Jason Jones (programmer): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 16:48, 5 June 2018

Revision as of 17:07, 5 June 2018

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==Bungie==

Jones met [[Alex Seropian]] in his second year at the [[University of Chicago]], studying computer science. 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 |accessdate=2009-10-09 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081123041945/http://www.gamesradar.com/f/the-history-of-halo/a-2007100812649684036 |archivedate=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|author=Staff |date= |url=http://www.bungie.net/inside/history.aspx?link=HistoryOfBungie_p1 |title=Bungie History: Primordial Soup—Gnop! |publisher=[[Bungie.net]] |accessdate=2009-10-01 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080426200327/http://www.bungie.net/inside/history.aspx?link=HistoryOfBungie_p1 |archivedate=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 [[Mac IIfx]], passing art chores to his friend Colin Brent.<ref name="img-93 interview"/><ref name="bungie-primordial soup pathways">{{cite web|author=Staff |date= |url=http://www.bungie.net/inside/history.aspx?link=pathways |title=Bungie History: Primordial Soup—Pathways! |publisher=[[Bungie.net]] |accessdate=2010-12-21 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080426200338/http://www.bungie.net/inside/history.aspx?link=pathways |archivedate=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|author=Jarrard, Brian|date=2001-12-18|url=http://www.bungie.net/news/content.aspx?type=topnews&cid=6|title=Jason Jones Interviewed By You|publisher=[[Bungie.net]]|accessdate=2010-02-24}}</ref> which was also released for Windows PCs. The ''Marathon'' series was followed by a series of real-time strategy 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|title=The Art of Halo|year= 2004|publisher= Del Ray Publishing|___location=New York |isbn=0-345-47586-0|page=ix}}</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|title=The Hot 100 Game Developers of 2006|work=Next Generation Magazine|date=2006-03-18|accessdate=2008-03-01|first=Next Gen|last=Staff}}{{dead link|date=April 2016}}</ref> and a manager, barely providing any code to the game. He would read war journals by authors such as [[John Kinkaid]] and [[Winston Churchill]].<ref name="bungie-jones interviewed by you"/>

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|author=Bungie |url=http://www.bungie.net/inside/history.aspx?link=oni |title=Billion Dollar Donut: Halo CE |publisher=[[Bungie.net]] |accessdate=2007-10-08 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080426200333/http://www.bungie.net/inside/history.aspx?link=oni |archivedate=April 26, 2008 }}</ref> Around the same time, a glitch in versions of ''Myth II'' was found to entirely erase a player's 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=2004-09-12 |title=Icons: Bungie |url=http://www.wraith-ops.com/hbomirror/Bungie_Icons.mov |format=[[.MOV|MOV]] |medium= |publisher=[[G4 (U.S. TV channel)|G4TV]] |accessdate=2008-03-14 |time= |quote= |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411182932/http://www.wraith-ops.com/hbomirror/Bungie_Icons.mov |archivedate=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|author=O'Connor, Frank |author2=Smith, Luke | authorlink2=Luke Smith (writer) |date=2007-12-12 |title=Official Bungie Podcast 12/12/2007: With Martin O'Donnell |url=http://www.bungie.net/Inside/content.aspx?link=bungiepodcasttime |publisher=[[Bungie.net]] |accessdate=2008-02-28 |time= |quote= |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080331164029/http://www.bungie.net/Inside/content.aspx?link=bungiepodcasttime |archivedate=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|author=Moreno-Salazar, Quibian |date=2007-10-09 |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,300511,00.html |title=Microsoft Bets Big on Halo 3 |work=[[Fox News]] |accessdate=2010-02-25 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726045259/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C300511%2C00.html |archivedate=July 26, 2008 |df= }}</ref> Jones led the development team that created its sequel, ''[[Halo 2]]'',<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/subscriber/2005/time100/artists/100halo.html|title=The Halo Trinity|work=[[Time Magazine]]|date=2005-04-15|accessdate=2008-03-01|first=Lev|last=Grossman}}</ref> and he worked as design lead on a new video game series, ''[[Destiny (video game)|Destiny]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Destiny/Credits|title=Destiny Credits|publisher=Bungie|work=Bungie|accessdate=2015-02-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=McCaffrey, Ryan|date=2014-06-07|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/07/07/bungie-co-founder-halo-and-destiny-creator-jason-jones-breaks-11-year-silenc|archive-url=https://archive.is/20141222202231/http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/07/07/bungie-co-founder-halo-and-destiny-creator-jason-jones-breaks-11-year-silenc|dead-url=yes|archive-date=2014-12-22|title=Bungie Cofounder Halo and Destiny Creator Jason Jones Breaks 11-Year Silence|work=[[IGN]]|publisher=|accessdate=2014-12-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Pakinkis, Tom |date=2010-04-29 |url=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=244819 |title=Marathon boss heads Bungie's new IP |publisher=[[Computer and Video Games]] |accessdate=2010-05-01 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100501163949/http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=244819 |archivedate=May 1, 2010 }}</ref> He was listed in ''[[Next Generation Magazine]]''{{'}}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 |work=Next Generation Magazine |date=2007-03-03 |accessdate=2008-03-01 |author=Staff |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/60hPMBOGZ?url=http://www.next-gen.biz/features/hot-100-game-developers-2007 |archivedate=August 5, 2011 |df= }}</ref>

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==External links==

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100215015127/http://www.bungie.net/Inside/MeetTheTeam.aspx?person=jones Jason Jones profile] at [[Bungie.net]]

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