At the GAME British Academy Video Games Awards in 2012, Markus 'Notch' Persson, the creator of Minecraft, was presented with the Special Award by games legend Ian Livingstone. In the video above, he accepts his award on stage, speaks backstage with Johnny Minkley and more. Check it out!
Additionally, Notch sat down with BAFTA on Twitter for an in-depth Q&A session, where he addressed the community candidly on a variety of topics, ranging from his feelings on the direction of Minecraft, his favorite developers outside of Mojang, and nearly everything in-between. You can see a full compendium of the Q&A session right here, for all the details. Definitely worth a read!
Still want more? We've got it! Notch also had a nice, solid interview with BAFTA directly, which you can read in its entirety here. They discuss his inspirations, work history, his advice to aspiring game makers, and much more.
On March 5th, BAFTA announced that Markus "Notch" Persson would be the recipient of the prestigious BAFTA special award:
Quote fromI’ve always considered the BAFTA Awards to be one of the most prestigious awards one can receive, and I was very happy when it expanded to cover video games in 1998. When I first heard that I would receive a BAFTA Special Award, I was blown away and deeply humbled. Going to London to accept this award is going to be a very positive and interesting experience that I’m very much looking forward to.
Proving that there is a place on BAFTA's list for games that defy the hype and fanfare of the big-name publishers and blockbuster sequels, Minecraft held its own against such triple-A titles as Call of Duty: MW3, Battlefield 3, Portal 2 and Skyrim, just to name a few. BAFTA called Minecraft a "...bizarrely repetitive and perilously addictive [game]...offering very unique gameplay, challenging players in ways that no other game does, or possibly would ever consider trying!"
All that said, Notch still has more to come; Notch has an upcoming Team Fortress 2 tournament - where he will be participating with other developers and players - for the Child's Play charity! Child's Play is a charity dedicated to improving the lives of children in hospitals around the world with games and toys, through the kindness and generosity of the video industry and the power of play. Every year, they hold a charity drive which sees ever-increasing amounts of donations, reflecting a spirit and unity in the gaming industry as a whole, from publishers and developers to players everywhere.
Notch's match will be a "Mix Up Match", where online celebrities and regular players are teamed up against each other (9 versus 9). Want to have a shot at playing with Notch? There's still time - head over here and donate, and you just might end up taking Notch on directly - the more you donate, the greater your chances of playing with the indie legend. The match is tentatively set for Spring, although no specific date is available just yet.
Not many people get to realize their dreams coming true!
ok im going to try to keep my head here... ARE YOU COMPLETELY FRIKEN RETARDED i don't see you doing any games of your own. not even a mod. yet you claim this award is not deserved and he is not worthy!!!! * deep breathing *
so you are telling me that you think he doesn't deserve an award because a major BETA update seems broken to you. and just in case you don't know what BETA means... IT MEANS UNSTABLE PRE-RELEASE BUILD!! and he did not " accidentally broke his child's spine ("Adventure update") and a few months later left it." by your analogy he brought it to the doctor jeb, a focused and devoted man who has brought us more productivity in three updates than in the last four. notch saw that his fans want more so he handed it over to jeb because he is more focused and better connected to the modding community. i don't call that abandonment i call it care for his "child" and for his fans.
what do you consider as broken anyway? this is the official recorded bug list for 1.8
New bugs:
its not like this was beta 1.6 now
so respond to me to rationalize your argument
whoa that was a long rant 0.o
to be honest MW3 has the same amount of originality as a pile of gum on the ground in the seance that its not original at all. minecraft earned an award on the basis that it is original and against the stream of same old gum on table crap we pass-off as original or groundbreaking these days
edit: watch your language BTW