Wikipedia

David Banner (game designer)

David Banner MBE (born November 1972) is a Welsh video games and interactive film designer, producer, director and entrepreneur. Also known in the video games and interactive film industries as “Dai”.[1][2]

Dr
David Banner
MBE
David Banner at Buckingham Palace 2018
Born1 November 1972
Rhondda, Wales
Occupation(s)Video games and interactive film designer, producer, director and entrepreneur
Known forCo-founder of Wales Interactive, Co-creator for Maid of Sker, Sker Ritual and Soul Axiom. Executive Producer for The Complex, Five Dates and Ten Dates.

He is the co-founder and CEO of video game and interactive film developer and publisher Wales Interactive.[3][4]

Biography

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Banner was born on 1 November 1972 in Rhondda, Wales.[5][6] He attended Treorchy Comprehensive School and Tonypandy Comprehensive School, then Mid Glamorgan Centre for Art, Design and Technology.[7][8][9] He then received a Graphic Design degree at De Montfort University, Leicester, where he graduated in 1995 with a first-class honour.[10] After graduating, Banner started his professional video game career in London as an artist and designer for video game developer and publisher Domark, which later became Eidos Interactive.[10][11][12]

In 2007 Banner became a visiting lecturer at University of Glamorgan (now University of South Wales).[13] With his participation at the University of South Wales, a separate course for a degree in game art was created.[14]

Banner established the company Wales Interactive in 2012 with his business partner Richard Pring. The company develops video games across PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo platforms.[15][16][17][18]

In 2017, he won the St David Awards for Enterprise.[3] In 2018, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for service to the video game industry.[19][3][20][21]

In 2018, Banner won Digital Ambassador of the Year at the Wales Online Awards and the Pride of De Montfort University Alumni Award.[22][23]

In 2020 Banner was awarded the title of Honorary Doctor of Technology from De Montfort University.[3][24] Banner was appointed by Welsh Government as Creative Wales Non-Executive Board Member in 2020.[3][25]

His combined portfolio of games has achieved in excess of 10 million downloads worldwide.[26][27]

He is co-Creator and co-Director of Sker Ritual and Maid of Sker games, both global hits based on Welsh folklore.[28][29][30]

Banner has contributed to the re-invention of the interactive film genre with titles such as Late Shift, which won the BAFTA Cymru game award in 2018 and, The Complex, which received 7 nominations in the British Film Festival Awards, going on to win in two categories.[31][32]

Games

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Interactive films

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  • The Bunker (2016)
  • Late Shift (2017)
  • The Shapeshifting Detective (2018)
  • The Complex (2020)
  • Five Dates (2020)
  • Night Book (2021)
  • I Saw Black Clouds (2021)
  • Bloodshore (2021)
  • Who Pressed Mute on Uncle Marcus? (2022)
  • Ten Dates (2023)
  • Mia and the Dragon Princess (2023)
  • The Isle Tide Hotel (2023)

References

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  1. ^ "David Banner". IMDb. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  2. ^ "Develop Awards Partner Spotlight: Wales Interactive". MCV. 2019-05-15. ISSN 1469-4832. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  3. ^ a b c d e "First Non-Executive Board for Creative Wales announced". Welsh Government News. 2020-11-09. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  4. ^ 2019-10-29T13:18:00+00:00. "Wales winners crowned in Cardiff". Fresh Business Thinking. Retrieved 2023-05-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Barry, Sion (2018-06-08). "WalesOnline Digital Awards 2018 winners revealed". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  6. ^ Smith, Mark (2013-08-07). "It's game on for Bridgend firm as PlayStation goes Welsh". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  7. ^ "Winter graduations 2020: Citation - David Banner MBE". www.dmu.ac.uk. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  8. ^ "Video game entrepreneur offers five life lessons for DMU graduates". www.dmu.ac.uk. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  9. ^ "BAFTA winning games company founder awarded first ever". www.dmu.ac.uk. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  10. ^ a b Caines, Matthew (14 July 2017). "You don't have to be in London or LA to develop great games". Telegraph.co.uk.
  11. ^ Smith, Mark (2013-08-07). "It's game on for Bridgend firm as PlayStation goes Welsh". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  12. ^ Editor-in-Chief, Matthew Handrahan (2018-06-11). "Wales Interactive co-founder David Banner to receive MBE". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2023-05-23. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  13. ^ Caines, Matthew (2017-07-14). "'You don't have to be in London or LA to develop great games'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  14. ^ "Queen's Birthday Honours 2018: MBE for video game entrepreneur". BBC News. 2018-06-08. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  15. ^ 2019-10-29T13:18:00+00:00. "Wales winners crowned in Cardiff". Fresh Business Thinking. Retrieved 2023-05-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ Media, Insider (2021-06-04). "Wales Interactive makes full motion move | Business News". Insider Media Ltd. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  17. ^ https://www.pressreader.com/uk/western-mail/20180613/282484299467562. Retrieved 2023-05-23 – via PressReader. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. ^ "Queen's Birthday Honours 2018: MBE for video game entrepreneur". BBC News. 2018-06-08. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  19. ^ "Queen's Birthday Honours 2018: MBE for video game entrepreneur". BBC News. 2018-06-08. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  20. ^ "First Non-Executive Board for Creative Wales announced". GOV.WALES. 2020-11-09. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  21. ^ Editor-in-Chief, Matthew Handrahan (2018-06-11). "Wales Interactive co-founder David Banner to receive MBE". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2023-05-23. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  22. ^ "Penarth business 'chuffed' to win prestigious award". Penarth Times. 2022-06-18. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  23. ^ https://www.pressreader.com/uk/western-mail/20180613/282484299467562. Retrieved 2023-05-23 – via PressReader. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  24. ^ "Winter graduations 2020: Citation - David Banner MBE". www.dmu.ac.uk. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  25. ^ "First Non-Executive Board for Creative Wales announced". GOV.WALES. 2020-11-09. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  26. ^ https://www.pressreader.com/uk/western-mail/20180613/282484299467562. Retrieved 2023-05-23 – via PressReader. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  27. ^ Barry, Sion (2018-06-08). "WalesOnline Digital Awards 2018 winners revealed". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  28. ^ "Gaming: Wales zombie survival thriller enjoys chart success". BBC News. 2024-05-01. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  29. ^ "Home-grown Welsh zombie horror shooter tops international gaming charts | GOV.WALES". www.gov.wales. 2024-04-30. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  30. ^ Reid, Lucinda (2020-07-28). "Video game based on Welsh folklore launches and it features a spooky Calon Lân". Wales Online. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  31. ^ "Wales Interactive: a new way of making Games | Creative Cardiff". creativecardiff.org.uk. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  32. ^ Mark (2018-10-15). "2018 British Academy Cymru Awards: Winners Announced". Cardiff Times. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
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