Wookash Podcast Jonathan Blow on upcoming game, jai programming, and more!
Jan 24, 2026
Jonathan Blow, independent game designer behind The Witness and creator of the Jai language. He talks about the decade-long craft behind Order of the Sinking Star. He dives into tooling, editor workflows, visual and water systems, and how metaprogramming in Jai shaped development. He also covers team evolution, build systems, and plans for Jai’s beta and engine release.
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Small Project Became A Ten-Year Journey
- Jonathan Blow explains Order of the Sinking Star grew from a short project into a decade-long, much larger creative effort.
- He chose depth over speed, repeatedly improving design and tech, which produced unique results but extended development time.
Combinatorics Drove Unexpected Complexity
- The game's combinatoric mechanics created unexpected scale and complexity that required new design and technical work.
- Blow accepted added cost to reach territory others didn't, trading time for uniqueness.
Team Size Shifted With Ambition
- Jonathan recounts hiring full-time early then shrinking and growing the team as the game's scope changed.
- Team size rose to around ten full-time plus contractors, with slow growth and natural attrition shaping the process.