Mojang's 0x10c 'on ice' due to creative block

Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson says that 0x10c is "on ice" until they can fix a creative block, and he's bringing in more team members to get around the problem.

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0x10c, the space sim from Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson, has hit a snag. Persson says development is stalled pending getting around a design problem. Namely, it's still not fun.

"It [releasing] depends if it's just going to be me and I'm going to still feel this kind of weird pressure," Persson told Polygon. "It's not really pressure, it's just some kind of weird creative block that's been going on for too long, and [0x10c] is going to be put on ice until we can fix that. I'm very excited about the actual game. We have two prototypes going on now. It's not really fun yet, but it feels like it could be fun because there's nothing to do in there yet."

We already knew the game prototype wasn't fun and was being reworked as of September of last year. This is a sign that whatever issues the game has run into, they haven't been solved yet. For that reason, Persson noted that he's expanding the team and bringing on another developer to get around the roadblock. He says the game is still a "ways off."

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From The Chatty
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    April 8, 2013 8:15 AM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, Mojang's 0x10c 'on ice' due to creative block.

    Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson says that 0x10c is "on ice" until they can fix a creative block, and he's bringing in more team members to get around the problem.

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      April 8, 2013 8:23 AM

      That's too bad. I look forward to this silly, but interesting, idea.

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      April 8, 2013 8:31 AM

      [deleted]

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      April 8, 2013 8:33 AM

      A programming simulator masqueraded as a game sounds suspect. Then again, I don't get Minecraft, so..

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        April 8, 2013 8:41 AM

        Same. I like seeing what some people create with it, but have no desire to participate.

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          April 8, 2013 8:56 AM

          I really enjoyed the survival and exploration aspects a massive amount but the whole quest doesn't do it for me, and I can't think of awesome plans to build.

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            April 8, 2013 9:22 AM

            Yeah those were fun. I didn't know what to build either until I just got an idea and went with it. Took a while to do it but it was fun.

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              April 8, 2013 9:28 AM

              I always decided to build huge pyramids. Always good fun.

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            April 8, 2013 9:24 AM

            don't plan, just build. Let your mind take you where it wants to go. What you end up with will probably be more interesting than what you might have planned.

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      April 8, 2013 8:40 AM

      He's got enough money to ice a lot of games.

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      April 8, 2013 8:42 AM

      Might this block have something to do with Blizzard's new card game?

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      April 8, 2013 8:50 AM

      That's a good thing. Notch is in such a position where he can create new without outside pressure and time constraints. That's an ideal situation for a creative pers(s)on to create something new and lasting.

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        April 8, 2013 8:52 AM

        [deleted]

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          April 8, 2013 8:58 AM

          [deleted]

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          April 8, 2013 9:06 AM

          Time constraints can destroy a project with hasty decisions or content cuts just as easily as they can motivate it, and more importantly this doesn't sound like the kind of project where it's productive to stifle experimentation with deadlines. Either way we have a surplus of developers under ridiculous time constraints, I would like to see what someone can do without that pressure for once

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          April 8, 2013 9:27 AM

          You're right, Valve and Blizzard have turned out some real garbage by taking as much time as they need to make games.

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            April 8, 2013 9:37 AM

            [deleted]

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              April 8, 2013 10:45 AM

              they have multiple small teams that basically just do whatever the want and come up with gameplay ideas they think are fun and could be added to future games, its not really any different to what notch does.

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                April 8, 2013 11:31 AM

                [deleted]

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                  April 8, 2013 11:34 AM

                  [deleted]

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                    April 8, 2013 2:47 PM

                    What makes you think they didn't have pressure and time constraints on DNF? They had deadlines... they just blew threw them because of multiple issues. I think you are grossly over-simplifying what happens in the background in game development or any large project.

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                  April 8, 2013 3:35 PM

                  Johnny, isn't it commonly understood that Valve's teams are all internally self-organized? So they don't have people managing those teams unless someone decides to and the self-organized group agrees to it?

                  And if you don't like it you just wheel your desk over to a different group?

                  That's my understanding.

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                April 8, 2013 7:50 PM

                valve I'll probably give you but Blizzard? No way

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            April 8, 2013 9:54 AM

            That's a different issue. They have a game design they need to execute on and still take forever. Notch's issue in this case seems to be finding the design and direction.

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          April 8, 2013 9:58 AM

          Notch likes to code and make games, even with millions on his bank account. I'm confident that 0x10c will eventually be released.

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          April 8, 2013 2:44 PM

          I don't think you understand his situation. If you watch the documentary on Minecraft you get a better idea of what this guy is feeling. Minecraft might have made it big, but it's basically a small game. He never intended or asked for all the attention and sales that sprung up around that game. Notch is just a small indie developer who basically hit the lottery. He still wants to mess around and make simple but cool indie games... but now he has the attention of the whole world on him. The guy feels frozen by the pressure to produce the next Minecraft. Even if he consciously sets out to make something totally different and tries to tell himself he doesn't care what people think... how can you escape that pressure? Nothing he makes is going to be the next Minecraft, there's just no way. So maybe he doesn't have time constraints... but he has PLENTY of pressure.

