Editing Jon Freeman (game designer)

{{Short description|Game designer and co-founder of Automated Simulations}}
{{For|other people with a similar name|John Freeman (disambiguation)|Jonathan Freeman (disambiguation)}}
'''Jon Freeman''' is a [[game designer]] and co-founder of software developer Automated Simulations, which was later renamed to [[Epyx]] and became a major company during the 8-bit era of home computing. He is married to [[game programmer]] [[Anne Westfall]], and they work together as [[Free Fall Associates]]. Free Fall is best known for ''[[Archon: The Light and the Dark]]'', one of the earliest titles from [[Electronic Arts]].

==Career==
===Automated Simulations and Epyx===
Freeman worked as a game designer for video game developer and publisher, Epyx, which he co-founded with Jim Connelley in 1978 as Automated Simulations.<ref name="halcyon">{{cite web|last1=Hague|first1=James|title=Halcyon Days: Interviews with Classic Computer and Video Game Programmers|url=https://dadgum.com/halcyon/BOOK/FREEFALL.HTM|date=1997}}</ref>

Their first game, ''[[Starfleet Orion]]'', was a two-player only game developed mainly so Connelley could write off the cost of his [[Commodore PET]] computer.  Freeman provided design while Connelley handled the programming in [[BASIC]].  Freeman was amazed when they actually had a finished product and they had to create a company to publish it.<ref name="halcyon" />  So, both he and Connelley fell into the computer game industry by accident.

It was while with this company, still known as Automated Simulations in 1980, that Freeman met his future wife, [[Anne Westfall]], at a computer fair.<ref name="halcyon" />

''Starfleet Orion'' was quickly followed by ''[[Invasion Orion]]''.  What followed was a slew of very successful titles for various platforms.  Freeman designed or co-designed a number of Epyx games, such as ''[[Crush, Crumble and Chomp!]]'' and ''[[Rescue at Rigel]]''.<ref name="halcyon" /> Freeman tired of what he called "office politics" and yearned to get away from the now much larger company.<ref name="halcyon" />

===''The Complete Book of Wargames''===
In 1980, Freeman, in collaboration with the editors of ''Consumer Guide'', wrote ''[[The Complete Book of Wargames]]'', which was published by [[Simon & Schuster]] under their "Fireside" imprint. In the book, Freeman, explained the history of wargames to that point, the notable companies, the usual components, and evaluated most of the major wargames in print at the time, as well as the role that computer games would play in this field.<ref name=dragon46>{{cite journal |last=Watson |first=Tony |date=February 1981 |title=The Complete Book of Wargames |journal=[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]|publisher=[[TSR (company)|TSR, Inc.]]|issue=46|pages=51}}</ref>

===Free Fall Associates===
{{main|Free Fall Associates}}

In 1981, Freeman and Anne Westfall left Epyx to create Free Fall Associates along with [[game designer]] [[Paul Reiche III]].<ref name="halcyon" />

Free Falls' first game was 1982's ''[[Tax Dodge (video game)|Tax Dodge]]'',<ref>{{cite web |title=Tax Dodge |url=http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-tax-dodge_5290.html |website=Atari Mania}}</ref> which remained obscure.<ref name="halcyon" /> Free Fall went on to develop two highly acclaimed games published by [[Electronic Arts]]: ''[[Archon: The Light and the Dark|Archon]]'' and ''[[Archon II: Adept]]''.<ref name="bateman198411">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/1984-11-computegazette/Compute_Gazette_Issue_17_1984_Nov#page/n53/mode/2up | title=Free Fall Associates: The Designers Behind Archon and Archon II: Adept | work=Compute!'s Gazette | date=November 1984 | accessdate=6 July 2014 | author=Bateman, Selby | pages=54}}</ref> Originally written for the [[Atari 8-bit computers]], they were ported to other contemporary home systems.<ref name="halcyon" />

Free Fall developed a few more titles after ''Archon II'', but nothing as well-known. Freeman is credited with some recent development work with [[Square Enix]].{{citation needed|date=July 2018}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{moby developer|id=69708|name=Jon Freeman's profile}}
* [http://www.dadgum.com/halcyon/BOOK/MISC/MINILIST.HTM#freeman List of games developed by Freeman]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Jon}}
[[Category:American video game designers]]
[[Category:American businesspeople]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Software developer communities]]