Before it became the world-conquering phenomenon it is today, Minecraft was just an idea in the head of creator Markus "Notch" Persson. Famously, the first playable version was created in less than a week. For more than two years after that, Persson and his company Mojang iterated on the design of the game before the "final" version was released.

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In the years since the game has become an internet sensation with more than 100 million players. It moved from PC to consoles and mobile devices, before Mojang was purchased by Microsoft for $2.5 billion. Inevitably during all that development and elapsed time, bits of trivia and background information have emerged.

10 The Game Had Two Different Names In The Beginning

Sign saying cave game the original Minecraft

This cute little block-building game wasn't always known as Minecraft. During the earliest days of its inception, Notch referred to it simply as Cave Game.

At that time, all a player could do was wander around in a flat world. Only two block types existed, Grass and Cobblestone. Later, Notch would change the name to Minecraft: Order Of The Stone, in tribute to a favorite Internet comic called "Order of the Stick". Incidentally, "Order of the Stone" would go on to be the name of the first chapter in Telltale Games' Minecraft Story Mode game.

9 It Has Been Playable In More Than 120 Languages

Minecraft crafting menu in lolcat language

With the game being such a global sensation, it makes sense to try to have as many languages natively supported as possible. In fact, Notch has always talked about wanting to make the game highly accessible. So not only are there a huge number of real languages in the game, there are a few made-up ones as well.

LOLCat for instance is a playable language, as is Klingon, Shakespearean English, and Pirate Speak. There is truly something for everyone in this groundbreaking game.

8 Creepers Were Created Accidentally

Minecraft Two creepers

The lovable green-faced menaces that have come to symbolize the game were never supposed to be part of it at all. In a documentary about the game, Notch explained that he didn't use modeling programs to create the mobs, he just coded them into the game.

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In the process of trying to create a pig, he mixed up the vertical and horizontal measurements, thus creating a tall, skinny object with four feet. He decided to go with the goof, painting it green and creating the enemy that is known and loved around the world today.

7 The Smoldering Effect From Creeper Explosions Was Fan-Inspired

minecraft explosion smolder

Speaking of Creepers, the smoldering effect seen when one of them explodes was not originally part of the game. Notch posted on his blog a piece of fan art that he had taken a liking to, which depicted a smoking crater created by an exploding Creeper.

Notch decided to create a version for his own needs, and the floating black particles following an explosion, both Creeper, and TNT, became a part of the game forever.

6 Herobrine Never Existed

Minecraft Herobrine Empty Eyes

An important part of Minecraft lore that never actually existed, Herobrine was a creation of fans in the Creepypasta community. This site that creates short horror stories, which also gave rise to the Slender Man craze, was the source of the fictitious mob. Herobrine was supposed to invade player's worlds by digging tunnels, building pyramids, and randomly cutting the leaves off of all trees.

The mob's purported appearance was just a copy of the game's character skin, except it had no pupils in its eyes, lending it a creepy persona. Notch is on record as saying that Herobrine was never in the game, though at one point he apparently considered adding him before changing his mind.

5 The Biggest Inspiration Was Infiniminer

infiniminer lava and blocks

Notch was of course a gaming fan before he decided to try his hand at making games. The earliest inspirations for his game-creation dreams were, among others, Dungeon Keeper and Dwarf Fortress.

One game really set the wheels turning in his head, a mining/block-building game called Infiniminer. This was the game he wanted to make, but with a fantasy setting and RPG elements. The rest, as they say, is history.

4 The Game Was Initially An Isometric Strategy Game

Minecraft Dungeons heroes crossing bridge over lava

Before there was really a game, when Notch was just placing blocks and creating the foundational code, the final design was very fluid. At one point, he imagined it would become an isometric strategy game. This refers to the position from where the player views the action, somewhere between a true top-down and side-on view.

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Games that employ a similar view include many of the most famous action-RPGs such as the Diablo games and CRPG's such as Baldur's Gate. Interestingly, the 2020-released Minecraft Dungeons is also played from an isometric view.

3  It Was The First Battle Royale Game

Minecraft Survival Games

Battle Royale games may be as plentiful as water these days, but there was a time before them. And perhaps surprisingly, the first one was created within Minecraft.

In 2012, around the time of the first Hunger Games movie's release, a community creation called Minecraft Survival Games became popular. The map re-created something similar to the Hunger Games arena and randomly placed chests and other goodies around the map before unleashing up to 24 players on each other.

Battle Royale as a genre has come a long way, but the DNA is right here in the blocks.

2 Notch Stepped Down As Lead Programmer At The End Of 2011

Minecraft Creator Notch with a hat

No person or company is more closely associated with Minecraft's creation than Notch, and for good reason. But he was only directly involved with creating the game for those initial two years or so.

In December of 2011 when the game had been given its "final" release but was still undergoing development for new features Notch stepped away from the lead role in order to rest and work on other projects. Jens Bergensten, who had been with Mojang for about a year at that point, took over the lead programmer role at that time.

1 Notch Said He Never Wants To Make Another  Successful Game

Minecraft_Xbox_One_Edition_title screen

Not long after Microsoft's acquisition of Mojang, Notch left the company for good. From his interactions on social media, it was clear that he was feeling immense pressure and responsibility for the property he had created.

Notch stated that he never wanted to make a huge game or change the world, and he only had fun when he was doing small projects. He saw himself not as a CEO but as a programmer, that he didn't want to be a symbol for Minecraft, and he had to leave for the sake of his sanity. He even went so far as to say "If I ever accidentally make something that seems to gain traction, I'll probably abandon it immediately".

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