Jason Jones (programmer): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 23:11, 14 October 2022

Latest revision as of 05:15, 11 May 2025

(10 intermediate revisions by 9 users not shown)

Line 1:

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}}

{{Short description|American video game developer and programmer}}

{{Infobox person

Line 8 ⟶ 9:

| alma_mater = [[University of Chicago]]

| occupation = [[Video game developer]], [[video game programmer|programmer]]

| known_for = Co-Founderfounder of [[Bungie]], Coco-creator of ''[[Marathon (video game)|Marathon]]'', ''[[Myth: The Fallen Lords|Myth]]'', ''[[Halo (franchise)|Halo]]'', and ''[[Destiny (video game)|Destiny]]''

| title = [[Chief creative officer|CCO]] of [[Bungie]]

}}

'''Jason Jones''' (born June 1, 1971)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://halo.bungie.org/news.html?item=2923 |title=Happy Birthday, Jason and Peter! |last=Errera |first=Claude |date=June 2, 2001 |website=[[Halo.Bungie.Org]] |access-date=February 22, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100418130048/http://halo.bungie.org/news.html?item=2923 |archive-date=April 18, 2010}}</ref> wasis an American [[video game developer]] and [[video game programmer|programmer]] who co-founded the video game studio [[Bungie]] with [[Alex Seropian]] in 1991. Jones began programming on [[Apple Inc.|Apple computers]] in high school, assembling a multiplayer game called ''[[Minotaur: The Labyrinths of Crete]]''. While attending the [[University of Chicago]], Jones met Seropian and the two formed a partnership to publish ''Minotaur''.

Following the modest success of ''Minotaur'', Jones programmed Bungie's next game, ''[[Pathways into Darkness]]'', and worked on code, level design and story development for Bungie's ''[[Marathon Trilogy|Marathon]]'' and ''[[Myth (video game series)|Myth]]'' series. For Bungie's next projects, ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'' and ''[[Halo 2]]'', Jones took on a more managerial role as project lead. He served as director on the 2014 video game ''[[Destiny (video game)|Destiny]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Inanimado 001 |title=Destiny 2 Reveal - Interview with Jason Jones Co Founder Bungie |website=[[YouTube]] |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TCpaocln8M&t=15 |date=May 18, 2017 |access-date=October 27, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/6TCpaocln8M |archive-date=December 22, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==Early life==

Jones became interested in programming in high school, and learned [[Applesoft BASIC]] and [[Assembly language|6502 Assembly]] on an [[Apple II series]] computer. When Apple released its [[Macintosh]] line, Jones's family purchased a [[Macintosh 128K]], but Jones never programmed much for it. After high school Jones got a job programming for a [[computer-aided design]] company on PCs, before going to college the next year. In his off time Jones said that all he ever did on the Apple II was write games, "and it seemed logical to continue that on the Mac," he said. "The first thing I did on the Mac was to port a modem game I'd written called ''Minotaur'' from 6502 Assembly on the Apple II into MPW C on the Mac. I was still finishing that when I came to college. By that time, I knew I wanted to write games."<ref name="img-93 interview">{{cite magazine |last=Rouse |first=Richard III |date=October 1993 |title=IMG Interview: Bungie's Jason Jones |url=http://pid.bungie.org/IMGjasoninterviewOct93.html |magazine=[[Inside Mac Games]] |access-date=February 22, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160224172644/http://pid.bungie.org/IMGjasoninterviewOct93.html |archive-date=February 24, 2016}}</ref>

==Career==

Line 24 ⟶ 25:

Bungie focused on the Mac platform due to familiarity with the platform and ease of use. "The PC market was really cutthroat, but the Mac market was all friendly and lame. So it was easier to compete," Jones said.<ref name="bungie-primordial soup gnop" /> After ''Minotaur'', Bungie began work on a 3D graphics version of the game, but realized that the game's format was not suited to a 3D environment. Instead, Jones and Seropian wrote a brand-new story for what became ''[[Pathways Into Darkness]]''. Since Bungie had no money and Jones was the only one with the available time, he single-handedly coded the game on a [[Macintosh IIfx]], passing art chores to his friend Colin Brent.<ref name="img-93 interview" /><ref name="bungie-primordial soup pathways">{{cite web |author=Staff |url=http://www.bungie.net/inside/history.aspx?link=pathways |title=Bungie History: Primordial Soup—Pathways! |website=[[Bungie]] |access-date=December 21, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080426200338/http://www.bungie.net/inside/history.aspx?link=pathways |archive-date=April 26, 2008}}</ref> ''Pathways'' was successful enough that Bungie moved from a one-bedroom apartment to an actual office.<ref name="bungie-primordial soup pathways" />

