Jones met [[Alex Seropian]] in his second year at the [[University of Chicago]]. In 1991 Seropian had founded [[Bungie]] and published his own game, ''[[Operation: Desert Storm (video game)|Operation: Desert Storm]]''.<ref name="gamesradar-history of halo">{{cite web|author=Xbox World 360 |date=2007-10-08 |url=http://www.gamesradar.com/f/the-history-of-halo/a-2007100812649684036 |title=The History of Halo; How two students went from Pong clones to the biggest game of all time |publisher=[[GamesRadar]] |pages=1–4 |access-date=2009-10-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081123041945/http://www.gamesradar.com/f/the-history-of-halo/a-2007100812649684036 |archive-date=November 23, 2008 }}</ref> Seropian was looking for another game to publish, and they decided to work together to finish ''Minotaur''. While Seropian did design and marketing, Jones finished the programming. ''[[Minotaur: The Labyrinths of Crete]]'' shipped in April 1992;<ref name="img-93 interview"/> while the game sold only around 2,500 copies (it required a then-rare modem for network play),<ref name="gamesradar-history of halo"/> it developed a devoted following. After publishing ''Minotaur'', Jones and Seropian formed a partnership; "What I liked about him was that he never wasted any money", Jones said of his partner.<ref name="bungie-primordial soup gnop">{{cite web|url=http://www.bungie.net/inside/history.aspx?link=HistoryOfBungie_p1 |title=Bungie History: Primordial Soup—Gnop! |publisher=[[Bungie]] |access-date=October 1, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080426200327/http://www.bungie.net/inside/history.aspx?link=HistoryOfBungie_p1 |archive-date=April 26, 2008 }}</ref>
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! |publisher=[[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"/>
