You know, we are paying for a beta game. you are lucky you even get to play it. Notch does so much for the game you don't even know. if he were to release the game now, it wouldn't be ready. he said that after some feedback he had at pax, that he wanted to make a few changes. I think notch does great. if you don't like what he does then quit playing the game! go play some other game. I bet you wont find another company that has consistent updates that are not buggy.
You pretty much described every fandom with that 1984 comparison.
You haven't answered my question though. Do you seriously expect this to change?
Do I expect the mindless "Notch can do no wrong" attitude to change? Absolutely not.
Do I expect this thread to effect any change whatsoever concerning Mojang or Minecrafts development? Absolutely not.
Do I expect the trolling and flaming in this thread to eventually get it locked? It is highly likely.
So you're saying that I used a good analogy to describe a rabid fanbase that makes decisions based on emotion instead of logic?? Thank you, I put a little thought into it.
Do I expect the mindless "Notch can do no wrong" attitude to change? Absolutely not.
Do I expect this thread to effect any change whatsoever concerning Mojang or Minecrafts development? Absolutely not.
Do I expect the trolling and flaming in this thread to eventually get it locked? It is highly likely.
So you're saying that I used a good analogy to describe a rabid fanbase that makes decisions based on emotion instead of logic?? Thank you, I put a little thought into it.
If you expect it not to change then why did you make this thread?
I didn't complain he had a life outside of work. I complained that his attitude concerning Minecraft appears to be that extremely slow development and unfulfilled promises are an acceptable business model. It's something I find unacceptable. I feel like I bought a shiny new car that runs alright, but that is still missing all of the options that I was told would be included with it at some point. And as time wears on, the promises of delivering on those options become more and more vague.
For the record, I made the 1984 reference because, if you've read the book, or have seen the movie, then you should easily be able to see a comparison between the two. They both involve blind hatred/love of an individual with very little actual knowledge of what that individual stands for. That hatred/love is driven in part by community participation (ie. mob mentality). If you still think I'm just trying to "come across as smarter than you" then I'm extremely sorry, but I don't know that I can explain it any better than that.
I'm sorry you appear to have taken offense at this analogy.
Well, you know, comparing Notch to Big Brother is exaggerating. For example, much more is known about Notch than about BB, and all this thing it has nothing to do with total control whatsoever. And with rat cages, thankfully.
I would like to say that you bring up a number of well thought out concerns involving Minecraft and do hit home on some pressing issues with the game development that are making the community a little edgy.
I do not entirely agree with your assessment on Mojang's timetable for Minecraft development, but I do think your points have some validity. I think Notch is at a fundamental change in his development career. His company boomed with the development and the hype of minecraft. Minecraft was THE GAME Mojang was developing.
However, his company is growing. The fact that he has basically handed the project over to a dev leader (albeit for 2 weeks) illustrates that he is beginning to break out of the indie game phase and becoming a real game developing company.
What Notch tells us is what we want to hear, what is being developed and worked on by his team(s), possibility there is another one. As he expands he is looking to new projects to Mojang. He runs a small game publishing company now. He may say "I am going off for two weeks to start up our next project" but as the leader of Mojang this is part of his job.
His job is no longer just Minecraft and nothing else. He is running a company and needs to be available to move from game to game.
TL;DR - Mojang in the middle of a transition between Indie developer and mainstream game developer
-He is basically a company CEO not a dev head, needs to manage all the games under development
-Like it or not, the only way we will see a continuation of Minecraft is if Mojang turns into a mainstream game developer.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
M: Did you hear something?
T: No
C: Tssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
M: Aww damn
I read your entire post, and yes... I too am disappointed with what seems to be a 1.8 update falling short of the mark. I can understand where your coming from, but my advice to you: take your passion for this and put it into something else. Notch is gonna do what Notch is gonna do. If you really think hard about it... Your letting a bunch of stuff that unfolds in front of your computer screen upset you. Minecraft is a game... It's meant for simple entertainment purposes. Don't get too wrapped into the drama of it. Don't over analyze Notch's intentions because the truth is... What do you personally really know about him... Nothing... Except what you read over the internet. People freak the hell out over this game and it's development and it's pretty sad to watch. If you want my opinion, it's that this thread is just a big ole heap of cyber waste. Thats about as much time as I can devote to adding to it.
I did. I agree with Minecraft not being on Steam and I don't agree with Notch failing to deliver on his promises.
