Jonathan Howe

Jonathan Howe at DragonCon 2005

Jonathan Howe is a programmer. Working in Flash, he programmed the second wave of Homestar Runner games from 2003 through 2008.

Early games on homestarrunner.com were very simple, made by modifying basic Flash tutorials. Jonathan Howe, who at the time was living in Boston, emailed the Brothers Chaps and offered to lend his expertise to their game development.^[1] This discussion led to the production of TROGDOR!,^[1][2] beginning their relationship. By 2005, Howe had moved to Georgia to collaborate in-person on Homestar Runner (as a freelancer, he continued to take on other work on the side).^[2] Howe co-created over a dozen Videlectrix games, primarily as a programmer but also contributing writing and music to some projects.^[4] The Brothers Chaps provided graphics and writing, leaving the programming to their partner;^[3] for some games, like Stinkoman 20X6, Howe created an engine which allowed the Chaps to build levels without special programming knowledge.^[1]

By 2007, Howe had moved out of the Atlanta area which dramatically decreased the amount of time and effort he could contribute to the site.^[3] Dangeresque Roomisode 1: Behind the Dangerdesque (released December 1, 2008) was the last game he contributed to; later ports and revivals of games he worked on were completed by other programmers.

Credits

Howe labeled the photo of the Disgruntled Cleaning Guy as "me" in Thy Dungeonman III's game files.

Programming

Jonathan Howe's credit appears on the title screen or in the credits, unless otherwise specified.

• Awexome Cross
• TROGDOR!
• Population: Tire
• Marshie's Malloween Mix-Up
• Secret Collect.^[5]
• StrongBadZone^[5]
• RhinoFeeder^[5]
• Thy Dungeonman^[6]
• Thy Dungeonman II^[6]
• Hallrunner
• Peasant's Quest
• Duck Guardian One
• 50K Racewalker
• Stinkoman 20X6 (levels 1–9)
• Halloween Potion-ma-jig
• Thy Dungeonman III^[7]
• Dangeresque Roomisode 1: Behind the Dangerdesque

Writing

Jonathan Howe and Matt Chapman co-wrote Peasant's Quest, with Mike Chapman helping them develop the overall story.^[6]

Dangeresque Roomisode 1: Behind the Dangerdesque was written by the trio as well.

Music

Howe composed music for the Peasant's Quest movie trailer, as did Mike Chapman.

In addition to programming the first nine Stinkoman 20X6 levels, Howe also composed and performed the music for those portions of the game.^[4]

Acting

He is credited in an unspecified role in the Peasant's Quest movie trailer.

In Thy Dungeonman 3, a photograph of Howe is used to depict the Disgruntled Cleaning Guy.

Fun Facts

Trivia

High score!

• TROGDOR! was the first game Howe worked on for the website, though Awexome Cross was the first to be released.
• If one reaches or exceeds 2,000 points in TROGDOR!, Jonathan Howe's name will appear in flashing colors at the bottom left side of the game over screen. Strong Bad calls this Easter egg "the coolest secret thing [he] ever found in a video game".
• Howe appeared on several strongbad_email.exe DVD commentaries.
  • He assisted with the animation on the Strong Bad Email rampage.
• Mike Chapman and Howe re-teamed in 2014 to create Rick and Morty's Rushed Licensed Adventure for the Adult Swim website. As before, Mike handled graphics while Jonathan programmed.^[8]

Remarks

• Several Videlectrix games were released during Howe's tenure that do not feature any real-world credits. As of late 2007, the Chaps were still stating that they "don't program [...] all we can do is graphics"^[3] so Howe likely had some involvement in their development:
  • Pigs on Head
  • Kid Speedy
  • Where's an Egg?
  • Make-O Your Own Stinko
• The signature "Love, jonathan ("nickname")" is hidden in the XML Source for the Weeklies, suggesting Howe contributed to the programming of the Quote of the Week, Weekly Fanstuff, and/or Sketchbook.

References

1. ^  "How and Why Homestar Runner Cartoons Get Made", Flashforward 2006 Seattle, 28 Feb 2006.
2. ^  "Week of September 18, 2005" The Bobby Blackwolf Show, 5 Sep 2005
3. ^  "The Brothers Chaps What Made The Homestar Runner", Late Nite JengaJam, 4 Oct 2007
4. ^  "A Date with Homestar Runner", New York University, 1 Mar 2005; Stinkoman 20X6 credits; Decemberweenvent Calendar (Day 21); @StrongBadActual tweet (16 Jan 2023)
5. ^  video games (DVD commentary)
6. ^  "'Peasant's Quest' Interview", Adventure Gamers, 2 Sept 2004
7. ^  Presumably built from the same text engine as the prior two series entries,^[6] also indicated by "me" comment on picture of character using Howe's likeness.
8. ^  "Homestar Runner's Matt Chapman", The Jeff Rubin Jeff Rubin Show, 7 July 2014.

See Also

• Adventure Gamers Interview - 2 Sept 2004 — Interview about Peasant's Quest with Matt, Mike, and Jonathan
• Bobby Blackwolf Interview - 5 Sep 2005 — Interview at Dragon Con with Jonathan