Minecraft is interesting in so many ways. Obviously there is the impressive sales and user numbers. And we have a solo-developer, Notch behind it all. Then the

Minecraft is interesting in so many ways. Obviously there is the impressive sales and user numbers. And we have a solo-developer, Notch behind it all. Then there is the impressive fostering (and support) of the community around the game. People really are passionate about this game, as demonstrated by the youtube videos and general fandom for it (I found out about it from a fan of the game). For a game I'd say the technology choices are pretty unconventional. Java on the client and server side. The game itself is part of a genre of crafting games, which seem to have a whole cult appeal in themselves. But it's a genre (or subgenre?) that is getting pretty mainstream. Games like Little Big Planet on the PS3 and the forthcoming Forge World mode in Halo Reach, show that people's desire to mod and create in games has not diminished at all. And of course, Minecraft is a product of an open development platform. Whilst I love some of the closed platforms (consoles, iOS) for their slickness, I love the fact that stuff like this still comes from the PC world.