But where did he come from, this Notch? Why is he called Notch? What gave him the inspiration for his game? Digitiser2000 reveals all - in this ultimate guide to... The Life of Notch.
You go, Phil! Woo! Kick the ball, yeah?
Sadly, following years of drug and alcohol addiction, Phil Lynott would pass away from septicaemia on January 4th 1986 - aged just 36 years old; roughly the same age as Notch, prior to his recent birthday.
However, there was one who watched the young Markus from afar, with envious eyes...
Kex wanted to steal the babeling's fairness for himself, so that he could spend hours in front of the mirror going "Hmm... looking good, dude, yeah?"
Jarfross put his plans into motion, studying ancient and arcane texts for decades. Long into the endless night he would pore over those pages, muttering the words which formed the elements of a grand and evil spell.
Unfortunately, those plans would never come to fruition, for by the time Jarfross was at last ready, Markuss had grown into an average-looking man, and he lost interest.
The young Markus was also a big fan of music, and would spend his days listening to Ian Dury and the "Block"-heads, and "Brick" Astley, and Pink Floyd's "The Wall", maybe.
Who knows whether this event, if it happened, might have had an effect on his mind... providing the spark which would eventually lead to his crowning achievement?