Research Outline

Mojang

Early Findings

Goal

To evaluate research on different games starting with the Mojang company in order to determine whether to add them to a games library.

Early Findings

  • Mojang was founded by Markus “Notch” Persson in 2009 and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.
  • The company was acquired by Microsoft on September 15, 2014 for $2.5 billion.
  • Majong is an independent game developer with titles including Minecraft, Scrolls, and Cobalt.

Minecraft

  • Mojang is most widely known for the game Minecraft.
  • Minecraft was orginally known as the online game "Cave Game" and was released in 2009 for the PC.
  • It is a sandbox game that requires players to explore the Minecraft world and gather resources in the form of lego-style blocks. These blocks can be used to build structures that will protect them from monsters that come out at night.
  • Minecraft is popular with the modding community because players have the ability to design their own codes in the gameplay.
  • In Survival Mode, resources are scarce requiring players to spend more time exploring the worlds to find the resources to build with.
  • In Creative Mode, resources are unlimited so players can rely on their own creativity to build their structures rather than spending time searching for resources.
  • The game is currently available on PC, Mobile, Wii U, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Windows Phone, PS3, PS4, and PSV.

Scrolls

  • Scrolls is an online collectible card playing game released by Mojang in 2015.
  • In 2018, the name was changed to Caller's Bane.
  • Gameplay involves players battling each other using their collection of magical "scrolls" in order to outmaneuver the opponent.
  • Players build their card deck by trading with other players, winning games, or adding on booster packs.

Cobalt

  • Cobalt was created by Oxeye Game Studio and published by Mojang.
  • It is an action side-scrolling game in which players are involved in combat as individuals or teams.
  • The game is available on Steam for Windows, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

Proposed Next Steps

In order to determine which games should be added to a games library, we propose:

An indepth overview of each of the three games published by Mojang. This would cover how the game is played, game structure, game modes, costs, platforms, and player reviews. (3 hours, $75)