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Daniel Kitchen
1720 Highcroft Place
Weatogue, CT, 06089
(201)-704-4068

Passionate Game Professional with over 10 years of experience managing multiple AA and AAA cross-platform development teams.  Skilled game programmer with the unique insight into the process of managing complex cross-team projects.  Hands-on producer experienced at managing and mentoring creative talent and setting the course for successful game development from the earliest stages through launch and post launch operations and updates.  Team Leader with excellent problem solving skills and the ability to identify and resolve blockers in a fast-paced development environment.

Summary

Game Design/Production

  • Accomplished Game Designer/Producer with over 10 years of experience as a Producer, Designer, Creative Director, Game Visionary and Licensing Expert

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  • Skilled Game Programmer with a unique insight into the process of creating and releasing F2P Casual Games on time and within budget constraints

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  • Talented Game Producer with the expertise to identify and manage global Art, Engineering and QA Teams

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  • Expert at crafting "fun engaging game play"

Business Development

  • Business Development Professional with over 20 years of experience creating partnerships that produce fun and profitable games​​

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  • Expert at identifying and closing opportunities that match commercially viable brands with development talent and game publishers

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  • Hands-On Game Executive with the expertise to identify and mitigate risks while balancing the needs of development and publishing partners

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  • Licensing Executive with the expertise to identify and match branded properties to indie games

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  • Skilled Game Programmer with a unique insight into the process of creating and releasing revenue generating games within time and budget constraints

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  • Executive Producer with the ability to identify and manage global Art, Engineering & QA resources

Highlights

Producer of over 140 Released Titles

Experienced Game Producer credited with over 140 commercially released titles across mobile, online and console platforms generating over $100MM in revenue

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Designer of Top Ranked Casual Games

Passionate Designer of numerous F2P Games including SUDOKU, MINIATURE GOLF, SOLITAIRE, BOWLING, BILLIARDS, TEXAS HOLD 'EM and PING PONG for mobile and online game portals

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Creator of Top-Tiered Branded Games

Talented Creator of games based upon top-tiered brands including GOLDEN NUGGET™, CAESAR'S PALACE™, THE SIMPSONS™, SPIDERMAN™, JAWS™, CRASH & SPYRO™, GHOSTBUSTERS™, and DISNEY'S GOOFY™

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Renowned Game Designer

Renowned Activision Designer of Classic Retro Games CRACKPOTS™, KUNG-FU MASTER™, GHOSTERBUSTERS™, COMMANDO™, DOUBLE DRAGON™, RIVER RAID II™ and CROSSBOW™

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Creator of Strategic Partnerships

Passionate architect of numerous strategic partnerships bringing world-class brands to games including WEIGHT WATCHERS®, M&M'S MARS®, SHOWTIME, GAF, THE HOME DEPOT®, HELLMANN'S® and MILLER BREWING COMPANY

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Business Development Professional

Successful Biz Dev Professional responsible for doubling yearly revenues:

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Skyworks Interactive, Inc.

Closed $1.5MM in new business within first six months resulting in preservation of internal development staff and acquisition of $10.5M in angel investment capital

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Gameshastra, Inc.

Closed $4MM in new business revenue within first 12 months

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Majesco Entertainment

Significantly increased revenues by $30MM with co-creation of GBA Video and licensing A-list brand partners including Konami, Nickelodeon, Pokémon, Warner Brothers and Walt Disney Studios

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Guest Speaker

As a celebrity game designer, I attend a circuit of game conventions around the world where I speak about my career achievements, sign autographs and meet fans of my work

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Guest Lecturer

Frequently invited as a Game Design Guest Lecturer at a variety of local universities including  New York University (New York Campus), Fairleigh Dickinson University (Madison, NJ Campus) and  Felician University (Rutherford, NJ Campus)

Skills

Game Design/Production

  • Take game projects from inception through completion and release

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  • Create and manage all Game Design Documentation

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  • Develop and manage Project Roadmaps defining backlogs and deliverables

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  • Identify and mitigate design and development risks

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  • Balance creative, budgetary and business needs within technical and schedule constraints

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  • Collaborate with development partners, cross-company teams and studio leadership

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  • Manage product scope and budget

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  • Guide engineering teams from concept through release across required platforms

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  • Spearhead and manage live-ops roadmap

Business Development

  • Identify, evaluate and close revenue generating business opportunities

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  • Leverage existing products to generate additional revenue streams

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  • Identify and mitigate business risks to generate the highest possible product ROI

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  • Forge relationships with new development, distribution and publishing partners

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  • Collaborate with development partners, cross-company teams and studio leadership to ensure release dates are met​​

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  • ​​Guide development teams through release across required platforms

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  • Liaison with development and publishing partners to craft realistic milestones and live-ops roadmaps as needed

Tools

  • Unity 2023.1.5

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  • Unreal 5

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  • Slack

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  • Asana

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  • Jira​​

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  • ​​Basecamp

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  • Microsoft Project

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  • Confluence

Programming Languages

  • Assembly

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  • C

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  • Objective-C

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  • Lua

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  • C++​​​

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  • JavaScript​

Experience

2013 - Present

Tiki Interactive, LLC.

