Cliff Bleszinski Labels Notch a "Pouty Kid" - Updated

[SeventhSigil]

Isn't there actually a mod that lets you play Minecraft on Occulus Rift? I took a gander at one of Notch's blog postings in the wake of this, he had a link that said it was to said mod, but I don't know how old the version of Minecraft used would be.

Anyway, disregarding the innate hypocrisy of Cliff calling anyone a pouty kid, I don't actually see the issue with what Notch is doing. Well, okay, there's the 'Butbutbut I wanna play Minecraaaaaaaft on it' PERSONAL disappointment, but I mean in the wider scheme.

It's either going to go two ways, both of which I personally like.

1) Occulus Rift, despite its Facebook ties, releases and delivers everything as promised, without the ad-laden, data-mining, obnoxiously social money-grubbing attachments that many are fearing will occur, in which case Minecraft WILL be coming back. It won't release as early as was probably originally planned, but once the proverbial coast is clear and Facebook demonstrates it can actually be responsible and show some restraint, it'll go a long way to assuaging the concerns of both developers and customers.

2) Occulus Rift releases as a god awful, toxic, PC-platform-restricting abomination, with Facebook's ultimate aim being what its ultimate aim generally HAS been, which is to make as much money as humanly possible, privacy be damned. In which case one of the most accessible and popular indie games out there does NOT come and help bolster the Rift's popularity, increasing the chances this wholly unpleasant and potentially harmful pile of trash curls up and dies.


This isn't a kid sulking, taking his ball and going home. This is a kid making sure the fella he's giving the ball to doesn't fill it with sand and lob it at the head of an old lady. A fella who has had a history of old-people-abuse, but is looking real wide-eyed innocent and saying 'Me? NEVER!'

Because, bottom line, whether or not Facebook gets directly involved, the ball in question WILL be given to them at this point, not the Occulus Rift's team.

 

[AstaresPanda]

Sorry what ? Cliffy has shown he's abit of a brat himself. And greed was the underline to his bitching. Notch might well be acting up but its HIS game and if he hates facebook then so the fuck what, not like Notch gives too much of a shit about bizz side or cash side of it. Facebook are not loved, but every fucker has one now, its forced onto you these days like fucking IE was.

Its did not need the funds. It got WAAAY over its target anyway right ? And im sure if they asked the gaming community who loved these under dogs would be more the happy to give them more money. Alot of people know about it, most of your facebook users who are living off the dam thing sure as fuck aint the target audience. They may not be able to take risks but they had the core right. Facebook has wotsapp, instagram, now Oculas ffs piss off already, we all know that facebook is going to come preloaded onto it just like every fucking phone seems to be now.

 

[Tiamat666]

That reminds me, I thought Notch surrendered all Minecraft development to Jens Bergensten and promised not to get involved. So, in theory, he should have no say in the matter whether or not Minecraft gets Rift support.

 

[AntiChri5]

I dont understand the sudden calvalry of defense notch consistently gets. Minecraft was a one hit wonder. WHat has he done to follow that up rather than attempting to port it out the butt to every platform besides nintendo products? I mean seriously. If this was somebody like the guy behind sid miers i could see the massive wall of defense, but this is JUST notch. Ugh.

When a game is as successful as Minecraft, it kinda deserves to be ported all over the place.

Besides which Notch is, all in all, a pretty chill dude. I got tired of Minecraft long ago and wouldn't call myself a fan of Notch at all, but i can't really think of anything objectionable he has said or done. He is one of the most humble and laid back dudes in an increasingly bitchy industry. Add to that the general worship indie devs get and it isn't exactly surprising that folks are fond of him.

 

[NuclearKangaroo]

notch's decision might have been a bit hastly, but he and everyone else has the right to remain suspicious over this, and rightfully so id say

 

[Cecilo]

I dont understand the sudden calvalry of defense notch consistently gets. Minecraft was a one hit wonder. WHat has he done to follow that up rather than attempting to port it out the butt to every platform besides nintendo products? I mean seriously. If this was somebody like the guy behind sid miers i could see the massive wall of defense, but this is JUST notch. Ugh.

Well, I didn't like him much, but then after watching the last Desert Bus for Hope, in which he paid Ten Thousand Dollars for a packet of Silica Gel for a Charity, I realized he is the kind of eccentric rich that I like. Yes he chimes in on the video game world, yes he doesn't really make many games, but is that so bad? He doesn't rush out sequel after sequel, this isn't a bad thing.

 

[Spearmaster]

I think Notch made made the smart move, at first he did a good thing by helping fund and support a fellow indy, with the FB buyout well...hell if they want Minecraft on it they will have to pony up the cash for Notch to develop it, why would he help FB for free when its clear FB can afford to buy its toys. As far as Cliff is concerned...well I've been ignoring everything he has said for a long time anyway, he is probably just jealous that Notch is actually in a position to make those decision about his property.

 

[Adultratedhydra]

I dont understand the sudden calvalry of defense notch consistently gets. Minecraft was a one hit wonder. WHat has he done to follow that up rather than attempting to port it out the butt to every platform besides nintendo products? I mean seriously. If this was somebody like the guy behind sid miers i could see the massive wall of defense, but this is JUST notch. Ugh.

Notch gets a lot of white knights flock to his defense if anyone ever dares say anything even slightly not positive about him for some reason. I've never hated notch but i also don't think he is anyone special, especially after watching Indie game the movie, that documentry made me dislike indie devs more than sympathise with them.

OT: The Douchebag in chief is 100% Right in this case. The internet is acting like their favorite Wall Noise band just signed on with a well known producer and suddenly isnt cool anymore. Careful internet, Your hipster is showing.

