Dan Fessler

Executive Summary

I am a Creative Director and Executive for games with 20 years of industry experience in mobile, social, AI, and UGC platforms. I bring a visual-perspective to my approach as a creative leader with an emphasis on quality and user experience.

As a self-taught engineer I have the unique ability to bridge the gap between technical and creative domains to solve critical cross-discipline problems and communicate ideas across departments.

I am very hands-on and capable of doing all the jobs necessary that I direct, and excel at growing teams from the ground up, and mentoring them to become leaders themselves.

Highlights

20 years indistry experience software and game development
20+ commercial titles shipped
10+ Years in creative executive leadership roles
Proficient in frontend development with a focus on Typescript and React

Experience

Co-founder / Chief Creative Officer

Incite Interactive

May 2023 - Present

Co-founded and operate an AI-first games studio on a mission to incite the best stories in games, Funded by a16z's SPEEDRUN. We're busy building the next generation Life Sim with living AI agents built on top of the world's first Agentic Game Engine, InciteWorlds.com.

Highlights

Raised pre-seed from a16z's SPEEDRUN, and other top tier investors
Oversee all creative efforts including Corporate Branding, Marketing, Game Design, Bis-Dev, and First Party Games/Experiences.
Directly contributed to development efforts including art, engineering, and design.
Grew and directly manage a team of over 15 artists/designers/engineers

Projects

Incite Worlds

The world's first Agentic UGC platform, InciteWorlds.com.

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Auravale

An agentic life-sim where your worlds shape your story. Built on top of the Incite Worlds platform.

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Chief Visual Officer

Manticore Games

Jan 2017 - May 2023

As a founding member of the art department, I established and led the visual direction for all games while developing efficient art pipelines and tools. I was responsible for creating in-game, concept, and UI art content while managing both in-house and outsourced art teams.

Highlights

Founded and led the art department, defining visual style and standards for all games
Developed and streamlined art pipelines to maintain consistent quality and fast turn-around
Created proprietary art and animation tools to improve workflow and future development
Managed and directed both in-house and outsourced art teams
Developed automation tools including 3ds Max render scripts and Photoshop scripts
Created comprehensive in-game, concept, and UI art content

Projects

CoreGames.com

Core is a free-to-play online video game platform with an integrated game creation system, developed by Manticore Games.

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Art Directing the Metaverse

How do you art direct the infinite? This was the problem I faced when we started working on Core.

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Art Director

Zynga

Sep 2012 - Dec 2016

I was brought to Zynga with the acquisition of A Bit Lucky as Art Director on titles including Solstice Arena, Empires and Allies, Mountain Goat Mountain, and Farmville. Later I joined the R&D division which prototyped forward-thinking concepts including VR and experimental social games.

Highlights

Shipped 3 titles including Solstice Arena, Empires and Allies, Mountain Goat Mountain, and Farmville
Worked on R&D projects including VR and experimental social games

Projects

Solstice Arena Trailer

Battle in a fast paced multiplayer battle arena! All fighting. No farming.

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Empires and Allies Trailer

An all-new modern military strategy game that puts the weapons of modern war at your fingertips in a never-ending battle to conquer the world.

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Mountain Goat Mountain Trailer

Avoid obstacles and climb as high as you can in this Q*bert-meets-crossy-road style game for mobile and VR.

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Lead Artist

A Bit Lucky

jan 2010 - Sep 2012

Highlights

Defined the visual style and standards for all games
Streamlined art pipelines and developed automation tools to maintain consistent quality and fast turn-around
Created proprietary art and animation tools to improve workflow and future development
Managed and directed both in-house and outsourced art teams

Projects

Lucky Train

Send trains throughout your network of friends and beyond! Players use the fortunes earned from their railroad to build up a thriving county.

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Lucky Space

Build and run your own bustling space colony, watch it thrive or be destroyed by cosmic disasters!

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Senior Artist

Glu Mobile

Apr 2008 - Sep 2009

Created in-game, concept, and UI art content for mobile games, specializing in animation for in-game sprites and porting art assets for various devices and screen resolutions.

Highlights

Lead Artist on "Family Guy: Uncensored" for mobile and iPhone
Supporting Artist on "Space Monkey" for iPhone
Specialized in animation for in-game sprites
Ported all art assets for a wide range of devices and screen resolutions
Worked closely with IP owners for licensed game content to maintain consistent quality
Defined visual style of games as Lead

Junior 2D Artist

Gameloft

Aug 2007 - Apr 2008

Created in-game, concept, and UI art content for mobile games, specializing in tiled backgrounds and scenes.

Highlights

Specialized in tiled backgrounds/scenes for "New York Nights 2"
Created polished game mock-ups to pitch prospective titles
Developed in-game, concept, and UI art content

Freelance Artist for Games

Self-Employed

Jan 2006 - Present

I began my career as a self-taught Pixel Artist for mobile games and electronic toys before graduating from highschool. I freelanced for various clients and worked with a variety of publishers, including MGA entertainment, Mattel, Black Lantern, and others.

Highlights

Chasm - Bitkid Games (2018)
Data Defense - COG1 Interactive (2009)
Diego: Dinosaur Rescue - Black Lantern (2008)
Dora: Snow Princess - Black Lantern (2008)
Barbie Fairytopia - Aha! Studios (2007)
Pixel Chix Babysitter - Aha! Studios (2007)
Cube World Block Bash - Aha! Studios (2007)
Rescue Pets - Aha! Studios (2006)
Miuchiz Bratz - Aha! Studios (2006)
Miuchiz Monsterz - Aha! Studios (2006)
Miuchiz Pawz - Aha! Studios (2006)

Projects

Chasm

A metroid-vania game in which you play a new recruit undertaking your first mission for the Guildean Kingdom

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Spunk and Moxie

A one-button platformer for steam, iOS, and Android

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