John McBroom
Game Developer, Programmer, Infrastructure Architect

Jabroni Brawl themed background Jabroni Brawl logo accent

Overview

  • Studio:Team Jabroni
  • Platforms:Windows, Linux
  • Released:2022
  • Time on Project:2012 - 2015
  • Tech:Source Engine, Hammer
  • Roles:
    • Founder
    • Lead Programmer
    • Level Designer
  • Links: Steam

For idiots, by idiots.

I started Jabroni Brawl in January 2012 as a Half-Life 2: Deathmatch mod, primarily as a way to better understand Source Engine programming. Postal and I loved GoldSrc mods such as Rocket Crowbar, Scientist Hunt, HL2JKS, and PS07, and I wanted to combine many different aspects we found fun into one single Source mod.

What followed was an abomination of the Source Engine, but also something we had fun playing.

In the first month, I implemented early versions of gamemodes like Battle Royale and Gun Game, alongside seven weapons such as the Scientist Shotgun launching flailing scientists, and the Gravity Tripmine spawning a black hole when triggered—based on my first Source SDK experiment around 2006.

2012 Gun Game Playtest

We continued to grow the team and expand the mod throughout 2013, and by November with the support of over 20 generous contributors we reached 56 unique weapons, 5 gamemodes, and features such as scalable players and Lua-scriptable gamemodes.

November 2013 Instagib Trailer (Credits: Craptasket, Rusty100, Ashman55, RedBack, AniCator)

Unfortunately, the project went into a development pause in 2015 after three years of progress. Both the other programmer and I stepped away to focus on professional work, while I simultaneously wrapped up higher education.

The project was revived in 2018 when the remaining team secured an engine license from Valve, removing the limitations that came with being a Source SDK mod. The team put in a significant amount of effort over the next 4 years, culminating in the public Steam release in November 2022.


Thank you to everyone who contributed in any form, both before and after the revival.

Special thanks to Postal, sswires, UprightBlue, Natrox, BigDumbAmerican, Dav0r, Edward B.G., Andicraft, Mr. Sunabouzu, Craptasket, Ventilated, Sinkfest, housemaster, Uberslug, Phanterm, Jaanus, Junior, AniCator, damn chimera, NeoTheOne, and many more.

Development Screenshots