Markus(Notch)’ original idea wasn’t as fully featured as the Minecraft you’ll play today, "Cave Game" was created from the same DNA. This was a game about placing and breaking blocks in a 3D world. The primary motivation was to create an experience where each individual component felt fun. A game that could be both accessible and emergent.
On December 20 2010 it was announced that Minecraft was officially in beta. Noteblocks were introduced, allowing players to create music in Minecraft, and sparking a whole new breed of Minecraft videos: the musical parody.
In June, the unforgiving Adventure Update was released. It introduced a hunger meter, advanced combat mechanics, and the terrifying Endermen. Minecraft got ported to smaller, open-source Android devices in October, and sleeker, more expensive, iOS ones in November. People started building things on planes, trains and automobiles. Minecraft had gone mobile
On November 19th 2011, Jens Bergensten, who you might know as Jeb, took over creative control of Minecraft so Markus could concentrate on his new project, 0x10c. They’d been working together for over a year so Markus wasn’t concerned about handing over the reins. Jeb has been in control since, updating Minecraft with Weekly Snapshots. Tameable animals, maps, pistons, elephantine NPCs, and The End followed. And it’s still evolving.
Minecraft Xbox 360 edition was released in May 2012, giving console players opportunity to experience Minecraft for themselves. It broke more records, selling a staggering four million copies in just five months. 4J Studios are responsible for the port, and are dedicating their time to create the most fully featured experience possible. You can track the updates on all forms of Minecraft by following the team on twitter, or by checking mojang.com, where we regularly post about recent happenings.
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