David Jones (video game developer) explained

David Jones
Birth Name:David Scott Jones
Birth Place:Dundee, Scotland
Alma Mater:University of Abertay Dundee
Occupation:Video game designer
Known For:Lemmings, Grand Theft Auto, Crackdown
Children:1

David Scott Jones (born October 1965) is a Scottish video game programmer and entrepreneur who co-founded video game developers DMA Design (now Rockstar North) in 1987, Realtime Worlds in 2002, and Cloudgine in 2012.[1] Jones created Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto,[2] which both spawned many successful sequels. He also created the Crackdown franchise for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One consoles, and the open-ended massively multiplayer online game, .[3]

In 2009, he was chosen by IGN as one of the top 100 game creators of all time.[4]

Biography

David Scott Jones was born in Dundee[5] in October 1965.[6] His career in the video game industry began in 1987 after he was made redundant from the Timex factory in Dundee, using the severance pay towards an Amiga 1000 computer with which he developed indie game Menace, under the company name DMA Design along with friends Russell Kay, Steve Hammond and Mike Dailly.[7] [8] Releasing in 1988, the game sold 15,000 copies and earned him £20,000, which he used to buy a car. DMA Design expanded and went on to make a second game, Blood Money, which Jones saw as a "further development" of the concept used in Menace. DMA created a third game in 1991, Lemmings, which was commercially and critically successful, resulting in awards including winning European Game of the Year twice. Over the next two years Lemmings sold over 2 million copies, making Jones, 25 years old at release and married with a child, wealthy and famous.[9]

DMA Design created several more games over the next few years, but Jones spent time on developing an idea for a fighting simulator set in a city; after the release of Syndicate Wars (1996), the company revised the concept to set it in a "living city" and cross it with a driving game, resulting in the successful and controversial Grand Theft Auto, which in turn sparked an entire franchise. In 2012 Jones revealed that much of the controversy surrounding Grand Theft Auto was engineered by their publicist.[10] DMA Design was soon after acquired by Gremlin Interactive, starting a chain of purchases that resulted in the studio becoming Rockstar North. Jones stayed with the company through 1999 and Grand Theft Auto 2 before leaving.[11]

In 2000 Jones founded and led the Dundee studio of Rage Software, Rage Games (Scotland) Limited, where he developed the PC title Mobile Forces. Jones also co-founded Denki who developed Go Go Beckham for Rage. Rage ceased trading after bankruptcy.

In 2002 Jones founded Realtime Worlds, who developed Crackdown (2007) and (2010).[12] Despite receiving funding of $100m Realtime Worlds entered liquidation in 2010 after the disappointing critical and commercial reception to APB.[13]

Jones was the keynote speaker for the World Cyber Games in 2004 where he said that he considered mainstream multiplatform gaming to be the next big thing,[14] and for the 2009 Develop Conference in Brighton.[15]

In 2012 David Jones started work on ChronoBlade, a Facebook action-RPG game, with Stieg Hedlund as part of San Francisco-based development team nWay.[16]

In 2012 he co-founded Cloudgine, a games development company focusing on cloud computing.[17]

In the same year Jones founded Reagent Games, serving as Creative Director, to lead the development of Microsoft Xbox One title Crackdown 3.[18]

In December 2017,[19] Cloudgine was acquired by Epic Games; with this, Jones became Director, Cloud Strategy for Epic Games, and resigned from Reagent Games.[20]

