Hello!

My name is Dan and I’m excited to be working with  Mindjam as a Mentor. I have worked in the video games industry for over 20 years from entry level as a games tester to Creative leadership as a Game director within design and production. I’ve been involved in projects with multi-million pound budgets, involving global teams and spanning the course of many years. In total I’ve contributed to over 70 games – often on big licences or franchises. I’ve had the opportunity to travel to lots of different countries and more importantly collaborate with people from all walks of life and backgrounds.

From picking up a controller for the first time as a 7 year old I’ve been captivated and fascinated with games. That passion and curiosity has never left me and I still love playing games. I’ve been lucky that I got to have my dream job as gaming has not only given me a career, but it has helped me find my voice and allowed me to share my creativity with the world.

My journey very nearly didn’t happen, I left school with no qualifications and for a time I didn’t even want to leave the house. I didn’t have a direction or any belief in myself or my abilities. Online gaming helped me build skills through modding and let me start to talk more to others with a shared interest. Work gave me further confidence and I was lucky that I was mentored by colleagues to work through some challenges I had. I was late diagnosed as having ADHD which explained to me some of the struggles I had and continue to have.

I’m a dad to 3 amazing children who all have different SEND needs – I absolutely love being a parent! Like many others have had to battle to get the correct educational and emotional support that they need to thrive. I know from experience that children and young people have their own individual needs and are not just a label of a diagnosis.

Outside of games I give my time going into schools and educational settings to share my experience and career journey. I aim to provide students a greater understanding of the creative industries and more of a belief in how they could find their own niche. I’ve learnt so much from students and educators alike.

I can offer a broad knowledge base on Games Design and experience of the industry, as well as coming fully DBS checked. I have been a mental health first aider in previous jobs and been involved with Safe in our world within Ukie (the UK games industry trade body). I can’t wait to start a new mentoring journey together!