d3t welcomes Jon Dadley, Lead Technical Designer

9th Jan 2025

Tell us a bit of information about your experience/career background?

I’ve been in the games industry since 2007. Originally a software engineer, I moved into design and have since been a Level Designer, Systems Designer, Technical Designer and Game Director over the years.

I’ve been at Frontier, TT Fusion, Cloud Imperium Games and Cardboard Sword working on everything from 500+ person multi-studio projects to 11-man indie titles.

I’ve also released a few small indie games that I made as passion projects in my spare time. None of them has made me fabulously wealthy.

Why d3t?

Three main reasons:

First, co-development is very appealing. I’m excited to get back to working on a variety of different games after the prolonged dev cycles of my last few jobs.

Second, my friends who work here love it. Their strong recommendation was huge as I trust their opinions. Plus, I get to work with them again!

Third, everyone in the interviews seemed sincerely lovely! It seems like d3t genuinely cares about its staff in a way most companies just give lip-service to. Working with great people is my main requirement these days.

What do you love about games?

Being transported to another world and feeling like you can influence events. I’m a big reader for the same reason but with games you actually get to (or have the illusion of) change what happens. That makes me feel more emotionally connected to what’s happening.

I also love games that let me experiment and try different approaches to play. Especially when I get to make a plan, watch it go disastrously wrong and have to make a new plan on-the-fly.

What games are you currently playing, and what is your favourite game?

I’m currently on my 4th(!) playthrough of Baldur’s Gate 3. When I take breaks from that I’m on Satisfactory, the cosiest game about strip-mining a planet’s resources and destroying its biosphere you’ll ever play.

My favourite games as an adult are probably XCOM 2 and Deus Ex: Human Revolution. As a teenager it was playing Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 and Halo at my best friend’s house. As a kid it was playing Streets of Rage at my best friend’s house (a different best friend, I’m fickle).

Do you have any fun facts or hobbies?

I love making things, especially weird indie games. I’m also into astronomy (ask me to bore you with my photos of planets) and play bass guitar (ask me to bore you with my terrible music).