Who knew there was a documentary about the meteoric rise of Minecraft? It is called Minecraft: The Story of Mojang (2012) and was directed by Paul Owens. It is available via streaming and on DVD from Amazon. Here is more info from the producer’s web site: In 2009, independent video game designer Markus “Notch” Persson released a work in progress that would go on to break every industry rule for achieving success. Part exploratory adventure, part creative building tool, Minecraft evolved from a cult classic into an unprecedented hit, raking daily sales in by the thousands. By the end of 2010, Notch was able to quit his day job and live the…

Kids obsessed with Minecraft? While parents worry that all these pixels and the occasional zombie might be bad for children, a lot of school experts say they shouldn’t fret. From the New York Times: Earlier this year, for example, a school in Stockholm made Minecraft compulsory for 13-year-old students. “They learn about city planning, environmental issues, getting things done, and even how to plan for the future,” said Monica Ekman, a teacher at the Viktor Rydberg school. From being used to educate kids on science and city planning to ethics and ancient worlds, Minecraft has opened up the possibilities of using gaming to create rich environments for learning, particularly through MinecraftEdu, which…