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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

#161

Post by operator-name »

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…

> All of his problems could have been solved if he just did the sensible normal thing any person would do and have a lawyer help him figure it out.

Whilst this may have reached a better legal and financial conclusion, I don't think it would have helped the author that much. It's obvious that he cares of the art, and for his perceived friendship.

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

#162

Post by dcow »

Moru wrote: post #126
nmfisher wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Mojang was not a tiny indie company though, it already sold millions of copies before the release. Yes, he should have let his agent negotiate the contract. Do what you are good at and let others do what they are good at.

One can both be a small indie studio and also have sold multiple millions of copies of their game. Indie simply means you don't have a publisher. And Mojan didn't.

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

#164

Post by RugnirViking »

automatoney wrote: post #32

I love the idea of the public domain so much - the idea that these bits of culture may have been created by a single person, but that they ultimately belong to everyone as members of the culture. I've always wanted to host a New Years Public Domain Day party to celebrate everything already in and entering the public domain, but I'm not sure my friends are quite as excited by the idea as I am...

I quite like that idea of a party haha. I also don't know that my friends would appreciate it, but I'd love to see a website or something that lists works that belong to us now

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

#165

Post by cmeacham98 »

operator-name wrote: post #156
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 think your focus on the financials, which was a very small part of the article is misguided. I'm under the assumption that the article is part of the author trying to "piece things together" - as a part 2 of his spiritual journey where he concluded: > I wrote a story for a friend, but in the end, he didn't treat me like a friend, and I'm hurt. By accepting this premise, these are examples of when he expected to be…

But he was an outsider, he wasn't Notch's friend. Notch contacted him for the express purpose of writing the End Poem.

Of course, I'm sure they were friendly in their discussions, there's no point in being actively hostile to the people you're working with. But the idea the relationship extended anything past a game developer and a contracted writer seems to be entirely in the author's mind.

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

#166

Post by TeaDude »

Huh. I thought we'd run out of bizarre Minecraft development stories by now. It has to be one of the most documented ganes in history.

Anyway, I've personally always thought that the ending was rubbish but now that I know it was directly responsible for all those animated text effects I dislike it slightly less.

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

#167

Post by kergonath »

widforss wrote: post #86
dcow wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you have a case, especially one presumably of this profile, then many firms would take it for no up front cost with an expectation of some cut of the damages.

But he doesn't have a case, does he? He wrote the piece _for_ Minecraft and accepted the payment as such.

But then Mojang sent the money without a contract. The writer thought he was working under some conditions, the company thought he was doing it under other conditions and they never actually agreed to anything. Sending the money without a contract is just as sloppy as sending the work and I really don’t see how the author would be responsible here.

Not having a contract does not mean that Mojang’s terms are in force.

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

#168

Post by rkagerer »

Not unusual for those passionate about their work and with limited business experience to just want to get on with doing what they're good at and not get bogged down in the contractual stuff.

I've had acquaintances who've wanted to do work for me try to skip that. Best thing you can do for them is be diligent (in a sense on their behalf) and make them go through the paperwork before commencing the project (certainly before getting too deep in).

There's a reason those conversations can be tough, as they surface details the parties diverge on. Dealing with them early keeps them from festering. Some people experience a great deal of anxiety when it comes to negotiation, and I often find everyone feels better once that stage is behind us and we've achieved a mutual understanding of the expectations, remuneration, etc.

I think part of the beef here was he felt he never agreed to what ensued (indeed in negotiations he was shy to express what he felt was fair - which must have drove Carl nuts). If they'd arrived at and signed a contract, even if in retrospect it turned out to be the steal of the century for the company and a huge ripoff for him, at least he'd have been able to say "well, I agreed to it" and gotten some closure from that.

All that said, I can't help but cheer the underdog here. The company was presumably more experienced and shared a responsibility to get their i's dotted and T's crossed. Yes, the guy was a pain in the ass. But just because a contract is so-called "standard" doesn't mean you should expect the other party is blindly willing to consent to it, or be angry at them for rejecting terms they find onerous.

I see that happening all too often today with heavy-handed ToS's websites are foisting on users who can't be bothered to read them. The lawyers are all copying verbiage off each other and it's a race to the bottom where one side has all the rights, the other has none whatsoever, and then regulators need to step in as referees thus deteriorating free markets.

If the IP really does remain his (which I'm not convinced is cut and dry), then good for him for standing his ground, fending his principles and gifting this beautiful work of art to the world.

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

#169

Post by jack_pp »

europeanguy wrote: post #120
zamalek wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Or it's a person who burned with envy, is introspective enough to recall that feeling and write from that perspective in order for his readers to learn from his own shortcomings.
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