Game Director

Contract Game Development Studio experienced in Game Design, Game Production, Project Management and New Business Development

  • Build and maintain client project schedules and roadmaps

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  • Manage offshore teams of developer, artist and QA resources while balancing client needs within schedule and budgetary requirements

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  • Oversee live ops issues to ensure end user engagement

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  • Recent game projects: Mythical Games - EPIC SPELL WARS™ (Steam), Ultimax Games -  STONEHOLD™ (Steam), Majesco Entertainment - GEMINOSE™ (Switch), Razorfish Agency - Hellmann's egg drop™ (Snapchat)

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  • Additional clients include: GAF, ShowTime, Unilever, Pocket Gems, Zynga, Big Fish Games, Home Depot, Pixelberry, Persona Labs, Mobus, FoxNext, Playdom and Disney Mobile

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  • Forge strategic partnerships with world-class brand stakeholders including GAF, ShowTime, Unilever, Pocket Gems, Zynga, Big Fish Games, The Home Depot, Pixelberry, Playdom and Disney Mobile

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  • Design/Produce Casual mobile, console and online games with numerous best-of-class development studios and publishers

2009 - 2013

Gameshastra, Inc.

Vice President, Business & Product Development

India’s largest game developer/publisher, (Winner Red Herring Global 100) with offices in India, Japan and USA

  • Set up team organizational structure and processes to ensure high quality best-in-class work and supported team with production tools

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  • Designed and produced casual games for Facebook, leading online portals and mobile platforms including iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows Phone 7, PSPgo and Tegra resulting in millions of downloads and installs

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  • Led global business development effort generating over $3MM in new business while managing offshore studio consisting of over 200 development personnel with first submission pass success rates of 82%

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  • Closed and managed outsourcing projects for key clients such as Playdom’s “Gardens of Time” (ranked in Facebook Top 10 with over 16+ million MAU and winner of Best Social Network Game at GDC Online 2011) and Zynga’s “Hidden Chronicles”

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  • Utilized Game Analytic Platforms in social game design and development to maximize DAU/MAU revenue

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  • Identified and capitalized on new distribution channels and E-Commerce solutions for multiple platforms

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  • Expanded customer base with front-line clients including Zynga, Playdom, Disney Mobile, Paramount Studios, Atari, Alawar, Freeverse, ngmoco, Discovery Communications and Nvidia

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  • Managed US Studio responsible for $4MM in new business in addition to designing Hidden Object Games distributed via Big Fish Games portal

2006 - 2009

Skyworks Interactive, Inc.

Vice President, Business Development

Top 100 Interactive Agency known for pioneering online advergames and payable ads

  • Designed and produced original and licensed F2P casual games for Candystand.com, ESPN Arcade and world-class brands including Nabisco, CBS, Kraft, Wrigley, Columbia Pictures, Miller Brewing, Discovery Channel and NESTLÉS

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  • Led the development of 16 iPhone apps with 90% reaching Top 100 ranking in iTunes Store

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  • Closed $1.5MM in new business within first six months resulting in preservation of internal development staff and acquisition of $10.5MM in angel investment capital

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  • Created strategic solutions with embedded game analytics to maximize measurable user improvements, growth and dynamic advertising revenue

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  • Produced and co-designed “The Road”, an $8MM+ MMO based upon a virtual Route 66 with a 3-D avatar lobby system and over 40 casual multiplayer games

2000 - 2006

Majesco Entertainment, Inc.

Game Director

Leading mass market publisher of console and hand-held games

  • Produced over 50 games for a variety of platforms including GBA, DS, Game Cube, PS2, XBOX, PC

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  • Significantly increased revenues by $30M and co-created GBA Video with A-list brands including Yu-Gi-Oh!, Spongebob Squarepants, DIC, Warner and Disney Properties

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  • Transitioned company from re-manufacturer into self-publisher by producing company’s first 25 hand-held licensed game titles including Frogger, Frogger 2, Nascar Heat, and Q*Bert

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  • Managed teams of internal programmers, artists and QA personnel while overseeing all aspects of development and licensing

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  • Identified and managed offshore teams of developer and artists

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  • Co-authored business plan and investment presentation resulting in first round capital funding in excess of $10M​

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  • Secured and nurtured relationships with A-List brands, Hollywood agents and talent for licensing and creation of branded products

Education

Computer Science/Electrical Engineering Studies

Fairleigh Dickinson University Teaneck, NJ

Distinctions

National Video Game Museum

      Honored Inductee and Lifetime Member

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Int’l Game Design Association

      Lifetime Member

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Featured Game Designer

      Amazon Prime Series “Batteries Not Included”

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Game Industry Speaker

      Retro Game Cons

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Game Technology Expert Witness

      Patent and Trademark Cases

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Feature Film Technical Consultant

      Sony Pictures/Happy Madison’s “Grandma’s Boy"

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Creative Artists Agency

      Former Game Design Representation

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