
Notch is no longer lead developer on Minecraft - 5hoom
http://notch.tumblr.com/
======
p0ppe
The title of the blog post "Och med dom orden så passar jag micken" is Swedish
for "With those words, I hand over the microphone". Just in case anyone is
wondering.

~~~
lutorm
Actually, it's "Swenglish". Passar != pass, it really means "watch over" or
"keep track of".

~~~
eCa
Unless of course he meant in the same way that you "passar" a hockey puck, in
which case it is only an unusual choice of words.

~~~
mmelin
It's a line from the Fattaru song Mina hundar.

~~~
unkoman
Swedish rap. That sure was a new experience...
<http://grooveshark.com/s/Mina+Hundar/2pL3f4?src=5>

------
larrik
Upvoted, but really should permalink:

[http://notch.tumblr.com/post/13633493969/och-med-dom-
orden-s...](http://notch.tumblr.com/post/13633493969/och-med-dom-orden-sa-
passar-jag-micken)

------
v21
I'm glad this is the case. A common trap for indie developers is to make one
game, have it be at least partially successful, and then to continue to make
that game - making DLC, expansions, porting it to other platforms, making a
multiplayer version etc. It makes me sad as a player, because it's done
instead of developing something new. It's far better to pass on these porting
efforts to other developers and to get to work creating new IP, as Notch is
doing.

I'm more familiar with games than with startup culture - does the same thing
apply there?

~~~
Klinky
_It makes me sad as a player, because it's done instead of developing
something new._

I think this is a problem of attitude. If you are so desperate for something
new, why not create it yourself? The indie has every right to do what they
feel like with their content, time, energy & money. They're not your monkey to
dance & sing whenever you please. If you disagree with how they're spending
their time, then spend your time making something you'd rather see.

~~~
v21
I am an indie dev, and I do make things myself. But that in no way diminishes
the pleasure I get at seeing other people's works, being delighted and
surprised by a novel or well-executed bit of game. It's difficult to be
delighted and surprised by your own works.

And yeah, they of course have the right to make what they want and I can in no
way take that away from them. Remaking the same game might even be worth it,
financially. But it doesn't build value like getting going making new IP can,
and it doesn't give me something exciting and new to play. I'm allowed to ask,
they don't have to give it to me.

~~~
Klinky
Everyone likes new shiny things true, but the effort required to create new &
shiny things consistently is extremely high, especially for a one man band.
You probably know the effort required.

I get the idea that you like to see new concepts, but I don't get why you'd
complain about people polishing old ideas. You suggest that it's keeping them
from working on new ideas but just because something is new, doesn't mean it's
good. Not every new thing someone puts out is gold. If they have a proven
winner, then they should push & see how far they can take it.

------
heyrhett
Good for him. Notch has earned a well-deserved break.

Some people are better at starting new things, and some people are better at
maintaining and expanding on existing things. I'm happy to hear that Notch has
some new ideas that he's itching to get started on.

------
ugh
Here is an interview with Notch and Jeb about the change:
[http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/38917/Persson_Hands_Minec...](http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/38917/Persson_Hands_Minecraft_Lead_To_Jens_Bergensten_Confident_About_Move.php)

~~~
extension
I'm very glad to see that the mod API is now top priority. They've made
similar claims in the past, but this sounds more serious.

The future of this game is definitely all about mods, custom maps, and new
game formats. There is tremendous potential, some of which has already been
realized, but only through elaborate unofficial hacks.

------
Karunamon
I'm really conflicted on Notch, Minecraft in general, and therefore this
announcement.

Let's get the good out of the way first, Minecraft is an awesome game, and
Notch (and his team) deserves every bit of kudos they've gotten for it. I
bought the game back in alpha, and I've gotten more than my money's worth.

The bad? Lingering (big) problems that aren't being dealt with. SMP is still a
mess when it comes to performance. There are a _ton_ of bugs in what is
supposed to be a final 1.0 release (Source:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXO6tYkjYMc>)

I don't have to be a full time developer or a company owner to make a
judgement call on whether that is a bad thing or not. Minecraft seems to be
suffering from the same kind of featuritis that plagued Second Life for so
long.

Mojang. Please. Fix old, no new.

------
patrickod
Given all that has happened in the last year I think Notch is very much
deserving of a break. His work ethic is something to admire and his success
well earned. I look forward to seeing what projects he creates with his time
in the future.

------
potch
Much respect for making it to the 1.0, that shows great dedication on his
part. He earned the break, and I look forward to seeing what's next!

------
AndyKelley
I expect to see the code base quality increase and number of obscene bugs that
make it to production decrease significantly.

------
shmeeps
Gave this an upvote, since it's from the official Notch blog instead of what
could have been possible conjecture from reddit.

~~~
TylerE
Please don't let this bit of reddit-stupidity transfer here. "LOl upvotd"
posts don't add anything and just clutter the discussion.

~~~
jpeterson
Too late. HN has basically become reddit.com/r/programming in the last year or
so. The glory days are over. You have to admire how long the quality remained
high, though.

~~~
freehunter
Even though I had to highlight the text of your comment to read it, you do
echo a point that has kind of irritated me somewhat. On a website called
"hacker news", 90% (hyperbole) of the links are related to designing flashy
GUIs and selling social web startups and whatever the flavor-of-the-week web
design trend is. There's very little "do it yourself, do it quickly, do what
no one has done before" spirit, it's mostly "do what everyone has done before,
but flashier and in a newer language".

Not that it's a bad thing in any way, but the title of "hacker news" is a bit
disingenuous when "developer news" might be a little more accurate. I wish I
could filter out the programming and startup stuff.

~~~
pessimizer
What's disingenuous about programming on a site called "Hacker News," and what
would be left other than political posts if you took out the startup and
programming stuff?

~~~
freehunter
It's not just the programming stuff I wish I could filter, it's the worship of
Ruby, node.js, CSS, etc. Web languages that really aren't useful in the hacker
sense of the word, but rather in the business sense of the word.

My opinion wasn't so much about what would replace those posts, but what not
having those posts would attract.

~~~
rayiner
Hacker means people who hack on code. Why aren't languages like Ruby relevant.

~~~
freehunter
At least in my view of the term, creating intelligent code isn't "hacking".
It's just being a good programmer. Hacking would be doing something that
hasn't been done before on a wide scale with the intention of creating a
result that varies from what an average user would expect. The jailbreakers
hacked sideloaded applications onto their iPhone. The average user followed
their directions and achieved expected, predictable results.

Ruby _can_ be used hacking. "How to recreate Path in Ruby" does not a "hack"
make.

