Jon Burton
Jon Burton is an English video game designer, director, and programmer. He is the founder of development studio Traveller's Tales and its parent company TT Games. Burton founded Traveller's Tales in 1989.
Jon Burton
- Name
- Jon Burton
- Occupation
- * Video game designer
- Born
- 1969 · Winchester.
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Fields
- PC game · animation · design · literature
- Education
- Liverpool John Moores University
- Languages
- English
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Documentary summary
Jon Burton is an English video game designer, director, and programmer. He is the founder of development studio Traveller's Tales and its parent company TT Games. Burton founded Traveller's Tales in 1989.
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q6270460 · wikipedia · Jon Burton
In this article
Biography
Biography
Burton worked across businessperson, animator, film director, designer and writer and 1 further recorded occupations. This article rests on 6 published texts, 2 digitised documents and 1 scholarly references drawn from named institutional registers. Every statement below returns to a source shown in the evidence panel; where the record is silent or divided, the article says so instead of resolving it.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Jon Burton • Occupation — * Video game designer • director • programmer • Years Active — 1989–present • Employer — * Traveller's Tales (1989–2019) • 10:10 Games (2021–present)
Career
Career
Burton founded Traveller's Tales alongside Andy Ingram in late 1989 and served as creative director of the games. His first game as designer, Leander, was in 1991; next was Puggsy in 1993. The game enabled Traveller's Tales to expand the company and develop games with bigger companies. In 1994, Traveller's Tales developed Mickey Mania for Disney, initiating a long relationship with the company; Disney later hired them to develop tie-in games for many of its properties. Starting in 1995, Sega contracted the company to develop two Sonic the Hedgehog games, Sonic 3D Blast and Sonic R. He also served as director and lead designer of Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex. Next, he was served as director, lead designer, and writer of the action-adventure video game Haven: Call of the King, which sequels to the game was planned to be a trilogy, but it was cancelled due to the game's commercial failure. Burton announced in 2005 that Traveller's Tales would merge with Giant Interactive Entertainment to form parent company TT Games. He served as director of the Lego Star Wars series based on the toy line of the same name and the film franchise. In 2007, Burton and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced that they had purchased TT Games and Traveller's Tales for an undisclosed amount as part of their expansion into the video game industry. Burton also served as director for other Lego video games including, Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures, Lego Batman: The Videogame and its sequel, Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, Lego Harry Potter: Years 1–4 and Years 5–7, Lego The Lord of the Rings, Lego The Hobbit, and Lego Dimensions. In 2013, Burton wrote the original story for, produced, and directed Lego Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite based on the Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes video game. Also, Burton worked as an executive producer for the Warner Bros. 2014 film The Lego Movie, as a co-producer for the 2019 sequel The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part and the 2017 spin-off The Lego Batman Movie, and as a producer of the 2015 war thriller film Man Down. In 2017, Burton began uploading videos demonstrating programming tricks and early prototypes of games that he worked on to his YouTube channel, GameHut, and has since created a new channel called Coding Secrets for the same content, in 2020. In October 2017, Burton announced that he would be creating an unofficial director's cut of the Sega Genesis version of Sonic 3D Blast, which was released in December 2017. In August 2021, Burton co-founded 10:10 Games, a studio developing Funko Fusion, after he left Traveller's Tales in 2019.
Personal life
Personal life
He currently lives in Malibu, California. Burton is a practicing Christian and included an Ichthys as an Easter egg in one of the tracks in Sonic R.
Video games
Video games
• Year — Game — Role — Notes • Director — Designer — Programmer — Producer — Writer • 1991 — Leander • 1993 — Bram Stoker's Dracula • Puggsy • 1994 — Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse • 1995 — Toy Story • 1996 — Sonic 3D Blast • 1997 — Sonic R • 1998 — Rascal • A Bug's Life • 1999 — Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue • 2000 — Buzz Lightyear of Star Command • 2001 — Toy Story Racer — Executive • Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex — Executive • 2002 — Haven: Call of the King • 2003 — Finding Nemo — Executive • 2005 — Lego Star Wars: The Video Game • The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe • 2006 — Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy • Bionicle Heroes • 2007 — Transformers: The Game • 2008 — Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures • Lego Batman: The Videogame • The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian • 2009 — Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues • 2010 — Lego Harry Potter: Years 1–4 • 2011 — Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars • Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game • Lego Harry Potter: Years 5–7 • 2012 — Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes • Lego The Lord of the Rings • 2013 — Lego Marvel Super Heroes • 2014 — The Lego Movie Videogame • Lego The Hobbit • Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham — Story • 2015 — Lego Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin • Lego Dimensions — Story • 2016 — Lego Marvel's Avengers • 2017 — Sonic 3D: Director's Cut — Director's cut • 2024 — Funko Fusion
Life and work
Life and work
Jon Burton was born on 27 August 1969 in Winchester. Burton held the nationality of United Kingdom. Burton was educated at Liverpool John Moores University. Burton worked as businessperson, animator, film director and designer, and the authority record catalogues a further 2 occupations under the same name, among them writer and video game producer. Burton was active from 1989. Burton worked in English.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1969
Jon Burton born at Winchester.
Catalogued output
Books and published writings
These are catalogued publications carrying the name — editions and printings, distinct from the works they contain and from writing about the subject. The 1990s are the densest part of the run, with 3 titles, and that concentration is a fact about what the registers have catalogued rather than a judgement on the work itself.
6 editions carry dates between 1991 and 2022
The run opens with Independent and overseas holidays and closes with Dinosaur Coloring Book for Kids: Coloring Book for Boys and Girls of All Ages Cute Fun Dinosaur Coloring Activity Booklet
The entries follow Open Library
Independent and overseas holidays
1991
Package holidays and ancillary services
1991
Interpersonal Skills for Travel and Tourism
1994
Catching the Sun
2017
Seven Bastards of Husk Knoll
2019
Dinosaur Coloring Book for Kids: Coloring Book for Boys and Girls of All Ages Cute Fun Dinosaur Coloring Activity Booklet
2022
Films
• Year — Title — Role — Notes • Director — Producer — Writer • 2013 — Lego Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite — Story — Direct-to-video • 2014 — The Lego Movie — Executive • 2015 — Man Down • 2017 — The Lego Batman Movie — Co-producer • 2019 — The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part — Co-producer
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q6270460: Jon Burton
General reference · Wikidata
reference work
- “Jon Burton”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Authority records
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Wallis, Alistair. Playing Catch Up: Traveller's Tales' Jon Burton. Gamasutra.
- 2.Warner Bros. buys TT Games. Eurogamer. 8 November 2007.
- 3.Wales, Matt. How one Mega Drive dev cheekily slipped through Sega's certification process. Eurogamer. 3 October 2017.
- 4.Wales, Matt. Sonic 3D's original developer is creating an unofficial Director's Cut. Eurogamer. 13 October 2017.
- 5.Makuch, Eddie. Former Lego Devs Reveals Funko Mash-Up Game With Jurassic World, Back To The Future, And More. GameSpot. 25 April 2023.
- 6.https://www.facebook.com/jontt/about
- 7.DidYouKnowGaming?. Sonic R's Religious Easter Egg - Did You Know Gaming? Feat. Greg. 2018-02-28.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority record
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Jon Burton is recorded as businessperson, animator, film director, designer and writer.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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