GDC11: Minecraft follow-up announced

Mojang, the super-indie studio behind runaway success story Minecraft, has revealed the next project it is working on as a card game-focused title called Scrolls.

Revealed by Gamasutra, the game is a single and multiplayer title focused on collecting and ‘battling’ cards on a game board.

Jakob Porser, head developer on the game, outlined plans to hold large online world championships for the game, for which the company is looking for a sponsor. Players will also be able to buy and sell cards from each other at an online auction house.

As well as Porser, art for the game is being handled by new studio member Markus Toivonen, with Jens Bergensten and Tobias Mollstam coming in to help out with development later on.

"Notch (Markus Persson) and I started discussing the idea of Scrolls nearly five years ago,” Porser said.

"We are both great fans of the CCG genre, but we felt that there were some common gameplay flaws in the available titles. We’re excited to finally put all our thoughts into action with the realization of Scrolls."

The private alpha for the game is expected later this year, with purchasers of the Minecraft alpha being offered a chance to join.

A later open beta will be released at a later point. Neither build will cost money to join, but Mojang has confirmed that they will only contain multiplayer play.

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