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.

Notch and Yogscast settle disputes

Graphic from "Inside Gaming Daily"

The Yogscast released their official statement last week about what occured at Minecon.

In the statement they said they were surprised at Markus "Notch" Persson's tweets.
"We are very disappointed by these tweets from someone we admire and respect. We can understand that it was the morning after the deadmau5 party and Notch was very tired, but we are still fairly upset," the statement said.

The Yogscast also denied a lot of allegations.
"Out of all the tweets that Notch sent out, most hurtful was the accusation that we told a kid to “f*** off” and crossed out another signature – which is something we would never ever do," the statement said.

It continued: "The quotes and actions that Notch attributed to us were not said by us or published anywhere by us. Therefore we are surprised and confused about where this stuff has come from - especially since the only time we spoke to Notch was at the interview."
But the Yogscast did admit to swearing at the show and using the F-word, but they pointed out that Mojang failed to give them instructions regarding that. They also said Mojang had sold rights to the Yogscast livestream without informing Yogscast.
The official statement ellicited an apology from Notch.
"It's likely the entire Yogscast scenario is just stress-related misunderstanding. I apologize for bringing it online before talking to them," Notch tweeted during Thanksgiving weekend.
The attacks on Notch from Yogscast fans gradually ceased. But to any that still came, Notch replied "I've already apologized."
Many fans support both Notch and Yogscast and were worried to see their relationship failing. Those fans are relieved to see them resolve their differences. But some fans wonder if Notch and the Yogscast staged the conflict as a publicity stunt.
Notch and the Yogscast were some of the first gamers to reach celebrity status. Game creators are not usually as well-known as the game they create. Since they have celebrity-status, it would not be surprising if this all was a publicity stunt.
Here is the Yogscast's official statement: http://www.reddit.com/r/Minecraft/comments/mnau9/yogscast_response_to_notchs_twitterings/

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.

Notch named in most popular game makers list

Imagine Games Network recently named Markus "Notch" Persson, the maker of Minecraft as number 14 in a list of the web's 25 most popular game makers.

Notch's name is well-known among online gamers as the creator of a new type of sandbox game and a new kind of game promotion system. His system to sell the game early and release updates in prerelease patches is unique.

He plans to use the same type of promotion system with Mojang's new game, Scrolls. And other independent games have tried the same approach.

An independent game using the same type of promotion recently received a large donation from Notch.  The game called Voxatron, is available for purchase in Alpha for however much customers want to donate.  Notch purchased the game for $2,000.

Minecraft sells 4 million copies

Minecraft sold its 4 millionth copy yesterday, a huge milestone for an independent game.

Even more unique about that number of sales is the fact that Minecraft is still in Beta mode. After years in Alpha and Beta modes, the game will be officially released in two weeks at Minecon.

Notch has used a unique development plan with Minecraft. Rather than waiting to sell the game until it was fully developed, Notch started selling games in the developing modes of the game. He sold it in Alpha mode for a 50% discount, and now that the game is in Beta mode, it is sold for a 25% discount.
Notch used the money from selling the game early to hire more game developers, founding the company Mojang. As more developers were hired, Mojang added more features to the game, meriting positive feedback from fans.

Mojang employees have been updating more abundantly in the past couple of months to prepare the game for the official release. They have updated in patches, and the major additions include mushroom biomes with giant mushrooms and mushroom cows (mooshrooms), animal breeding, new mobs including baby animals and dragons, and potion tables with hundreds of crafteable potions.

Notch said that Mojang will continue with the update patches even after the official release.

Youtube sensation claims partial credit for Minecraft success

Lewis Brindley and Simon Lane from the YouTube sensation, the Yogscast, claim to be largely responsible for the popularity of Minecraft, according to an interview with Edge magazine.

"The entire game has had $0 spent on PR yet has sold 3.5 million copies - I think a large part of that is due to us," Brindley said.

The commentators said their Minecraft series on YouTube has helped Minecraft gain popularity. 

"We are Minecraft's PR! I think we enjoy a symbiotic relationship with Mojang and have definitely contributed to each other's success. I'm very thankful we've done so well out of it."

Minecraft and the Yogscast both skyrocketed around the same time that Brindley and Lane started making Minecraft videos.  And it is possible to see the similarities between the Yogscast and Minecraft. 

They both had small, humble beginnings and offered something unique in the entertainment market.  Minecraft was a new, revolutionary type of sandbox game, and the Yogscast was a new channel of gaming commentators who focused more on plot and comedy than on gameplay. 

The Yogscast has revolutionized gaming commentating; dozens of YouTube channels have attempted to follow their footsteps and replicate their style, but not many have had the same "oomph."

The Yogscast channel, under the name "Blue Xephos", receives over 80 million views month and recently surpassed 1 million subscribers. 

Lane and Brindley started their gaming commentary channel 3 years ago after meeting in the World of Warcraft guild, Ye Olde Goone Squad (YOGS, hence Yogscast.)

They initially made World of Warcraft videos, but when Lane introduced Brindley to the newly founded Minecraft, their channel took off.

The videos started out as a how to series to inform viewers about Minecraft.  About halfway through the season, a third character entered their gameplay, known only as Israphel.  Brindley and Lane were as surprised as viewers were that a stranger had accessed their server. 

Soon other characters entered and plots unfolded.  The series evolved to the "Shadow of Israphel" series.  In an interview with "gotgame.com" Brindley said the "Shadow of Israphel" crew includes friends, fans and "random people from many sources" who build the buildings and craft the plot. 

Brindley said he has to keep in contact with the other players so they all know when to log in to their multiplayer server.  So, Brindley knows a little of what is going to happen in each episode but they never inform Lane about it beforehand.

"Simon has literally zero idea about anything, which I think is crucial to the series," Brindley said.

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/