Documentary About Indie Game Minecraft Raises Over $100K In Under A Week

For as much junk as there is online, it never ceases to amaze how successfully the cream does float to the top. The story of Minecraft, an indie video game developed by Swedish programmer Markus “Notch” Persson, is just one recent example of the internet’s ability make internet sensations virtually over night. In a little more than a year, Minecraft has become a cultural phenomenon, captivating the imaginations of millions with its simple design and gameplay. A sandbox building game that allows users to construct their own 3D environment out of cubes in a low-res virtual world, the game has become more than just a source of casual entertainment, but a veritable creative platform in itself, transformed by its users wildest inventions.

Persson was unemployed when he created Minecraft back in 2009, but thanks to the game’s viral popularity, he’s earned enough from its sales to found his own game development house, Mojang. Recognizing that this story is a one in a million tale, video game documentarians 2 Player Productions decided to travel to Stockholm to capture the first week in the life of the new studio, initially planning on making a twenty-minute short about Persson and the company. But according to 2 Player, during the editing process “it became clear that an important chapter of gaming history was still being written, and that a feature-length documentary about Mojang’s first year would make a powerful statement about what it means to create, release, and play games in the twenty-first century.”

Now they’ve launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise the $150,000 it’ll take to turn their short into a feature length documentary. And the fans are donating, generously. In less than a week, the project has raised over $107,000 and with 24 days still to go, it looks fairly certain that 2 Player will be meeting their fundraising goal, and then some.

We sent a few questions to the production team—Paul Owens (director), Paul Levering (producer) and Asif Siddiky (Cinematographer)—to learn more about the project.

The Creators Project: How did this documentary come about? What drew you to this story?
2Player Productions: Like millions of other people, we are fans of Minecraft. People would accomplish some really awe-inspiring things in the game, and that fed into its viral spread across YouTube. On top of all this, you have the story of one man’s hobby project becoming a million dollar enterprise. Culturally, this is one of the most important things to happen to gaming in years.

Why do you think Minecraft has become such a cultural phenomenon over the past year?
This open world with its deceptive simplicity caters to all types of people. Every player’s world is uniquely generated just for them, and they may simply enjoy exploring it, or maybe they want to build a grand fortress on a mountainside, or make a train station with complex routing routines, or they’ll use music blocks to recreate a favorite song. Maybe all these people will band together and make a Utopian city.

It’s managed to appeal to so many interests that once existed in other mediums, but have since fallen to the wayside. You can build a model spaceship in your basement or construct a working computer from scratch, but not many people are going to take interest. Do it in Minecraft, and you’ll have millions of views on YouTube. Minecraft is hardly the first game that has offered people a creative sandbox to play in, but something about its simplicity and silly charm is very engaging.

What about Markus “Notch” Persson makes him a compelling character?
He is a very humble, easy-going, and cheerful character. The only aspect of his success that seems to concern him is the fact it will facilitate him being able to work on games indefinitely. You would never think this guy had as much success as he has. He made a great product that sparked the imagination of millions. Everyone wants to believe they can be successful just doing what they love, and Markus proves that’s possible.

What do you think the success of Minecraft says about the indie gaming scene in general right now?
It’s been growing substantially year after year. Strangely enough, I think a large part of that is due to the digital distribution platforms created by big companies—Xbox Live, the App Store, Steam—services like this allowed indie developers to connect to a larger audience than ever before, and now people are starting to see the value of enjoyment a game can offer. Games are making a return to the core experience—good gameplay with simple, synergistic graphics.

What do you think is the future of indie gaming, and particularly of small scale studios like Mojang?
I think it’s becoming a more viable option for success. If you’re talented and you make an awesome game, there is a good chance you can get it out to the public at large. This doesn’t necessarily result in a license to print money either, the game has to really appeal to people and capture their interest.

If small studios like Mojang stick to their commitments and just make games they believe in, I think they’ll continue to do well. Maybe one day they’ll even start to compete with the big developers; that or they’ll just grow into a big developer themselves. Even if that happens, there will probably be another underdog to step up and take their place.