Jonathan Rowe

Hello there! I have been in the games industry for almost 30 years, but it doesn’t feel like it. Our industry is forever evolving with new tools, technology and techniques to learn. I feel privileged to be a part of it all and passionate in particular about my specific discipline. Not only do I enjoy creating art myself, I find coaching and mentoring talent enormously rewarding. Like a lot of developers, I enjoy playing games as much as I enjoy making them. If I am not in the middle of the latest console release, then I can be found sim racing!

_Favourite Game

iRacing

_Favourite Book

Handbook of Designs & Devices by Clarence P. Hornung

_Currently Learning

Blender

Questions & Answers

Earliest gaming memory?

Answer

Typing in games from ‘INPUT’ magazine, onto my BBC Model B microcomputer and then modifying them to figure out how they worked.

What was the game that triggered you looking at games as a career?

Answer

There wasn’t much in the way of a games industry when I was growing up, and game development was more of a hobby alongside my love of art, so I initially aimed my sights on working in film or television. The closest I got to something that looked like a proper project was when I had made a video game about road safety for my dad who was a Police officer that regularly gave talks in schools. The game that I created would eventually be distributed to around 150 schools in the local area. I often wonder how many kids played it.

What game has inspired you the most?

Answer

Out of the games that I have played most recently, it would be Stray. Gorgeous visuals, engaging game play and a richly detailed world I wanted to live in.

What is the first game you worked on?

Answer

Professionally, the first game I worked on that was released was X-COM: Apocalypse while working for MicroProse.

Games you’re the proudest to have worked on?

Answer

Geoff Crammond’s Grand Prix 3, RYSE : Son of Rome and HITMAN (2016)

If you weren’t making games?

Answer

I would either be working in film or TV.

Top 3 games of all time?

Answer

Such a difficult question to answer… #1 - Quake 1 because I loved the art style and was a fan of id’s work. I have fond memories of lunchtime LAN death matches with work mates. #2 - The first Half Life which opened my mind to how powerful narrative can be when married seamlessly with game play. #3 - Tetris because it is simply timeless, though I still think the Gameboy version remains the peak version.

Hardest Game Boss?

Answer

I never met one I didn’t like. I think they are just misunderstood!