I thought this was an interesting read from Notch's Blog (Notch was the main programmer and developer for the popular game Minecraft). He explains how he thought he was the best programmer, but has taken some time to reflect on his self-taught skills during and after Minecraft:

The Word of Notch


Notch previously worked on many smaller games, but also the MMO WURM Online. He has handed the game development for Minecraft over to Jen's, who works for Notch's company Mojang. Since then, it seems like he has been taking a break, but wants to pick up a new project.

Just what type of new project might Notch come up with? Some would hope he would 'finish' Minecraft before moving on, but whatever he does I'm sure it will have some followers watching closely as he starts a new project.


Admitting that he has a lot to learn as a programmer is good. As many who play Minecraft know, the game demands a lot of resources from your machine for what many would call poor graphics and textures. A big part of this is probably due to it being programmed in Java, but also because it is an indie game developed by a self-taught programmer without the big fancy studio, team of developers, designers, etc.

I do hope that Notch decides to learn more to improve upon his programming skills. It is obvious that the games he has worked on really have character and provide a unique experience missing from many games.

I will keep an eye on his blog and post any interesting future updates that might pop up.