Notch has always struck me as a genuinely good character. Going back to the earliest days of Mojang when they were in that "holy shit guys we're making too much money" phase where their logistics just couldn't handle the revenue Minecraft was generating yet.. and then hearing him talk about the emotion when he saw his bank account pass the million mark. He just seemed different in the best kind of way.
It's a shame that article was fairly unsubstantiated and basically just showed a few bare tweets Notch himself made a little while ago. Wherever Notch really is right now at a personal level I wish him nothing but the best, and if he is in a hole that he finds himself quickly out of it. Because I would be shocked if he hasn't already done some amazing philanthropic work, he's just seems like the type who enjoys making other people's lives better..
He should talk to Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and the likes. He obviously hasn't adjusted to the person he has become. He doesn't seem to realize that the money he made from the Minecraft sale has changed him. He still thinks he's the same person he was before, but he's not.
With the wealth he has got he can expand his abilities and capabilities. He's not a game dev guy any more, same as Bill Gates is not a software guy any more.
In my opinion, the best thing he can do is to find a cause he cares deeply about and try to change the world for the better for the people who are deeply affected by it.
Fuck $70 million dollar mansions and parties at Ibiza, this guy can change the world for the better, maybe even if it just a little. Stop feeling sorry for yourself Notch, get your shit together and make a difference while you can.
Even if he gets rid of the money he's still Notch. Once you create something that has such a wide impact it is hard to be "normal" without fleeing to a part of the world not touched by whatever.
I'd literally never heard of "Notch" until five minutes ago, and I'm a techie who obsessively follows tech news, so there are obviously innumerable people who've never heard of his "wide impact" and couldn't care less about it -- there's no barrier whatsoever to him living a "normal" life.
I'm reminded of the old saw "Money may not be able to buy happiness, but I'd rather be rich and miserable than poor and miserable".
I'm sure their are dark sides to being rich, and I hope I get to experience them one day. Because I know first-hand what the dark sides to being poor are. And this is one case where I will not agree with "better the Devil you know than the Devil you don't know".
Huh, I thought I'd read something from jwz on handling wealth, but I only see a bit on not becoming a creepy asshole.[1] I think I've seen the advice, either:
* surround yourself with people with more money than you OR
It seems like a sad life, and he has also lost out forever on meeting a woman he knows without a doubt isn't marrying him for his success.
His mansion and parties seem like desperate attempts to fill the emotional void inside himself. But it's hollow, as he's now seen.
The way to fill it is by dedicating himself to something that has no financial upside--doing good, in the vein of Clinton, Carter, and Gates. That will give him the kind of fulfillment that a candy wall never will.
In the course of doing so, he may even meet someone similarly like minded.
Less altruistically, he could also create games and release them pseudonymously through a shell company, so he knows any success is because it's a good game, and not because it's from the creator of Minecraft.
Is his face that famous? Especially if he lost a bit of weight? Seems like it would be very easy to setup a new identity that'll pass any checks done by potential spouses and he's unlikeky to be recognized by most people. If anyone says he looks like that Minecraft guy, give them a strange look and a "I wish" or a "hah, my nephew said the same thing".
The strangest thing about the whole thing is that Mojang employees got rather little. If you were out with workmates and found a $2500 lottery ticket, it might be seen odd to say "here's 23 cents". Sure, the scale and absolute values make it different. Why not bring those folks along for a ride? If they could stand your code and they all got along well enough to make games together...
I mean. I assume he paid his employees full salaries? If they were brought on after all the risk was over, why should they get any money from the sale other than the 250K (which is a ton of money regardless)? Was there something deceptive about what he did that screwed the rank-and-file?
I mean what if Minecraft was just a fad and they ended up going broke? Would they have beared extra burden for Notch had it not been as successful?
No, it was nice of him to give them any money. He owed them nothing. Hence my comparison to finding a lotto ticket. Minecraft being sold for 2.5bn is likely beyond what anyone would have bet on. And it wasn't all just him (not to engage in speculation, but I've read that the original code code wasn't fantastic, so certainly employees contributed tons).
So if we'd think someone that found a lotto ticket to be a dick to not get the lunch check, perhaps that logic carries over to larger amounts. Hell, I even feel like a jerk if I get an upgrade on a flight but traveling companions don't.
Maybe I'm weird. I've certainly seen both types of behaviour, albeit at far lesser amounts.
This is only relevant in context of his tweets.
Also: Beverly Hills? That part of California is pretty, but damn, not where I'd go to find people disinterested in money.
It's pretty simple. He valued those friendships. Human nature dictates that they would be pissed off about him not sharing the wealth that they had a hand in creating (regardless of whether they started before or after Minecraft was successful).
He could have easily given each employee $5 MM. It would have cost him about $250 MM. What is that compared to $2500 MM? 10% of a vast fortune he could never spend.
Would his former employees still resent him? Or would they be grateful to him that he made it possible for them to start their own businesses, retire (with some smart investing), live lavishly and stay employed, whatever? Maybe he wasn't obligated to give them a small fortune, but was that the right decision for him, personally, to make? It doesn't sound like it.
So, he gets enough to live a luxurious life a couple dozen times over. They get part of a house in a non-expensive city. Sure, they aren't entitled to anything, but Im not surprised people feel like that's rude.
Sorta like how employees resent not getting bonuses while the partners get millions.
There's a whole class of legitimate bad feelings that it's socially impossible to complain about without coming off as an entitled jerk. I'm sure what notch is feeling is real, but complaining about it in public is just going to make matters worse.
Let he who has not reached out to people for attention via social networking cast the first stone..
Most of us have done it, its very human to seek help from other people while having emotional distress. In modern times that often means social media (even if it isn't the most logical approach, emotional distress doesn't often follow logic)..
That's what happens when you get everything you think you want - money, fame, things - they end up not bringing you happiness. It's one of the great paradoxes of the human condition. It can feel terrible, that everything you thought you wanted brought nothing but despair. I hope Notch finds his way. I can only feel empathy for the kind of person who uses his new-found wealth to construct a candy wall.
Are we being serious? Complaining about your wealth, high roller lifestyle, and fancy destinations doesn't garner much sympathy. Is it really a surprise that he is "alone"? Notch rose to popularly by playing the indie developer card and as soon as he had the chance, he did an about face. He may have seen to it that his team was taken care of but that doesn't change the fact that he took the money and ran.
Good on him making billions more than I ever will but don't expect people to feel sorry because it's lonely when you flaunt your wealth.
I feel bad for him. I might not tell him for fear my pity might incent such a state. It's still sad to see him essentially ejected from his life and otherwise incompatible with the social strata in which he's landed.
Maybe I'm not familiar with enough of the backstory. Where he has landed is fame. Not indie developer fame. Fucking fame. He very apparently wasn't ready for it and is making it worse by visibly floundering now. I feel fucking bad for him.
The problem with his claim of "woe is me" is that his situation is completely reversible. Are your billions really making you unhappy? Here's a thought: donate all of your money.
Oh, but he won't. Because being a billionaire trumps not being a billionaire. He's just taking first world problems to a whole new level.
I would feel differently if he was attempting to live a modest lifestyle but he isn't. He very publicly shows off and is surprised by the response. It's a very immature thing.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10139734
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10144018
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10141224
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10141538