Notch Leaves Mojang after Microsoft Deal

Markus Alexej “Notch” Persson, the man behind Minecraft, has officially stepped down from his role at game studio Mojang. This decision comes at the heels of the announcement that Microsoft spent $2.5 billion dollars to acquire the game company.

When talk of this potential deal first came to light, members of the fan community were surprised, incensed even, over the news. Notch has long been considered a “voice” of the gaming community. With his anti-establishment mentality and pithy Twitter, he was a counter to the mainstream rhetoric of game giants like Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo. With Mojang “selling out” to Microsoft, it was natural that some gamers felt betrayed.

Notch has announced that he will be officially leaving his role at Mojang as soon as the now-confirmed deal is complete. In a very frank and personal open letter, he addresses his reluctant role in the gamer community and what’s next on his agenda. I think it’s a worthwhile read (source):

“I’m leaving Mojang

 

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. Minecraft certainly became a huge hit, and people are telling me it’s changed games. I never meant for it to do either. It’s certainly flattering, and to gradually get thrust into some kind of public spotlight is interesting.

 

A relatively long time ago, I decided to step down from Minecraft development. Jens was the perfect person to take over leading it, and I wanted to try to do new things. At first, I failed by trying to make something big again, but since I decided to just stick to small prototypes and interesting challenges, I’ve had so much fun with work. I wasn’t exactly sure how I fit into Mojang where people did actual work, but since people said I was important for the culture, I stayed.

 

I was at home with a bad cold a couple of weeks ago when the internet exploded with hate against me over some kind of EULA situation that I had nothing to do with. I was confused. I didn’t understand. I tweeted this in frustration. Later on, I watched the This is Phil Fish video on YouTube and started to realize I didn’t have the connection to my fans I thought I had. I’ve become a symbol. I don’t want to be a symbol, responsible for something huge that I don’t understand, that I don’t want to work on, that keeps coming back to me. I’m not an entrepreneur. I’m not a CEO. I’m a nerdy computer programmer who likes to have opinions on Twitter.

 

As soon as this deal is finalized, I will leave Mojang and go back to doing Ludum Dares and small web experiments. If I ever accidentally make something that seems to gain traction, I’ll probably abandon it immediately.

 

Considering the public image of me already is a bit skewed, I don’t expect to get away from negative comments by doing this, but at least now I won’t feel a responsibility to read them.

 

I’m aware this goes against a lot of what I’ve said in public. I have no good response to that. I’m also aware a lot of you were using me as a symbol of some perceived struggle. I’m not. I’m a person, and I’m right there struggling with you.

 

I love you. All of you. Thank you for turning Minecraft into what it has become, but there are too many of you, and I can’t be responsible for something this big. In one sense, it belongs to Microsoft now. In a much bigger sense, it’s belonged to all of you for a long time, and that will never change.

 

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

I doubt will have heard or seen the last of Notch but I hope the guy finds happiness with whatever he does next.

– E.B.

What’s More Important? Destiny or the iPhone 6?

So, if you haven’t been on the internet for the last 72 hours, you might have missed that Bungie Studio’s new game, Destiny, releases tomorrow. The studio responsible for the famous Halo franchise has a new massive, online role playing extravaganza lined up for the gamerverse. If my Facebook feed means anything, people are psyched.

People have been talking about this game all summer, thanks to a very successful Beta launch in July. This is the such a hot game title it might overshadow the annual installment of the Madden NFL franchise (which is kind of a big deal).

If you’re not plugged into the gamer/nerd world, then tomorrow might bring a different type of excitement for you. Apple’s long awaited iPhone 6 is officially announced tomorrow, much to the joy of devoted Apple fans. With competitors poking fun at the anticipation of the “phablet” version of the iPhone, tech geeks everywhere are speculating if this risk for Apple is really worth it. Below is Samsung’s brilliant and pointed ad poking fun at Apple:

So the question becomes, what’s going to matter more to the tech universe tomorrow? Destiny or iPhone 6? The short answer is that the world of business will care about the new iPhone more than Destiny, given Apple’s role in the market. However, in the mind share of the general public? That’s harder to determine.

