

Notch: “I've never felt more isolated” - milkshakes
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ive-never-felt-more-isolated-153600734.html

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ja27
The previous discussions about this in the past 2 days:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10139734](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10139734)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10144018](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10144018)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10141224](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10141224)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10141538](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10141538)

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jonesb6
Notch has always struck me as a genuinely good character. Going back to the
earliest days of Mojang when they were in that "holy shit guys we're making
too much money" phase where their logistics just couldn't handle the revenue
Minecraft was generating yet.. and then hearing him talk about the emotion
when he saw his bank account pass the million mark. He just seemed different
in the best kind of way.

It's a shame that article was fairly unsubstantiated and basically just showed
a few bare tweets Notch himself made a little while ago. Wherever Notch really
is right now at a personal level I wish him nothing but the best, and if he is
in a hole that he finds himself quickly out of it. Because I would be shocked
if he hasn't already done some amazing philanthropic work, he's just seems
like the type who enjoys making other people's lives better..

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pan69
He should talk to Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and the likes. He obviously
hasn't adjusted to the person he has become. He doesn't seem to realize that
the money he made from the Minecraft sale has changed him. He still thinks
he's the same person he was before, but he's not.

With the wealth he has got he can expand his abilities and capabilities. He's
not a game dev guy any more, same as Bill Gates is not a software guy any
more.

In my opinion, the best thing he can do is to find a cause he cares deeply
about and try to change the world for the better for the people who are deeply
affected by it.

Fuck $70 million dollar mansions and parties at Ibiza, this guy can change the
world for the better, maybe even if it just a little. Stop feeling sorry for
yourself Notch, get your shit together and make a difference while you can.

~~~
nostrademons
It's not his responsibility to change the world. He just wants to be a regular
guy; what's wrong with that?

~~~
pan69
He's not a regular guy. He wants to be a regular guy? Get rid of the freaking
money.

~~~
runevault
Even if he gets rid of the money he's still Notch. Once you create something
that has such a wide impact it is hard to be "normal" without fleeing to a
part of the world not touched by whatever.

~~~
WaltPurvis
I'd literally never heard of "Notch" until five minutes ago, and I'm a techie
who obsessively follows tech news, so there are obviously innumerable people
who've never heard of his "wide impact" and couldn't care less about it --
there's no barrier whatsoever to him living a "normal" life.

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mindcrime
I'm reminded of the old saw "Money may not be able to buy happiness, but I'd
rather be rich and miserable than poor and miserable".

I'm sure their are dark sides to being rich, and I hope I get to experience
them one day. Because I know first-hand what the dark sides to being poor are.
And this is one case where I will _not_ agree with "better the Devil you know
than the Devil you don't know".

~~~
radoslawc
Variant of this saying I like best is: Money may not bring you happiness, but
it feels better to cry in new Mercedes than in city bus.

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pronoiac
Huh, I thought I'd read something from jwz on handling wealth, but I only see
a bit on not becoming a creepy asshole.[1] I think I've seen the advice,
either:

* surround yourself with people with more money than you OR

* get back to work

[1]
[http://www.jwz.org/gruntle/corleone.html](http://www.jwz.org/gruntle/corleone.html)

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mratzloff
It seems like a sad life, and he has also lost out forever on meeting a woman
he knows without a doubt isn't marrying him for his success.

His mansion and parties seem like desperate attempts to fill the emotional
void inside himself. But it's hollow, as he's now seen.

The way to fill it is by dedicating himself to something that has no financial
upside--doing good, in the vein of Clinton, Carter, and Gates. That will give
him the kind of fulfillment that a candy wall never will.

In the course of doing so, he may even meet someone similarly like minded.

Less altruistically, he could also create games and release them
pseudonymously through a shell company, so he knows any success is because
it's a good game, and not because it's from the creator of Minecraft.

~~~
MichaelGG
Is his face that famous? Especially if he lost a bit of weight? Seems like it
would be very easy to setup a new identity that'll pass any checks done by
potential spouses and he's unlikeky to be recognized by most people. If anyone
says he looks like that Minecraft guy, give them a strange look and a "I wish"
or a "hah, my nephew said the same thing".

