Mojang launched Minecraft's official release Friday at Minecon in Las Vegas.
It has been over two years since Markus "Notch" Persson created Minecraft and released the Alpha version. The game started out with a small list of mobiles and blocks. Now Minecraft has hundreds of blocks, thousands of craftable objects and three different dimensions within the game world.
New creatures in the game include the Enderman and the Ender Dragon. New objects include potions tables, eyes of ender and melon slices.
The 4+ million people who bought the game while in beta or alpha versions will receive the official version of the game at no additional cost.
Notch said in his blog that Mojang will continue updating the game for some time, and they plan to add even more elements to the game.
Minecraft has gone through a drastic transformation since it was first started, and many players can be heard saying the phrase, "It's like a whole new game!"
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Saturday, November 19, 2011
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.
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.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
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.
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.
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.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
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.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
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.
"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.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
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."
"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."
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