Jason Jones

(https://www.google.com/search?q=Jason+Jones+bungie ())

Fingers flying over the keyboard, code appears on screen, and then quickly scrolls up as Jason Jones writes code for an update for Destiny. I discovered game designer Jones through an internet search about video game developers. I ran this search for my College and Career Planning class at Capistrano Valley High School. I am a high school student and, although I am currently only a freshmen, I aspire to one day become a video game programmer. Jones interests me, not only because he went into the same field that I want to go into, but because his personality seems to be like mine.

According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook website, the yearly median pay for a computer program was $79,530 in 2015. The minimum amount of education one needs to become a computer programmer is knowledge of computer languages. For example, two languages one could learn to be a programmer are C# and Java. Most computer programmers have a bachelor's degree but some may only have an associate's degree. This degree would most likely be in computer science. A computer programmer is responsible for writing code for software applications, and then testing it. Some typical tasks a computer programmer might do are look through a piece of computer code for bugs, or even write the code itself. Two related careers are graphics designer or operating system creator.

(https://www.google.com/search?q=destiny&safe=stric ())

Jones's aptitude for computer programming was his key for getting his job. According to an interview by Ryan McCaffrey in 2013, Jones success as a programmer and the leader of his company stem from many traits, including his ability to work hard, his drive to create video games, and his ability to look at a video game from many viewpoints. He became interested in computer programming in high school. During high school, he learned to program Applesoft BASIC and 6502 Assembly on an Apple 2 computer. After high school, he worked for a computer aided design company. He went to college at the University of Chicago, where, According to the World Public Library, he met Alex Seropian. Before meeting Alex Seropian, according to the World Public Library, Jones programmed a game called Minotaur: The Labyrinths of Crete. Alex Seropian is another video game designer who co-founded the video game company Bungie with Jones. Jones currently works at Bungie. Jones is one of the project leads on the video game Destiny. Jones also helped to program Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, and Halo: Reach.

Jones contributes to society by writing video games. Video games help to enrich the lives of others by helping them wind down and relax. This is Jones's main goal. It can be seen when, the gaming website Polygon quotes Jones, "'Another one is ... we're working on not just big games or big interactive entertainment. We're working on big entertainment, period. I want people to be able to think about what we're working on next and put it on the same shelf of great memories as they put Star Wars or Raiders of the Lost Ark or Lord of the Rings.'"(In Search of the Heart of Bungie, April 2016) This means that Jones believes that movies, video games, and books, are all just forms of entertainment. They also help enrich the lives of others by providing a way of earning extra income through YouTube and Twitch. According to the IGN, he has helped to program 20 games. These games include Destiny and the Halo Franchise. However, he did not help program Halo 4 and beyond, as Bungie sold Halo to Microsoft.

There are many steps I need to take to become a video game programmer. One class I would like to take is the AP Computer Science class at my high school. I would also like to continue to do well in math. I currently only know one programming language and that is Python. However, I would like to learn C#. I have taken a class at AOPS in Python programming. I would like to go to a good college for computer science, and major in computer science, like Jones did. Two colleges I am considering are Stanford and UCLA because they both have strong computer science programs. Jones and I are similar because I do not like to talk about what I am working on, and neither does he. Another reason we are similar is because we both like to program video games. I will be a successful adult when I am happy with what I am doing at work.