Bungie's next project started as an update of ''Pathways'' but evolved into a science fiction shooter game, [[Marathon (video game)|''Marathon'']]. The game included state-of-the-art graphics, network multiplayer, and voice support, and won a number of awards on release in 1994.<ref name="gamesradar-history of halo" /> Jones recalled that he was surprised anyone ever completed the game and sought to atone for some of its shortcomings with its sequel, ''[[Marathon 2: Durandal]]'',<ref name="bungie-jones interviewed by you">{{cite web |last=Jarrard |first=Brian |date=December 18, 2001 |url=http://www.bungie.net/news/content.aspx?type=topnews&cid=6 |title=Jason Jones Interviewed By You |website=[[Bungie]] |access-date=February 24, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013011106/http://www.bungie.net/news/content.aspx?type=topnews&cid=6 |archive-date=October 13, 2012}}</ref> which was also released for [[Microsoft Windows]]. The ''Marathon'' series was followed by a series of [[real-time strategytactics]] games, starting with ''[[Myth: The Fallen Lords]]'' in 1996.<ref name="gamesradar-history of halo" />

Bungie continued to expand, and in 1997 work began on a new project, codenamed ''Blam!''<ref name="gamesradar-history of halo" /> (Jones had changed the name from ''Monkey Nuts'' because he could not bring himself to tell his mother about the new game under that title.)<ref>{{cite book |last=Trautmann |first=Eric |year=2004 |title=The Art of Halo |___location=New York City |publisher=[[Del Ray Publishing]] |page=ix |isbn=0-345-47586-0}}</ref> ''Blam!'' evolved from a real-time strategy game to a third-person shooter to a [[first-person shooter]] called ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]''. Jones role in development was unlike ''Marathon'' and ''Myth'', where Jones was involved in developing more than half the levels and much to most of the story. Instead, he was the project lead<ref name="interview">{{cite web|url=http://www.next-gen.biz/features/hot-100-game-developers-2006|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130115042648/http://www.next-gen.biz/features/hot-100-game-developers-2006|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 15, 2013|title=The Hot 100 Game Developers of 2006|work=Next Generation Magazine|date=March 18, 2006|access-date=March 1, 2008}}</ref> and a manager, barely providing any code to the game. He would read war journals by authors such as [[John Kinkead]] and [[Winston Churchill]].<ref name="bungie-jones interviewed by you" />

Line 30 ⟶ 31:

In 2000, [[Microsoft]] acquired Bungie, moving the team from Chicago to Washington State. Jones recalled that the buyout was a "blur [...] We'd been talking to people for years and years—before we even published ''Marathon'', [[Activision]] made a serious offer [to buy us]. But the chance to work on [the Microsoft [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]] console]—the chance to work with a company that took the games seriously. Before that we worried that we'd get bought by someone who just wanted Mac ports or didn't have a clue."<ref name="history of bungie billion dollar donut">{{cite web |url=http://www.bungie.net/inside/history.aspx?link=oni |title=Billion Dollar Donut: Halo CE |website=[[Bungie]] |access-date=October 8, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080426200333/http://www.bungie.net/inside/history.aspx?link=oni |archive-date=April 26, 2008}}</ref> Around the same time, a glitch in versions of ''Myth II'' was found to entirely erase a player's [[hard disk drive|hard drive]]; this led to a massive recall of the games right before they shipped, costing Bungie nearly one million dollars.<ref name="history of bungie billion dollar donut" /><ref name="game icons">{{cite video |people=Bungie |date=October 12, 2004 |title=Icons: Bungie |url=http://www.wraith-ops.com/hbomirror/Bungie_Icons.mov |publisher=[[G4 (U.S. TV channel)|G4TV]] |format=[[.MOV|MOV]] |access-date=March 14, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411182932/http://www.wraith-ops.com/hbomirror/Bungie_Icons.mov |archive-date=April 11, 2008}}</ref> Composer [[Martin O'Donnell]] said that this recall created financial uncertainty in the studio, though accepting the offer was not something "Bungie had to do."<ref name="bungie podcast- odonnell">{{cite web |last1=O'Connor |first1=Frank |last2=Smith |first2=Luke |author-link2=Luke Smith (writer) |date=December 12, 2007 |title=Official Bungie Podcast 12/12/2007: With Martin O'Donnell |url=http://www.bungie.net/Inside/content.aspx?link=bungiepodcasttime |website=[[Bungie]] |access-date=February 28, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080331164029/http://www.bungie.net/Inside/content.aspx?link=bungiepodcasttime |archive-date=March 31, 2008}}</ref> Jones and Seropian refused to accept Microsoft's offer until the entire studio agreed to the buyout.<ref name="game icons" />

