Minecraft Gets a Video Documentary

Minecraft, a game that we profiled after its initial release, has become one of the most popular games on the planet. It’s been played by by millions, and purchased by 1.36 million (and growing). Its creator, Markus “Notch” Persson, began development of the game himself, and up until recently, conducted all of the development work himself. With the game’s success however, Markus has been able to start a company and bring others on board to help bring this game to a final version.

The story behind Minecraft is an interesting one for a couple of reasons. First is the fact that the game has experienced major success despite being kicked off by an indie developer (not to mention just a single person). Thanks to the fans alone, no marketing has been required at all. No marketing… and 1.36 million purchases. If that doesn’t say something, I don’t know what could.

The fun thing about Markus is that he doesn’t seem to be gloating at this success, but instead has been taking full advantage of the sudden cash infusion to bring his company, Mojang, to the next level. Minecraft isn’t the only game in development, but so far nothing else is known about the other titles. Currently the company has eight employees, which includes three primary code developers and three others to handle the art and website.

For those who are interested in getting to know the Minecraft crew a bit better, 2 Player Productions has put together a mini-documentary detailing the company, how it started, and how it operates, and has posted the video at GameTrailers. It’s 2 Player Productions’ hope that donations will roll in to help make a full-fledged documentary in the future, but despite that, this one is pretty good, and well worth a look if you are a Minecraft fan or a budding game developer.

Over the start of the new year 2 Player Productions documented the formation of Mojang Specifications, a development studio launched on the success of indie sensation Minecraft. If you enjoy this rare glimpse into the world of development, help 2 Player fund a feature length film by donating to the Kickstarter campaign at http://www.tinyurl.com/minecraftdoc