Notes

Londonderry's 21-year-old Minecraft Mogul

Londonderry's 21-year-old Minecraft mogul By Owen Thomas BBC News NI



11 June 2018



A 21-year-old from Londonderry has gone from stacking shelves in a supermarket to building an active gaming business brick-by brick in just three years.



Jonathan Black was working in Long's supermarket as a stock rotater when he began his Minecraft business.



Blockception was created by him while studying for his A-levels 2015 that allows you to download and use virtual Lego sets however you want.
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In 2017, Microsoft chose Blockception as a partner and gamers can now access their marketplace to download the pre-made designs that they can then explore and edit, as well as play with.



'Drive'



"Going back to my roots, I grew up in an entrepreneur's family and have been pushed at an early age to work for myself," he explained.



"It's just the environment that I was raised in, where I was surrounded by entrepreneurs and business owners, so I guess it's in my blood."



Minecraft is a sandbox-based videogame that lets players create 3D worlds with a variety cubes.



Other activities include resource gathering as well as combat and exploration.



Jonathan quickly realized his reasons for not wanting to be someone else's employee and as he faced the pressure of balancing A Levels and working at Long's, it became apparent that he was required to quit and focus on Blockception.



He added, "I was making more money from Minecraft than I did for a few weeks at work. I wanted to take a step forward and do something different."



"It was far more exciting to make money, and I was doing it through my passion."



However when Jonathan claimed that he could make a full-time career out of his favourite hobby was "like winning the lottery", his relationship to the game is a little more difficult.



He stated: "Being able to make a full income from something you love is amazing however, it's not a hobby any more, so you're sacrificing one of your favourite pastimes.



"I would have played Minecraft in my spare time a few years ago however it's much more difficult to play when it becomes your work."



Partnering with Microsoft



Microsoft did not seem to be interested in business before CultureTECH and local projects. However, there were still job opportunities.



Jonathan declared that "If Microsoft had not gotten involved in the first place, we would have considered other options in terms long-term business plans.



"A week prior to the time that Microsoft approached us we agreed to hand over the business to another company.



"Just a day before the handover, we got the email and everything kicked off.



"We were so close to getting away from Minecraft - it seems unthinkable now."



Lost Civilisation



Lost Civilisation was released as an unpaid download by Microsoft as part of a 12-day Christmas promotion. It is the map that launched the company's success.



It has been downloaded more 1 million times.



"It's an impossible number to comprehend, and I'm trying to understand it in stadiums. For instance If you think of a full capacity Wembley Arena, it's still over ten of those," Jonathan said.



"It's mind-boggling numbers, it's overwhelming, however, it's a great thing and if people enjoy playing our stuff, then happy days."



Is Minecraft a viable career trajectory?



Blockception staff have various abilities that have enabled them to earn money through the video game, ranging from graphic designers, programmers, scriptwriters and voice actors, so there are a variety of ways that jobs in the creative field can lead to long-term jobs in Minecraft.



Jonathan said: "As our business expands and we expand our operations, there will be more jobs available here. However, there is a lot of competition in the gaming industry.



"The past few decades have seen an increase in entry-level positions, but we'd played Minecraft for a while, I started playing when I was 14.



"We've been through a long period to learn things from a consumer's point perspective, and we've now come full circle from players to providers."



Despite the issues Blockception faced in its beginning days, Jonathan is still convinced that Minecraft isn't just a trend that will fade away.



"I have a lot of faith in the product and obviously with old games people do become tired of them and move to other games, but the distinctive thing about Minecraft is that, while my generation has moved on from it, a completely new one has discovered it," he said.


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