Jon Shafer is an American designer and programmer of

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, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

s. He was the lead designer of the strategy game ''

Civilization V ''Sid Meier's Civilization V'' is a 4X turn-based strategy video game developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K (company), 2K. It is the sequel to Civilization IV, ''Civilization IV'', and was released for Microsoft Windows, Windows in Sep ...

'', developed by Firaxis. Shafer is the president of Conifer Games, a

video game development Video game development (sometimes shortened to gamedev) is the process of creating a video game. It is a multidisciplinary practice, involving programming, design, art, audio, user interface, and writing. Each of those may be made up of more speci ...

company he founded in 2012. The studio's first title is ''

At the Gates At the Gates is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. The band was a major progenitor of Gothenburg-style melodic death metal alongside In Flames and Dark Tranquillity. Prior to their first disbandment in 1996, At ...

'', a 4X strategy game similar to ''

Civilization A civilization (also spelled civilisation in British English) is any complex society characterized by the development of state (polity), the state, social stratification, urban area, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyon ...

'' in which players command a barbarian kingdom with the goal of defeating both rival tribes and the waning

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. The budget for developing ''At the Gates'' is primarily made up of funds raised through a

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

campaign held in February 2013.

Life and career

Shafer was born and grew up in

Aurora, Colorado Aurora (, ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, Arapahoe, Adams County, Colorado, Adams, and Douglas County, Colorado, Douglas List of counties in Colorado, counti ...

. He learned to program when he was 8 years old from his father. As a child he cultivated a passion for history. These interests led Shafer to Sid Meier's ''

'' series. He developed fan mods for ''

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 ...

'' while in high school, and became a

beta tester The software release life cycle is the process of developing, testing, and distributing a software product (e.g., an operating system). It typically consists of several stages, such as pre-alpha, alpha, beta, and release candidate, before the fi ...

for the ''Civilization III''

expansion pack An expansion pack, expansion set, supplement, or simply expansion, is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game, video game, collectible card game or Miniature wargaming, miniature wargame. An expansion may introduce new rules ...

, '' Conquests'', and ''

Civilization IV ''Civilization IV'' (also known as ''Sid Meier's Civilization IV'') is a 2005 4X turn-based strategy video game developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K. It is the fourth installment of the ''Civilization'' series and was designed by S ...

''. Early in ''Civilization IV''s development he wrote an extensive guide explaining how to utilize its Python scripting language, and this led to him joining Firaxis for a programming internship in February 2005. Shafer was later hired full-time, and served as a designer and programmer on the two ''Civilization IV'' expansions, ''

Warlords Warlords are individuals who exercise military, economic, and political control over a region, often one without a strong central or national government, typically through informal control over local armed forces. Warlords have existed throug ...

'' and '' Beyond the Sword''. Following the completion of ''Beyond the Sword'', Shafer was named the lead designer and principal gameplay programmer for ''Civilization V'', the next full title in the series. While in this role, Shafer drew from his past modding experience and from computer games he had played as a child, most notably '' Panzer General''. In January 2011, Shafer joined

Stardock Stardock Corporation is an American software development Company (law), company founded in 1991 and incorporation (business), incorporated in 1993 as Stardock Systems. Stardock initially developed for the OS/2 platform, but was forced to switch t ...

to lead an unannounced game project and assist with development on the ''

Elemental An elemental is a mythic supernatural being that is described in occult and alchemy, alchemical works from around the time of the European Renaissance, and particularly elaborated in the 16th century works of Paracelsus. According to Paracelsu ...

'' series. In February 2013, he announced that he had left Stardock and founded Conifer Games, and was developing a new 4X title, ''

''. In June 2017, Shafer joined

Paradox Development Studio Paradox Development Studio (PDS) is a Swedish video game developer founded in 1995. It is closely associated with its parent company and video game publisher, Paradox Interactive. It is best known for its grand strategy wargame series ''Europa U ...

as a game director on an unannounced project, only to part ways in November of the same year, citing creative differences. Shafer attended

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...

from 2002–2005, studying history and computer science. After acquiring a position at Firaxis he left Colorado State but later completed his undergraduate study at

Towson University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its foundin ...

in 2006 with a BS in History.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shafer, Jon 1985 births Living people People from Aurora, Colorado American video game designers American video game producers American video game programmers