Jon Pickens 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 ...
and
editor
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...
who has worked on numerous products for the ''
Dungeons & Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...
''
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures.
The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...
from
TSR and later
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast LLC (WotC or Wizards) is an American game Publishing, publisher, most of which are based on fantasy and List of science fiction themes, science-fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail game stores. In 1999, toy ...
.
Early life and education
Jon Pickens was born in
Mishawaka,
Indiana
Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
on August 12, 1954.
In 1968, he was introduced to miniatures
wargaming
A normal wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for recreation, to train military officers in the art of strategic thinking, or to st ...
, and his parents bought him the ''
Blitzkrieg
''Blitzkrieg'(Lightning/Flash Warfare)'' is a word used to describe a combined arms surprise attack, using a rapid, overwhelming force concentration that may consist of armored and motorized or mechanized infantry formations, together with ...
'' wargame for Christmas that year. A couple of months later, Pickens responded to an ad in ''
Popular Mechanics
''Popular Mechanics'' (often abbreviated as ''PM'' or ''PopMech'') is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do it yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation an ...
'' for a magazine titled ''
Strategy & Tactics
''Strategy & Tactics'' (''S&T'') is a wargaming magazine now published by Decision Games, notable for publishing a new wargame in each issue.
Beginnings
''Strategy & Tactics'' was first published in January 1967 under its original editor, Chri ...
''. He wrote in for a sample copy, and “spent the rest of the summer mowing lawns to get enough money to buy some wargames advertised in the magazine, and to get all the back issues.”
The publishers did not carry back issues, “So I wrote a letter to this collector, whose name was Gary Gygax, and arranged to buy the back issues from him. Gary invited me to attend a gaming convention in Madison. By a coincidence, my father had a speaking engagement in
Delavan, which is near Lake Geneva, on the same weekend, so he took me up.”
Pickens and
Gary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax ( ; July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008) was an American game designer and author best known for co-creating the pioneering tabletop role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') with Dave Arneson.
In the 1960s, Gygax creat ...
drove up to
Madison, and Gygax later invited him to the
Gen Con
Gen Con is the largest tabletop game convention in North America by both attendance and number of events. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, live action role-playing ...
convention; Pickens attended beginning with Gen Con 3 and for many years after that.
Pickens attended
Valparaiso University
Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. It is an independent Lutheran university with five colleges. It enrolls nearly 2,300 students and has a campus.
The university is known for its Luthe ...
, and in 1976 he earned a
B.A. degree in English and Economics. He continued to attend conventions while in college, and discovered
TSR's new ''
Chainmail
Mail (sometimes spelled maille and, since the 18th century, colloquially referred to as chain mail, chainmail or chain-mail) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was in common milita ...
'' miniatures game at the 1973 Gen Con; the following year, TSR debuted the ''
Dungeons & Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...
''
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures.
The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...
. After college, Pickens began writing occasional articles for ''
Dragon
A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...
'' magazine, and was active in the ''
Alarums & Excursions'' publication.
Career
Pickens eventually applied for a job at TSR, taking both the designer and editor tests, and was hired as an editor. “They didn’t think much of the design work, probably because I wrote it in a few hours late at night, but the editing part was OK,” said Pickens.
Pickens later became the Acquisition Editor for TSR, Inc., reviewing
modules for possible publication. He was also the Games Editor for ''Strategy & Tactics'' Magazine for several years while the magazine was published by TSR, and later the Managing Editor as well, commenting “In a way, this completes a circle in my life.”
Jon Pickens has worked on many game products for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' game since 1978, as an editor, designer, coordinator, and creative director. Some of his works as a game designer include the original ''
Arms & Equipment Guide'', and design contributions to the third edition ''
Player's Handbook
The ''Player's Handbook'' (spelled ''Players Handbook'' in first edition ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' (''AD&D'')) is the name given to one of the core rulebooks in every edition of the fantasy role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') ...
'', ''
Monster Manual
The ''Monster Manual'' (''MM'') is the primary bestiary sourcebook for monsters in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game, first published in 1977 by TSR. The ''Monster Manual'' was the first hardcover ''D&D'' book and ...
'', and ''
Dungeon Masters Guide
The ''Dungeon Master's Guide'' (''DMG'' or ''DM's Guide''; in some printings, the ''Dungeon Masters Guide'' or ''Dungeon Master Guide'') is a book of rules for the fantasy role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons''. The ''Dungeon Master's Guide'' co ...
''. He has edited many ''Dungeons & Dragons'' books, including notably the ''
Castle Greyhawk'' module, and the ''
Rules Cyclopedia''.
Pickens and
David "Zeb" Cook oversaw the development of the book ''
Night of the Seven Swords'' (1986). Pickens was known for often being a "go-to research guy" at TSR. For ''
Aurora's Whole Realms Catalog
''Aurora's Whole Realms Catalog'' is an accessory for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, published for the Forgotten Realms setting.
Contents
''Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue'' focuses on whimsical items, offering an eclectic ...
'' (1992) he assisted
J. Robert King's research by providing his own personal library. In preparing the campaign setting book ''
Al-Qadim: Arabian Adventures'' (1992), Pickens provided
Jeff Grubb
Jeff Grubb (born August 27, 1957) is an author of novels, short stories, and comics, as well as a computer and role-playing game designer in the fantasy genre. Grubb worked on the ''Dragonlance'' campaign setting under Tracy Hickman, and the ' ...
with three boxes of reference and research material.
While Pickens left the gaming industry in the early 2000s, his nephew,
Robert DeHoff, remains in that field and acts as a playtester and writer for ''
Catalyst Game Labs
Catalyst Game Labs (CGL) was created in May 2007 by InMediaRes Productions, LLC for the purpose of publishing print ''Shadowrun'' and ''Classic BattleTech'' sourcebooks.[BattleTech
''BattleTech'' is a wargaming and military science fiction franchise launched by FASA Corporation in 1984, acquired by WizKids in 2001, which was in turn acquired by Topps in 2003; and published since 2007 by Catalyst Game Labs. The trademark ...]
'', ''
Cosmic Patrol'', and ''
Leviathans'' game lines.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pickens, Jon
1954 births
Dungeons & Dragons game designers
Living people
People from Mishawaka, Indiana
Valparaiso University alumni