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            April 8, 2013 3:21 PM

            Sounds like the real problem is his game announce timing then. Dude should've Harper Lee'd it.

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        April 8, 2013 9:04 AM

        I agree, it's good that he's challenging himself instead of just figuring out ways to iterate on his previous ideas.

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        April 8, 2013 9:13 AM

        He also did an interview recently with The New Yorker where he said that his current creative block is at last partly due to pressure from the success of minecraft.

        "
        Is Minecraft a once-in-a-lifetime success—a “Tainted Love,” a Tetris—or a foundational work for the next great video-game auteur, like the creator of Sim City and The Sims, Will Wright? Persson is unequivocal. “I definitely think Minecraft is a freak thing,” he said. “There’s no way you could replicate it intentionally. And yes, I’m starting to feel writer’s block as a result. I’m not sure if it’s pressure to repeat…” He paused and looked to the floor, groping for the source of this creative impasse. “Actually, it is the pressure to repeat. And with Minecraft it was just easier, because nobody knew who I was. Now I post a new idea and millions of people scrutinize it. There’s a conflict between the joy of being able to do whatever I want and the remarkable pressure of a watching world. I don’t know how to switch it off.”
        "

        http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2013/04/the-minecraft-creator-markus-persson-faces-life-after-fame.html

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          April 8, 2013 9:16 AM

          I definitely think it's his one hit, considering he didn't even come up with the concept - he just picked the right one to run with & had a bit of luck.

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            April 8, 2013 9:16 AM

            OTOH now he has enough money to flat out buy other good ideas - which is what he should do instead of pretending he's some kind of creative genius.

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              April 8, 2013 9:19 AM

              [deleted]

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                April 8, 2013 9:54 AM

                yeah ok bobby kotick, listen as it turns out money and team size doesn't magically solve every creative problem

                anyway i'm not clear on how founding an entire game studio to build your games equates to not spending any of it

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                April 8, 2013 9:58 AM

                Throwing money and people at an idea that isn't inherently fun isn't going to solve anything. The problem with 0x10c doesn't seem to have anything to do with lack or resources.

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                April 8, 2013 3:35 PM

                your obsessional hate with him is infuriating for some reason. I'm trying to figure out what drives you to keep being weird about it and I can't come up with anything.

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        April 8, 2013 10:15 AM

        The dream

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      April 8, 2013 9:17 AM

      I guess he can only program one good game ey.

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      April 8, 2013 9:26 AM

      That game was so weird only a few people will play it.

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      April 8, 2013 11:06 AM

      Narrative is what seems to be missing.

      Consider Minecraft, the narrative is either :

      creative mode : you're a god that can build whatever you want, show your friends, show the interwebs.
      survival : holy shit, I must survive! ARG spiders, zombies...what's that green thing, he looks cute...pssss? OH SHIT MY HOUSE! VENGEANCE WILL BE HAD!

      in short, the narrative is intrinsic the the game. You don't need a crazy devil to get you moving because is already touching on two fundamental human needs : survival and creativity and coupled with the procedurally generated world you get the last, curiosity. Its a triple whammy!

      Now, in 0x10c you have : http://0x10c.com/story/

      which seems to sum up to "we're geeks that love space sci-fi and we want to create a CPU simulator"

      its kind of hard to access, and I loved firefly.

      They need to tap into that fundamental space sim need...social privateering. Consider Eve online, its the closest to this concept and its doing well.

      Now, http://0x10c.com/2012/10/first-multiplayer-test/

      that looks like fun, in a "we remade Quake 2 multiplayer in a space ship" sort of way. What is the gameplay really going to be like? where's the need to trade resources that I mined? Why would I want to have a firefly class ship with a crew of misfits? Will I ever find myself hijacked by some asshole that dumps all of my oxygen and leaves me to suffocate only to remember at the last second that I have some secret stash of two compounds that release oxygen and thus able to survive and plot out my vengeance?

      granted, I'm probably reading way too much into something that is in pre-alpha. All I remember is when I first heard of minecraft I knew I would love it because it seemed to have limitless potential (which is still being realized). If someone has a video/article out there that highlights how 0x10c is going to give me FTL in 3D with procedural generation I would love to be made to eat my own words.

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        April 9, 2013 6:13 AM

        Shacknews would these women be all over notch if he weren't a bazillionaire?

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      April 11, 2013 3:24 PM

      Just put a lot of floppy penises on the walls everywhere and it will be a hit.

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