Jake Solomon
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Jacob Solomon, better known as Jake Solomon, is an American
game designer Game design is the process of creating and shaping the mechanics, systems, rules, and gameplay of a game. Game design processes apply to board games, card games, dice games, casino games, role-playing games, sports, Wargame (video games), war ga ...
. A long-time employee of Maryland-based
Firaxis Games Firaxis Games, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Sparks, Maryland. The company was founded in May 1996 by Sid Meier, Jeff Briggs, and Brian Reynolds (game designer), Brian Reynolds following their departure from MicroProse, Meie ...
who applied due to his interest in the ''
XCOM ''XCOM'' (originally called ''X-COM'') is a science fiction video game franchise featuring an elite international organization tasked with countering alien invasions of Earth. The series began with the strategy video game '' UFO: Enemy Unknown' ...
'' series of turn-based strategy games, he is best known for his work on the design of '' XCOM: Enemy Unknown'', a reboot of the series, and its sequel, '' XCOM 2''. In 2023, he left Firaxis to become an
indie developer An indie video game or indie game (short for independent video game) is a video game created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large game publisher, in contrast to most "AAA" (triple-A ...
for Midsummer Studios, working on an unannounced
life simulation game Life simulation games form a subgenre of simulation video games in which the player lives or controls one or more virtual characters (human or otherwise). Such a game can revolve around "individuals and relationships, or it could be a simulation ...
.


Early life

After graduating from
high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
, Solomon began studying for
medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...
at the behest of his parents. However, in 1995, he switched his
major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
at the
University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...
from pre-med to
computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...
, influenced by the numerous games being released that year. Four years later, Solomon, a heavy fan of ''
XCOM ''XCOM'' (originally called ''X-COM'') is a science fiction video game franchise featuring an elite international organization tasked with countering alien invasions of Earth. The series began with the strategy video game '' UFO: Enemy Unknown' ...
'' with the desire to make a similar game, applied to Firaxis and was hired by the studio.


Career

Solomon described being hired by Firaxis as "complete luck", though he was noted for his design talent and creativity while at the company, causing him to rise quickly through the ranks. He positioned himself as a "fixer" helping to solve complicated problems. Considering it a dream job, he began asking to create an ''XCOM'' game. In 2003, he was given the opportunity to create a prototype for a new version of ''XCOM''. After working with a small team for six months, Solomon revealed an "awful" prototype that he stated ironically nearly "killed" the franchise. Also describing the game as "un-fun", it resulted in Firaxis shutting down the project almost immediately. Another four years afterwards in 2007, Solomon got a second chance at designing an ''XCOM'' reboot, one which was also considered a failure. He and the rest of his team finished the game's " vertical slice" on August 23, 2009, celebrating the achievement with a party. However, they soon realized the prototype, which heavily resembled the original games, had limited appeal to all but a small group of hardcore fans, and was overly complex, with Solomon saying that the revelation caused him to grow up as a designer. By this time, Solomon had developed a close bond with
Sid Meier Sidney K. Meier ( ; born February 24, 1954) is an American businessman and computer programmer. A programmer, designer, and producer of many strategy video games and simulation video games, including the ''Civilization'' series, Meier co-found ...
. He was advised by Meier to listen to the feedback and take it to heart, overriding his own ideas. Solomon decided to discard the vertical slice entirely and start from scratch on what would eventually become ''Enemy Unknown''. He worked closely with Meier to refine the gameplay while it was in development. The game ultimately released in 2012 to widespread critical acclaim, albeit leaving Solomon emotionally spent from 5 years of stressful work. As the years went on, Solomon became more and more interested in simulating interpersonal relationships in video games rather than just combat, resulting in the soldier bond system of '' XCOM 2'' and the friendship system of '' Marvel's Midnight Suns'', a game he described as a "hero dating simulator". He eventually soured on combat entirely and decided to leave Firaxis in 2023 to pursue designing new types of games. Becoming the creative director of Midsummer Studios in 2023, he plans on creating a life sim game similar to ''
The Sims ''The Sims'' is a series of life simulation video games developed by Maxis and Video game publisher, published by Electronic Arts. The franchise has sold nearly 200 million copies worldwide, and is one of the List of best-selling video game fran ...
'', but focused on creating their own small-town drama.


Works

*''
Civilization III ''Sid Meier's Civilization III'' is the third installment of the ''Civilization (series), Sid Meier's Civilization'' turn-based strategy video game series. It was released in 2001, and followed by ''Civilization IV''. Unlike the original game, ''C ...
'' (2001) (programmer) *''
Sid Meier's SimGolf ''Sid Meier's SimGolf'' is a video game developed by Firaxis and published by Electronic Arts in 2002.Players must successfully design golf courses and play them with their default professional golfer Gary Golf. Played in a near- isometric di ...
'' (2002) (programmer) *''
Sid Meier's Pirates! ''Sid Meier's Pirates!'' is a video game created by Sid Meier for the Commodore 64 and published by MicroProse in May 1987. It was the first game to include the name "Sid Meier" in its title as an effort by MicroProse to attract fans of Meier' ...
'' (2004) (programmer) *'' Civilization Revolution'' (2008) (programmer, additional design) *'' XCOM: Enemy Unknown'' (2012) (designer) *'' XCOM 2'' (2016) (creative director) *'' XCOM 2: War of the Chosen'' (2017) (creative director) *'' Marvel's Midnight Suns'' (2022) (creative director)


References


External links


Jacob Solomon
at
MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controlle ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Solomon, Jake Living people American video game designers American video game programmers XCOM Year of birth missing (living people)