Works

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Interview: The APB ABC Part 1 | Features . Edge Online . 12 January 2013 . 4 April 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130404211933/http://www.edge-online.com/features/interview-apb-abc-part-1/ . live .
  2. Web site: David Jones Returns To APB | News . Edge Online . 12 January 2013 . 24 September 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140924062328/http://www.edge-online.com/news/david-jones-returns-apb/ . live .
  3. Web site: News – GTA Creator Gets New Funding . 8 December 2006 . . 12 January 2013 . 12 May 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120512192909/http://gamasutra.com/view/news/102987/GTA_Creator_Gets_New_Funding.php#.UHvLjIbF2j0 . live .
  4. Web site: IGN - 39. David Jones . IGN . en . 2023-11-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140420073550/http://www.ign.com/top/game-creators/39.html . 2014-04-20.
  5. Web site: Grand Theft Auto creator to mark 20 Years of Games . 10 November 2017 . . 26 August 2021 . 26 August 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210826094530/https://www.abertay.ac.uk/news/2017/grand-theft-auto-creator-to-mark-20-years-of-games/ . live .
  6. Web site: David Scott JONES . . July 28, 2021 . 28 July 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210728103408/https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/25Z4SW5RDfJc0O1lLA5a2s6WURk/appointments . live .
  7. Web site: Batchelor . Andrew . 2020-03-10 . The City That Gave the World Grand Theft Auto . 2023-12-26 . Medium . 26 December 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231226105853/https://medium.com/the-dundonian/the-city-that-gave-the-world-grand-theft-auto-dd38b14ac8b6 . live .
  8. GRAND THEFT AUTO 1996 Making Of - GTA - (BBC Archive) . 2021-12-16 . Cellan Jones . Rory . BBC . 1996-05-16 . Clip taken from Working Lunch, originally broadcast on BBC Two . 26 December 2023 . 26 December 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231226105853/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vWSi44ZTSw . live .
  9. Web site: Grand Theft Auto V: Games visionary behind Scotland's biggest cultural export . 15 September 2013 . 1 December 2013 . . 3 October 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151003021106/http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/video-games/video-games-news/grand-theft-auto-v-games-2275673 . live .
  10. Web site: Grand Theft Auto creators detail Max Clifford's engineered controversy . 22 October 2012 . 1 June 2015 . Edge . Ben . Maxwell . 2 June 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150602070838/http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-10-22-gta-max-clifford-made-it-all-happen . live .
  11. Web site: IGN Presents: The History of Grand Theft Auto . McLaughlin . Rus . 28 March 2008 . . 1 December 2013 . 25 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220125005642/https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/03/28/ign-presents-the-history-of-grand-theft-auto . live .
  12. Web site: Realtime Worlds' David Jones . 12 March 2010 . 1 December 2013 . Oli . Welsh . . 23 April 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170423124456/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/realtime-worlds-david-jones-interview . live .
  13. News: Stuart . Keith . 27 August 2010 . Realtime Worlds: an inside story . . 14 December 2011 . 7 April 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150407075211/http://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2010/aug/27/realtime-worlds-collapse . live .
  14. Web site: GTA Creator David Jones keynotes World Cyber Games 2004 Conference . 7 October 2004 . 1 December 2013 . . 16 March 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140316031040/http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gta-creator-david-jones-keynotes-world-cyber-games-2004-conference/1100-6109983/ . live .
  15. Web site: Develop 2009's speaker lineup partially unveiled . 19 March 2009 . 1 December 2013 . Jem . Alexander . . 3 December 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131203010534/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/03/19/develop-2009s-speaker-lineup-partially-unveiled/ . live .
  16. Web site: Why the creator of GTA and the lead designer of Diablo II are making a Facebook game together . 1 August 2013 . 1 December 2013 . Evan . Lahti . . 3 December 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131203015157/http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/08/01/why-the-creator-of-grand-theft-auto-and-the-lead-designer-of-diablo-ii-are-making-a-facebook-game-together/ . live .
  17. Web site: Our Team . Cloudgine . 30 June 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150923204747/http://www.cloudgine.com/our-team.html . 23 September 2015 . dead.
  18. Web site: Cloudgine is Microsoft's secret Xbox One sauce . Daws . Ryan . 20 May 2014 . Developer Tech . 12 June 2014 . 25 May 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140525022531/http://www.developer-tech.com/news/2014/may/20/cloudgine-microsofts-secret-xbox-one-sauce/ . live .
  19. Web site: Person with significant control for Reagent Games Ltd . Companies House . June 25, 2018 . 25 June 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180625132517/https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/SC423700/persons-with-significant-control . live .
  20. Web site: Crackdown 3's original co-developer and series creator are no longer on the project . Chris . Plante . June 20, 2018 . June 20, 2018 . . 20 June 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180620204343/https://www.polygon.com/e3/2018/6/20/17483492/crackdown-3-microsoft-developer-reagent-games . live .

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