The main drive for TC's post still seems to be anger because there is no 1.8 yet. 1.8 is the biggest update in Minecraft and will include a TON of things requested by the fanbase Notch is doing more for his fanbase than most other gamecompanies out there while Minecraft costs 80% less.
You seem to be driven by emotions and not logic. There is something happening at Mojang and the only way we will know if its good or bad is when it happens.
I have to admit, I'm fiercely fanboi! About Mojang/Notch. This is due mainly to them developing possibly the greatest game I'm ever likely to play. In my mind, they will never sink to the depths that the TF2 development team has, and by proxy, this makes them largely immune to any criticism we could lay upon them.
My one gripe comes from a single attitude they share, however: largely ignoring the speed, quality, and work ethic of volunteer creations. For minecraft, a game that has largely come about from such an act of creation, this is a cardinal sin.
I think Notch should make his full time job (for the moment) the creation of the Mod API.
After that, he could utilize one of the most powerful gaming communities to ever exist on the net to create new content at a blinding pace! Turn other people on his team to moderation, standardization, and implementation of a system to manage and tweak all these new mods, and leave the final decision making of what becomes "Minecraft-canon" up to its creator.
Then, not only will Minecraft evolve at the pace we want, we would be able to access whatever non-canon Mod content we wanted without ever leaving the comfort of the Minecraft launcher! And Notch would be free to make whatever weird stuff he wanted, on top of the overwhelming amount of user-driven content that would be washing upon his shores, for approval, or dismissal (but still accessible in mod-land).
LET MINECRAFT RUN FREE AND TRUE IN THE HANDS OF THOSE WHO LOVE HER! IT WILL BECOME GREATER THAN YOU CAN POSSIBLY IMAGINE!
plus, think about how cool it would be to be able to click "mods" in minecraft and be able to choose between things like "most popular" "new" "graphical" "structural" "items" "blocks" ect. There could even be a repository for things like texture packs! All of it approved by Notch's team for use, guaranteed not to screw anything up! All of it made by collaborators! And some of it regularly added to the game!
I have to admit, I'm fiercely fanboi! About Mojang/Notch. This is due mainly to them developing possibly the greatest game I'm ever likely to play. In my mind, they will never sink to the depths that the TF2 development team has, and by proxy, this makes them largely immune to any criticism we could lay upon them.
My one gripe comes from a single attitude they share, however: largely ignoring the speed, quality, and work ethic of volunteer creations. For minecraft, a game that has largely come about from such an act of creation, this is a cardinal sin.
I think Notch should make his full time job (for the moment) the creation of the Mod API.
After that, he could utilize one of the most powerful gaming communities to ever exist on the net to create new content at a blinding pace! Turn other people on his team to moderation, standardization, and implementation of a system to manage and tweak all these new mods, and leave the final decision making of what becomes "Minecraft-canon" up to its creator.
Then, not only will Minecraft evolve at the pace we want, we would be able to access whatever non-canon Mod content we wanted without ever leaving the comfort of the Minecraft launcher! And Notch would be free to make whatever weird stuff he wanted, on top of the overwhelming amount of user-driven content that would be washing upon his shores, for approval, or dismissal (but still accessable in mod-land).
LET MINECRAFT RUN FREE AND TRUE! IT WILL BECOME GREATER THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE!
Focusing on mods is a bad idea. Ever hear of Sturgeon's Law?
Maybe, maybe not. I think you are thinking too much about it. The way I see it from a customer pov is that Notch has every right in the world to take breaks from minecraft and work on other things. I don't see how the money went to his head, he updates his blogs and twitter about Minecraft, uses fanbase idea's. The man just got married two weeks ago and he has a buisness to run, with financial and buisness advices from all directions. He's not just a one man working on Minecraft anymore and you can't expect it to stay the same like it was in Alpha. I think Notch is still as close to the MC fanbase as possible in these circumstances.
I explained my pov but I'm still in the dark about your standpoint and arguments. All I see in this thread from you is reactions to others. I react to the TC and you jump in and reply, we talk and you just end the conversation. It's kind of a one way argument. Care to elaborate?
I see whats going on But I know I can't do anything to stop whatever may be happening. Does that help?
I had the same thoughts frustrations a year ago after I bought the game, but then I realized that when I made the purchase that I also signed an agreement that stated something along the lines of "you are purchasing the game as is". So I can't really expect much more out of the game and just be happy with what we get. Also we have a forum to throw ideas at Notch that he actually reads. We also get free mods and all sorts of cool ways of changing the game however we want.
