Jess Cliffe is a computer game designer, known for co-creating Counter-Strike with Minh Le in 1999. He has also been working on every game in the franchise up until Counter-Strike 2.
Biography
Before getting involved with the original Counter-Strike, Jess Cliffe was a very active gaming website designer. The earliest known gaming website he founded was Jedi Knight Multiplayer Addon Group (JKMAG) which he founded in December 1997.[1] After around a year of maintaining the website, he moved on to start the website Action Quake2 Map Depot.[2][3] It was during the time he was involved with this site that he got to know Minh Le as Le was part of the team developing Action Quake 2.[4] Around January 1999, Cliffe also founded the website Silo X devoted to Half-Life maps.[5]
During an IRC chat, Minh Le mentioned the fact that he was starting development on his own mod. Cliffe thought the theme of the mod sounded interesting and offered to design a website for the mod, which is how Cliffe got involved in the development of Counter-Strike.[4]
Cliffe's responsibilities while working on the original Counter-Strike involved maintaining the website and public relations.[6] He was also responsible for some of the graphics and sound effects.[6] Perhaps most notably, he created the radio, hostage and announcer recordings for the game.[7] Cliffe also served as the main line of communication between the level designers and the core Counter-Strike Team.[8]
After Counter-Strike had grown in popularity, Valve Software approached Minh Le and Jess Cliffe about purchasing the rights to the title in 2000.[9] Simultaneously Valve also offered both of them jobs. They agreed to the deal, but Cliffe would finish his studies before he joined the development team at Valve.[9]
Since joining Valve on-site in 2003, Jess Cliffe has been contributing to every Counter-Strike title up until Counter-Strike 2.[10][7] His roles at Valve have included being a game designer, 3D artist, level designer and sound engineer.[7][11] Beyond Counter-Strike, Cliffe has also worked on other notable titles such as the Left 4 Dead series, Team Fortress 2, Portal 2, Half-Life 2: Deathmatch, and Day of Defeat: Source.[12][13]
For Counter-Strike: Source, Cliffe integrated ambient sounds for the maps included at launch of the game in 2004.[14] This project also marked his first foray into map design, during which he did a remake of the iconic Assault map.[15] Additionally, he had plans to develop a "map based on a construction site theme", although this concept was never implemented in the game.[13]
Details about Cliffe’s contributions to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive are scarce. However, it is known that he played a big role in the development of revamped versions of the Nuke and Dust II maps.[16][17]
Arrest
On February 2nd, 2018, Jess was arrested on charges of "sexual exploitation of a child" in the Southwest Precinct of Seattle. After the incident, Valve has suspended Cliffe's employment.[18]
In 2019, Cliffe stated on Reddit that he was innocent and not charged with the original charge, and instead accepted an Alford plea for a significantly reduced charge of second degree assault. He specified that he was catfished by a scammer, and spent 57 days at a minimum security facility.[19]
List of maps
Official maps
| Map name | Game(s) | Responsibilities | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assault | 
|
Environment artist | 2005 |
| Dust II (Revamped) | 
|
Environment artist | 2017 |
| Nuke (Revamped) |
|
Environment artist | 2016 |
| Site | (cut)
|
Level designer, environment artist | 2005 |
Trivia
- In Counter-Strike and Condition Zero, the map description of Militia calls the setting of the map "Cliffe's Compound".
- In expert mode, there is a bot named "Cliffe" who uses the AK-47 or the M4A1.
- Jess Cliffe and Minh Le, the Counter-Strike creators, share the same birthday.[20]
References
- ↑ JKMAG FAQ. Archived from the original on 2000-04-12.
- ↑ JKMAG News Archives Section 3. Archived from the original on 2001-03-03.
- ↑ Action Quake2 Map Depot. Archived from the original on 1999-02-21.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 CS-Nation - Counter-Strike: Year 1. Archived from the original on 2000-08-15.
- ↑ Blue's News - January 16-22, 1999
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The official Counter-Strike web site - The CS Team. Archived from the original on 2001-02-03.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Valve - People. Archived from the original on 2010-04-14.
- ↑ Gamasutra - Interview with Minh Le. Archived from the original on 2012-05-13.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 PCGamesN | The making of: Counter-Strike
- ↑ Counter-Strike.net -- the official web site -- The CS Team. Archived from the original on 2004-11-13.
- ↑ VintageSeattle.org » About. Archived from the original on 2007-05-15.
- ↑ Cliffe, Jess. "Jess Cliffe's Profile". LinkedIn.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 CS-Nation - On Militia, Player Models, And A Mystery Map. Archived from the original on 2006-04-19.
- ↑ Half-Life 2 - Raising the Bar (Uncorrected Proof). Archived on valvearchive.com.
- ↑ CS-Nation - looking at assault. Archived from the original on 2005-07-08.
- ↑ Jess Cliffe on Reddit.
- ↑ Valve on YouTube. Counter-Strike: A Brief History.
- ↑ Kotaku - Counter-Strike Co-Creator Arrested For Sexual Exploitation Of A Child
- ↑ "Reddit User Response". reddit.com
- ↑ CS-Nation - news - birthday boys. Archived from the original on 2003-10-05.