Jason Jaccoi Game Developer, Digital Media Generalist, Okay-Kinda Guy
Born in Bergen County, New Jersey, attended Cresskill High School, Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York; currently living in Westwood. I have always had a deep fascination with video games since first sitting in front of a Commodore 64 as early as I can remember. I grew up immersed in digital worlds while still retaining a love for physical arts as well. My artwork resembled game mockups and concept design. Throughout grammar school, I designed various board and card games that my friends would play during recess. I performed rather ably as a student and athlete, I feel at least, eventually being accepted to Marist College.
I majored in Digital Media with a specific focus towards interactive media; studying art history, drawing, animation, 2D/3D design, media literacy & authoring, game concepts, sound design, and programming, as well as general liberal arts. My original plan was to become a 3D character modeler, but as I developed more personal work, I shifted more towards 2D animation with a heavy use of Flash. After graduating in 2006, my experiences with Flash in particular quickly secured me a position as a Flash animator & developer at a fledgling media firm in Ramsey, NJ called All Things Media.
At ATM, I greatly expanded my programming capabilities in Flash with the help and guidance of my other talented co-workers. We produced dozens of webgames, websites, marketing tools, and interactive courses, along with hundreds of e-learning slides. As the company grew, the industry evolved. Mobile quickly began overshadowing Flash-based media and we began shifting focus to Unity-developed applications for mobile and desktop. We grew and were afforded the opportunity to branch out to increasingly newer technologies, like VR, augmented reality, and gesture-controlled input.
In the summer of 2017, I parted ways with ATM. I still develop marketing and educational tools on a freelance basis, but my personal focus is more sharpened on game design. I am always in production of new concepts, WIPs, tech demos, proofs, & mods, and as my skills develop, I revisit these projects to reflect that. As someone who has approached development from nearly every angle of both production and management, I am never truly uncomfortable in a role, and I take every challenge as a learning opportunity.
Along with gaming and artwork, I have several other passions that I've pursued with success. I have been a lifelong student of martial arts, like many other martial artists of my age, due largely to the works of Bruce Lee. Over the past 30 years, I have been involved in Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Judo, Wrestling, Western Boxing, Muay Thai, Pencak Silat, Panantukan, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Burmese Boxing, Sambo, Wing Chun, Systema, and others as well as weaponary arts such as Arnis/Kali, Bojutsu, and modern firearm technique. I've trained under a dozen masters of various arts and am currently a striking instructor at Velella Martial Arts in Harrington Park. My infatuations of gaming & martial arts are certainly linked due to common interests, and I have often taken advantage of this. On many occasions, I've used my martial arts experience to aid in development, often in the form of motion capture, animation reference, or technical expertise.
I am an enthusiast of music, both as a consumer and producer. I play guitar, bass, and piano at an amateur level and have some experience with music writing & theory. Some of my early personal games and a few professional works include original musical pieces. My family owned many pets growing up and I also had an early summer job working at a vet. As such, I have a love of and possess a good deal of general knowledge of animals. I'm a lover of culinary arts, eater of delicious foods, and a pretty capable chef.