For a 14$ game, I have played it many hours longer than any 50$ game I have purchased in the past 2 years. Pretty good deal if you ask me.
About the infatuation with Notch: Don't be jelly cus he make lots of money. He is a pretty humble and nice guy from what I can tell. It isn't his fault that all his fans are frickin nuts.
Focusing on mods is a bad idea. Ever hear of Sturgeon's Law?
I have, i have. But 10% of a million-strong workforce is still far greater than the work of 1. Also, with a system of moderation by notch, the crap would fall to the bottom of the lists, and be forgotten. New and interesting stuff by the community would still outstrip Mojang's production. Plus with rudimentary (possibly community-sourced) moderation of submissions to the approved-mod lists, any dumb/repeatory mods would be disallowed!
have you seen any of the videos where, mere days after notch just-barely shows a feature, someone makes a functional mod of it? It's like that, but with new venues of creativity!
The biggest thing I have to say to you is that 1.8 is, if anything, coming out earlier than expected. The reason it's being split in to two parts is so that we don't have to wait for another couple months for the whole thing. Nobody ever told us when it was going to come out - though assumptions were made. Mojang knows that much of their fanbase consists of impatient kids, and they are trying to appease them, by releasing it earlier than they need to.
As for the shortcomings of Notch - I personally don't see it as it being an ego thing. Notch has said before that he has a hard time coding for something that he's gotten bored of. If he doesn't want to code, but he does, there is a good chance there will be more bugs. He likely gets frustrated after trying to code some things, so he takes a break, and codes something new. Also, for the most part, we have seen that Jeb is a much faster coder than Notch, anyways.
Also, the reason I play Minecraft is not because Mojang has promised new things. It's because the game is fun as it is. Sure, updates are great, but I can wait.
The thing about Notch is that he still wants to be a solo game-maker sometimes, I think. He doesn't seem to like having to work on a game - he wants to have fun. It's what he's always done, but now that he has so many followers, it's harder for him to do that.
Notch isn't perfect - we all know that. Just think about Valve or Blizzard. How long does it take for them to come out with games? People still buy them and respect the developers.
I'm not trying to sound like a "mindless fanboy," or anything, but I still do have respect for Notch. Of course, to each their own - just remember, Minecraft is still fun for most, even without 1.8. The update will just add to that.
PS: Sorry about the somewhat disorganization of this post, as I wrote down ideas when they came to me. It's early morning, so I didn't feel like editing :tongue.gif:
~Bladgrim
Thanks for your polite reply.
I understand that Notch is an individual, he has needs and like all of us, wants to get away from it all from time to time. I just can't help but notice that he seems to be doing more "getting away from it all" than anything these days. I'll also say that for a guy who wants to be able to "get away from the stress of work" he sure didn't pick a good business model.
If he really wanted to be able to code the game entirely at his pace, then I think he maybe should have waited until the game was what he considered complete to release it to the public. That solves almost all of the problems that I've brought up. There would be no "vaguely expressed promises of future content" which lead to this back and forth that we're in right now concerning what features are going to make it into what patch and when.
I do understand that Notch/Mojang could basically just push out whatever content they've got right now and call that the "finished product". I also understand that Notch/Mojang aren't legally bound to provide jack squat to me beyond the beta version of the game that I paid for.
*BUT*
Notch and Mojang chose to try and provide a more open development process (which imo has probably caused more problems than it's resolved). When they say they're adding something to the game, they have to know that the forums explode with people discussing how it will impact their time in Minecraft. So, knowing that, a responsible developer would do their best to *only* release reliable information. This might just be something they're struggling with as they become a much larger gaming operation than they originally planned, but I still don't think it makes it alright. If noone speaks up and says, "hey, you guys are jerking us around, and we really don't appreciate it." They're just going to assume everyone is happy with how things are going.
And while there isn't any sort of written contract where Mojang promised Beta buyers more content, there was definitely an implied/unspoken agreement that that was how it would go down. If that has changed it would be good of Notch/Mojang to make that clear to the community, because I know for a fact I'm not alone in that regard.
It just gets under my skin that they've been hyping up the community for weeks and weeks for an update that they're struggling (apparently) to produce. Where was the post from Notch or Mojang explaining that development of NPC villages and a few other of the bigger features was taking longer than expected? Why did we not find out until someone asked him (while recording) at PAX why the villages were empty?
Why is it, that even now, we have a 1.9 Update FAQ thread, that's full of pretty much nothing but speculation and "possibilities". If I recall correctly (and I probably don't, haven't slept) it's rumored that NPC Villages might not even be fully implemented by the time 1.9 rolls around.
