Minecon updates

Mojang recently released three pieces of exciting news for Minecon attendees.

They updated the Minecon schedule, and they announced that everyone attending Minecon will receive in-game capes for their player skins.

This is what the cloak will look like.

Mojang also announced that Yogscast will be making an appearance at Minecon.  They will have a main show and an autograph session.

The updated schedule is as follows:

Friday, November 18th

10 a.m. Game Room and Exhibit Hall Open
1 - 3 p.m. Keynote Address and Minecraft Launch with Notch
4 - 6:30 p.m. Breakout classes on your favorite Minecraft subjects
7 - 10 p.m. Miners' Party
11pm - 2 a.m. Diamond Party (Over 21)

Saturday, November 19th

10 a.m. Game Room and Exhibit Hall Open
10 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Breakout classes on your favorite Minecraft subjects 4 - 6 p.m. Closing Ceremony Celebration 10 p.m. - 1 a.m. Diamond Party (Over 21)

Other activities will include:

• Build contests
• Autograph and Picture Time with the Mojang Team & Top Minecraft YouTubers
• Costume contests
• Exhibits by leading gaming and Minecraft related companies
• Meeting friends from around the world
• Commemorative merchandise
• Indie Developer Theater

For more information about Minecon, visit:  http://minecon.mojang.com/about
Vote on your favorite cloak design here: http://mojang.com/2011/09/22/minecon-swag-cloaks/

Minecraft players compare Terraria

Terraria was officially released for PC on May 16 of this year.  As more and more Minecraft players have become aware of Terraria and started trying it out, more people have realized the many similarities between Minecraft and Terraria.

Just like in Minecraft, Terraria is a world consisting of blocks.  Players need to build sufficient shelters before night comes and monsters come out.  To any Minecraft player, that sounds terribly familiar.

But there are some key differences between Minecraft and Terraria.  The biggest difference is that Terraria is a two-dimensional, pixel-like game.  You can only move up and down on a randomly-generated landscape.

The other major difference is the mobiles.  There are no peaceful mobs in Terraria, like cows or pigs, but there are hostile ones.  There are still zombies and slimes like in Minecraft, but the slimes are everywhere at any time of day.  And there are even worse monsters than that.

Flying eyeballs come out at night, and fire snakes can attack at any time.  Terraria is more difficult than Minecraft because there are more hostile mobs, and not just at night.

Just like Minecraft, Terraria players must still mine and harvest blocks of raw materials in order to build and craft things.  But there is a far larger scale of craftable items in Terraria.  Players can make anything from a bathtub to a laser gun.

Some Minecraft mods include similar items to those players can craft in Terraria, but many cannot be found in the original Minecraft.

Despite these differences, players still can't help but notice the similarities between the two games.  As players dig down in Terraria, they discover natural caves and randomly generated dungeons.  They also find rare minerals and gems like iron ore and diamond ore.

All these things contribute to the feeling among gamers that Terraria is just a 2D version of Minecraft with some extra creatures.

However, Notch, the creator of Minecraft, doesn't seem to have any issues with the similarities between the games.  One of the things that contributed to Terraria's popularity was the fact that Notch tweeted the link to the game when it came out.

Terraria did not have any grand marketing plans, and their short trailer was barely watched.  Notch's tweet was possibly the biggest publicity the game got.  Still, Terraria downloads skyrocketed, and it gained more fame as more people played it.  Gaming commentators like the Yogscast played it and posted videos on YouTube.

As of July, 630,000 units had been sold, and that number continues to rise.  But will it ever come close to the 3.6 million Minecraft users?

You can check out Terraria here: http://store.steampowered.com/app/105600/

Minecon to be hosted in Las Vegas

Minecraft fans have long waited for this event.  The first Minecraft conference, and the official release of Minecraft. 

Gaming commentators across the country have been posting videos of the recent patch updates, and are eagerly waiting the official release.  That’s not the only thing exciting about Minecon though.

Participants of Minecon will enjoy costume contests, build contests and classes.  There will also be speeches from different developers and gamers, most importantly a speech by Markus "Notch" Persson, the developer of Minecraft. And the middle of the exhibition floor will feature an indie game theater for independent game developers to show off their games.

Mojang recently announced another bonus: all Minecon attendees will receive free alpha codes for the games Scrolls and Cobalt when they are released.

Everyone on the Mojang gaming company team will be staying for the conference.  Many YouTube gaming commentators will be going.  ChimneySwift has talked about going, and the Yogscast is considering it but has not yet confirmed.

Minecon will be held from November 18 to 19 at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Tickets bought before September 30 will cost $99 and after that will cost $139.

The conference will be all-ages, but anyone 16-years-old or younger must have an adult chaperon.  And anyone wishing to reserve a room at the hotel must be atleast 18-years-old.  For a limited time, the room rates are $69 for Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, and $99 for Friday and Saturday.


The full schedule has not been confirmed, but the following times have:
Friday:
10 a.m.: Doors open
1 p.m.: First keynote speaker
Friday and Saturday nights: parties for 21 years and older.

For more updates, check these websites:
Minecon website: http://minecon.mojang.com/
Hotel reservations: https://resweb.passkey.com/Resweb.do?mode=welcome_gi_new&groupID=3651403
Mojang website: http://mojang.com/