LudoScience

History of videogames (biography)

Author(s) : Daniel Goldberg, Linus Larsson
Editor : Seven Stories Press
Publication date : 10-17-2013
Language : english

The biography of Markus "Notch" Persson, and his world famous creation: Minecraft (2011). This books details the birth of this legendary game, and it begins with the end of the story: the MineCon convention held up in 2011 to celebrate the official release of the 1.0 version of the game. At this date, the game was already played by 16 millions people in the world, making both Markus Persson and his company, Mojang, millionaires. The book then goes back to Notch's childhood, from his passion with LEGO to the discovery of computer programming. Once he completed school, young Markus Persson starts his career by working in several companies related to Internet and video games, but it doesn't makes him happy. So he keeps on designing amateur video games after work, for his own pleasure, like many other enthusiasts. After a first project created with Rolf Jansson, Wurm Online, Notch imagines a new game inspired both by Infiniminer and Dwarf Fortress. Started in 2009, Minecraft is sold according to an original scheme: people pay once to get immediate access the game  in its current state, and they will get all upcoming versions for free. Thanks to its originality and how it allows players to express their creativity, the game encounters a growing success over Internet, to the point that Markus Persson earns enough money to focus on the game full time, allowing it to become the phenomenon we know today. Full of unique information obtained through interview with Notch, his family and his colleagues, this 250 pages book is really captivating and well written. A book that any fan of the game should read, along with anyone wondering about "indie video games."