| Daniel James |
Email
Web
Nationality
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d at djames.org
djames.org/
British, Canadian
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Address
Telephone
Year of Birth
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San Francisco, CA
on enquiry
1971
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Summary
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Expert in the design, development and operation of
online games with over fifteen years commercial leadership
experience. Serial entrepreneur. First-class degree, solid technical
and creative background.
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| Employment & Projects
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Founder and CEO of an online games company. Designer and project lead
for Yohoho! Puzzle
Pirates. Three Rings now has a second game, Bang! Howdy and more projects
coming soon. The company has recorded two years of profitability and
has over 25 employees. Responsibilities include
general management, business development, product management,
financing, and hand-waving.
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| Consultant, Entrepreneur, Berkeley CA
| 3/2000 - 3/2001 |
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Developed designs, business plans, and lunatic schemes, including: an
idea for a new kind of personal computer, Olivia, a unique innovation in
online recruitment, a peculiar, small, arcade-style persistent online
game called "Giant Pie", a unique, mass-market commercial MUD, and a
terrible scheme to combine sticky MUDs with incentive advertising.
Resumed a more active role in Sense Internet, making extended visits
for board meetings and to assist with recruitment, strategy and
technology issues. Awaited with interest the outcome of legal
wrangling between former employers and Tolkien licensors.
Provided design consulting to Electronic
Arts for Harry Potter Online.
Business plan development for Skotos
Tech., a commercial MUD startup.
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| Producer, Persistent Worlds, Codemasters USA ,
Oakhurst, CA |
1/2000 - 3/2000 |
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Assumed Producer role responsible for design, development and
operations of Codemasters' first persistent online game. Assisted with
a new proposal for the Tolkien rights whilst developing designs and
business plans for original projects. Resigned position when
Codemasters scaled back US efforts.
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Consultant, Launch 3D Multi-user, Launch Media, Santa Monica, CA
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10/1999 - 12/1999 |
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Acted in a consultancy role advising Launch, an Internet music
destination, on strategy, design and technology licensing for a 3D
multi-user world incorporating rich audio and video content.
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| Designer, Lead Writer, Middle-earth, Sierra On-line,
Bellevue WA |
4/1999 - 9/1999 |
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Continued Middle-earth design duties with Designer title, working up
detailed area designs alongside overall design material. Led world
design and directed contracting writers. Developed Project schedule,
budget, business model projections and marketing plan. |
| Writer, Designer, Middle-earth, Yosemite Entertainment |
Sierra On-line, Oakhurst, CA |
7/1998 - 4/1999 |
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Yosemite was the original design division of Sierra
On-line. Responsible for Middle-earth world design, quest system,
back-story and design document. Directed the game's web site, scripted
and drew movie story-boards. Sierra purchased the Three Rings
business plan. Closely involved in marketing, pricing and
managing the Tolkien franchise. Helped sell Senior Management at
successive milestone presentations, leading to Sierra's highest ever
approved budget. The Yosemite division of Sierra was closed and key
Middle-earth team members relocated to Seattle. Recommended for
Producer role by departing Yosemite management.
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| Founder, Three Rings Internet Productions, London, UK |
1996 - 1998 |
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Negotiated Internet game rights to 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'The
Hobbit' with Tolkien Enterprises to an advanced contractual
stage. Made first approach in November 1995. Deal received green light
in November 1996. Created business plan, design and secured
financing. Outbid in December 1997 by Sierra. Interestingly, original
proposal is remarkably consistent with final Middle-earth design circa
1999.
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| Co-founder, Chairman and interim CTO, Sense Internet, Leeds, UK |
1995-1998 | |
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A successful web house, Sense has won and retained blue-chip
international and UK clients including Helly Hansen, Rizla, British
Airways and Yorkshire Electricity. Sense grew organically to thirty
people between 1995 and 2000, then trimmed down a little in 2001. It's
now back up to over thirty employees, and has recorded over seven
years of profitability.
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Lead Designer, Entrepreneur, on contract to Andersen Consulting,
London, UK
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1995 |
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A promotional web-based multi-user business simulation game for
Andersen Consulting. Led a team of MBA's and economics graduates to
develop a complex and playable simulation design.
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| Lead Designer, D3 Design, 3d games developers, Leeds, UK |
1994-1995 |
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Created, developed and presented game designs to publishers. Detailed
design work, including code specification and 3D modeling. Won
publishing contract and led the team in the absence of project
management.
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| Designer, Lands of the Crown, licensed to On-line, London, UK |
1992 |
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An English/French multi-player game, developed in 3 months for
operation on the minitel network.
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Co-founder, Developer, Avalon, London, UK
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1989-1996 |
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Developed game design and wrote thousands of descriptions for scenes,
characters and interactions. Coded and scripted quests and game
systems. Inestimable on-line time in customer service and
development. Avalon operated initially as a dial-up service, then
expanded to include location-based 'Host-Play'. Moved to the Internet
in 1994, developed & maintained Avalon web site (*not* the current
site) including graphics and Java client. Managed general business,
marketing, development contractors and support staff. Avalon was one
of the first profitable commercial Internet games, competing with a
host of free MUDs.
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| Librarian, Computer consultant, Temporary secretarial work |
1987-1990 |
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| Wizards Guide and Solution sheets for CompuServe British Legends (MUD1) |
1984 |
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Education
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| First Class BA Honours, Computing and Philosophy,
Leeds University, Leeds, UK |
1990-1994 |
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Developed multi-user live courseware platform for final project.
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| Hammersmith and West London College, London, UK |
1987-1989 |
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A Levels: Maths, Physics, History, all grade A.
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| Holland Park School, London, UK, 8 O, 2 A/O Levels |
1982-1987 |
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Conference Presentations and Panels
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Interests
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Online games since Essex MUD in 1982, made Wizard & coded first MUD in '83.
Member of IGDA Online Games
SIG Steering Committee and editor/contributor to White Papers.
Playing console, strategy and other games. Big role-player a while
back, now enjoying board games.
Possibly macabre fascination with dead games - see nascent thecan.org
Student of the Quantum Martial Arts style.
Reading fiction and non-fiction. Wide tastes, a novel on the back-burner.
Drawing, mostly comic-book style doodles. Reformed comics author and
DJ. Unreformed keen dancer.
Strong interest in Art, Design and making oddities. Burning Man parrrticipant.
Dormant Senior Associate, Foresight Institute (Nanotech). Cautious, cynical Extropian.
International family background and widely traveled.
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Objective
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To build Three Rings into a successful development house, with a
stable of popular online games. When I grow up I'd like to be a
professor, with a tweedy suit and leather elbow patches.
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Daniel James 2006.1
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