morrisburch646729

p>Minecraft creator on Microsoft deal: "It's about my mental health'

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p>After it was announced that Microsoft was buying Minecraft developer Mojang for $2.5bn (PS1.5bn) The Swedish developer behind the title Markus Persson - known as Notch - posted his own personal statement on the acquisition. Below is the complete statement.

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p>I'm leaving Mojang

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p>I don't consider myself a game developer. I make games because it's enjoyable, and also because I am a gamer and I love to program, but I don't make games with the goal of them becoming huge hits, and I don't try to change the world.

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p>Minecraft definitely became a massive success and people are telling me it's changed the way games are played. I didn't intend to change anything in the first place. It's certainly flattering and to be gradually put in the public spotlight is fascinating.

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p>A relatively long time ago, I made the decision to step down from Minecraft development. Jens was the perfect person to lead the project and I was eager to try new ideas. At first, I was unsuccessful in my attempt to create something massive again but since I've chose to stick with small prototypes and interesting problems, I've had so lots of fun at work.

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p>Although I wasn't certain how I would be able to fit in to Mojang where the actual work was done, people told me I was important for the culture and I decided to stay.

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p>A few weeks ago, I was suffering from a terrible cold at home. The internet was awash with hatred about me due to an EULA situation that I was not in. I was confused. I didn't understand. I tweeted my frustration.

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p>Then I watched the This is Phil Fish video on YouTube? and realized I did not have the connection to my fans that I thought I had. I've become a symbol. I don't want to be a symbol. I don’t want to be responsible for something that I don't know about. That I don’t want to work on. I'm not an entrepreneur. I'm not a chief executive officer. I'm a nerdy computer programmer who loves to share opinions on Twitter.

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p>As soon as this deal is finalized and Mojang is closed, I will be leaving and go back to doing Ludum Dares and small web experiments. If I ever accidentally make something that is gaining popularity, I'll probably stop it right away.

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p>Considering the public image of me is already a bit skewed I don't anticipate to be free of negative feedback by doing this, but at least now I won't feel a responsibility to read them.

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p>This is in direct contradiction to many of my public statements. I don't have a solid answer to that. I am also aware that a lot of you have used me as a symbol to represent an apparent struggle. https://mooc.elte.hu/eportfolios/1072385/Home/After_Making_Hoax_Bomb_Threats_against_Schools_a_Student_was_Taken_to_his_Bedroom I'm not. I'm a person and I'm there with you.

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p>You are my best friend. You're all incredible. Thank you for turning Minecraft into what it has become, but there are too many of you and I'm not accountable for something of this magnitude. It's Microsoft's property in a certain sense. In a larger sense, it's been a part of all of you for a long period of time and that won't change.

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p>It's not about money. It's about my mental wellbeing.

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