Minecraft to join with LEGO

 
Mojang recently received the minimum 10,000 supporters needed for a Minecraft logo set to be made.

LEGO first approached Mojang, encouraging them to submit a model to the Cuusoo website. Cuusoo is a Japanese LEGO partner which enables the making of community-supported LEGO sets.
If an idea can get 10,000 supporters, Cuusoo is likely to create it. A Minecraft lego set easily reached the 10,000 supporters, and would likely have more if allowed.

Mojang is looking forward to the LEGO set.

“Minecraft is about placing blocks to build anything you can imagine in the virtual world," Mojang said on the submission page. "You can build anything you imagine with LEGO bricks in the physical world. Minecraft and LEGO were meant to be together.”

Survival mode comes to Minecraft-Pocket Edition

Mojang announced plans this week to add survival mode to Minecraft - Pocket Edition.

They said they have not updated Minecraft - Pocket Edition much yet because they were focused on getting the pocket edition for iOS out in the Apple store after they released the Android version.

"The plan now is to start digging into making Minecraft - Pocket Edition with survival features!" said Daniel Kaplan, a developer working on the pocket edition.

Some of the new features Kaplan mentioned are as follows:
A new file system - to make sure we can support items and mobs in the world
- Item system - to be able to pick up items
- Crafting - This will probably need some iterations since the interface will be customized for the touch devices
- Inventory system
- Mobs - animals and enemies
- Optimizing rendering code - Mojang is experimenting with caves but need to make it work better before we are able to release it
- Clean up of code and overall optimization

Kaplan said they don't have any dates for when these updates will happen, but he urged players to make sure their phones are fully updated so they will be compatible.

Minecraft - Pocket Edition is only 16 cents on the Android market right now as a special promotion.

Notch steps down as lead Minecraft developer

Markus "Notch" Persson announced on Dec. 2 that he will be stepping down as the lead developer of Minecraft, which he created.
"As of yesterday, Jens Bergensten is the new lead developer on Minecraft. He will have the final say in all design decisions, so he will kinda sorta become my boss, I guess," Notch blogged on Dec. 2.
Jens Bergensten (Jeb) has been helping Notch all along, and now he will have the chance to take over a project.
"We’ve been working together on Minecraft for a year now, and I’m amazed at how much in synch we two are when it comes to how to design the game," Notch said. "And when we don’t agree, we discuss it and something much better comes out at a result. He’s truly a great person to work with, and I feel very confident handing over the leadership of Minecraft to him."
Jeb now plans to work on fixing bugs within the game and enabling players to leave notes on books and paper within the game.
Notch said he is going to use his extra time to work on his new collectible card game, Scrolls, and a new undisclosed project.

Notch released the first version of Minecraft in May 2009 and has been developing it since then.
Mojang, the game-developing company Notch started, sold over 4 million copies of Minecraft before it's official release in November 2011. The game has brought in over $50 million, and Notch has used that money to further resources.

Mojang now consists of 13 employees and is working on more games besides Minecraft.

Yogscast and Notch no more?

While Markus "Notch" Persson, the creator of Minecraft, is a rising celebrity among independent gamers, and the Yogscast are rising celebrities among YouTube viewers, it seems that the two entities have less in common than everyone thought.

At the first - and probably only - Minecraft convention, drama seemed to surround Simon Lane and Lewis Brindley of the Yogscast. In October, the Yogscast claimed their YouTube Minecraft series to be one of the reasons Minecraft has become so popular.

Mojang invited the Yogscast to attend Minecon and put on a panel there. Mojang claims that the Yogscast demanded to be paid while no other speakers at the convention were compensated.

Notch tweeted: "They called us "a bunch of nerds who don't know how to run a company", demanded that we pay them to come here (nobody else got paid)."

Notch tweeted a total of 8 tweets on November 11 just about this conflict.

Apparently it all started when the Yogscast said the F-word to a child. The Yogscast has not commented on the matter yet, but Notch tweeted: "A kid wanted them to sign something I had signed, and they said they'd cross it out and put 'f*** you' there instead."

"I'm very sorry about the behavior of the people we won't work with any more. Celebrity or not, you don't f-bomb kids," he said. Then verified who he was referring to by tweeting: "Yes, Yogscast."

Notch said that the Yogscast "repeatedly insulted people, talked behind their backs, refused to cooperate, and acted like total spoiled divas nonstop."

There has been much bantering between Minecraft fans on reddit.com and other forums. While some Minecraft attendees claim to have been treated poorly by the Yogscast, others shared positive experiences.

Notch has been receiving angry comments from thousands of "Yognaughts.

"Wow. Hate, insults and threats are flooding in from Yogscast fans," Notch said.

The Yogscast has not yet commented on the matter. MintyMinute, Yogscast's main administrator has been handling questions while Lane and Brindley consult with their P.R. and write an official statement.

"An Official statement/Vlog will be released when Simon, Lewis and Hannah return from Las Vegas to clarify what has happened. Hopefully this will clear everything up for everyone," MintyMinute posted on the Yogscast's facebook fan page.

"we aren't stalling in any way, we merely want to draft a coherent response, instead of raging in a con-flu/jet lagged state - have patience!" the Yogscast tweeted.

They followed up an hour ago with: "Still drafting what we want to say, between naps and calls to V.I.P.s - we want to give you the clearest idea of what went down."

