Meet the Magnopians: Dan Taylor
Dan is a Creative Director at Magnopus with over 25 years of experience in the games industry. He’s worked on a wide range of AAA games, including Hitman, Deus Ex, Tomb Raider and more! In 2015, he founded Thunderbox Entertainment – pioneering AR and VR technology for tabletop gaming – before moving on to direct the critically acclaimed, telekinetic shooter Synapse for PlayStation VR2. At Magnopus, Dan has brought his years of experience, immense talent, and fabulous sense of humor into every project he gets his hands on.
Tell us more about what you do at Magnopus.
Sure! I’m a Creative Director… which sounds pretty fancy, but basically my job is to help the team unleash their full creative potential on whatever wonderful project they might be working on. This usually consists of listening to their collective ideas and distilling them into a shared vision, before providing executional focus to deliver that vision.
You’ve got quite an impressive CV! What made you decide to pursue a career in this field?
Ever since I was young, I’ve always loved two things: entertaining people and technology. Video games, and other forms of immersive entertainment, are the fusion of both those things, so I kind of just did what I loved and took it from there. I’ve been lucky enough to work on some amazing games… but also some downright awful ones. Fortunately, nobody remembers the bad ones, and they were all phenomenal learning experiences.
A little birdie told us you founded your own company. Tell us a bit about that.
I did! That was a lot of fun. I really love board games, and thought there was a cool opportunity to share that passion with a wider audience by bringing the best of them to mobile platforms, so I started Thunderbox to do just that. We made a few great board game apps before shifting focus to AR, which was super new at the time, and then VR, which landed us a coveted Origins Award for our VR adaptation of Tsuro - The Game of the Path. As far as I know, we’re the only game dev studio to ever win one. Running your own company is amazing from a creative standpoint, and it forces you to step outside of your comfort zone every day… but it’s certainly not for the faint of heart!
Screenshot from Tsuro - The Game of the Path
What’s your favourite thing to do when you’re not working?
Playing with my crazy dog, Matilda. She’s a rescue from Texas. I call her the Treat Mafia because she’s very good at shaking down other dog owners for biscuits. She’s a Blueheel / Coonhound / Greyhound cross – it’s like somebody tried to genetically engineer the perfect squirrel-seeking missile.
Aside from that, all the musical projects we’ve done recently at Magnopus have inspired me to get back into music production, so I spend a lot of time in my studio at home creating melodic Drum & Bass under the moniker Radiant.
What values or principles do you consider non-negotiable in both your personal and professional life?
Honesty, compassion, and respect. I try hard to give those every day (not always successfully), and truly appreciate any reciprocation. A sense of humour doesn’t hurt either.
How do you approach challenges and setbacks?
Pretty much everything is a challenge on some level or another. If it isn’t, then you’re probably doing something wrong. Very often, adversity can be the mother of invention, so it’s good to be challenged.
Setbacks are frustrating, but they happen to everyone, so I think it’s important to be objective, identify what went wrong, and adjust your approach; that way they become positive learning experiences rather than annoyances.
If you didn’t have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time?
Well, everyone else would be asleep… and it would be dark… so I’d probably wander around looking at the stars, whistling quietly to myself. And maybe go for a swim in the sea if it was warm. That or become Batman.
If you could have any other job in the world, what would it be?
Waterslide tester.
What’s something you think everyone should do at least once in their lives?
I lived in Canada for a decade or so, and I highly recommend moving to a foreign country for at least a year. It gives you a totally different perspective on where you come from on a global scale, as well as a deep appreciation for cultural diversity.
Or get a dog. Dogs are the best.
What has been your proudest/standout moment while working at Magnopus?
Every day is a standout moment. I’m constantly amazed by the work the teams here at Magnopus do. Every single day, somebody shows an amazing piece of work: from super-tight level design to a small audio tweak that totally transforms the vibe of an experience, and everything in between. It’s an honour and a delight to work with such a talented bunch of folks.
