Markus Persson
 |
Markus Persson | |
|---|---|
| File:Markuspersson.jpg Markus Persson | |
| Born | June 1, 1979[1] |
| Nationality | Swedish |
| Other names | Notch (online alias) |
| Known for | Creating Minecraft, founding Mojang AB. |
| Website | mojang.com/notch |
Markus Alexej Persson (commonly known as "Notch") is a Swedish C++, ActionScript[2], and Java programmer, and is also the founder of Mojang AB.[3] He is currently developing the popular video game Minecraft.
Biography
Persson began programming on a Commodore 128 home computer at the age of seven. Having experimented with various type-in programs he produced his first game at the age of eight, a text-based adventure game.[4] Professionally he had worked as a game developer for King.com for over four years[2] until 2009.[4] Afterwards he worked as a programmer for Jalbum.[2] He is also one of the founders of Wurm Online,[5] although he no longer works on this game.[2] Outside of work, he has made many games for competitions[2] for the Java 4K Game Programming Contest such as "Left 4K Dead" and "Mega 4K Man". He has also entered the Ludum Dare competition.
Games
Minecraft
Persson's most popular creation is the survival sandbox game Minecraft, which has moved into Beta as of December 20, 2010. Even while it was still in Alpha, the game became very popular through the internet medium. Persson quit his job as a game developer to work on Minecraft fulltime, changing the game until it is completed on November 11th, 2011. In early 2011 Mojang AB sold their one millionth copy of the game. He has recently hired several new staff members to the Minecraft team.
Breaking the Tower
Breaking the Tower was a game Persson created for the entry to the 12th Ludum Dare competition.[6] The game was written in 2 days.[7] The game takes place on a small island, where the player must gather resources, construct buildings, and train soldiers in order to destroy a large tower on this island. The game received brief gaming media attention.[8][9]
Scrolls
Persson and Jakob Porser came up with the idea for Scrolls including elements from board games and collectible card games.[10] Persson noted he will not be actively involved in development of the game and that Porser will be developing it.[11]
Personal life
Markus A. Persson lives in the Södermalm section of Stockholm, Sweden. He is a member of the Swedish chapter of Mensa.[2] He is engaged to his fiancee, Elin,[12] and also makes electronica music under the name "Markus Alexei".[2]
He has criticized the stance of large game companies on piracy[13] and he is a member of the Swedish Pirate Party.[14]
Persson has been a part of a documentary of him and his company Mojang AB by 2PlayerProductions since 2011. [15]
References
- ^ "Turning 30 is scary. : The Word of Notch". Retrieved 2011-02-22.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Notch!". Retrieved 2011-3-1.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Notch!". Retrieved 2010-11-18.
- ^ a b Handy, Alex (2010-03-23). "Interview: Markus 'Notch' Persson Talks Making Minecraft". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
- ^ McDougal, Jaz (2010-07-29). "Community heroes: Notch, for Minecraft". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
- ^ Breaking the Tower
- ^ YouTube - Creating Breaking the Tower
- ^ Breaking The Tower | Rock, Paper, Shotgun
- ^ IndieGames.com - The Weblog
- ^ Jakob Porser. http://www.scrolls.com/ Accessed 2011-04-03
- ^ Markuss Persson.http://notch.tumblr.com/post/3597302583/ah-i-forgot Accessed 2011-04-03
- ^ "Illness!". 2009-09-30. Retrieved 2010-11-18.
- ^ PC GAMER: Notch on piracy: "if a pirated game is a lost sale, should bad reviews be illegal?"
- ^ Torrentfreak: Piracy is Theft? Ridiculous. Lost Sales? They Don't Exist, Says Minecraft Creator
- ^ Minecraft
External links
- Official Minecraft website
- Persson's biography page
- Persson's personal blog, focused on Minecraft development
- Persson's personal twitter
- Persson's YouTube channel
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