If there are so many unknowns and roadbumps for Minecrafts current development, wouldn't it make sense that Notch devote all of his time spent coding to Minecraft? Yeah, it might not be what he wants to do... but running a good business is *rarely* about doing what you want to do all the time.
I tried to word that so I didn't imply that he should be my "slave", as some here have already implied I believe.
Ugh.. Started out as a reply and I kinda got off track there =P
Yet another wall of text *sigh*
I have, i have. But 10% of a million-strong workforce is still far greater than the work of 1. Also, with a system of moderation by notch, the crap would fall to the bottom of the lists, and be forgotten. New and interesting stuff by the community would still outstrip Mojang's production. Plus with rudimentary (possibly community-sourced) moderation of submissions to the approved-mod lists, any dumb/repeatory mods would be disallowed!
90% of 3 million is a lot. I doubt he would be able to moderate that much.
Notch, and by extension, Mojang has done some things wrong before. But they have yet to do anything so Earth-shatterlingly wrong, to the point where I would lose faith in them. They are still a good company, and a new one at that.
It takes a lot of negatives to overcome the positives for me. That's just my nature, I'm very forgiving, and I dislike giving criticism regarding anything.
As the average development time for a game is 3-5 years and in that time we rarely get to play a beta on this kind of scale, I am extremely pleased with development at Mojang. These threads however are getting really old, fast.
90% of 3 million is a lot. I doubt he would be able to moderate that much.
1. As if everyone would mod.
2. I already said he could utilize community moderation. IT WORKS FOR WIKIPEDIA!
3. You're just playing devil's advocate to everyone, slow down, think a second about some of what is being said. Just relax brah!
Concerning potential future moderation of this thread, Mods please read spoiler.
To any Moderators concerned with the location of this thread. I wasn't sure where it belonged since it could easily be put in both the "discussion" forum and the "1.8 discussion" forum (and I can just as easily see it being deleted for not being in the right one). If I have put this thread in an improper forum/subforum, I would really appreciate it if it could be moved to the proper place. If it for some reason breaks forum guidelines and you decide it should be deleted, please let me know what about it is inappropriate so I can refrain from repeating the same mistake in the future. I say this because I've had a number of posts deleted recently and I've received zero notifications or warnings letting me know why. If a post I make is deleted it should be because it breaks a forum guideline/rule and I should therefore receive a warning detailing why, correct?
I spent a good deal of time writing and rewriting this thread (I started pretty enraged, so the first draft was pretty inappropriate) so that it was as to the point and polite (as much as a thread like this can be polite anyway) as I could make it.
Summary: -Notch takes 2 week break from Minecraft development during crunch time of 1.8 release to work on another game.
-Notch details why his cash shop would destroy the Minecraft community if those who played the game on steam couldn't access it.
-1.8 is arriving later than expected, and it doesn't appear that we'll be getting a "complete" 1.8 for some time to come. (Lets not forgot we've still got bugfixes and promises from previous updates that haven't materialized yet)
Because of these and other issues, I have lost a great deal of respect for Mojang and will avoid purchasing any of their products in the future.
[ WALLOFTEXT/ACTUALPOST : INCOMING ]
It is *CLEARLY* obvious that the eFame and millions of dollars Minecraft has made for Mojang has gotten to Notchs head, and by extension, the companies. He catches the most flak (and also, not to be forgotten or taken lightly, the most praise and worship) because he has set himself up as the face of Mojang/Minecraft. He is, to the average Minecrafter, the dude who made/developed/invented the game (regardless of whether it's true). This is in part due to the mindless zealotry with which some of the community speak of him on the forums here and all over the internet, and also due to Notchs own inability to put his ego aside and set people straight about the true nature of the games development.
Having said that.. Here are a few things about 1.8 and things that have come to light recently that have really soured my opinion of Mojang/Notch.
From Notchs twitter~ Jens will be the lead minecraft dev for a while because of a super secret project I will be working on for two weeks.
Yes, you read that correct. Notch is "taking a break" (as if he hasn't had enough) from Minecraft to work on an entirely different project... I'd imagine Notch is wealthy enough from Minecraft sales alone that he doesn't *need* to produce a new game right away from any sort of financial point of view. Let's not forget he's involved in the development of the more recently announced Mojang title "Scrolls" as well.
So to clarify: Even though Minecraft development seems slow and unsatisfying these days, Notch is of the opinion that he has no real obligation to help speed the progress along. Instead he chooses to enter weekend long game contests and work on his other (non-minecraft) game projects.
