According to Ars Technica, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney personally designed and programmed Jill of the Jungle back in 1992 when his company was still called Epic MegaGames. The game was specifically created to prove that PC games could match the quality of Nintendo-era console platformers, featuring a female protagonist that Sweeney saw as a notable differentiator at the time. This was the last game Sweeney would personally design before shifting focus to programming and business, with 1998’s Unreal being designed by Cliff Bleszinski instead. The complete trilogy is now available as a single package on GOG, and remarkably, the game holds up surprisingly well even by modern standards.
Sweeney’s Surprising Legacy
It’s wild to think that a female protagonist was considered a “differentiator” in 1992. Today we’ve got Lara Croft, Aloy, Ellie Williams – basically every other game features compelling female leads. But Sweeney was thinking about this stuff decades before it became industry standard. And honestly, that forward-thinking approach seems to be a pattern with him.
Here’s the thing about early PC platformers – most of them were pretty rough. I grew up with DOS games too, and let’s be honest: Commander Keen hasn’t aged well. The controls felt floaty, the game feel was off, and PC gamers constantly had to defend why their expensive machines were worse for platformers than cheap consoles. Jill of the Jungle was one of the first games that actually gave PC players ammunition in that argument.
Why It Still Works
I recently played through the whole trilogy in one sitting, and it’s genuinely fun. The movement is responsive, the level design is clever, and the difficulty curve actually makes sense. The graphics have aged in that charming retro way rather than the “you had to be there” way that plagues so many early PC games.
What’s really impressive is how much “juice” – game designer speak for all the little polish touches – Sweeney packed into this thing. For 1992, the technical polish is remarkable. It makes you wonder if his current battles with Apple and Google over platform control stem from that same attention to detail and user experience.
From Jungle to Unreal Engine
Look at where Sweeney ended up. Unreal Engine is now the default for AAA game development and Hollywood productions like The Mandalorian. Fortnite basically invented the modern “metaverse” craze. And he’s become this outspoken activist against platform gatekeepers.
But playing Jill of the Jungle, you can see the seeds of all that success. How many people in gaming truly master engineering, business, AND creative design? Sweeney clearly understood all three dimensions even back in 1992. That rare combination probably explains why Epic became… well, Epic.
The game is worth checking out on GOG whether you’re curious about gaming history or just want a solid retro platformer. It’s a fascinating artifact from before Sweeney became the industry titan we know today.
