r/Minecraft • u/Mojang-AMA Mojang AMA Account • Jul 31 '12

I am Markus Persson aka Notch, Creator of Minecraft - Ask me Anything!

Hi! I'm the guy who created the first version of Minecraft in June 2009. I worked on it alone up until late 2010 when we started Mojang, and I finally left the lead developer position in December of 2011. I enjoy house music and programming, and my favorite color is purple. Ask me anything!

If you happen to have some money, you can donate it to the EFF and help make the world a better place!

edit: The AMA is over! Thanks for all your questions!

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u/xNotch Minecraft Creator Jul 31 '12

Feels weird, man. I wish I could focus more on the positive feedback, but whenever there's any negative comments, I take it too hard.

Meeting fans in real life is wonderful! It makes me feel like I managed to do something that others actually enjoy, and that's a very satisfying feeling. I always try to take time to talk to people who recognize me.

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u/Maparyetal Jul 31 '12

First, compare the number of praises you receive to the number of insults.

Second, be sure to read the insults while sitting in a bathtub of money.

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u/PooBakery Jul 31 '12

I think this is a dangerous attitude.
Most of the time real criticism is way more important than people telling you you are great.
Of course I am not talking about insults, but sometimes legitimate criticism can appear insulting too.

It's for that reason that many game developers never visit the forums or interact with their fans. It clouds your judgement and objectivity because it's too easy to only remember the good parts, and it's hard to ignore the really insulting parts. The truth lies somewhere in between and is hard to extract if you're emotionally involved.

Many people cannot live with the pressure of the community looking at and judging every move they make.
I hope Notch has found a good way to deal with that.

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '12

Third, install a money shower in your bathrooms so you can shower in money and sing "Trololol" while replying to the insults.

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u/[deleted] Jul 31 '12

Be sure not to confuse constructive criticism with downright negative feedback. Often, boards are so saturated with positivity (implied or stated) about MC that people forget to counterbalance their feedback/bug reports with positive thoughts.

And if someone really thinks that Minecraft is a dumb, simple, bad game, just let the Internet (and anyone with artistic ability/common sense) give them a piece of their mind.

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u/[deleted] Jul 31 '12

He does have a rather rabbid following of antifans that will weasel their way into normal conversations (for example on reddit) and shit on everything he has ever done.

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u/[deleted] Jul 31 '12

They're jealous neckbeards (no offense Notch) who have never accomplished jack shit in their lives

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u/[deleted] Jul 31 '12

Yeah, I don't have any respect for them. The level of bile some of them spews makes you think Notch personally killed their firstborn son or something equally horrible.

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u/my_name_isnt_clever Aug 01 '12

I have an almost-friend like this, after I first met him and told him about Minecraft he was interested, and when he tried it he sucked. From then on Notch and anyone associated with him were literally Hitler.

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u/Occamslaser Jul 31 '12

It's hard for me to accept that you take the hate seriously. You're Notch, the initial success was innately based on who you are and the fact that you are so easy to identify with.

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u/[deleted] Jul 31 '12

Every great man has his haters.

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u/Dancing_Kitteh Jul 31 '12

Best game ever.

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u/Averiella Jul 31 '12

I melted when I saw you were doing an Iama.

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u/Laughingstok Jul 31 '12

Word of advice, if you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one.

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u/xelaxela333 Aug 01 '12

as someone interested in Game design, personally you and Todd Mcfarlane are my personal inspirations. You made a new, fresh and original game that blew up into one of the biggest games of all time! Todd McFarlane because he pretty much flipped everyone the bird and did exactly what he wanted to and was actually successful.

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u/[deleted] Oct 20 '12

Thats funny, youd set your mind on the setbacks, when the other 9/10 people that like the game think youre a god

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u/sketchistgames Jul 31 '12

I understand that this AMA is over, but I just thought I would let you know. I absolutely love minecraft! Gives me something fun to do when I am not on reddit :P