Once a year, a convention is held known as MineCon – a clever combination of the words “Minecraft” and “convention.” Minecraft is a video game that allows players to play in an open world sandbox game whose main objective is to explore, build and survive.

Since the release of the game, it has continued to be updated to where millions of players worldwide can play along in massive servers or play alone in their world with the option of adding texture packs (graphics of gameplay) and mod packs (modification of coding for gameplay). For this reason, Minecraft is one of the most popular games with more than 100 million copies sold on various platforms.

The convention is for players, enthusiasts, internet celebrities, Youtubers and fans to go there and have a great time. This year, it was held in Anaheim, Cal., for the weekend of Sept. 24 and 25. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend this convention as every year it is in a different location. I could have not wished for a better weekend.

The convention building is a three-story building with many rooms to hold panels (of Youtubers and Developers) and events for the attendees. The main halls are where thousands of people can pass through without congestion as they explore the attractions for them.

Several food courts and shops were stationed for the attendees to be fed and to purchase souvenirs to remember the event. Attendees of all ages, excited to go see what the event has to offer, and a chance to meet up with their favorite Youtubers and other personalities alike.

The day before the convention, attendees are able to register to receive their goodie-bag and lanyards for the official start of the convention. It was there I was able to meet up with ibxtoycat, WebbiestImp327 and BlackieChanXBL along with BrittanyVuitton. (I will refer to the Youtubers I have met by their stage names as they are preferred to be addressed.)

We headed over to one of the main halls where it is the dubbed the “Game Lounge” for it is going to showcase anything there is about Minecraft among other indie-developer games. The games vary from adventure, platforming, and puzzles for any player to enjoy to pass time. Since it was not officially the first day, we had the behind-the-scenes first look which I was blessed to be able to be a part of that.

The tour led up onto the accessible rooftop where a casual party was held. It was where the Minecraft-related celebrities, developers, and other guests were able to attend to eat and chat. It was there I met many of the 4JStudios developers and one of the main developers of the Mojang team, Jeb.

I regret asking one of the most common questions to Jeb about expecting Minecraft to be this popular. He answered kindly that it was originally just a simple game made by Notch and from there it just grew.

On the day of the convention, the opening ceremony commenced. It was energetic and entertaining to start the day right. I headed over to the Game Lounge where many of the panels and showcasing’s occurred. It was there that a panel for 4JStudios happened.

Their panel revealed new updates that were arriving early October for console versions of Minecraft and including a Q&A. After the panel was done, a small gaming event occurred between the 4JStudios members and Youtubers: ibxtoycat, BlackieChanXBL, Nuropsych1 and BigbSt4tz2, in a playful match to entertain the attendees. Of course, the Youtubers won as they had more experience playing the game than the developers ironically. Nothing much happened that day as time flew by quickly.

The final day started off with another opening as it detailed what is going to occur that day before it convention ended. I was able to meet TheLastMoose, DeathNinja458, ClarkKent 614, and BillieBearGames as we explored more panels.

We went into the Twitch gaming stadium as it started its tournament to see who the best player out of all competing. We did not stay there for long as we attended other panels such as another round of 4JStudios against Youtubers.

In Main Hall A, Jeb announced the new 1.11 Minecraft PC update which featured new enemies, animals, structures and items. Many attendees were joyful of the new update arriving soon. Another main event in Main Hall A was Stampylonghead versus iBallisticSquid which was entertaining to watch.

 A final round between 4JStudios and Youtubers commenced and it got the crowd riled up until the closing ceremony. Afterwards, many attendees did their final meet up with the internet celebrities and people parted ways back to their hotels or on their way home.

I had a lot of fun attending MineCon as I met a lot and talked to a lot of people. I met other Youtubers such as Grian, DeadloxMC, BigBSt4tz, Nuropsych1, and NettyPlays. They are all wonderful people to talk to and I am happy to have gone to MineCon 2016.

If you are a fan of Minecraft, I would recommend going to MineCon. It is a great place to see new updates, meet people, the developers and to meet your favorite Youtubers who attend. I will never forget this experience and I will be more than happy to attend next year’s convention.