Jonathan Blow is an American independent video game designer, programmer, and founder of Thekla, Inc., best known for creating the puzzle games Braid (2008) and The Witness (2016). These titles established him as a leading figure in the indie games movement: Braid attracted widespread critical attention and commercial success on Xbox Live Arcade, and The Witness was praised for its ambitious, minimalist puzzle design and long, meticulous development cycle[6][3]. Blow began programming early and studied computer science and English at the University of California, Berkeley before leaving to pursue game development; he worked as a contract programmer and columnist for game development publications prior to creating his own games[6][1]. He self-funded Braid and used its revenues to found Thekla and to help finance The Witness, emphasizing small teams, careful design, and rule-driven puzzles that reward player discovery rather than explicit instruction[2][5]. Beyond game releases, Blow has been influential as a public critic and thinker about game design and development practices, running workshops (including the Experimental Gameplay Workshop) and speaking widely about creative and technical issues in the industry[6][7]. He has also pursued systems-level work: since at least 2014 he has been developing Jai, a programming language aimed at high-performance game development and tailored to the needs he identifies for game programmers[3][5]. In recent years Blow revisited his earlier work with releases such as Braid: Anniversary Edition (2024) and has continued to publicly develop and discuss Jai and other technical projects, maintaining relevance as both a creative designer and a technical influencer within the games community[2][5]. His career is marked by long, deliberate projects, outspoken views on design and industry norms, and a focus on craftsmanship in both gameplay and engineering[6][5].