The Game That Inspired Minecraft, But Never Made a Penny

Before Minecraft, there was another game: Infiniminer. The first 500 people to use this link will get a 2 month free trial of Skillshare Premium Membership: ...

Did you know that Minecraft started as a self-described clone of a game called Infiniminer made by Zach Barth of Zachtronics? I sure didn’t.

This video presents an interesting angle on the history of Minecraft and also a case study in the value that can be unlocked by allowing player freedom away from the game designer’s authorial intent - and how strange it is to have a game you created get changed into the most successful game of all time.

How Zachtronics makes its games so GIFable

Studio founder Zach Barth discusses the beauty of seamless loops, and why screenshots are more important for indies than trailers

For many, a lot of the appeal of creative problem-solving games like those made by Zachtronics comes from being able to share solutions within the community. If packaged well, this can also be an excellent source of grassroots marketing for a game. Given that, it’s surprising that Zachtonics basically stumbled accidentally into letting players export GIFs of their creations.

Zach Barth also notes here how screenshots are often more useful than trailers for actually showing off a game or learning about one, due to less pressure to be cinematic and increasing willingness to show UI, which conveys a lot about what you actually do in a game.