Londonderry''s 21-year-old Minecraft Mogul

Londonderry''s 21-year-old Minecraft mogul By Owen Thomas BBC News NI

11 June 2018

In just three years, an 21-year-old Londonderry man has gone from putting shelves up at a supermarket to building an enviable brick-by-brick gaming enterprise.

Jonathan Black was working in Long''s supermarket as a stock turner when he began his Minecraft business.

While studying for his A-levels in 2015 he created Blockception which is a virtual Lego sets that you can download and play with however you like.

Blockception was selected by Microsoft as a partner in the year 2017 by Microsoft as a partner. Gamers can now access their marketplace to download their pre-made designs that they can edit, explore, and play with.

''Drive''

He explained that he is a descendant of self-employed parents and has always felt the need to earn a living for himself.

"It''s simply the way I grew up in. being surrounded by entrepreneurs and business owners It''s in my blood."

Minecraft is a sandbox game that lets players build 3D worlds using a variety of cubes.

Other activities include exploration resources, combat.

Jonathan quickly realized he did not want to be anybody else''s employee, and with the pressure of balancing A-Levels and work at Long''s, it became evident he needed to quit and focus on Blockception.

He stated, "I was making more money playing Minecraft than I did for a few weeks at work. I wanted to take a step forward and try something different."

"It was a far more exciting way to earn money, and I was doing it through what was basically a hobby."

Jonathan said that making a career of his passion was like winning the lottery, however his relationship with the game is more complicated.

He stated that "being able to make an income full-time from something you enjoy, is amazing, but it doesn’t become an activity anymore, which means you’re giving up one of your favourite hobbies.

"I would have played Minecraft many years ago in my spare time, but it''s more difficult to play when it''s your job."

Partnership with Microsoft

Before Microsoft expressed interest in the business, it was sustained by local projects like CultureTECH however, job opportunities were not flooding in.

Jonathan said: "If Microsoft hadn''t got involved, we would have had to consider alternatives in terms of the long-term business plan.

"A week prior to when Microsoft approached us, we agreed to hand over to another company.

"Just one day before the handover, the email was sent and everything started.

"We were so close to moving away from Minecraft but it''s impossible to do so now."

Lost Civilisation

Microsoft released Lost Civilisation as a free download as part of their 12 days of Christmas campaign. It is the map that sparked the company''s growth.

It has been downloaded more than a million times.

"It''s an impossible number to comprehend, and I''m trying to understand it in stadiums. minecraft-server-list For instance If you think of a full capacity Wembley Arena, it''s still more than ten," Jonathan said.

"It''s just mind-boggling numbers and it''s overwhelming, but it''s also great and if people love playing our music too and are happy, then that''s great."

Is Minecraft a viable career option?

Blockception staff have many skills that have helped them make a living from the video game. This includes graphic designers as well as scriptwriters, programmers and voice actors. There are numerous opportunities for long-term work in Minecraft through work in the creative industry.

Jonathan added: "As we expand, there will be more positions available, but there is a lot of gaming industry competition.

"The last few decades have seen an increase in entry-level jobs, but we''d played Minecraft for a while. I started playing it when I was 14 years old.

"We''ve spent many hours learning things from a consumer perspective , and we''re now fully circled, from providers to players."

Jonathan believes that Minecraft is a trend that will last for a long time, despite the difficulties Blockception had to face in its beginnings.

He said, "I have great confidence that the product is in good hands."