Tom Jubert

Tom Jubert
Born1985 (age 38–39)
Occupation(s)Video game writer, Narrative designer

Tom Jubert (born 1985) is a British video game writer and narrative designer.[1] He is best known for his work on many high-profile games, including Subnautica, FTL: Faster than Light, The Talos Principle, and The Swapper.[2] Although he has worked on AAA games, most of his work has been on smaller indie titles.[3]

Biography

Jubert went to the University of Southampton, where he did one year of Computer Science before changing majors to English and Philosophy, graduating best-in-class in 2007. He also holds an MA in Philosophy from King's College London.[4][5]

In 2007, Jubert received his first writing job in the game industry, writing the story of Penumbra: Overture, as well as voicing the protagonist Philip.[6] In 2008, he wrote the sequels as well, Penumbra: Black Plague, for which he was nominated for a Writer's Guild of Great Britain award,[7] and Penumbra: Requiem.[6] Despite the fact that the games' stories were positively received, he stated that, looking back on the game, he believed that it was "far too text-heavy", as the bulk of the story was communicated via diary entries.[3]

In 2009, Jubert wrote and developed the text adventure Ir/rational, which was originally a minigame from the Penumbra series.[8] It was later followed in 2012 by Ir/rational Redux,[9] and in 2013 by Ir/rational Investigator.[10] These games were described as logical deduction games with witty writing and humor.[10]

In 2010, Jubert worked as a narrative designer on the game Driver: San Francisco, as well as localizing the script of Lost Horizon for a western release.[1] In 2012, he wrote the story for the game FTL: Faster than Light.[2][11] In 2013, he wrote The Swapper, and in 2014, The Talos Principle. That year, he was included in Develop Online's "30 Under 30", which mentioned that he was described by Rhianna Pratchett as one of the game industry's best up-and-coming writers.[7] In 2015, he wrote a new story mode for the game The Masterplan prior to the game's release from Steam Early Access.[12] The same year, he was also hired to add a story to the game Subnautica while the game was in Early Access.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Denby, Lewis (22 July 2010). "Tom Jubert Talks Projects, Plots, Penumbra". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "Writer Tom Jubert (FTL, Binary Domain) to write the story for Subnautica". Destructoid. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  3. ^ a b Denby, Lewis (5 October 2011). "Telling Tales: The Art Of Game Stories In 2011". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  4. ^ "The Narrative Designer - International Literature Showcase". The Narrative Designer. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  5. ^ ""Make games, dude": Tom Jubert on how to become a Game Developer (Interview)". Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  6. ^ a b Walker, John (21 July 2008). "RPS Interview: Penumbra's Tom Jubert". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  7. ^ a b "30 Under 30". Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  8. ^ Meer, Alec (15 December 2009). "ir/rational: Are You Human?". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  9. ^ Gibson, Ellie (23 July 2012). "Ir/rational Redux: a puzzler unlike anything you've played before". Eurogamer. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  10. ^ a b Walker, John (3 April 2013). "Logic Noir: Ir/rational Investigator". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  11. ^ Haske, Steve (22 October 2012). "From the writer behind FTL comes The Swapper, a philosophical platformer". Eurogamer. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  12. ^ Alexander, Jem (20 May 2015). "The Masterplan To Leave Early Access With Story Mode". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 26 July 2017.