By Olivia Phelps for UCIrvinesports.com

Life as a student-athlete, is anything but ordinary… and life as a student-athlete, in the midst of a global pandemic, is even more unpredictable.  Class is different. Practice is different. The student-athlete experience, is different.
 
It was this change of pace that inspired sophomore guard Jeron Artest to see his new normal, as an invitation to invest more time into one of his passions: programming.
 
A Computer Game Science major, Artest has been practicing and perfecting the skill since he was 10 years old, encouraged by his mother who has always supported his work.
 
Remembering the beginning of his coding days Jeron recalled, "My mom said that if I wanted to keep playing video games, I was going to have to figure out how to make my own."
 
THE GENETIC CODE
 
While most kids growing up in the 2000s played video games, not many can say that their father appeared as a character. For Jeron, son of NBA veteran Metta Sandiford-Artest, who was known as Ron Artest before legally changing his name to Metta World Peace in 2011, the question was always whether to play with his Dad on the Pacers, or Allen Iverson on the 76ers – not a normal quandary for a kindergartener.  But even at five years old, Jeron knew how special it was to see his Dad's name on the Pacers' roster, and to get to play with his father on the screen and a controller in his hand. 
 
"I call it my first film sessions," said the Anteater guard.
 
Jeron remembers selecting teams to play each other artificially, to view as if it was a live game on television.
 
"It helped me learn intuitively," he said.  "I think I liked it because I could watch whenever."
 
Not only was he learning the ins and outs of the sport he loves, but he was also picking up programming cues and assessing what he liked, didn't like and what he'd change.
 
Not long after, the younger Artest started learning how to code JavaScript, CSS and HTLM as a hobby, designing websites for fun before discovering his passion for video game programming.
 
While one of his favorites to play was NBA Street Vol. 2, he studied both basketball and design.
 
JERONIMO
 
In seventh grade, thanks to a science teacher who advocated for his participation in an elective course in student television, Jeron started creating for the weekly broadcast.  Using JavaScript he practiced designing animations for the show drawing, on inspiration from Nintendo and Pokémon, his favorites at the time.
 
Self-taught until high school, Jeron credits his mother for being influential in his pursuit of the craft.
 
As a freshman, the hoops standout excelled on the court and in the classroom in a component programming course before taking AP Computer Science in 11th grade.  It was at this time that his first-ever 2D platform game appeared in the App Store that featured a pixel-art character of himself; the character had to survive a barrage of aliens that attacked from above in order to survive. Unfortunately for fans, the game is no longer available for download, but "Jeronimo: A 2D Platform Survival Shooter" is viewable here.  The app's description read: "Dodge, jump and shoot lasers with this Jeronimo. The world is expecting you to help Jeronimo survive through this alien invasion. How long will you last?"
 
According to the site appadvice.com, the platformer received eight, five-star reviews after its posting in August of 2015.
 
IRVINE INFLUENCE
 
Upon his decision to attend UC Irvine to play basketball, the fact that UCI offered a computer game science major was further proof that his commitment to the Anteaters, was meant to be.  With aspirations of owning his own game development company one day, Jeron joined the Video Game Development Club at Irvine and has dedicated some time during the COVID-19 pandemic to participating in game jams – a contest where participants make video games from scratch in a short period of time.
 
While he was a club member his freshman year as well, this fall was the first time the programmer was able to test his skills in an official hack-a-thon, completing his first game jam in October.  The theme: "protector." The game: "We Will Cook You."
 
Artest fulfilled the roles of Programmer, AudioSFX and polish on a team of five in this particular contest and relished the opportunity create in a formal setting.
 
Over the course of two days, the team and Jeron designed a game in which the player is challenged to protect their chefs from killers; with the addition of the product to his resumé, the sophomore now has four games in his development portfolio – three more than he had when he returned to UCI for his sophomore year.
 
"I'm most proud that I'm able to [create] and still compete at a high level on the basketball court," he said.  "Basketball always comes first before programming, so I'm grateful that I've been able to manage my time appropriately."
 
FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME
 
In his freshman campaign with the 'Eaters, the 6-3 guard saw the court in all 32 games, averaging 2.8 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  While basketball is his number one priority, it is also his inspiration.
 
"There are so many ways to play basketball… you can play 3v3, 5v5, 1v1. You can play to a time or to a score. Sometimes in camp you can play with no dribble," said Artest.  "I think about how to change up the game but keep the mechanics the same."
 
When asked what the relationship is between designing video games and playing basketball, Jeron responded, "Instincts."
 
Instincts as an athlete are similar to the instincts that define a stellar creator.
 
With an early education in design and hoops from his video game playing days, the 'Eater's instincts and interests set him apart.