Jens Bergensten | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Bergensten in 2012 | |
| Born | Jens Peder Bergensten (1979-05-18)18 May 1979 (age 45) Örebro, Sweden |
| Other names | Jeb |
| Alma mater | Lund University |
| Occupation(s) | Video game programmer anddesigner |
| Known for | Lead developer ofMinecraft |
| Title | Chief creative officer ofMojang Studios |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
Jens Peder Bergensten (born 18 May 1979), known professionally asJeb, is a Swedishvideo game programmer anddesigner. He is best known as the lead designer ofMinecraft,[1][2][3] and is thechief creative officer ofMojang Studios. In 2013, he, along withMinecraft creatorMarkus Persson, was named as one ofTime's100 most influential people in the world.[4] As an employee of Mojang Studios, he had been co-developingMinecraft with Persson since 2010, became the lead designer in 2011, and assumed full control in 2014, when Persson left the company after its acquisition.[5]
Jens Peder Bergensten[6] was born on 18 May 1979[7][8] inÖrebro, Sweden.[9]
On 11 May 2013, Bergensten married photographer Jenny Bergensten (née Thornell).[10] On 10 December 2015, Bergensten had a son, Björn.[11]
Bergensten started programming his first games at 11 years old, usingBASIC andTurbo Pascal.[12] By age 21, he was amapper andmodder for thefirst-person shooter gameQuake III Arena.[13] He worked as aC++ andJava programmer for the game developerKorkeken Interactive Studio, which went bankrupt and becameOblivion Entertainment.[14] After the insolvency of Oblivion Entertainment, Bergensten moved toMalmö and earned a master's degree incomputer science atLund University in 2008.[12][15]
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During his time working at Korkeken (meaning the cork oak), Bergensten spent his free time leading the development for theonline role-playing gameWhispers in Akarra, which entertained a small playerbase of several hundred players. He later discontinued this project after straying from the team's original creative vision for the project.[16] Bergensten publicly released the world editors and source code forAkarra's server client in 2008.[17]
Afterwards he founded the indie game development companyOxeye Game Studio with Daniel Brynolf and Pontus Hammarber, who wanted to create a spiritual successor toWhispers in Akarra.[citation needed] The studio's first project wasDawn of Daria, a self-described "massively-multiplayer fantasy life simulator".[citation needed] After several public alpha tests, the project was discontinued like its predecessor, and Oxeye Games Studio switched their focus to various game jam project and tech demos.[citation needed] The company was soon known for thereal-time strategy gameHarvest: Massive Encounter[citation needed] and later theplatform gamesCobalt andCobalt WASD.
Until 24 November 2010, Bergensten worked for the online knowledge community;Planeto.[18][19]
In November 2010, Bergensten was hired as Mojang's back-enddeveloper forScrolls (now known asCaller's Bane). He later began programming increasingly significant parts ofMinecraft until he became its lead designer in December 2011, taking over fromMarkus Persson.[2] Bergensten was part of the team that developedCatacomb Snatch as part ofHumble Bundle Mojam, agame jam.[citation needed] In recent years Bergensten has been featured in the teaser videos forMinecraft Live along withAgnes Larsson.
Currently, Bergensten serves as thechief creative officer of Mojang Studios.[20]
| Year | Nominated work | Category | Award | Result | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Minecraft | Best Debut Game, Innovation Award, Best Downloadable Game | Game Developers Choice Awards | Won | [21] |