Fans on both sides of the conflict continue to rage on over forums and tweets. And there have been reports of fans pretending to be the Yogscast and commenting on the forums. But the Yogscast said they have not taken any position or commented about it at all yet.

So fans await the Yogscast's statement.

Minecon starts

Today marked the second and final day of Mojang's first Minecraft Convention.

Yesterday, day 1, Markus Notch Persson, the creator of Minecraft addressed fans, and announced the official release of Minecraft. Yesterday also featured keynote speakers and breakout sessions about various aspects of Minecraft and YouTube.

Today, Simon Lane and Lewis Brindley from the YouTube sensation, Yogscast, addressed fans in a breakout session and signed autographs afterwards.

Mojang will end Minecon tonight with the "Into the Nether" party, only for adults 21 and older, at the Wynn Hotel.

Everyone who went to Minecon received goodie bags featuring various handouts from mod creators and server hosts.

The bags also held Minecraft-themed bottles of Jones soda, mousepads, 3D cardboard cutouts of the classic player skin and some blocks, opportunities to win items like an Xbox or a gaming PC, and the item everyone wanted most - the cape for players' in-game characters.

Minecraft wins gaming awards

Golden Joystick recently announced Minecraft as the 2011 best downloadable game award winner.

"More of a phenomenon than just a game - Minecraft is without doubt the biggest thing to happen to digital entertainment in a long time," the Golden Joystick's website stated of Minecraft.

Minecraft has over 15 million users now and is still growing.

Earlier this month, Minecraft also won two Game Developers Choice Online Awards.  The two awards they won were Best Community Relations and Best Live Game.

This is the 2nd year for the GDC online awards, but the 29th year of the Golden Joystick awards, also known as People's Gaming Awards.  They have several different categories including best shooter, best MMO and best RPG.

Mojang can continue use of "Scrolls" for now

Mojang founder Markus "Notch" Peterson updated the status of the Mojang vs. Bethesda court case via Twitter yesterday, October 18.

"We won the interim injunction!  We can keep using the name "Scrolls."  ZeniMax/Bethesda can still appeal the ruling, but I'm very happy," Notch tweated.

An interim injunction is a court order prohibiting someone from taking an action until the court has come to a full decision.  Bethesda wanted a Swedish court to order Mojang to discontinue the use of the name "Scrolls" until the court can decide whether Mojang is infringing on the "Elder Scrolls" trademark.

Bethesda failed, and Mojang can continue using Scrolls for now.  This means a one up for Mojang, but it doesn't mean they've won.  Bethesda could try to appeal the court's judgement or continue with the lawsuit anyway.

But chances look bleak for Bethesda.  It would waste months to try and repeal the court ruling.  Plus, the court clearly prefers Mojang's case to Bethesda's, otherwise they wouldn't have ruled the way they did.

Bethesda isn't giving up though.  But Notch says he thinks there is something more to this case.

"When Bethesda contacted us, we offered both to change the name to 'Scrolls: <some subtitle>' and to give up the trademark," Notch said in a blog post. "They refused on both counts.  Whatever reason they have for suing us, it's not a fear of us having a trademark on the word Scrolls, as we're offered to give that up."

Bethesda suing Mojang over use of game name

For those Minecraft players who don't know, the gaming company Bethesda is suing Mojang, the company that made Minecraft.

Bethesda started the lawsuit after Mojang announced a fantasy card-trading game they are creating called Scrolls.  Bethesda's attorney sent Mojang a letter in August stating that the name "Scrolls" would cause confusion with Bethesda's own trademark Elder Scrolls, a role-playing game.

Mojang co-owner Markus Notch Persson initially challenged Bethesda via his blog to settle the suit like true gamers, by playing the video game Quake 3.

"If we win, you drop the lawsuit.  If you win, we will change the name of Scrolls to something you're fine with.  I'm serious by the way," Notch said in his blog.

Notch later told Wired magazine that Quake 3 wasn't the best choice since Bethesda technically owns the game.  But he said the match would "bring both parties a lot of good PR."

Bethesda declined the offer and continued with the lawsuit.  Notch started out feeling lighthearted about the whole thing.

"I love Bethesda," Notch said in an August blog post. "I assume this nonsense is partly just their lawyers being lawyers."

Lawyers spent a lot of time in discussion before the lawsuit went to court, and Notch referred to the legalities as "terribly boring."

But as the lawsuit got more serious in September, Mojang had to come to grips with it.  The independent company started getting more serious about the situation.

"If we're going to court, I will fight this for as long as it takes," Notch said. "It's a bogus claim, and they have several one-word-named games that share a noun with other games."

While Notch is developing a more fiery attitude towards the lawsuit, Bethesda Vice President Pete Hines is trying to maintain a more diplomatic stance.

"Nobody here enjoys being forced into this.  Hopefully it will be resolved soon," Bethesda Vice President Pete Hines said.

The difference between Mojang and Bethesda is definitely visible.  Mojang is a small independent company started only a year ago that's famous for one game: Minecraft. Mojang employees are allowed to invent their own job titles.

Bethesda is a huge, international gaming country that's famous for several games including Rage and the Fallout games.  The company has also bought other smaller game companies.

So, while Notch is making this lawsuit more personal by tweeting and blogging about it, Hines is focusing on keeping their case within the court.

"This is a business matter based on how trademark law works," Hines said. "and it will continue to be dealt with by lawyers who understand it, not by me or our developers."