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I'm Leaving Mojang

notch.net

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Re: I'm Leaving Mojang

#21

Post by Mikeb85 »

jonifico wrote: post #16

While I do see his point in saying Minecraft has become too big for him, he might also be backing out a bit from a responsibility that could bring a fascinating challenge. But then again, he doesn't see himself as a true developer. Hope he finds a way to fulfill himself apart from spending billions of dollars.

He'll probably just hire someone smarter than him to invest his billion dollars. Heck, even an index fund or super conservative portfolio of dividend stocks would earn him enough to never work again, and maintain a pretty awesome lifestyle...

Re: I'm Leaving Mojang

#22

Post by petercooper »

I think there are some interesting parallels with J K Rowling. If he releases anything now, it's big news (even Cliffhorse). He might have to start "writing" under a pseudonym just to get any sense of doing something fresh without intense public scrutiny.

Re: I'm Leaving Mojang

#24

Post by ntaso »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #19
jacquesm wrote: post #17

> I don’t see myself as a real game developer. I make games because it’s fun, and because I love games and I love to program, but I don’t make games with the intention of them becoming huge hits, and I don’t try to change the world. I think that's the essence of being a real game developer. It's sad that Notch feels this way, I think the majority of old school games guys and girls were just like that. Since it's beco…

Preposterous. If it wasn't about the money, could have gone open-source at any time with the same effect/relief. Of course its about the $2B

As an indie developer with a normal lifestyle, it probably doesn't matter if you have 10 million in the bank or much, much more. So, it's unlikely to be about the money.

Re: I'm Leaving Mojang

#25

Post by jacquesm »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #19
jacquesm wrote: post #17

> I don’t see myself as a real game developer. I make games because it’s fun, and because I love games and I love to program, but I don’t make games with the intention of them becoming huge hits, and I don’t try to change the world. I think that's the essence of being a real game developer. It's sad that Notch feels this way, I think the majority of old school games guys and girls were just like that. Since it's beco…

Preposterous. If it wasn't about the money, could have gone open-source at any time with the same effect/relief. Of course its about the $2B

Note that he's speaking for himself and that he's not the only founder.

Re: I'm Leaving Mojang

#26

Post by netcraft »

> It’s not about the money. It’s about my sanity.

This does make the most sense, in looking at everything hes said in the past. Sounds like MS had the right offer at the right time.

Re: I'm Leaving Mojang

#27

Post by vasilipupkin »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #19
jacquesm wrote: post #17

> I don’t see myself as a real game developer. I make games because it’s fun, and because I love games and I love to program, but I don’t make games with the intention of them becoming huge hits, and I don’t try to change the world. I think that's the essence of being a real game developer. It's sad that Notch feels this way, I think the majority of old school games guys and girls were just like that. Since it's beco…

Preposterous. If it wasn't about the money, could have gone open-source at any time with the same effect/relief. Of course its about the $2B

he is not an earthworm with one brain cell. Of course, on some level it's about the money to a degree, but I think it's also true that it's not just about the money. It's both about the money and not about the money

Re: I'm Leaving Mojang

#28

Post by tbastos »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #19
jacquesm wrote: post #17

> I don’t see myself as a real game developer. I make games because it’s fun, and because I love games and I love to program, but I don’t make games with the intention of them becoming huge hits, and I don’t try to change the world. I think that's the essence of being a real game developer. It's sad that Notch feels this way, I think the majority of old school games guys and girls were just like that. Since it's beco…

Preposterous. If it wasn't about the money, could have gone open-source at any time with the same effect/relief. Of course its about the $2B

Just because money isn't a priority for you, it doesn't mean you'll refuse it. He got the best of both worlds by letting other people run the business to focus on what he really wanted (indie dev). Believe me, it's MUCH easier to be creative and work on indie projects when you don't have to worry about your bills and your future...

Re: I'm Leaving Mojang

#29

Post by krelian »

This whole Minecraft thing has been very interesting to follow. I tried the game a few times and it's not really for me but everything around Notch's story is interesting (I bet their going to make a movie about this at some point). Not everyone can be an entrepreneur and I feel that in this case (on a different scale of course), we basically watched a plausible version of how Apple could have gotten started if there was only a Wozniak but no Jobs.

I'm sure there are many here that dream of having their idea be a huge success but aren't really interested in becoming the next Bill Gates or Zuckerberg. They just want to cash out so that they can have their financial freedom and then go out of the limelight and back to doing the same things they enjoy but without having to constantly worry about job security and putting food on the table. Notch achieved this in the most spectacular way possible and I think he handled it perfectly.

Re: I'm Leaving Mojang

#30

Post by wuliwong »

jacquesm wrote: post #17

> I don’t see myself as a real game developer. I make games because it’s fun, and because I love games and I love to program, but I don’t make games with the intention of them becoming huge hits, and I don’t try to change the world. I think that's the essence of being a real game developer. It's sad that Notch feels this way, I think the majority of old school games guys and girls were just like that. Since it's beco…

Is the market spoiled? I no gaming historian but I have been playing games since Atari. There's games along the way that have stuck with me,...pitfall, super mario bros., nhl hockey 93 (i know, super rando list). But I also add to that list Fallout 3. If you correct for better underlying hardware, I feel that games are just as good as ever. I don't have the same fascination with games I had as a child but I can still get sucked in. And aren't there still indie games coming out with some amount of fanfare, like Fez and Super Meat Boy?
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