Notes

Minecraft And Microsoft: What Now?

Minecraft and Microsoft: What now? Mark Ward Technology correspondent for BBC News



You can see the reason Minecraft-maker Mojang was bought by Microsoft by playing the game.



Single-player is about a single individual who survives in a harsh world that relies on their ingenuity and creativity to stay safe. Their survival is dependent on their ability build a home for themselves and battle monsters using only the tools they make.



If computer games were subject to the same analysis applied to novels it would be easy to read this as a metaphor for the life of Markus "Notch" Persson, the game's creator. He's talked in the past about growing up "relatively poor", about making his own entertainment, and about whether he will have to conquer the same "demons" that troubled his father.



Notch's family, friends and the success he made with his hands helped him thrive in this harsh world. But, that success has also brought him other challenges. These are even more difficult to overcome.



It was clear that things had changed at Minecon 2012. Notch couldn't walk more than a few yards before another fan grabbed him, wanted to shake his hands, take a picture or sign their foam sword.



People are the power



He was never content with the transformation from a humble programmer who was responsible for his own code to a leader of a global movement. His heartfelt explanation for why he was leaving Mojang - "it’s about my sanity” - demonstrates that.



He is aware that Minecraft is about managing a community, not just maintaining and developing a codebase.



Microsoft could face a problem here.



With Xbox Live and its other cloud services there is no doubt that it has solid experience of running a massive computer infrastructure that serves millions of paying customers. That will be vital when it starts running the behind-the-scenes systems that keep Minecraft going.



Microsoft will alienate this community if they don't realize how personal the game really is, not only for Notch but for many others who play it. It's where they meet their friends and make new ones, where they express themselves, where they show off their technical and creative prowess, where they find themselves.



I have seen this with my own children. They play it in very diverse ways. One is a big fan of modified versions that involve arena battles or capture-the-flag-type competitions. The other spends hours making intricate homes using swooping track minecarts. Sometimes he builds treehouses that span forests. They enjoy adventuring with their friends, searching for treasure, fighting creepers, and battling skeletons, as well as exploring the forests together.



This is possible because Minecraft allows for freedom and openness. Millions of people like them can do it. The malleability of the game lets them change it to suit their mood. It allows people to have access to the game in a way that Microsoft has never offered. That is what has made Minecraft's millions of fans nervous. These Minecraft fans don't want Microsoft to interfere with their freedom of creating and altering the game as they like. They feel an ownership of the things they create within the game.
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Microsoft has to accomplish this difficult task given how important that community can be.



It will have to fight the two main enemies of online gamers - downtime (aka delay) and lag. Microsoft is likely to blame any future issues with the game's availability for the company, whether it is its fault or not.



If handled poorly, it could lead to a large portion of that community turning against Microsoft by making more drastic changes to the game's running, such as restricting how people can modify it or charging them for things they don't currently have.



It would be terrible, considering many of its players are children who will become the gamers of tomorrow. Microsoft wants to impress them with its Minecraft management. If it does not do the right thing, it could end-up being one of the monsters that people would love to take on.


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