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I liberate the ending to Minecraft from Microsoft and give it to you

theeggandtherock.substack.com

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Re: I liberate the ending to Minecraft from Microsoft and give it to you

#111

Post by nmfisher »

asperous wrote: post #55
Benjamin_Dobell wrote: post #40

I feel for the guy, making a living off of art is difficult. However, with an extensive email chain explaining the story was written as the ending of Minecraft, even going into detail about how it was to be displayed in game, an agreed upon offer (if a bit vague), and then an exchange of funds - with no immediate attempt to return said funds. I'm no lawyer, but that sounds a lot like a legally binding agreement. > So…

If he actually received $20,000 that still seems like a lot? Especially in a world where freelance writing is $0.01-$0.50 (pre-GPT3). And it sounds like at the time it was good money for the artist. I get that he feels like he was given a small amount relative to the great success of Minecraft, but I would hope he also realizes that it was risk free cash.

That was my reaction too, 20,000 (euros) seems quite decent for a tiny freelance engagement, and just skimming the contract, that all seems bog-standard, too.

If he didn't think the money was fair, he shouldn't have accepted it. I expect Mojang would have simply pulled the plug and gone with someone else if he had done so.

This really just smacks of sour grapes that Mojang was sold for squillions and the author feels entitled to some of that. Legalities aside (the absence of aa signed contract may be a problem) but I don't feel he is morally entitled to anything more than he's already received.

Re: I liberate the ending to Minecraft from Microsoft and give it to you

#112

Post by asddubs »

vintermann wrote: post #50

An interesting thing is that C418 (Daniel Rosenfeld) did not sign away all his rights. That is why Minecraft: Volume Alpha and Minecraft: Volume Beta are copyright C418 on Spotify, whereas the later albums are copyright Microsoft Studios Music - and it's also why all new music to Minecraft is made by people other than Daniel Rosenfeld. So it seems Julian should have been able to get a similar deal. I bet Jakob had no…

That's interesting, I was passively wondering about that. So I suppose we won't get any more C418 songs in Minecraft, that's kind of a shame.

Re: I liberate the ending to Minecraft from Microsoft and give it to you

#113

Post by europeanguy »

rosywoozlechan wrote: post #41

That's a lot of anger, negativity and bitterness, and entitlement (one of the game's creators for writing the ending text?). Reminds me of the kid on the cover of the Nevermind album and other people that are kinda tangentially connected to something massively successful, but not connected enough to benefit materially, and they let that define who they are and ruin their lives. Could have been a neat personal story,…

And not just entitlement, it's enjoyment coming from the worst place. This guy by his own admission never made the effort to fight for money, instead prioritizing love, whatever that means, but when it comes to getting paid he feels entitled to money. He just wants "fair" without having to make the effort to think about what that means.

Re: I liberate the ending to Minecraft from Microsoft and give it to you

#114

Post by hohohmm »

javawizard wrote: post #64
hohohmm wrote: post #8

Just want to say, it's definitely not THE most popular game of all time... Candy crush could be a strong candidate, though they probably never use that term on themselves.

I mean we can squabble about what the definition of "most popular game of all time is", but if you're going with "the game that has sold the most units ever", it literally is: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_video_g... (TFA links to that page toward the end.)

you make the same mistake of the op.

Re: I liberate the ending to Minecraft from Microsoft and give it to you

#115

Post by [deleted] »

Natsu wrote: post #62
Benjamin_Dobell wrote: post #40

I feel for the guy, making a living off of art is difficult. However, with an extensive email chain explaining the story was written as the ending of Minecraft, even going into detail about how it was to be displayed in game, an agreed upon offer (if a bit vague), and then an exchange of funds - with no immediate attempt to return said funds. I'm no lawyer, but that sounds a lot like a legally binding agreement. > So…

I wonder if it counts as a work for hire then? Otherwise copyright vests with the author and requires a written memorandum of transfer as I understand it.

[deleted]

Re: I liberate the ending to Minecraft from Microsoft and give it to you

#116

Post by jtvjan »

quickthrower2 wrote: post #105
fbdab103 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If only Microsoft would still let me play the copy I purchased years ago.

What is the story here? Can you run it on a VM with an older Windows?

It's a Java applet, so it runs everywhere, but due to the migration from minecraft.net accounts to Mojang accounts, and the second migration from Mojang to Microsoft accounts, a lot of people lost access to the game.

Re: I liberate the ending to Minecraft from Microsoft and give it to you

#117

Post by 63 »

asddubs wrote: post #112
vintermann wrote: post #50

An interesting thing is that C418 (Daniel Rosenfeld) did not sign away all his rights. That is why Minecraft: Volume Alpha and Minecraft: Volume Beta are copyright C418 on Spotify, whereas the later albums are copyright Microsoft Studios Music - and it's also why all new music to Minecraft is made by people other than Daniel Rosenfeld. So it seems Julian should have been able to get a similar deal. I bet Jakob had no…

That's interesting, I was passively wondering about that. So I suppose we won't get any more C418 songs in Minecraft, that's kind of a shame.

It is a bit of a shame but it seems like it's been used as an opportunity to bring in new people and ideas to the game and I appreciate that. Pigstep is a banger.

Re: I liberate the ending to Minecraft from Microsoft and give it to you

#118

Post by vehementi »

quickthrower2 wrote: post #105
fbdab103 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If only Microsoft would still let me play the copy I purchased years ago.

What is the story here? Can you run it on a VM with an older Windows?

I think some people who bought it long long before Microsoft purchased the company, are locked out, after some transition period

Re: I liberate the ending to Minecraft from Microsoft and give it to you

#119

Post by zztop44 »

dcow wrote: post #23
hoten wrote: post #15

Certainly there's a world where the author just knew, at some point in this process, "let me just give this giant stressor of a problem to a lawyer"—without losing whatever it means to "be an artist" or opportunities at growth he attributes to only occurring because he was awful at business.

Yeah I feel a twist in my gut for this guy. He is so frustrated it's incredible. He wrote 90% more than he needed to on this topic. The essay is long and rambling and I've missed any point he's trying to make... much like the words of his "End Poem". They are senseless and, ultimately, meaningless. They are not deep. They are incoherent. No wonder he's stuck in a narrative of his own creation. That's his life. If his…

For what it’s worth I found this to be a very worthwhile read. And not too hard to follow.

He’s very open about his responsibility for the miscommunication. And says he does not blame Carl (except for apparently hiding the Microsoft buyout from him).

As for the end poem, I’ve never played Minecraft but I found it to be beautiful and touching writing.

Re: I liberate the ending to Minecraft from Microsoft and give it to you

#120

Post by europeanguy »

zamalek wrote: post #100
ohbtvz wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is he asking for nothing? Half of the post is about how Mojang got millions then billions and he got nothing. If he's not asking for what he considers to be his share of the pie, then I don't know what the whole post is about.

And the other half of the post is about how he grew to understand that he was wrong.

No, that's what he says. But someone who genuinely grew to understand he was wrong doesn't write blog posts like this, explaining how he was wrong, like that's a question in everyone's mind (honestly until now I'd never known there was an end to Minecraft)

No, this is a person who's burning with envy and finds telling yourself stories an outlet.

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