To any person with a conscious, that mountain of wealth (earned from Minecraft sales) would be an incredible motivator to complete the project that so many millions have paid him in good faith to complete. Yes, we knowingly purchased a product that was incomplete, but that purchase also included a promise of continued development for an unnamed period of time. Unfortunately we were never given any sort of development schedule and the guys at Mojang seem to be cool with a decidedly lazy approach to pretty much everything concerning Minecraft.
Where's the customer appreciation?
It doesn't exist, and I'll tell you why.
The mindless fanbase of Minecraft (No i'm not implying that everyone other than me, or that everyone who disagrees with me, is mindless. But I'd like you to tell me with a straight face that a large part of the community isn't infatuated with Notch to the point of overlooking any shortcomings he or the game might have) seems to see no evil in their dear old leader. They have been caught up in a great social tidal wave of euphoric eCelebrity worship not unlike themin "two utes hate" in the book by George Orwell, "1984". They will take whatever Notch and co. give them and they will rant and rave about how it's the greatest thing ever without even stopping to consider if it's actually any goorld. It is, I'm sure to some degree, this very idol-worship behavior which has gotten to the mans head and made him think he can behave however he wants without consequence.
Wait, 1.8 is delayed, is probably going to come to us in incomplete chunks, and there's no mention of resolving any of the longstanding bugs/issues that we've been dealing with? (pistons pushing pistons, redstone wireing circuit-autocomplete, etc)
I'm not sure I really need to expand on that. At least Notch is somewhat consistent in that he promises greatness and pretty much never actually delivers.
Lastly, this is another quote from Notch, concerning Minecraft being available on Steam: "Being on Steam limits a lot of what we’re allowed to do with the game, and how we’re allowed to talk to our users. We (probably?) wouldn’t be able to, say, sell capes or have a map market place on minecraft.net that works with steam customers in a way that keeps Valve happy. It would effectively split the Minecraft community into two parts, where only some of the players can access all of the weird content we want to add to the game." ~Notch
If the thought of Notch considering a minecraft cash shop while the game itself is still incomplete doesn't get your blood boiling... Then his pathetic excuse about why he can't bring himself (We should be thankful he's so diligently trying to protect his cash shop for us, right?) to let the community be torn asunder because some people might not have access to virtual items for cash... This man has gotten *RICH* off of an incomplete game and is not only content to just let it putter along while the money keeps pouring in, he's trying to figure out ways to make MORE money from it.
Shame on you Notch.
Shame on you Mojang.
You suckered me in with an interesting game and all sorts of wild promises that never seem to fully materialize.
Won't happen again!
Was fun while it lasted.
If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read my thread. Feel free to post and tell me why you think I'm wrong or overreacting. Also feel free to chime in if you feel similarly to me and are rather let down.
Please try to keep discussion civil and orderly. I realize it can be an emotional subject for some (myself included), but let's try and argue with our brains, not our hearts. My disgust is pointed directly at Mojang, and not at any individual of the community, so please refrain from making personal attacks towards me or anyone else who posts in this thread and the favor will be returned.
I've read through this post about 20 times just to make sure I've toned down anything that could be considered insulting (except I guess towards Notch *rage*). If I somehow missed something or you take offense at something I've said, please let me know and I will try to promptly make the necessary changes.
It's not my intention to lash out at the community, it is my intention to express my disgust at Mojang/Notchs business practices in a place that they are most likely to see it.
Thanks again if you actual read my novel. Happy posting!
You arent tanking me, since I didnt read your post. I accept your meanings, but, what I read made me mad.
"Taking 2 weeks to work on a super secret project". You say he dosen`t work. If you dont accept that Notch is bussy with other things than Minecraft, your ignorant. Vaication and work on other things than minecraft. The world isnt sentered around you.
About the community, its acctually called respect. Notch made a great game, we respect him. And, even thought many people on the internett are stupid (No offence not supid people), the minecraft fanbase have each much of them as any other fanbase.
And, what you are basicly saying, even thought its realy fancyed out, is: "UHU! NOTCH HAS A LIFE! BUHU! HE DOSENT GIVE OUT A GAME FOR FREE! UHU! HE IS SO NOT ADDING FIXES (Cuse he is bussy actlually adding new content, wich most people want. In the full game, all of this may be fixed. Ore, he will focus on that, as now minecraft have many more severe misses than redsone and pistons)!" The fact that your hiding your childishness behind a big block of text, is good. I prefer that than spam. BUT, still, your message is hate against Mojang. And, you havent considered many people WANT T-Shirts? You havent considered that many people want to give Mojang money, so they work more on what they get money from? That busniess.
