We walk through an underground jungle where thick vines hang down from the ceiling. It’s dripping and damp. Something shiny can be glimpsed between the dense vines.
“This is why I still love playing Minecraft! Even though I’m involved in creating all the parts, there’s still a lot to discover,” says Agnes Larsson, creative director of the game Minecraft at Mojang Studios.
A neo-Renaissance style door leads into Mojang’s head office in Münchenbryggeriet, Stockholm. Inside, every surface is brightly decorated with different motifs from Minecraft. The feeling of being inside the game hits you directly on entering the reception area.
Creative joy
Since its inception in 2009, Minecraft has sold over 300 million copies worldwide, making it the world’s best-selling and most played game. And, despite the game having been around for 15 years, it remains popular as new generations discover its charms. Agnes Larsson has worked here since 2016.
“One of the key things is creative empowerment. Minecraft is a game that’s about the player being creative and telling their own stories. We give the player the tools to create their own experience rather than us deciding how the game should be played. It’s also very simple. It’s easy to build something that looks nice.”
For those unfamiliar with Minecraft, it is a computer game where players can build virtually anything in an endless world. The basic game has no goals and no requirements, the player can create freely. There is also a survival mode where the player must ensure their character’s survival by building shelter, searching for food and fighting various enemies, such as zombies and monsters.
Digital Lego
The game consists of simply designed cubes that can represent different materials such as stone, wood, clay, diamond and so on. As a player, you move the cubes around and stack them freely to build whatever you want. It’s rather like a digital Lego.
“On the first day you play, you might build a small cabin. But even then, you feel proud that ‘I did this’ and ‘I came up with it myself’. So, the players feel a real sense of creative pride.”
Interest in games began early for Agnes Larsson. When her older brother got a Nintendo 8-bit, all three siblings quickly got hooked. Agnes was then three years old. Her childhood was marked by games such as Super Mario, Zelda and Sim City. But one of them stood out in the crowd.
Programming is key
We move from the meeting room to one of the sofas in the lunchroom to have a cup of coffee. She takes off her shoes and curls up in one of the sofas along with a plush Minecraft pig. She feels at home here. And that is perhaps not so strange considering that she has been playing Minecraft since long before she started working at Mojang.
“It’s been one of my favourite games since long before I started here, so it was really a dream come true to get this job.”
But getting a job at a prestigious company like Mojang was not a foregone conclusion. Agnes Larsson says there are three main reasons why she got the job.
“One is definitely that I could program, and that was really thanks to my education in Linköping. I couldn’t code at all and had never tried before I started studying. Another reason was that I ‘d played a lot of Minecraft. And the third reason was that I actually dared to apply for the job, although it took some convincing. They were my idols, and I never thought I’d be able to work here. You have to dare to believe in yourself!”
Colleague with role model
At the beginning, much of her time at Mojang was focused on programming and technical development. But there was also room for some creative work. The longer she worked at Mojang, the more responsibility she was given, and there was more focus on the broader aspects and building a team that could develop the game in the right direction.
It’s nearly eleven thirty and slowly the lunchroom becomes busier. Down the stairs comes a tall, thin man with glasses, a flat cap and a slightly bushy red beard. He greets Agnes warmly and she introduces him as Jens. He is among those who have been at Mojang almost since the beginning and his name is Jens “Jeb” Bergensten. He is the lead developer of Minecraft. In 2013, Jens was named by Time magazine as one of the world’s most influential people, and he was a host on the popular Sommar programme on Swedish national radio channel P1 in August 2024. He moves on towards the door and lunch.
“It’s really strange being a close colleague and friend with someone I’ve looked up to so much before I started here. I’ve become a public person, for better or worse. Sometimes people get very angry because we change something, for example. It can be a bit tough,” says Agnes Larsson.
For a better world
Although Minecraft is constantly evolving and changing, Agnes Larsson believes that it is important to keep the core of the game, creativity, intact. If the game gets too template and predetermined, you risk killing the creative joy, she thinks.
Even on a personal level, it is all about creative joy for Agnes Larsson and, to avoid growing tired of the game, she has realised that she needs other ways than Minecraft to express herself.
“At times, Minecraft has become a part of me. Then I have to actively think about distancing myself in order to maintain the passion and joy. It’s something I’ve had to think about quite a lot and work on myself. A job is a job and sometimes it’s just great fun and sometimes it’s not such great fun.”
But doing something other than Minecraft once in a while does not mean taking a break from creative world-building.
“I always want a world that I create with lots of family trees and kingdoms and their interactions with each other and their history. My Minecraft world has been like that for maybe 13 years. And now I’ve started to create a new one that doesn’t use Minecraft. At the moment, it’s just writing and drawings.”
Agnes Larsson thinks the future looks bright for Minecraft. As official spokesperson for the game, she organises games workshops for children, gives lectures and engages in issues such as inclusion and social justice.
“We reach a huge number of people, and I think it’s not just an opportunity, but a responsibility to try to make the real world better through different messages in the game."