“Latest iPhone” is trending on Forbes’ website, but #Destiny is all over Twitter and Facebook. Both are hot topics according to Google analytics and headlines with media outlets like Gamespot, TechCrunch, etc. Destiny is also officially confirmed to be the most pre-ordered new IP video game in history as of this morning. As a geek who loves both games and Apple products, tomorrow is like a very special pre-Christmas!

-E.B.

Fetchlands Revisited in Khans of Tarkir

In Magic: The Gathering, there are always cards termed “chase rares” – essential rare cards that any self-respecting Magic player wants to put in their deck. For years now, the Fetch land cards printed in the Onslaught and Zendikar blocks have been considered staples in the game and are priced as such. They allow you to pay one life and go looking through your deck for the appropriate land, making them invaluable for their provision of mana consistency. For example, Arid Mesa, a red/white Fetch land, is currently priced at $30 per card on TCGPlayer. A deck that uses a full play set of these (and who the heck wouldn’t) is already $120 for just four cards.

So you can imagine the collectors’ fury (yet Magic players’ rejoicing) at the news that Wizards is reprinting the Fetch lands in their new set. According to Mythic Spoiler, Khans of Tarkir will see a reprint of these choice land cards. Considering the set also appears to feature tri-color land in enemy wedge colors and Theros offered Mana Confluence, this next rotation of Magic promises to have lots of land silliness.

As far as the value depreciation of the Fetch lands, there continues to be a good deal of speculation. Obviously, the time where choice Fetch land cards could possibly command a $100 price tag (looking at you Scalding Tarn) is dead and gone. Likewise, it’s obvious that this is a tactical move to get Magic players back into the Standard format, or at least buying Standard block cards. Given the increasing popularity of older formats, which are less directly lucrative for Wizards of the Coast, it makes sense.

Overall, this announcement has increased my excitement for the new set. It looks like Khans will be a faster format than Theros, which makes my aggro-style loving heart very happy.

– E.B.

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Goes to Space

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know about the ALS ice bucket challenge. While I was personally skeptical at first, the fact the the ALS Association has 1.1 million new donors, and raised $53 million since the campaign started shows this is actually working.

Leave it to the video game industry to raise the “ice bucket” challenge to a whole new level though. Bungie, the company responsible for the ever-popular Halo franchise, and creators of the hotly anticipated Destiny, have issued their own challenge:

Now comes the really cool part, not only did the team donate to alsa.org, but they announced that 20% of all sales made at the Bungie store between now and Destiny’s launch day (Sept. 9th) will go directly to ALS research. So click HERE to go to the store and pick up some cool swag for a good cause.

– E.B.

Wonder Woman’s New Creative Team

It’s a new day for Wonder Woman at DC Comics. Long time writer/illustrator duo, Brian Azzrello and Cliff Chiang had recently announced they were wrapping up their three year run with the Amazon – but now we officially know who will take their place.

Artist David Finch and writer Meredith Finch will be taking over thee series. It will be sad to see Azzrello and Chiang go, especially after their incredibly successful run, but things are still looking good for the Amazon. As a diehard fan of Wonder Woman, it always makes me happy to see a female writer penning the script – Meredith Finch will join the ranks of the likes of Gail Simone as one of the few female authors who have written for this iconic heroine.

Meredith and David Finch

In her interview with USA Today, Meredith teased some of what we can expect from the new story line. She claims her Wonder Woman series will emphasize her relationship with her Amazons sisters and the Justice League. I love exploring the interpersonal relationships in comics, and Wonder Woman has a rich background of personal history to draw upon. As Wonder Woman’s pop culture status rises with her appearance in the Superman V. Batman: Dawn of Justice and her appearance in three major ongoing comic series (if you include Justice League), I hope the iconic female super hero can reach a whole new generation.

