Be Excellent To Each Other

“It’s not like Minecraft,” says project lead Jacob Porser, who with Markus Persson has wanted to make the game for five years. “It’s very different from Minecraft. It’s more along the lines of a collectable card game. But it’s not just that – we’ve added a lot.”

It’s more collectable card game meets board game meets role playing. The simple name was a temporary placeholder while they tried to think of something else. But it got stuck.

Minecraft, the indie phenomenon of 2010, has meant the company is secure to experiment with something completely new. Selling over 1.4 million copies, at €14.95 a time, works out to just shy of twenty-one million euros, and it continues to pour in. That’s slightly more than most indie developers have to hand. It’s meant they can expand to a company with its own offices, and in a couple of days time a total of nine staff. And about half of them will be working on Scrolls, aiming to get it into a purchasable beta by the end of this year.

Set in a traditional fantasy world, players will initially buy a pack of game cards, which are played as units and spells on a game board shared by two opponents.

“At the core it’s a collectable card game, but it’s also a board game,” says Jacob. “It’s combining the two. As you place your units or your buildings, or your siege weapons, you place it on the game board to play against your opponent. It’s not only about designing a proper collection of scrolls [cards], and the tactical aspect of that deck, but it’s also about the tactical sense of how to place your units on the game board.”

Players will buy the game, and with that will come a randomised starter deck of scrolls. Should they want more, they can buy additional card packs, as with any other CCG, and of course not know what new cards they’ll receive. And they have many other plans for adding to your deck. “Obviously it’s going to be a multiplayer game,” continues Jacob. “We have a lot of fun ideas for the community. We’re going to let you place your Scrolls in an auction house, trading with other players, and a lot of different multiplayer templates. Ranging from a friendly game, testing out your latest deck, or you may enter a more long-term league, where you get ranked. That can go on for a couple of months. We also plan on having a lot of tournaments. Small ones, and large, like a world championship. We’re talking to some great partners about that.”

That said if the betas cheap I might give it a go.

I can understand why charging for the minecraft beta was necessary

aiming to get it into a purchasable beta by the end of this year.

And also, WHY?! Are they going to be "that company what releases unfinished games and charges for them"?

Every other cunt does it these days. At least they've the baws to just come out & say it.

Notch had good reason to with Minecraft

Beside "I wants money": No, no he didn't - not to start with, anyway.
And he charged for the Alpha as well, don't forget.

But if he hadn't, he wouldn't have been motivated to develop it much further

wouldn't have left his job to devote full time to it, etc etc.

Why not?

Lack of time? Increasing demands from users becoming an annoyance which isn't compensated by anything? Why does most "free" software with a sole developer languish fairly early on?

Why bother at all. Why not retire now?

Solid gold house and rocket car, innit.

Why bother at all. Why not retire now?

Let's put it this way - if that magazine I've just ordered arrives with a load of half-finished articles I'm going to be sad. But I wouldn't expect it to, as I've paid for it.