Back in April, the Fenix Down team brought a group of our creators together for a common goal, finding unique ways for their communities to torment them. Oh, and also raising funds for the American Heart Association (AHA), that’s an important part of all of this too. We called this weekend of torment and torture, HeartCraft and it saw creators from the Fenix Down roster playing together on a custom Minecraft server. Their goal was to build a thriving village and defend it from hordes of oncoming mobs. The catch? Their viewers could participate by either helping them accomplish their goals or making it as difficult as possible by summoning various threats and outright impeding their ability to play the game.
Finding ways to give back has been a company goal since the initial inception of Fenix Down in late 2020. With HeartCraft, we were finally able to make that dream a reality, raising well over $82,000 for the AHA in the process. When it came down to planning out the details of the event itself, the main feature that our team wanted to include was a way to allow viewers to be part of the event. While we discussed a few options, we eventually landed on utilizing a service that provided both an interactive element and a donation incentive.
Partners in Punishment
CrowdControl allows viewers to purchase coins that can be exchanged to trigger a variety of in-game actions. These actions could be either helpful or destructive, the decision is up to what the viewers want to see. For HeartCraft, these purchases not only created fun and exciting moments during the streams, but helped raise a ton of money for the AHA.
Once we had decided on utilizing CrowdControl to fundraise for the event, we then had to figure out what the event would actually consist of. A few ideas were tossed against the proverbial wall, but eventually, we decided that a game like Minecraft possessed the universal appeal and low barrier-to-entry to function as the backbone of our first-ever charity fundraiser.
While deciding on Minecraft was an important step, the next most important thing to figure out was how we’d host the gameplay. Given that Heartcraft was in fact, the first time we’ve ever tried to organize a multi-creator charity event, our team was looking for help wherever we could find it. As it turns out, we were able to find that assistance from the team at Nodecraft. Not only did they act as Heartcraft’s server host, but they eagerly jumped at every opportunity to streamline the process and make our lives as easy as possible. With all the chaos we were already dealing with, their help was much appreciated.
While the direct stream donations and CrowdControl interactions were the most common and entertaining methods of donation, our team at Fenix Down was lucky enough to partner with Fourthwall to create some custom merchandise for the event as well. Everything from t-shirts and hoodies to mugs and stickers were designed in support of our first charity fundraiser and in our completely unbiased and professional opinion, they looked fantastic. While it may seem like an obvious inclusion to an event like this, the “Heartcraft 2025” line of merchandise was in fact, the first batch of Fenix Down-branded merchandise that we’ve ever released and we couldn’t be prouder to have it tied to such a wonderful cause.
Let the Pain Begin
As the three-day event kicked off, the creators began exploring their surroundings, gathering resources, and overall just getting a feel for things. Some of them hadn’t played Minecraft in a few years or ever at all so there was a good amount of learning and re-learning occurring at the beginning of the event. Their task on day one was to agree on a location to establish their village and then begin building homes for themselves and the townspeople. While this goal may have initially seemed simple, the viewers quickly made their presence felt, as they sent in some challenges for them to overcome.
As the second day rolled around, the village truly began taking shape, but it definitely wasn’t what you would call smooth sailing. Take LordMinion777 for example. When he jumped into the game, he could barely take more than a few steps before his community found creative ways to knock him back down. The situation was so dire that the path leading from the game’s spawn point to the creator village had to be lined with beds just so that he could join up with the rest of the squad. Still, while it may have been frustrating and rage-inducing, Wade and his community donated well over $27.5K, leading the way and making up more than a third of the total funds raised.
Eventually, all the creators had found their way into the village and quickly began construction on all of the required structures. Notable builds included the Healing Hall, lead by Naiwal, which took the form of a Fallout vault, a tavern near the edge of the village spearheaded by Ultrasaurus and TeaWithMandy, and even GassyMexican’s aquarium which wasn’t quite required but he seemed very determined to build it so who are we to crush his dreams. When it was all said and done, HeartCraft Day 2 ended on a high note with creators leaving a thriving village behind as they logged off for the evening.
As the final day began to unfold, the wrath of CrowdControl would be fully unleashed on the HeartCraft creators. Notably, DrGluon’s viewers were extremely generous on the final day, deciding to unleash an unrelenting barrage of dangerous mobs upon the village. Try as they might, the group struggled to maintain the village they had built, eventually succumbing to the devastation and destruction rained upon it. The Tavern, Farms, Healing Hall, and even the completely necessary HeartCraft Aquarium all fell upon the powerful mobs that descended upon the village. Eventually, the team realized that action needed to be taken if they were to protect HeartCraft’s main objective, the central Heart Monument, from sharing the same fate as the rest of their village. In order to save the Heart Monument, Naiwal, skinnedteen, and her loyal army of cats moved it to a more secure location deep underground.
Still, while the Heart Monument was secured, the remaining creators still had one more challenge ahead of them. As the group gathered together on the ground above their precious heart statue, a final volley of enemies descended upon them. Ender dragons, withers, witches, and everything in between were thrown at the group but as the dust settled, they stood tall. When it was all said and done, though they faced their share of hardships, they stood victorious.
While this may have been the first charity fundraiser for Fenix Down, it’s looking like it may not be the last so be sure to stay tuned!