It will be interesting to see, however, how Meredith Finch will rise to the challenge of steering her first ongoing series writing gig. The announcement has some serious nay-sayers in the forums, which is expected given the popularity of Azzrello’s writing. I won’t judge the duo until I’ve seen some issues, but I hope this means only good things for my favorite super hero.

– E.B.

 

 

NerdAtlas’ E3 2014 Watchlist

The biggest annual gaming event, E3 –  the Electronics Entertainment Expo, has seen the debut of countless consoles, blockbuster game franchises and ground breaking technological innovations. Last year saw the emergence of cloud gaming, the release of two new consoles and trailers for major titles like Titanfall.

Since this is such a major industry event, there have been countless rumors over what to expect at this year’s E3. Here’s the NerdAtlas list of rumors to keep an eye on in the next couple of days:

• Make-Your-Own-Mario game – This rumor has been bouncing around the internet for a couple of weeks now. According to a leaked picture from Nintendo Enthusiast, allegedly Nintendo’s booth on the E3 show floor features an unannounced 3DS game called Mario Maker. It would seem that users would be able to use the touch screen and stylus to create their own playable Mario Land game. If it’s real, this will be a big game for the 3DS.
• Majora’s Mask comes to 3DS – Fans have been clamoring for a Majora’s Mask remake for years, and several Nintendo employees have commented on their desire to remake the popular N64 title. With the release of last year’s A Link Between Worlds, the game featured several teasers that point towards Majora’s, so fans are hopeful we might see an official confirmation of the title coming to 3DS this year.
• Resident Evil 7 Reveal – The game has been rumored to be in production since 2012, which would put the title on track for a E3 2014 debut. I imagine we’ll at least see a official trailer at the event.
• Project Beast – It’s been long rumored that Sony and From Software (Dark Souls II) have been working on a project together. With the emergence of several screenshots on the Internet, fans and games news outlets are speculating we might see something official from Sony this E3.
• New Tomb Raider Title – Square Enix has reportedly registered for two domains, indicating two new entries in the Tomb Raider series. Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, which could be a sequel to Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, and Rise of the Tomb Raider. Square has officially confirmed that they are working on a sequel to last year’s Tomb Raider reboot, so this rumor has some credence.
• Half Life 3 – Depsite Valve’s official statement that we would not see Half Life 3 at E3 2014, people are still speculating that they could surprise gamers with what could be the most sought after sequel in the history of gaming. Supposedly, there have been industry witnesses to concept art for HL3, so people have jumped on the hype train already. I would bet significant money that there’s NO WAY we are going to see any Half Life at this year’s E3, but you never know…

– E.B.

NerdAtlas Update & Cute Puppy Gifs

Well, today is my first day of real life work. In the past month and a half or so, I finished university, moved over a thousand miles and started a new job.

Thanks for bearing with me in my hiatus. I am excited to get back to the blog again.

I will resume the normal posting schedule as of tomorrow. But for now, I will leave you with adorable gifs of puppies (because I have to be honest, I hate cats.) Adieu.

 

Elder Scrolls Online – Beta!

Hello my lovely, faithful readers! My review post will be published on Monday, because I want to post some of my initial impressions of Elder Scrolls Online (since I got beta access this weekend!)

So see you later Dovahkiin.

– E.B.

Welcome to America: Black Friday Edition

I’m out among the masses, so no post today. I’ll see you all Monday!

– E.B.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Gorge-Yourself-on-Turkey Day everyone! I’m about to go dig into some mashed potatoes, but I figured I’d leave you with a few links to some great Black Friday video game deal sites in case you find yourself fighting the hordes tomorrow:

BlackFriday.fm’s Video Games Deals: Black Friday 2013

Playstation Lifestyle: Black Friday 2013

Best Buy: Black Friday Catalog 2013

Polygon: Black Friday 2013 Deal Center (Games)

As for me, I’ll be sitting in my room drinking tea and waiting for Cyber Monday!

– E.B.