Two world records were broken this weekend at the suburban Greater Philadelphia Expo Center: an unlikely pairing of a Minecraft convention and a mass architecture lesson.
Minefaire is a traveling “Minecraft fan experience” founded by two Bucks County dads. More than 12,000 people came to Oaks, Pa., for the two-day event celebrating the insanely popular game that turned a Swedish designer into a billionaire. According to a release, Minefaire was the largest convention for a single video game. Guinness World Records was on site to track and verify the numbers.
“Minefaire is all about connecting with your kids through their favorite game, Minecraft. We were determined to create a one-of-a-kind experience that ensures children are building valuable learning skills as they play,” said Minefaire cofounder Chad Collins in a statement. “Our kids may live in a digital world, but at Minefaire, they come together as a community to share ideas, collaborate and build social skills.”
Collins founded Minefaire with Gabe Young.
The event was family-friendly and featured a 40-person orchestra, build battles and challenges, live performances, a Minecraft costume contest and meet-and-greets with YouTube Minecraft players, according to the release.
https://twitter.com/808Fitz/status/787649690816827392
Minecraft is a video game in which players build worlds by “mining” materials. The landscape is built entirely out of virtual blocks and can be played by individuals or by multiple people at once.
The “world’s largest architecture lesson” was also included in the Minefaire event. The lesson was taught by Stephen Reid, founder of Edinburgh, Scotland-based edtech consultancy Immersive Minds, and attended by 342 people, according to a spokeswoman.
'We' did it. We set the @GWR for #LargestLiveMinecraftLesson with this amazing crowd and the @minefaire team. Thanks to everyone involved! pic.twitter.com/THMvMpB75O
— Stephen Reid – Digital Druid (@StephenReidEdu) October 16, 2016
Philly has a history of making geeky world records. In 2014, Frank Lee’s 119,600-square-foot Tetris display on the Cira Centre was named the world’s largest architectural video game display. (Technical.ly helped organize the the Tetris event and it was part of Philly Tech Week 2014, which Technical.ly organizes.)
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