The strangest thing about the whole thing is that Mojang employees got rather
little. If you were out with workmates and found a $2500 lottery ticket, it
might be seen odd to say "here's 23 cents". Sure, the scale and absolute
values make it different. Why not bring those folks along for a ride? If they
could stand your code and they all got along well enough to make games
together...

~~~
swang
I mean. I assume he paid his employees full salaries? If they were brought on
after all the risk was over, why should they get any money from the sale other
than the 250K (which is a ton of money regardless)? Was there something
deceptive about what he did that screwed the rank-and-file?

I mean what if Minecraft was just a fad and they ended up going broke? Would
they have beared extra burden for Notch had it not been as successful?

~~~
MichaelGG
No, it was nice of him to give them any money. He owed them nothing. Hence my
comparison to finding a lotto ticket. Minecraft being sold for 2.5bn is likely
beyond what anyone would have bet on. And it wasn't all just him (not to
engage in speculation, but I've read that the original code code wasn't
fantastic, so certainly employees contributed tons).

So if we'd think someone that found a lotto ticket to be a dick to not get the
lunch check, perhaps that logic carries over to larger amounts. Hell, I even
feel like a jerk if I get an upgrade on a flight but traveling companions
don't.

Maybe I'm weird. I've certainly seen both types of behaviour, albeit at far
lesser amounts.

This is only relevant in context of his tweets.

Also: Beverly Hills? That part of California is pretty, but damn, not where
I'd go to find people disinterested in money.

~~~
mratzloff
It's pretty simple. He valued those friendships. Human nature dictates that
they would be pissed off about him not sharing the wealth that they had a hand
in creating (regardless of whether they started before or after Minecraft was
successful).

He could have easily given each employee $5 MM. It would have cost him about
$250 MM. What is that compared to $2500 MM? 10% of a vast fortune he could
never spend.

Would his former employees still resent him? Or would they be grateful to him
that he made it possible for them to start their own businesses, retire (with
some smart investing), live lavishly and stay employed, whatever? Maybe he
wasn't _obligated_ to give them a small fortune, but was that the right
decision for him, personally, to make? It doesn't sound like it.

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jaredmcateer
Gabe Newell has a similar net worth to Notch, maybe as one self made gaming
billionaire to another he could give him some tips on handling it.

~~~
mitwilsch
Minecraft 3 confirmed?

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gcatalfamo
We have already read this on multiple sources...I'd suggest letting him be
instead of showcasing his despair. (even if billionaire despair)

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idlewords
There's a whole class of legitimate bad feelings that it's socially impossible
to complain about without coming off as an entitled jerk. I'm sure what notch
is feeling is real, but complaining about it in public is just going to make
matters worse.

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jonesb6
Let he who has not reached out to people for attention via social networking
cast the first stone..

Most of us have done it, its very human to seek help from other people while
having emotional distress. In modern times that often means social media (even
if it isn't the most logical approach, emotional distress doesn't often follow
logic)..

~~~
doomspork
I'm sure he has less public channels to seek help on.

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kirk21
Hope he uses his frustration (and brainpower + money) to do something that
improves the world.

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pvnick
That's what happens when you get everything you think you want - money, fame,
things - they end up not bringing you happiness. It's one of the great
paradoxes of the human condition. It can feel terrible, that everything you
thought you wanted brought nothing but despair. I hope Notch finds his way. I
can only feel empathy for the kind of person who uses his new-found wealth to
construct a candy wall.

~~~
mcphage
(a minor aside: the candy wall came with the house, he didn't build it)

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a3n
So build something.

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doomspork
"Woe is me." — Notch.

Are we being serious? Complaining about your wealth, high roller lifestyle,
and fancy destinations doesn't garner much sympathy. Is it really a surprise
that he is "alone"? Notch rose to popularly by playing the indie developer
card and as soon as he had the chance, he did an about face. He may have seen
to it that his team was taken care of but that doesn't change the fact that he
took the money and ran.

Good on him making billions more than I ever will but don't expect people to
feel sorry because it's lonely when you flaunt your wealth.

~~~
verbin217
I feel bad for him. I might not tell him for fear my pity might incent such a
state. It's still sad to see him essentially ejected from his life and
otherwise incompatible with the social strata in which he's landed.

~~~
doomspork
He landed where he wanted to land. There are many rich people who live
everyday lives amongst us, they don't make spectacles out of their purchases.

When you act like a brat people respond to you accordingly, regardless of how
much money you have.

~~~
verbin217
Maybe I'm not familiar with enough of the backstory. Where he has landed is
fame. Not indie developer fame. Fucking _fame_. He very apparently wasn't
ready for it and is making it worse by visibly floundering now. I feel fucking
bad for him.

Honestly, you too.

