusual target audience, or even just a different day of the week or start time.
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