 

[Vault101]

I dont understand the sudden calvalry of defense notch consistently gets. Minecraft was a one hit wonder. WHat has he done to follow that up rather than attempting to port it out the butt to every platform besides nintendo products? I mean seriously. If this was somebody like the guy behind sid miers i could see the massive wall of defense, but this is JUST notch. Ugh.

Well to be fair if I made mine craft I'd want to port the hell out if it

 

[Raioken18]

Notch made the right decision.

He was initially just trying to help out the kickstarter devs, understandable, trying to help the little guy.

Facebook takes over, why on earth would Notch still back Facebook? They don't even need his backing and it's not guaranteed as part of the sale. If he still backed it he pretty much would just be giving Facebook a massive draw card for free. Also have you seen Facebooks micro-transaction laden games? It's not what Notch intended Minecraft to be on any platform, and he has the right to make that decision.

So thankful for that decision.

Notch is like the Bono of gaming, comparatively Cliffy B is like the Joan Rivers of gaming.

 

[Kingjackl]

I know some people are just going to dismiss Cliffy B because he made Gears of War while Notch made Minecraft, but he makes some good points in his blog. Name-calling notwithstanding, Notch's decision was a knee-jerk short-sighted action that isn't going to have any practical repercussions except reducing the likelihood he's going to see a return of the ten grand he donated. Even if Minecraft doesn't end up on Oculus Rift, other games are and that won't change anything.

Look at John Carmack. He didn't pitch a fit or make a whole bunch of vapid statements about the evil of big corporations. His response on Twitter was simply: "I am coding right now, same as last week." Business as usual, all it means is a change in ownership and a massive increase in funding for the project. I'm sure the OR team are going to put that money to good use, but people who think like Notch are going to regret bailing in the long run.

 

[michael87cn]

I think if you pay $10,000 for something and they take your money, only to decide they want more money and are going to radically change their product to get it, even though they got more money than they needed (and asked for) to make their product to begin with.... and I think anyone would be alright to complain... even withdraw from the project... I mean... you get what you pay for... usually.......

 

[Adultratedhydra]

I think if you pay $10,000 for something and they take your money, only to decide they want more money and are going to radically change their product to get it, even though they got more money than they needed (and asked for) to make their product to begin with.... and I think anyone would be alright to complain... even withdraw from the project... I mean... you get what you pay for... usually.......

What about the Oculus Rift is being Radically changed pray tell?

It's still going to be open source, the people involved in creating it are still there, facebook has stated they will basically not be changing anything outside branding. Infact the only change that sticks out is the fact that it's going to be cheaper But i suppose the internet can make that out as a bad thing.

 

[deadish]

I find it funny that Cliff is the one saying that given how often he used to whine about "the internet pirating my games" all the time...only for the 360 versions to be pirated like crazy.

I can understand why Notch would be upset, he wanted to help out a small and young company and was excited so he put in $10,000. What he didn't want is for a huge company like Facebook to come in and just completely buyout the company. Hell, honestly I wish Oculus would have released the retail version, and then Facebook could have come in later and bought them, but then again Zukerberg is trying to get the "next best thing" always. I mean hell, $19 billion for an app, and I thought Balmer was crazy when he bought Skype for $8.5 billion when it wasn't really profitable, and still isn't really.

"And I did not chip in ten grand to seed a first investment round to build value for a Facebook acquisition." - Notch

That reminds me, I thought Notch surrendered all Minecraft development to Jens Bergensten and promised not to get involved. So, in theory, he should have no say in the matter whether or not Minecraft gets Rift support.

Notch owns Minecraft ... He is just having someone maintaining the code base for him.

 

[Weaver]

I don't think Notch is being childish at all. He has an ethical reason to stop the game. In this case, disagreeing with Facebook and their egregious privacy policies. Why would he help support a company he philosophically disagrees with?

As a hypothetical: If you were writing a book and the publisher you were going to go with was bought out by a political party you despised, would you really still publish with them?

 

[xaszatm]

I don't think Notch is being childish at all. He has an ethical reason to stop the game. In this case, disagreeing with Facebook and their egregious privacy policies. Why would he help support a company he philosophically disagrees with?

As a hypothetical: If you were writing a book and the publisher you were going to go with was bought out by a political party you despised, would you really still publish with them?

Depends on how much money I currently have. If I had Notch's money, then I could be picky, like him. That said, I still say that he made the right move for him, if not for other people. And I can certainly respect that. Having large stacks of cash does bring a certain form of freedom, especially in whom we decide to deal business with.

 

[Frankster]

Name-calling notwithstanding, Notch's decision was a knee-jerk short-sighted action that isn't going to have any practical repercussions except reducing the likelihood he's going to see a return of the ten grand he donated. Even if Minecraft doesn't end up on Oculus Rift, other games are and that won't change anything.

From what I understand Notch had no interest in getting a "return", this was simply "oh this is a cool idea by little guys who need a bit of help, imma help em out!" kinda motivation.
Then facebook bought up the operation and it went from helping the little guy to giving facebook a big boost (whose policies he doesn't agree with according to other posters here) when they don't really need help, let alone from him. Money isn't the factor here.

I don't think this is intended to change anything so much as to not support something Notch didn't initially sign on for, the gesture is symbolic rather then practical. Whilst one can perceive a petulant response here, I feel it's kinda like someone being a bit annoyed at something and another going "TROLOLOLOL U MAD", basically exagerating the base emotion so as to make fun of it.

"but people who think like Notch are going to regret bailing in the long run."
They sure will if they don't have the financial security Notch does.