Notes

Minecraft and Microsoft: what Now?

Minecraft and Microsoft What's next? By Mark Ward Technology correspondent, BBC News



If you're trying to understand the reason why Minecraft maker Mojang is being bought by Microsoft simply play the game.



The single-player version revolves around an individual who has to survive in a harsh world with only their ingenuity to keep them safe. Their very survival depends on them building a home and battling off monsters with only the tools and weapons they can make by hand.



It would be easy to think of this as a reference to Markus "Notch" who was the game's creator in the event that computer games were subjected to the same kind of analysis as novels. In the past, he has talked about his childhood and how he was "relatively poor" as well as his ability to create his own entertainment and whether he will need to overcome the same "demons" like his father.



Friends, family and the popularity of the items Notch created with his hands helped him succeed in the harsh world of today, but the success has led to some challenges. These are more difficult to conquer.



At Minecon 2012, Notch was unable to walk more than one or two steps before he was grabbed by a fan who was eager to shake his hand and take a photo of him, or even sign their foam sword.



People control



The transformation from a humble programmer with only responsibility for his own code to the leader of a global movement was one that he was not happy with. The reason he gave for the reason he's leaving Mojang - "it's about my sanity" is a clear indication of the importance of sanity.



He is aware that Minecraft is now about overseeing a community - much more than it is about maintaining and creating a codebase.



Microsoft could face a problem in this regard.



It has a long history of managing large-scale computer infrastructures that serve millions of customers. This is evident with Xbox Live and other cloud services. This is crucial when it begins running the systems behind the scenes that keep Minecraft running.



However, Microsoft could alienate the community if it doesn't realise how personal the game is, not only for Notch, but for many of the people who use it. It's where they meet their friends and make new ones and where they express themselves in a way, show off their creative and technical skills and discover who they are.



I've seen it with my own children who play it in different ways. One is a big fan of modified versions that involve arena battles or capture-the-flag-type competitions. The other builds intricate homes around swooping minecart tracks. Swissrocketman Sometimes, he builds treehouses which extend across forests. They also regularly go adventuring with their friends in search of treasure, avoiding creepers, and battling spiders, zombies and skeletons.



They, and millions like them, are able to do this because of the freedom and openness of Minecraft. The game's flexibility allows players to modify the game to fit their needs. This is because it gives people access to the level of control Microsoft has not granted in its business software. This is the reason Microsoft has not been able to satisfy the millions of Minecraft users. These fans don't want Microsoft to restrict their freedom to design and alter the game to suit their needs. They feel a deep feeling of ownership over the games they design.



Microsoft will have to complete a difficult task, given the importance of this community.



It will need to combat the two main enemies of online gamers the two main enemies of online gamers - downtime (aka delay) and delay. Microsoft is likely to be held responsible for any problems regarding the game's future availability regardless of whether or not it is their fault.



Making more drastic changes to the running of the game like limiting the way that players can alter it, charging them for things that are currently free or imposing restrictions on how they can inform the world about what they've done, could be handled poorly and turn a big chunk of the community against Microsoft.



That would be bad considering that a lot of its players are now children who will grow up to be the gamers of the future. Microsoft wants to impress gamers with its Minecraft management. If it does it wrong it could end up becoming one of the monsters that people are eager to take on and slay.


Website: https://swissrocketman.com/