''Combat Evolved'' was highly successful, selling more than a million units in its first six months and driving Xbox sales.<ref name="foxnews-halo 3">{{cite news |last=Moreno-Salazar |first=Quibian |date=October 9, 2007 |title=Microsoft Bets Big on Halo 3 |url=httphttps://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,300511,00.htmlmicrosoft-bets-big-on-halo-3 |work=[[Fox News]] |access-date=February 25, 2010 |url-status=deadlive |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726045259/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C300511%2C00.html |archive-date=July 26, 2008}}</ref> Jones led the development team that created its sequel, ''[[Halo 2]]'',<ref>{{cite news |last=Grossman |first=Lev |date=April 15, 2005 |title=The Halo Trinity |url=http://www.time.com/time/subscriber/2005/time100/artists/100halo.html |work=[[Time Magazine]] |access-date=March 1, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070112120408/http://www.time.com/time/subscriber/2005/time100/artists/100halo.html |archive-date=January 12, 2007}}</ref> and served as director on a new video game series, ''[[Destiny (video game)|Destiny]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Destiny/Credits |title=Destiny Credits |website=Bungie |access-date=February 1, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128225752/https://www.bungie.net/en/Destiny/Credits |archive-date=January 28, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/07/07/bungie-co-founder-halo-and-destiny-creator-jason-jones-breaks-11-year-silenc |title=Bungie Cofounder Halo and Destiny Creator Jason Jones Breaks 11-Year Silence |last=McCaffrey |first=Ryan |date=June 7, 2014 |website=[[IGN]] |publisher=[[j2 Global]] |___location=Los Angeles, California |access-date=December 22, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20141222202231/http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/07/07/bungie-co-founder-halo-and-destiny-creator-jason-jones-breaks-11-year-silenc |archive-date=December 22, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Pakinkis |first=Tom |date=April 29, 2010 |title=Marathon boss heads Bungie's new IP |url=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=244819 |magazine=[[Computer and Video Games]] |access-date=May 1, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100501163949/http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=244819 |archive-date=May 1, 2010}}</ref> He was listed in ''[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]''{{'}}s top 100 Developers in 2006 and 2007.<ref name="interview" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.next-gen.biz/features/hot-100-game-developers-2007 |title=The Hot 100 Game Developers of 2007 |date=March 3, 2007 |website=Next Generation Magazine |access-date=March 1, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120820032431/http://www.next-gen.biz/features/hot-100-game-developers-2007 |archive-date=August 20, 2012}}</ref>

After the release of Halo 2, Jones took a sabbatical from Bungie, not knowing whether he wanted to continue making games.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=https://waypointwww.vice.com/en_usen/article/xwqjg3/the-complete-untold-history-of-halo-an-oral-history/ |title=The Complete, Untold History of Halo |last=Haske |first=Steve |date=May 30, 2017 |website=Waypoint |access-date=October 27, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015035138/https://waypoint.vice.com/en_us/article/xwqjg3/the-complete-untold-history-of-halo-an-oral-history |archive-date=October 15, 2017}}</ref> As Jones returned, his involvement with Halo began to diminish,<ref name=":0" /> as Jones tended to 'dislike' sequels.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pid.bungie.org/IMGjasoninterviewOct93.html |title=IMG Interview: Bungie's Jason Jones |last=Rouse III |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Rouse III |website=pid.bungie.org |access-date=October 27, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907140327/http://pid.bungie.org/IMGjasoninterviewOct93.html |archive-date=September 7, 2017}}</ref> He desired to build a new intellectual property.<ref name=":1">{{cite book |last=Schreier |first=Jason |year=2017 |title=Blood, Sweat, and Pixels |___location=New York City |publisher=[[Harper Paperbacks]] |pages=176–200 |isbn=9780062651235}}</ref> Jones worked closely with colleague [[Jaimie Griesemer]] who was working on his own internal project named "Dragon's Tavern" which Griesemer described to be a "third person fantasy game"<ref name=":1" /> In the end however, Jones had the most power at Bungie, despite not being the President he was the majority share-holder and his vision of the studio was his alone to decide.<ref name=":1" /> Ultimately, Jason got his way with the studio's next project and worked with Griesemer to combine his ideas of "Dragon's Tavern" with what would be ''[[Destiny (video game)|Destiny]]''.<ref name=":1" /> As development continued, and with Griesemer gone, the writing team led by [[Joseph Staten]] had created a "Super-Cut" which was essentially a summary of the game's story-line. The super-cut was poorly received by Jones and the rest of the studio.<ref name=":1" /> Shortly after, Jones decided to scrap the writing team's work and effectively re-write the story very late into production with [[Martin O'Donnell|Marty O'Donnell]], believing it was not feasible and almost impossible to complete.<ref name=":1" /> Knowing the game was in peril with his proposed reboot of the story, Jones formed a group called the "Iron Bar" composed of art director Christopher Barrett, designer [[Luke Smith (writer)|Luke Smith]] and writer Eric Raab, an experienced book editor.<ref name=":1" /> Jones and the rest of Bungie carried on to release ''Destiny'' on September 9, 2014, to mostly positive reception.<ref name=":1" />

==References==

Line 38 ⟶ 39:

==External links==

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20210121152701/http://halo.bungie.net/Inside/MeetTheTeam.aspx?person=jones Jason Jones profile] at [[Bungie]]

{{Bungie}}

{{Destiny series}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Good article}}