If 1.8 WERENT delayed, it WOULD have incomplete chuncks. And yes, it haves. Thats why its coming an 1.9 update afterwards.
If you havent noticed, Notch are working on completing the game. The fact that his "rich" (Much money go to Mojang company, and other programmers) dosent mean hes not a human. He is a little bit more rich than normal europeans, wich are rich anyhow. Are you yelly on notch? I think you are.
Why is there no customer appriciation? If you werent bussy posting things like this, you would have discovered, the Minecraft community, like the forum, is quite nice. Notch is nice to the community throught twitter and all that stuff.
The fact that notch focuses on other things than Minecraft, is good. SERIOUSLY! The reason we buy Minecraft is beacuse Notch isnt like EA and Bethsenda. The "Lazy" approach is simply beacuse they want us to be cool with them having fun with work. If you think mojang only drinks coke and play Skyrim with Bethsenda all day, your wrong. They are cool, not like you, with your strict and Nazi like approach.
And, the fact you that you say he has had enought vaication, isnt true. Most people take summer vaication. I bet you did. If you had been married, wich you might are, you would have noticed Notch are married. He is allowed to take some free time. Happy+Notch=GoodWork + Community= Everyones happy! So, what you are saying is: "Notch be my 24/7 coding slave!" He wont.
About money going to Mojangs head, its clear having ALL to much freetime has gotten to your head.
And, what I basicly are saying is: "Omfg. Code a game wich sells 4 million copies!" Now your thinking: "Mad" . I would be too, but, if you arent coming with some constructive critisism, pleace dont say anything.
And, sure, what if Mojang could have done a better work? Well, if we are going to complain and boicott everyone who dosent do everything perfect, so be it.
To sum it up, your post is like a speak of a crazy dictator: A evil hate message throught a bunch of nice words. And, no, I dont hate you. I youst dont like you.
This song sums up pretty much: You are a hater. Go away. And I dont really care about you. But I will do anything to help those who do. You are playing with the devils words. But, its not only you who can argue with mighty words. Even thought your post is simply" Mr. Smashingzwan , Mr. Smashingzwan! We are out of point! " and your responce "Bring me my menigless post pants!"
I realice your purpose is to make people mad, so here is my mood:
I know I have typos, and I dont give a holy record.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Imma Yognaught. Naught as in nothing. Nothing. Nice. I have a youtube channel you know. Theres no videos uploaded! Seriously, check it out!
Do I expect the mindless "Notch can do no wrong" attitude to change? Absolutely not.
Do I expect this thread to effect any change whatsoever concerning Mojang or Minecrafts development? Absolutely not.
Do I expect the trolling and flaming in this thread to eventually get it locked? It is highly likely.
So you're saying that I used a good analogy to describe a rabid fanbase that makes decisions based on emotion instead of logic?? Thank you, I put a little thought into it.
If you expect it not to change then why did you make this thread?
Click em'!
Well, you know, comparing Notch to Big Brother is exaggerating. For example, much more is known about Notch than about BB, and all this thing it has nothing to do with total control whatsoever. And with rat cages, thankfully.
I do not entirely agree with your assessment on Mojang's timetable for Minecraft development, but I do think your points have some validity. I think Notch is at a fundamental change in his development career. His company boomed with the development and the hype of minecraft. Minecraft was THE GAME Mojang was developing.
However, his company is growing. The fact that he has basically handed the project over to a dev leader (albeit for 2 weeks) illustrates that he is beginning to break out of the indie game phase and becoming a real game developing company.
What Notch tells us is what we want to hear, what is being developed and worked on by his team(s), possibility there is another one. As he expands he is looking to new projects to Mojang. He runs a small game publishing company now. He may say "I am going off for two weeks to start up our next project" but as the leader of Mojang this is part of his job.
His job is no longer just Minecraft and nothing else. He is running a company and needs to be available to move from game to game.
TL;DR - Mojang in the middle of a transition between Indie developer and mainstream game developer
-He is basically a company CEO not a dev head, needs to manage all the games under development
-Like it or not, the only way we will see a continuation of Minecraft is if Mojang turns into a mainstream game developer.
T: No
C: Tssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
M: Aww damn
You seem to be driven by emotions and not logic. There is something happening at Mojang and the only way we will know if its good or bad is when it happens.
