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BAFTA success for former Leeds Beckett student
Originally from Flookburgh, Cumbria, Dan was responsible for designing the interactive worlds in which the characters live; from snowy wildernesses to mines and old shacks. Dan said about the experience: “Until Dawn has been an epic five-year journey. It has required a lot of hard work and input from everybody involved but it has been very rewarding. Everyone at Supermassive is amazingly talented, and as a team we have made great leaps and bounds in the industry.
“When the game was finally finished and released, it went down like a storm with the public - everyone loved it! We have won many awards, including the BAFTA. I had the privilege of attending the ceremony on behalf of the Environment Art team.”
As a child growing up in the eighties, Dan developed a keen interest in video games. He studied Creative Entertainment Technology (now Games Design) at Leeds Metropolitan (now Leeds Beckett) gaining a first class honours and the Focal Press Prize for Excellence.
Speaking about his time at our University, Dan commented: “I loved the course. The skills I developed, including creating game content, have proved invaluable in my career. In addition, I made some amazing friends which I still work with today.”
Steve Wilkinson, Principal Lecturer, Computing, Creative Technologies and Engineering, said about Dan’s achievement: “We are immensely proud of Dan. As a student he was always very creative and hard working. He was one of the best students on the course but always modest about his abilities. Students like Dan are an inspiration to staff and students alike. His award is a true accolade for his abilities and endeavour.”
Having worked at Macrovision and Nik Nak Games before Supermassive Games, Dan added: “It's a tough industry. Lots of projects never see the light of day. One thing I have learned is life is like a relay; we are only as good as the people before and after us. No one achieves what they do on their own; our environment and the people around us inspire us to do what we do.”