Notes

Londonderry's 21-year-old Minecraft Mogul

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



11 June 2018



In just three years, the 21-year-old Londonderry man has gone from putting shelves up at a supermarket to building a bustling brick-by-brick gaming business.



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



While studying for his A-levels in the year 2015, he created Blockception creating virtual Lego sets that you can download and use in any way you like.



Blockception was chosen by Microsoft as a partner in 2017 to partner with Microsoft. Gamers can now access their marketplace to download pre-made fabrications that they can then edit or explore and play with.



'Drive'



"Going back to my roots, I grew up in an entrepreneur's family and have been influenced at an early age to be a self-employed worker," he explained.
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"It's just the kind of environment I grew up in, where I was surrounded by business owners and entrepreneurs So I guess it's in my blood."



Minecraft is a sandbox videogame that lets players build 3D worlds with a variety cubes.



Other activities include exploring resources, combat.



Jonathan quickly worked out he did not want to be someone else's employee and as he faced the stress of balancing A-Levels with work at Long's, it became clear that he was required to quit and concentrate on Blockception.



"I was earning more money from Minecraft than I did in several weeks at work, and I wanted to change my path and try something different," he said.



"It was a more exciting way to make money and I was doing it as a hobby."



Jonathan said that making a career of his favorite hobby was like winning the lottery, but his relationship with the game is more complicated.



He stated that "being able to make an income full-time from something you love is amazing, however, it doesn’t become an activity anymore, which means you’re giving up one of your most loved hobbies.



"I would have played Minecraft many years ago in my free time, but it's more difficult to play when it becomes your job."



Microsoft Partnering



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



Jonathan said: "If Microsoft hadn't got involved, we would have had to think about alternatives in terms of a long-term business plan.



"A week prior to when Microsoft approached us, we agreed to transfer the company to another company.



"Just one day prior to the handover the email was sent, and the process began.



"We were so close moving away from Minecraft but it's impossible to do so now."



Lost Civilisation



Lost Civilisation was released as a free download by Microsoft as part of a 12 day Christmas campaign. It is the map that sparked the company's success.



It has been downloaded more than a million times.



Jonathan stated, "It's an incomprehensible number and I'm trying to comprehend it in stadiums, for instance, a full capacity Wembley Arena is still more than 10."



"It's amazing numbers, it's overwhelming, but it is great and if people love playing our stuff Happy days."



Is Minecraft an option for a career path?



Blockception staff members have a variety of abilities that have enabled them to earn a living through the video game, ranging from graphic designers, programmers, scriptwriters, and actors, there are many avenues in which jobs in the creative industry can lead to long-term work in Minecraft.



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



"The last few decades have seen an increase in entry-level positions and we'd been playing Minecraft for a while, I first started playing it when I was 14.



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



Jonathan believes that Minecraft is a trend that is long-lasting despite the issues Blockception faced in its early days.



He said, "I have great confidence that the product is in good hands."


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