RPS, Barth interview, 20 January 2011

Cite as: RPS, Barth interview, 20 January 2011
Original: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/01/20/my-chemical-romance-zach-barth-interview/
sha256: b5f8d78fbc631fb1c0ab300fbd782f28feb4dfb3c179aa4314da6292dc19c6ed
Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20110121223756/http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/01/20/my-chemical-romance-zach-barth-interview/
Accessed: 2026-10-26
Licence: © Rock Paper Shotgun; Wayback capture
Credit: Quintin Smith's Q&A with Zach Barth, published 20 January 2011. Barth gives Infiniminer's inspirations, why he stopped, and his view of Minecraft.
Notes: The page's date line reads "Jan. 20, 2011, 12:55 p.m." The interview is the fullest primary statement of the leak and hacked clients; the companion news piece the same day repeats the key quote. Barth's "Hell no; I think it's terrific" answers a question about building for its own sake, not about Minecraft's success.

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Barth told Rock Paper Shotgun in 2011 that Infiniminer combined Infinifrag, Team Fortress 2, and Motherload, and that he wanted to make a competitive mining game.	`answer to "Could you talk a little about what inspired you to design Infiniminer?"`	Interview
Barth said in 2011 that he stopped working on Infiniminer when its source code leaked, which he called his own fault for releasing an unobfuscated .NET assembly. The leak let hackers make hacked clients, and let players unhappy with his balancing fork the game and write their own clients and servers.	`answer to "What led to the decision that you were finished with Infiniminer…"`	Interview
Asked in 2011 whether having made Minecraft's precursor raised conflicting emotions, Barth answered that borrowing ideas is integral to the creative process. Asked whether he saw value in building for its own sake, he said he thought it terrific: "That's why I made a game about it!"	`answer to "Do you ever lie awake at night, howling into your pillow?"answer to the question on building and landscaping for its own sake`	Interview