User-Centered Design: Markus “Notch” Persson
Introduction
Markus Alexej Persson is a Swedish video game programmer and designer who is more widely known under the alias “Notch.” He was born on June 1 1979 and started his passion for programming at the age of seven. Growing up, Markus played a wide variety of games, but the games he loved the most were the ones from the indie scene. He loved how experimental the indie scene was, focusing more on unique gaming concepts instead of elaborate graphics or a detailed storyline. While Markus had a successful job working at Midasplayer (a successful game company), he preferred the morals and ethics of the indie scene where the goal was to not make money, but make the best game possible. Eventually, Markus quit Midasplayer and started working in web development at Jalbum so he could pursue his own projects during his free time. Soon after, he began to experiment and develop his own games combining concepts from previous games he’s played and loved, to create something that he was proud of. I chose Markus Alexej Persson because his path to success was an interesting and inspiring one. Even though he worked for two of the largest video game companies in Sweeden, he ended up quitting and pursuing his own idea because the companies’ morals didn’t align with his and he wanted to pursue something that would allow him to be more creative, even if he wouldn’t have been successful. I also chose him because he developed a game I use to play with my cousins when I was younger, and I wanted to learn more about the game’s history.
Project Description
The game Markus is most well-known for is Minecraft, a 3D sandbox game that allows players to explore and create, in a world made out of blocks. The game originally started out as a side project while Markus was working for Jalbum. His main goal was to create a game that would feel like a world, players could explore and survive in and he took inspiration from other games such as Dwarf Fortress, RollerCoaster Tycoon, Dungeon Keeper and Infiniminer. Minecraft was first released to the public in 2009 and has since then grown in popularity to become one of the most successful games in the world. The reason behind it’s success is because the game is easily accessible but complicated at the same time. The goal of the game is rather simple: to explore, survive and create. Besides that, players can choose how they want to play, whether they want to focus on building or they want to focus more on survival.
Design Methods and/or Principles
Since Minecraft was one of the first games Markus developed himself, he put all his efforts into making it the best video game he could create. One of the things Markus did during his development that helped the game succed was allowing his targeted audience to take part in the development stage and give feedback. Even in the early stages of development, Markus did everything he could to make sure the game was something everyone would enjoy. He documented the development of the game openly to keep an open and contentious dialogue between him and the players. He kept players updated on changes and the future through his blog and he invited everyone who played the game to give him comments and suggestions to help improve it. He released new updates very frequently and as soon as something was changed, he’d asked players to test out the new version and help improve it. By keeping this open line of communication, Markus was able to explore and change aspects of the game to cater towards the players' needs and wants.
Target Audience
The reason why Minecraft is so popular is because the targeted audience is a wide variety of people, there wasn’t a certain group Markus was trying to advertise to. While most gamers are under the age of 30, Minecraft is played by millions of people of varying ages, lifestyles and backgrounds. Since Markus had to develop for a wide group of gamers, he had to make sure he was designing for a variety of users. He created a vast world full of different terrains for people who mainly wanted to explore. He added survival mode for people who wanted a challenge. The freedom to build anything was for the creative gamers and the avatar and End Dragon was for people who wanted a roleplaying game. The support of multiplayer allowed for gamers to play with friends and the support for across multiple platforms, such as PC and smartphone, really shows just how wide and varied the targeted audience is. Even though there are so many ways to play the game, Markus also made sure Minecraft considered the amount of experience the audience had when it came to gaming. He made sure the games were simple enough that new gamers would be able to understand the mechanics quickly, while still creating unique and interesting gameplay for the more experienced gamers. When I interviewed my younger cousin, Noah, it was surprising to see how much he could do accomplish in Minecraft even though he was rather new to the gaming world. As he showed me around his six-floor mansion, I asked him why he likes the game so much and he simply stated: “I like exploring new places and building things with my friends.” As we continued the tour around his house he kept listing off the things he likes most about the game such as: “It was easy to learn. I was a pro in 5 minutes,” “The creepers are scary but I was very brave and fought them off,” and “Do you think it’s okay if I make a mansion for my dogs? They need a home.” It was amazing to see what my eight-year-old cousin accomplished in such a simple game especially when comparing it to what my brother accomplishes in a more complex, role-playing game. This just shows how easy the game is and how anyone can play, no matter their experience.
The Value of User-Centered Design
Even though Markus isn’t a common designer, if he didn’t practice user-centered design, Minecraft wouldn’t be as successful as it is right now. While my little cousin isn’t old enough to comprehend what user-center design is, by watching how he interacted with the game and by asking for his opinions, I could tell Minecraft was designed with the user in mind. With the simple controls and interface, Noah was able to maneuver and play the game with such ease that it seemed liked he’d been playing it for a long time. He loves creating and building things and I could tell the game fueled his creativity as he showed me around his house and several other buildings and landmarks he made. Minecraft seemed to be exciting enough for him as well because he would gleefully run away from the zombies or tell me another story of how he defended his farm from large spiders.
My Takeaways
From this assignment, I learned that anyone can be considered a designer, even if their career field doesn’t fall under the “typical design field.” I learned how important it is to have consumers involved in the early stages of development and how much you can learn from them. I also learned that good design doesn’t have to be your own original idea. Markus took several ideas from several games to create Minecraft and it shows that all you need to do to create a good design is to get inspired by something, and then expanded on that idea. I also learned that a good idea or a good design can come from anything. It doesn't have to follow specific standards or reach a certain bar of expectations, as long as design meets the targeted audience’s needs, it is considered a good design.
Works Cited
Personal Interview. Noah Guggenbiller. 14 September
