Full-length Minecraft Documentary Needs a Kickstart

Greg Tito

PR for Dungeons & Dragons
Sep 29, 2005
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Full-length Minecraft Documentary Needs a Kickstart



The producers of Minecraft: The Story of Mojang planned on making a 20-minute short but soon decided that there was way more behind the story of Notch.

The story of Markus Persson, aka Notch, is almost as captivating as the game he coded and produced all by himself. The Swedish gamemaker released an alpha build of Minecraft last year and was completely taken aback by at least $15 million judging by the 1 million sold [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/103385-PayPal-Freezes-750K-in-MineCraft-Devs-Account] - and incorporating a game design company called Mojang Specifications rather than take a job elsewhere, they flew out to Sweden to interview Notch and document the first week of operations at his new company.

Impressed with what they saw, 2 Player Productions (PATV, chiptune doc Reformat the Planet) thought that capturing Mojang's first year on film would be important as a living document on 21st century game-making. In order to make that happen, the filmmakers have set up a KickStarter page to raise $150,000 [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2pp/minecraft-the-story-of-mojang] to shoot and edit the film. As of press time, the initiative already has $16k pledged and with the large amount of swag and incentives offered for donations, it should have no problem raising the funds.

"For the first time, viewers will be given an in-depth look at both the triumphs and the challenges faced by a studio during their first year in existence," the filmmakers state on KickStarter. "We will analyze the unprecedented success of Minecraft, gain insight into its impact from journalists and industry professionals, and meet the fans whose lives have been changed by the game."

You can check out the KickStarter page here [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2pp/minecraft-the-story-of-mojang], as well as a six minute proof-of-concept video. If you have a spare $30, you could do a lot worse than donating it and scoring a two disc DVD set and a digital copy of the soundtrack.

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LavaLampBamboo

King of Okay
Jun 27, 2008
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Sixty dollars towards the film, AND a free wind up Creeper? Yes please. I would love to see if anyone pledges 10,000 dollars =)
 

lacktheknack

Je suis joined jewels.
Jan 19, 2009
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400 backers and more than $18500 and another 32 days? They'll get their money pretty quickly.
 

Mstrswrd

Always playing Touhou. Always.
Mar 2, 2008
1,724
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...Crap. I just donated 50 dollars to "ZREO," for the Twilight Princess thing they're doing. I don't have another 30 to use on this... damnit. Maybe I will anyway... hmmm.
 

microhive

New member
Mar 27, 2009
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Enjoyed it quite a lot. I'm thinking that my purchase, as well as getting approx 15 students at my school to buy it, should be enough of a support.
 

Altorin

Jack of No Trades
May 16, 2008
6,976
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the "proof of concept" documentary was good enough to stand on its own, why couldn't they just film an extra hour of that?

why do they need to raise a budget?
 

Tigger1992

New member
Jul 14, 2009
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I don't know about anyone else, but I'm actually really excited to have my name in the credits! Even if it will be among thousands of other names... Still cool though!
 

FistsOfTinsel

New member
Jun 23, 2008
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Um, why are we donating money to raise $150,000 to produce a promotional documentary for a venture that has already raised $15 million with virtually no overhead? I think Mojang Specifications is more than capable of paying for their own marketing, thank you.
 

Wolfenbarg

Terrible Person
Oct 18, 2010
682
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Altorin said:
the "proof of concept" documentary was good enough to stand on its own, why couldn't they just film an extra hour of that?

why do they need to raise a budget?
Documentaries don't just make themselves. The crew has to be paid for their work, administrative fees for release forms and permits, not to mention that staying in another country is quite an expense. They couldn't get more footage with their current budget, otherwise they would finish up without a hitch.
 

GoGo_Boy

New member
May 12, 2010
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That's all great and stuff but apart from the topic, Minecraft, that was one of the worst produced docu I've ever seen.

They didn't even bother to explain the basics of the game. The cuts where awful and well see for yourself, everyone with a slight sense for good documentaries will be shocked xP

But oh well maybe they out of the blue improve... *yeah right*
 

Nurb

Cynical bastard
Dec 9, 2008
3,078
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To be persuing a hobby/passion you enjoy, only to find enough people who enjoy your work to the point you don't have to worry about money ever again at such a young age, and that you're interesting enough to be subject of a documentary...

I so jelly

 

GonzoGamer

New member
Apr 9, 2008
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Tigger1992 said:
I don't know about anyone else, but I'm actually really excited to have my name in the credits! Even if it will be among thousands of other names... Still cool though!
I don't know. It doesn't sound as good as the deal from this weird kickstarter video.
I'm not sure it's legal, but it's better than just being listed in the credits.