Jason Rost

Games have been and will continue to be a significant part of my life. Super Mario Bros. was my introduction to this world, Math Rabbit helped me learn multiplication, and StarCraft completely consumed me. Human interaction took place from behind glowing monitors throughout high school. LAN parties were a regular occurrence, Serious Sam and Counter-Strike were the bedrock of my friend group. Inevitably I’d dip my toe into esports, competing on a national level in Tribes and Tribes 2. Our diverse team spanned the country and landed us in the top five Tribes teams nationwide.

After college, I turned my attention from playing games to making them. Working for Sony on the acclaimed Syphon Filter series broke me into the industry, and working for Monolith on AAA titles solidified my passion. I couldn’t think of another job I’d want; games were my life.

After creating and pitching my own board game in Germany, I made the switch from art to design. I joined Valkyrie Entertainment as the sole designer working on GUNS UP! I was responsible for everything from gameplay, UI design, and running the free-to-play economy. I wore many hats and loved the challenge.

Valkyrie was a fantastic studio to work for, but unexpectedly, I had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel the world. So, I did the unexpected, and I quit my perfectly stable job to travel and experience the unknown. Yet, even while traveling, the allure of games could not escape me. I spent the entire year pursuing and documenting esports, tech, and the resulting human-interest stories the world over. It was a unique experience, and one I value greatly.

A side benefit of this journey is that I believe it has made me a better designer. Each country has its visual language, the way scooters dodge and weave through red lights, the highly decorated shrines and temples on every street corner, and the regional dishes steaming up the alleyways, they all speak to you. They tell a story, a story you may be unfamiliar with, yet find comforting and reassuring. It’s these stories I love. It’s these stories that make a world feel believable, feel real. It’s these stories I wanted to create.

I brought these stories with me as I returned to Monolith as a World Designer. A role I felt uniquely qualified for, and a role that fit my background and life experiences. Wonder Woman was a dream project, with a dream team. We were building something special. A vibrant world, fantastical yet grounded in reality, one of the greatest achievements in my career. That is, until Monolith was shut down.

As an optimist, when one door closes, another opens, and here I am today, a designer looking for my next chapter. Another quest will start from here.