Minecraft: Paying for Indie Games Now the In Thing to Do
Minecraft has always been advertised as a game created by indie developers. It is true, Mojang is – was, depending on how you look at it – an indie developer. The building video game masterpiece that is Minecraft has managed to sell 4,733,940 copies and counting. It has also been awarded with rave critical reviews. Now, more success is imminent as an Xbox 360 version is on the way. There are even touch-screen capable Android and iOS ports now available. For those who want to go back to the basics, there is the Minecraft LEGO to get your hands on.
According to creator Markus “Notch” Persson, it is becoming “hip to pay for indie games.” He said that it is partly because Steam is doing a great job. Notch admits that he believes Mojang is no longer an indie studio because they have to worry about payroll now and about keeping the company going. He does clarify that Mojang is still indie in the sense that they still make games that they want to play without having to depend on other people outside of the team. In Mojang, Notch and Jacob focus on game development. The founders are in charge of developing. Notch believes that gamers now have a different idea of what independent developers are like. He also talks about how “indie developer” used to be referred to as a “garage programmer”. Things are really a-changing. Indie developers were not supposed to charge. Programming was just a hobby.
Notch's new dragon in Minecraft 1.9 Update (Credit: Mojang)
The Minecraft creator confesses that is easier today but says that there is still no guarantee of earning a profit. Developing a game should be out of passion to make things really work. What about you? Do you think Mojang is still indie? If not, what do you think of this change?
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