Markus "Notch"

Persson
The Unlikely Tale

Childhood
-Born in Edsbyn, Sweden on June 1st 1979
-Moved to Stockholm while still at a young
age
-Skogsngs School in Salem
-Lego, large inspiration for later works
-Family: Birger Persson(Father), Ritva
Persson(Mother), Anna Persson(Sister)
-Birger buys Commodore 128, start of
Markus's interest in programming

Education/Early Jobs
-Markus attended Tumba High School, his career
path chosen by the counsellors being "media"
-Took programming electives at the high school
-Markus's first job was at an online game company
that made downloadable, paid games for
computers and other devices: Midasplayer
-Felt restricted, left and worked for Avalanche
Studios for two weeks before returning
-Left Midasplayer again to work for Jalbum, online
photo album creator

The Beginning
-Markus releases first version of Minecraft on May
17, 2009
-His game-tester for new versions he released was
Elin, his wife
Alpha Minecraft
-Sales were slow at first, but started increasing
rapidly to where he didn't need to work at Jalbum
-Hires Carl Manneh and Jakob Porser as co-owners
and CEO's for Mojang
-Mojang headquarter location is chosen company
beginning

What is Minecraft?
-Minecraft is a sandbox or open-world game that
encourages creativity through building
-The game was first inspired by InfiniMiner, a
game created by Zachtronics
-Blocks, tools, and other entities are pixelated
and simplistic in Minecraft
-Alpha released on May 17, 2009 on TIGSource,
forum website for gamers
-November 18, 2011 saw the release of Minecraft
1.0
-First created by Markus Persson

Alpha

Present-Day
(With Shaders)

Success
-Minecraft grows, Mojang expands staff, Markus
enjoys a profitable company and game
-MinecraftCon 2010/Minecon 2011 are first
conventions for game

MinecraftEdu Logo

-MinecraftEdu established with help from Santeri

Koivisto and Joel Levin
-Scrolls, a game to be released under Mojang, is
almost ready for release
-Indie game company comes to the attention of
large, corporate companies
Jens Bergensten, newly hired employee

Problems/Lost Inspiration
-Scrolls is filed for name infringement-ZeniMax
(Owner of Bethesda Softworks)
-Markus steps down from lead developer at the
company after Minecon 2011
-Programming had become a chore for Markus:
Not a hobby
-Wants to prove to the world that he isn't a one-hit
wonder

Minecon 2011

Finding Footing
-Minecraft had become a phenomenon leading up
to Minecon 2013 in Orlando
-Markus starts on a new game called 0x10c, a
"space adventure game"
-Markus steps back from all development on
Minecraft in December 2013
-Progress halts for 0x10c, "creative block"

0x10c Pre-Alpha

-Epiphany: 7DFPS(Seven-Day First-Person

Shooter) brings about realization
Game Shambles

Decline
-Mojang continues to expand out of Markuss
control, not what he had expected
-Complaints and criticism about legal agreements
with the game fueled his anger
-Markus, with CEO Carl Manneh and co-founder
Jakob Porser, leave Mojang after selling to
Microsoft on September 15, 2014
- Its not about the money. Its about my sanity

Markus, Jakob, and Carl leave Mojang

Indie Circle Impact

-Although Markus left his beloved company on a
sour note, he inspired programmers around the
world
-An Indie company receiving such praise was sure
to fuel a generation of developers
-Without knowing, Markus influenced and
encouraged small game creators- his wealth a
major factor
-A growing number of independent producers may
have been caused from games such as Markuss

What We Can Learn

- Follow your dreams.
- Everything comes to an end.
- Do not fear the unknown.
- Never expect life, in general, to be fair.

The problem with getting everything is you run out of

reasons to keep trying, and human interaction becomes
impossible due to imbalance.
-Markus Persson

Works Cited
Goldberg, Daniel, and Linus Larsson. Minecraft, Second Edition: The Unlikely Tale of Markus "Notch" Persson and the Game That Changed
Everything. New York/Oakland: Seven Stories, n.d. Print. 09 Oct. 2015.
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"How Indie Games Took on the World (and Won)." GamesRadar+. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2015.
"Does Microsoft Security Essentials Protect Your Computer Better? - Neurogadget.com." Neurogadgetcom. N.p., 06 Aug. 2015. Web. 09
Oct. 2015.
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"Play Minecraft Creator's New FPS Game, Right Now." Gizmodo UK. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2015.
"0x10c Gameplay (Minecraft in Space?): Notch's New Game." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2015.

Works Cited
"Scrolls Price Check - Scrollsguide." Scrolls Price Check - Scrollsguide. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2015.
"Barbed Wire and Record Scratches, Bethesda Softworks Drops a Teaser via Twitter." Neoseeker. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2015.
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2015.
"Free Image on Pixabay - Minecraft, Bridge, River, Stone." Free Illustration: Minecraft, Bridge, River, Stone. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2015.
"Mojangs February Mojam Amasses $517,489 for Charity." VG247 Mojangs February Mojam Amasses 517489 for Charity Comments. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2015.

Works Cited
"Oh, How the Times Have Changed." Reddit. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Oct. 2015.
"2014-15 Events in Review." NYU Game Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2015.
"Frequently Asked Questions." JAlbum. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2015.
Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2015.
"What Is Lego?" Designdenmark. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Oct. 2015.
"Timo Kotipelto." By DarkArrow95 on DeviantArt. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2015.