Infiniminer

In 2009, Swedish indie developer Markus Persson began early development on the project that would eventually become Minecraft, initially titled RubyDung. Infiniminer significantly influenced the project, particularly in its block-based visual style, first-person perspective, and building mechanics. However, Persson aimed to incorporate additional gameplay elements, such as role-playing features, to distinguish his game from its predecessor. Following the rise in popularity of Minecraft, Barth reflected on the game's impact in an interview with Cascade PBS. He stated, "It was never my plan to have what happened, happen. You don't plan things in life." Although initially shocked by Minecraft's success, Barth acknowledged the game's popularity. Barth later found commercial success with the release of SpaceChem, a puzzle game that grossed over US$1 million on a development budget of just US$4,000. The game's financial success enabled him to leave his position at Microsoft and establish his own studio, Zachtronics, which eventually employed four people. By 2012, however, the studio faced financial difficulties and turned to contract work with the education company Amplify to develop educational games. On 15 March 2014, Infiniminer was featured on the British television program Fresh Meat. According to Barth, a Channel 4 production coordinator informed him of the inclusion. He initially assumed the reference was to Minecraft due to its broader popularity, but the episode featured footage and references from Infiniminer. In 2015, Barth released Infinifactory, a puzzle game incorporating elements of both Infiniminer and SpaceChem.