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From the linked article: "...when Facebook acquired Oculus in July 2014, Notch “blew up about it,” as Carmack puts it. Notch referred to the social media compan

From the linked article: "...when Facebook acquired Oculus in July 2014, Notch “blew up about it,” as Carmack puts it. Notch referred to the social media company as “creepy” and publicly stated that it wasn’t the partner he was envisioning when he backed the original Oculus Rift when it was just a Kickstarter project." The more I read about Notch, the more I'm convinced that Microsoft's acquisition of Mojang and getting him out of the scene was the best thing for Minecraft. He strikes me as an incredibly fortunate but oddly emotional individual who was way over his head once his creation took off.

colordrops 11y ago
To be fair, the majority of HN comments on the Oculus acquisition also took a similar upset tone, more than I've ever seen (except for maybe the announcement of Angular 2), so Notch's opinion only seems odd out of context.
PhasmaFelis 11y ago
Yeah, I don't think he was really prepared for or interested in all this fame. He wanted to be just another experimental indie dev, but every time he made a game for a game jam or something, the gaming media would explode with "NOTCH MAKES NEW GAME" stories and his piddly little three-day speed-typing game or whatever would get 100 times as much attention as the entire rest of the jam. I imagine that would wear, after a while. From recent news, it sounds like he's now given up trying to be normal and is trying out being an over-the-top hedonistic rich guy, and doesn't enjoy that either but doesn't know how to stop.
eco 11y ago
To be fair to Notch, a huge chunk of Oculus fans were devastated by the unexpected Facebook acquisition, not just him. /r/Oculus was in flames the day it was announced. Notch put it this way "I did not chip in ten grand to seed a first investment round to build value for a Facebook acquisition." Gamers at large were really disappointed because Oculus was a games focused device and then suddenly it's owned by a social networking company whose only reputation for games is being a place for friend-pestering, "free"-to-plays (the exact opposite of what most self ascribed "gamers" want for the future of gaming). It makes sense that they would be worried. I think Oculus has done a good job allaying those fears but it makes sense that oculus fans would cautiously optimistic.
- nilkn 11y ago
  How is it fair for Notch to be upset at Oculus being bought by Facebook when he sold his company to Microsoft shortly afterward? Not to mention he sold simply so he could check out and retire whereas Oculus sold because they actually needed to -- Notch's tiny little $10k investment wasn't even remotely enough to jumpstart the VR revolution. As far as I can tell, FB has treated the Oculus project with incredible respect, and not a single fear has come true. I understand there was legitimate reason to worry over the Facebook acquisition, but I still strongly believe that Notch (and many others) took it too far.
  - shkkmo 11y ago
    I probably would have pre-ordered the new Oculus if it wasn't now owned by Facebook. Now I will wait to see if any Facebook login is required, and how Facebook treats the Oculus ecosystem.
    - nilkn 11y ago
      You're comparing something known (the Rift as offered up for pre-order by FB-owned Oculus) with something unknown (the Rift as it might have been offered up for pre-order by an independent Oculus). Many details might have been different in this alternate history: price, timeline, quality, bundled games, future games as funded by Oculus, and more. Unfortunately I don't know if any of us really have the information necessary to make a truly correct comparison.
      - shkkmo 11y ago
        Of course we don't have that information. If Oculus had not been bought by Facebook, it could have been bought by anyone include shudder Disney. Who knows. My excitement for and willingness to spend money on the Rift was greatly decreased by the Facebook acquisition. It is of course still quite possible that the Facebook acquisition was a good move that will benefit everyone.
    - josephpmay 11y ago
elmepo 11y ago
In fairness to Notch and Minecraft, he'd stopped having anything to do with Minecraft since like a year after the public beta was released. In fact he once said that the first time he'd played Minecraft since handing it over to Jens was when the acquisition was announced, and even then it was the Console version, not the PC version. You're very much correct however, he himself will admit that he definitely prefers just making small games with small fanbases, and that he's not really suited to being a public figure.

colordrops 11y ago

To be fair, the majority of HN comments on the Oculus acquisition also took a similar upset tone, more than I've ever seen (except for maybe the announcement of Angular 2), so Notch's opinion only seems odd out of context.

PhasmaFelis 11y ago

Yeah, I don't think he was really prepared for or interested in all this fame. He wanted to be just another experimental indie dev, but every time he made a game for a game jam or something, the gaming media would explode with "NOTCH MAKES NEW GAME" stories and his piddly little three-day speed-typing game or whatever would get 100 times as much attention as the entire rest of the jam. I imagine that would wear, after a while. From recent news, it sounds like he's now given up trying to be normal and is trying out being an over-the-top hedonistic rich guy, and doesn't enjoy that either but doesn't know how to stop.

eco 11y ago

To be fair to Notch, a huge chunk of Oculus fans were devastated by the unexpected Facebook acquisition, not just him. /r/Oculus was in flames the day it was announced. Notch put it this way "I did not chip in ten grand to seed a first investment round to build value for a Facebook acquisition." Gamers at large were really disappointed because Oculus was a games focused device and then suddenly it's owned by a social networking company whose only reputation for games is being a place for friend-pestering, "free"-to-plays (the exact opposite of what most self ascribed "gamers" want for the future of gaming). It makes sense that they would be worried. I think Oculus has done a good job allaying those fears but it makes sense that oculus fans would cautiously optimistic.

nilkn 11y ago
How is it fair for Notch to be upset at Oculus being bought by Facebook when he sold his company to Microsoft shortly afterward? Not to mention he sold simply so he could check out and retire whereas Oculus sold because they actually needed to -- Notch's tiny little $10k investment wasn't even remotely enough to jumpstart the VR revolution. As far as I can tell, FB has treated the Oculus project with incredible respect, and not a single fear has come true. I understand there was legitimate reason to worry over the Facebook acquisition, but I still strongly believe that Notch (and many others) took it too far.
- shkkmo 11y ago
  I probably would have pre-ordered the new Oculus if it wasn't now owned by Facebook. Now I will wait to see if any Facebook login is required, and how Facebook treats the Oculus ecosystem.
  - nilkn 11y ago
    You're comparing something known (the Rift as offered up for pre-order by FB-owned Oculus) with something unknown (the Rift as it might have been offered up for pre-order by an independent Oculus). Many details might have been different in this alternate history: price, timeline, quality, bundled games, future games as funded by Oculus, and more. Unfortunately I don't know if any of us really have the information necessary to make a truly correct comparison.
    - shkkmo 11y ago
      Of course we don't have that information. If Oculus had not been bought by Facebook, it could have been bought by anyone include shudder Disney. Who knows. My excitement for and willingness to spend money on the Rift was greatly decreased by the Facebook acquisition. It is of course still quite possible that the Facebook acquisition was a good move that will benefit everyone.
  - josephpmay 11y ago

elmepo 11y ago

In fairness to Notch and Minecraft, he'd stopped having anything to do with Minecraft since like a year after the public beta was released. In fact he once said that the first time he'd played Minecraft since handing it over to Jens was when the acquisition was announced, and even then it was the Console version, not the PC version. You're very much correct however, he himself will admit that he definitely prefers just making small games with small fanbases, and that he's not really suited to being a public figure.