Jason David Cook

Jason David Cook is a writer, director, and game designer whose work spans independent film, animation, video games, and musical theater. He is the creator of Reckless Roger the Bullet Dodger, a science-fiction project being developed across an animated series and two games, and the founder and creative director of JADACO Entertainment.

His earlier work includes the short films Vain Blade and Chapstuck, the animated shorts Ninja vs. Samurai, artwork for Omniball and Starbase Orion, and the stage musicals Never a Truer Tale and Corner Kids. Alongside writing and directing, he has worked in illustration, animation, visual effects, editing, sound, and production design.

Career

Film, animation and games

From June 2006 to July 2008, Cook worked under the JADACO Entertainment name in Atlanta on Vain Blade, a science-fiction short built around extensive visual effects. He wrote, directed, filmed, and co-starred in the production. He also supervised a two-person visual-effects team and created most of the effects himself.

In 2009, he co-founded Srs Bsns Productions in Charlotte, North Carolina. From January through August, his work there included writing and producing the live-action short comedy Chapstuck. He assisted with on-set direction, managed post-production and editing, and shared responsibility for casting and production planning.

Cook co-founded Vendetta Studios in Charlotte and served as its creative director from June 2009 to November 2010. He wrote, directed, and animated Ninja vs. Samurai, a series of short animations, and created all of the artwork for the iOS arcade game Omniball. His responsibilities at Vendetta also included managing a five-person contractor team, preparing agreements, and tracking deadlines. This work combined direct production of art and animation with the organization of a small independent development team.

From March to September 2011, Cook worked as a freelance user-interface artist and ship designer for Chimera Software in Atlanta. He designed the interface and more than 90 starships for Starbase Orion, a science-fiction strategy game for iOS built around exploration, expansion, resource development, and conflict.

Musical theater

From September 2017 to February 2022, Cook worked as a freelance co-director and co-writer with the CAST program at Peachtree Christian Church in Atlanta. He co-directed and mentored middle and high school performers and crew for an annual teen musical tour. Across five shows, his production work included costume, set, lighting, and sound design.

He co-wrote two original shows for the program, Never a Truer Tale and Corner Kids. Never a Truer Tale – A Jonah Musical was published by Eldridge Publishing, with Cook, Ellie Cook, and Kai Cook jointly credited for its book, lyrics, and music.

The idea for Never a Truer Tale began with his sister Ellie’s interest in the biblical story of Jonah.

JADACO Entertainment and Reckless Roger

Cook’s later work at JADACO Entertainment, where he has served as founder and creative director since September 2022, centers on original stories developed across film, television, and games. His responsibilities include writing, directing, game design, world-building, character development, pitch materials, and lookbooks. He also guides visual development, using illustration and AI-assisted composite iterations to explore style and tone.

An early substantial treatment of Reckless Roger dates to 2014. In 2022, Cook wrote a scene for a SIEGE game-writing competition, an exercise that helped him identify the project’s interactive form and led him to develop the rest of the game story. He won the SIEGE Game Narrative Competition that year.

The planned franchise comprises Reckless Roger the Bullet Dodger (video game), the animated series Reckless City, and the planned sequel Reckless Roger and The Stardance Kid (video game). These works remain in development. The origin game follows Roger through the collapse of a robot city, the series explores life after that crisis, and the sequel continues the larger story.

Cook wrote the series pilot, Reckless Too.

Creative approach

Cook’s work combines character writing and world-building with the practical demands of performance, visual design, and interaction. His projects have involved both creating the story and producing elements of its presentation, from acting and visual effects in Vain Blade to animation, game interfaces, and stage design.

Humor introduces difficult questions without requiring characters or audiences to share one interpretation. In Roger's world, repairable bodies, differing judgments and personal attachments connect action to questions of identity and choice.

In discussing Never a Truer Tale, Cook has emphasized the use of humor to introduce questions about truth, belief, and personal responsibility. He values the shift from an entertaining situation to a moment in which a character must acknowledge the consequences of who they are. That approach leaves space for audiences to respond differently to the same story.

Other experience and education

Outside his named film, game, and theater projects, Cook has worked in freelance web and graphic design, as a certified Apple hardware and software technician and sales associate, and in chemical photographic processing and digital photo restoration. His employment has also included janitorial and restaurant work.

Cook holds a Georgia GED.