Click em'!
My one gripe comes from a single attitude they share, however: largely ignoring the speed, quality, and work ethic of volunteer creations. For minecraft, a game that has largely come about from such an act of creation, this is a cardinal sin.
I think Notch should make his full time job (for the moment) the creation of the Mod API.
After that, he could utilize one of the most powerful gaming communities to ever exist on the net to create new content at a blinding pace! Turn other people on his team to moderation, standardization, and implementation of a system to manage and tweak all these new mods, and leave the final decision making of what becomes "Minecraft-canon" up to its creator.
Then, not only will Minecraft evolve at the pace we want, we would be able to access whatever non-canon Mod content we wanted without ever leaving the comfort of the Minecraft launcher! And Notch would be free to make whatever weird stuff he wanted, on top of the overwhelming amount of user-driven content that would be washing upon his shores, for approval, or dismissal (but still accessible in mod-land).
LET MINECRAFT RUN FREE AND TRUE IN THE HANDS OF THOSE WHO LOVE HER! IT WILL BECOME GREATER THAN YOU CAN POSSIBLY IMAGINE!
plus, think about how cool it would be to be able to click "mods" in minecraft and be able to choose between things like "most popular" "new" "graphical" "structural" "items" "blocks" ect. There could even be a repository for things like texture packs! All of it approved by Notch's team for use, guaranteed not to screw anything up! All of it made by collaborators! And some of it regularly added to the game!
Focusing on mods is a bad idea. Ever hear of Sturgeon's Law?
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Okay. I think we can stop our argument here.
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I see whats going on But I know I can't do anything to stop whatever may be happening. Does that help?
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For a 14$ game, I have played it many hours longer than any 50$ game I have purchased in the past 2 years. Pretty good deal if you ask me.
About the infatuation with Notch: Don't be jelly cus he make lots of money. He is a pretty humble and nice guy from what I can tell. It isn't his fault that all his fans are frickin nuts.
I have, i have. But 10% of a million-strong workforce is still far greater than the work of 1. Also, with a system of moderation by notch, the crap would fall to the bottom of the lists, and be forgotten. New and interesting stuff by the community would still outstrip Mojang's production. Plus with rudimentary (possibly community-sourced) moderation of submissions to the approved-mod lists, any dumb/repeatory mods would be disallowed!
have you seen any of the videos where, mere days after notch just-barely shows a feature, someone makes a functional mod of it? It's like that, but with new venues of creativity!
Thanks for your polite reply.
I understand that Notch is an individual, he has needs and like all of us, wants to get away from it all from time to time. I just can't help but notice that he seems to be doing more "getting away from it all" than anything these days. I'll also say that for a guy who wants to be able to "get away from the stress of work" he sure didn't pick a good business model.
If he really wanted to be able to code the game entirely at his pace, then I think he maybe should have waited until the game was what he considered complete to release it to the public. That solves almost all of the problems that I've brought up. There would be no "vaguely expressed promises of future content" which lead to this back and forth that we're in right now concerning what features are going to make it into what patch and when.
I do understand that Notch/Mojang could basically just push out whatever content they've got right now and call that the "finished product". I also understand that Notch/Mojang aren't legally bound to provide jack squat to me beyond the beta version of the game that I paid for.
*BUT*
Notch and Mojang chose to try and provide a more open development process (which imo has probably caused more problems than it's resolved). When they say they're adding something to the game, they have to know that the forums explode with people discussing how it will impact their time in Minecraft. So, knowing that, a responsible developer would do their best to *only* release reliable information. This might just be something they're struggling with as they become a much larger gaming operation than they originally planned, but I still don't think it makes it alright. If noone speaks up and says, "hey, you guys are jerking us around, and we really don't appreciate it." They're just going to assume everyone is happy with how things are going.
And while there isn't any sort of written contract where Mojang promised Beta buyers more content, there was definitely an implied/unspoken agreement that that was how it would go down. If that has changed it would be good of Notch/Mojang to make that clear to the community, because I know for a fact I'm not alone in that regard.
It just gets under my skin that they've been hyping up the community for weeks and weeks for an update that they're struggling (apparently) to produce. Where was the post from Notch or Mojang explaining that development of NPC villages and a few other of the bigger features was taking longer than expected? Why did we not find out until someone asked him (while recording) at PAX why the villages were empty?
