When Minecraft goes public domain?

[DeathOfTime]

Not sure of the official developers current plan for Minecraft. I do know that in the past it was stated that when interest in the game fell below a certain point Notch would make the game public domain.

Would this actually be a game changer? Would it really make any different to the game as is? The game already sees serious modding.

Maybe the game would be picked up by teams to develop further? I don't really know of any modding teams. I know of modders and that they will collaborate a little. I don't know if they would form a full on team to further the future of minecraft though.

I think it would just be interesting. The future of Minecraft, after it no longer has official future. Raises a lot of questions and possibilities for speculation.

 

[ThatOneSlowking]

I don't really know of any modding teams.

IC2, Team CoFH, Buildcraft team.

 

[Mevansuto]

*watches*

 

[DeathOfTime]

IC2, Team CoFH, Buildcraft team.

Yeah, key word was "know of".

I like what they are doing. They even work together through the APIs and forge. Wasn't really thinking of a Mod team working on it. Was more thinking a team of modders. I know there are those that like to only play with one mod and that is it. Lots like to play with entire packs and have all the choices that allows for. IC2, COFH, and Buildcraft work on one way of doing things each. Though they do try to make everything cross compatible, to a point. Each Mod team is only working on one way.

Should Minecraft development always have such a narrow focus?

 

[darkeshrine]

As inevitable as this is, as all games lose popularity over time, handing over to public domain would "ruin" Minecraft. Note the fact that Minecraft's "popularity" from a Mojang perspective is based off of sales, not off of actual popularity. No matter how many people still play the game, when Mojang no longer makes enough money off of Minecraft to continue its upkeep with a certain profit margin, it will be dropped by Mojang and made public domain.

First off, is the fact that no one else could really sell minecraft after it hits public domain even if it's a modified version(not as Mojang left it as). This means that anyone that tries to take it over will be the same as any modder now; it's for fun, not for money. It wouldn't receive regular updates and many more versions would exist as different modders code differently, on different schedules, etc. You'd end up with something similar to IC2 team's version, COFH team's version, etc instead of a single game with a bunch of add-ons/mods. This concept of multiple, highly modded versions leads me into my next point.

Second, is that Minecraft should not have mods built in. The way it is now is really nice. Sure, mod incompatibility is an issue, but it can only be worse than it is now(as of 1.7 not having Item ID conflicts to deal with). I don't know about you, but i enjoy having the option to disable/enable mods i do or do not want to play with. Having mods built in also means that Modpacks are exceedingly more difficult to construct, as some modders will continue making add-ons that may or may not even work with the heavily modded version that you might play with. This will most certainly lead to a drastic decrease in modders, meaning much less content.

Over all, it is probable that after Minecraft enters public domain, that it's popularity will tank through the floor until hit drops into a cave where it's mauled by Zombies, skeletons, spiders, and then blown up by creepers.

 

[DeathOfTime]

Good points. Was thinking of games Like "UFO: Alien Invasion" and "Battle for Wesnoth". Those games are fundamentally different though. Maybe it will be possible that someone tries to make minecraft better, while keeping to the spirit of minecraft.

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I mainly opened this thread as a speculation thread. Which I shouldn't have done. I tend to dislike speculation ,and am also very bad at it.

 

[midi_sec]

This means that anyone that tries to take it over will be the same as any modder now; it's for fun, not for money.

not necessarily.

http://copyrightuser.org/topics/public-domain/

2) The original work (e.g. a musical composition) and its reproduction (e.g. a sound recording) are two different types of work with two different copyrights. Therefore, the fact that an original work is in the public domain does not mean that its reproduction is in the public domain as well. So if you want to use a Mozart composition in your video, you need to find a free to use sound recording of that composition. To find out more information and practical resources around public domain music, see Public domain in films, songs and paintings below.

it all depends on what Mojang does, and how they word it, really.

 

[Quesenek]

I remember this claim as well however I think notch thought minecraft would be the same as his other games he developed for events in that it wasn't going to go anywhere so it really wouldn't matter if it was public domain. I think even notch himself said that he did not think minecraft would be a game anyone would ever play. After minecraft took off I think notch rethought his strategies a little bit, as it is now I doubt notch would release the rights to minecraft even if it does lose popularity.

*Just my 2 cents I honestly do not know the situation as it stands*

 

[BIG mac]

Maybe we will get really lucky and minecraft will just stop being updated but the mods will. If that happened, mods could potentially be even better because the developers wouldn't have to play the "catch up to the current minecraft version" game, giving developers more time to work on implementing new features or making new mods.

I can only hope.

 

[immibis]

Maybe we will get really lucky and minecraft will just stop being updated but the mods will. If that happened, mods could potentially be even better because the developers wouldn't have to play the "catch up to the current minecraft version" game, giving developers more time to work on implementing new features or making new mods.

I can only hope.

Then they will be playing "catch up to the current Forge version" instead.