ABOUT 

Hi there! I’m Dan Pratt, a seasoned game developer specializing in the role of User Interface design. I’ve earned my stripes through over 15 years of development across various console, mobile & VR game projects. I’ve been fortunate to see first hand the industry bloom from the traditional PC & console market into the wide ranging market that it is today, all the whilst being able to work with some of the biggest names in the industry. I'm comfortable in outfits both large and small, working with many different sized teams ranging from three to one hundred+ people.

I’m all about that function and form. I believe in building thoughtful, yet flexible player centric designs that allow for rapid iteration and can be playtested into perfection. I’m also a big proponent of process, and take great care to create realistic executable plans, delivered within budget and on-time even if it means limiting scope. Finally, I realize making games is a balance. A balance of budget, ambition, scope, & time. I’m grounded in the realities of quick timelines, project redirections, and the up-and-down nature of game dev.

My passion is games and through the years that passion has only grown. I constantly strive to improve my skills, pursue my craft, and build strong teams that share that passion. As such, I’ve had the pleasure to manage UI teams of professionals through tasking, reviews and education. When I’m not strictly designing interfaces, you can find me dabbling in some modeling, texturing, game design & game prototyping.

If you are looking for a breakdown of my skill set and prior experiences, please see my resume.

Areas of Expertise

• User Interface Design

• Design Thinking

  • Wire-framing

  • User Flows

• Identity Design

• Pipeline & Process Development

• Team Leading, Team Building

Personal Background:

The TL;DR version of my story is that I’ve had a passion for games from a very early age, at first playing them and then eventually making them. I grew up in a firmly Nintendo household on Long Island, New York and have been fortunate to turn that passion into solid career creating interfaces & contributing to many game projects over the years.

The longer version goes like this... like many kids, I was into video games. As a family, we had a NES which found a home in my brother’s and mine bedroom. I have fond memories of playing TMNT, Duck Tales and of course Mario Bros., but it wasn’t until we got a Super NES when I was really hooked. I recall doing a school report on careers and found a very small, early internet age, 3 page article about being a game designer. It wasn’t much to go on, but I latched on to any info about the industry that I could find. I had been a fairly creative kid and when I was around 15 I got my first experience of using the computer to make digital art (albeit terribly) in my High School; using programs like Cinema 4D and Photoshop. I don’t want to say at that point I was destined to make games, but I was pretty hellbent on making that happen. Within weeks of graduating high school I’d left my home in New York and moved to Arizona to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Game Art and Design at the (now defunct) Art Institute of Phoenix.

As a student at The Art Institute of Phoenix I worked on a 3D jousting game called Shanke, contributing 3d art, textures and user interface assets. It was used by The Art Institutes to promote their Game Art & Design program locally and nationally at events such as SIGGRAPH (2007), Game Developers Conference (2008), and Comic-Con. I completed my studies in September 2007 with honors and was voted the Student Choice best portfolio for the fall graduation.

In the fall of 2006 I began interning at 2XL Games (while completing my studies) and was hired on full-time shortly there after. During that time I worked on and helped ship Baja: Edge of Control for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 which was released in September of 2008, my adventure had officially begun. I worked on a wide range of tasks for that game including world object creation, physics set-up, outsource preparation and cleanup, generated shaders, and vehicle art. I couldn't have asked for a better introduction to the games industry. Because the studio was smaller I was able to experience the many facets of game production and learn the ropes from some very talented folks.

Shortly after shipping Baja, I chose to pursue other opportunities with two good buddies at a start up named CoinApp, to work on our first title; Max Blastronaut as the "Lead Artist" (nice thing about a small studio is you can fudge your title a bit). Max B. went on to win internationally in the Microsoft Dream Build Play competition, taking second place and the prize of 20,000 dollars. Max Blastronaut was intended for Xbox Live Arcade but was unfortunately cancelled as there was no path to release at the time... it's a project I hope to come back to one day.

Eventually, my game dev adventures had brought me to San Francisco, California. I've done a bit of everything since living out in the Bay Area which is chronicled in detail on my resume, but eventually my focus narrowed to making interfaces. These formative experiences have given me the necessary skills to stay competitive in the rapidly changing landscape of the game industry in addition to meeting and working with some really amazing developers.

After spending many great years in SF, my wife and I packed up and headed over to Europe where I currently design game interfaces.

*Obligatory disclaimer: the views expressed on this site in no way represent the views of my employer(s).  All content and logos are copyright their respective owners.