Why is it, that even now, we have a 1.9 Update FAQ thread, that's full of pretty much nothing but speculation and "possibilities". If I recall correctly (and I probably don't, haven't slept) it's rumored that NPC Villages might not even be fully implemented by the time 1.9 rolls around.
If there are so many unknowns and roadbumps for Minecrafts current development, wouldn't it make sense that Notch devote all of his time spent coding to Minecraft? Yeah, it might not be what he wants to do... but running a good business is *rarely* about doing what you want to do all the time.
I tried to word that so I didn't imply that he should be my "slave", as some here have already implied I believe.
Ugh.. Started out as a reply and I kinda got off track there =P
Yet another wall of text *sigh*
90% of 3 million is a lot. I doubt he would be able to moderate that much.
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Yes. Which a lot of people seem netherbent on trying to do.
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It takes a lot of negatives to overcome the positives for me. That's just my nature, I'm very forgiving, and I dislike giving criticism regarding anything.
1. As if everyone would mod.
2. I already said he could utilize community moderation. IT WORKS FOR WIKIPEDIA!
3. You're just playing devil's advocate to everyone, slow down, think a second about some of what is being said. Just relax brah!
You arent tanking me, since I didnt read your post. I accept your meanings, but, what I read made me mad.
"Taking 2 weeks to work on a super secret project". You say he dosen`t work. If you dont accept that Notch is bussy with other things than Minecraft, your ignorant. Vaication and work on other things than minecraft. The world isnt sentered around you.
About the community, its acctually called respect. Notch made a great game, we respect him. And, even thought many people on the internett are stupid (No offence not supid people), the minecraft fanbase have each much of them as any other fanbase.
And, what you are basicly saying, even thought its realy fancyed out, is: "UHU! NOTCH HAS A LIFE! BUHU! HE DOSENT GIVE OUT A GAME FOR FREE! UHU! HE IS SO NOT ADDING FIXES (Cuse he is bussy actlually adding new content, wich most people want. In the full game, all of this may be fixed. Ore, he will focus on that, as now minecraft have many more severe misses than redsone and pistons)!" The fact that your hiding your childishness behind a big block of text, is good. I prefer that than spam. BUT, still, your message is hate against Mojang. And, you havent considered many people WANT T-Shirts? You havent considered that many people want to give Mojang money, so they work more on what they get money from? That busniess.
If 1.8 WERENT delayed, it WOULD have incomplete chuncks. And yes, it haves. Thats why its coming an 1.9 update afterwards.
If you havent noticed, Notch are working on completing the game. The fact that his "rich" (Much money go to Mojang company, and other programmers) dosent mean hes not a human. He is a little bit more rich than normal europeans, wich are rich anyhow. Are you yelly on notch? I think you are.
Why is there no customer appriciation? If you werent bussy posting things like this, you would have discovered, the Minecraft community, like the forum, is quite nice. Notch is nice to the community throught twitter and all that stuff.
The fact that notch focuses on other things than Minecraft, is good. SERIOUSLY! The reason we buy Minecraft is beacuse Notch isnt like EA and Bethsenda. The "Lazy" approach is simply beacuse they want us to be cool with them having fun with work. If you think mojang only drinks coke and play Skyrim with Bethsenda all day, your wrong. They are cool, not like you, with your strict and Nazi like approach.
And, the fact you that you say he has had enought vaication, isnt true. Most people take summer vaication. I bet you did. If you had been married, wich you might are, you would have noticed Notch are married. He is allowed to take some free time. Happy+Notch=GoodWork + Community= Everyones happy! So, what you are saying is: "Notch be my 24/7 coding slave!" He wont.
About money going to Mojangs head, its clear having ALL to much freetime has gotten to your head.
And, what I basicly are saying is: "Omfg. Code a game wich sells 4 million copies!" Now your thinking: "Mad" . I would be too, but, if you arent coming with some constructive critisism, pleace dont say anything.
And, sure, what if Mojang could have done a better work? Well, if we are going to complain and boicott everyone who dosent do everything perfect, so be it.
To sum it up, your post is like a speak of a crazy dictator: A evil hate message throught a bunch of nice words. And, no, I dont hate you. I youst dont like you.
This song sums up pretty much: You are a hater. Go away. And I dont really care about you. But I will do anything to help those who do. You are playing with the devils words. But, its not only you who can argue with mighty words. Even thought your post is simply" Mr. Smashingzwan , Mr. Smashingzwan! We are out of point! " and your responce "Bring me my menigless post pants!"
I realice your purpose is to make people mad, so here is my mood:
I know I have typos, and I dont give a holy record.