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The Playing Well

Playful Solutions for a Complex World.

My Story

My name is Dan Thorsland. I am a storyteller by nature, words my preferred tool.​ For decades I’ve applied a practice of story, context and message to numerous commercial outcomes. Games, screen and print - I have worked with a wide range of clients and partners to deliver projects for every major content platform.  

 

I've become a technology expert with over 23 years of experience developing digital entertainment products for online, mobile, installation and game consoles. Past clients include LEGO, Warner Brothers, Lucasfilm, Disney and hundreds more. My approach is pragmatic but nuanced. I've worked with clients of all scales, from not for profits and community arts groups to large multinationals. 

 

The Playing Well is where you can contact me and start a conversation. I offer advice, strategy and production services.

What I Offer

Consulting

Have a an idea and no way to execute? Growing a digital story project or business and want some advice? I've been doing deals and producing complex projects for decades, and want to help you grow your enterprise.

Creative business should be joyful and prosperous. Starting with good advice and a clear plan to market is the key to a fun and success.

Making

I've produced multi-million dollar projects for a number of platforms - print, mobile & console games, AR, VFX. I'm familiar with a variety of technical workflows and stay in touch with the development community. I develop leads, scope projects, and manage them out to market for clients small to large.

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Having worked with thousands of artists for decades, my true joy is being in a studio getting the work done and get it front of an audience. For the past few years I've worked in the tertiary education sector to bring industry to young talent.

I will continue to do that at a grass roots level until my heart stops. I just love the final product and the making of it.

Work

From 1990 I was a comic book editor at DC Entertainment and Dark Horse Entertainment. I put teams together and managed 200+ pages of story and art every month.

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Highlights are:

  • Associate Editor on Superman, DC 

  • Editor on Wonder Woman, DC

  • Editor on Star Wars, Dark Horse

  • Editor on Universal Monsters, Dark Horse

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In 1997 I moved into digital. In New York the Dot Com boom was on, so I transitioned into content and UX for Web. 

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Highlights are:

  • Site Editor for projects with Texaco, British Airways, AGENCY.COM 

  • Lead UX consultant on project for Unilever, Citibank and many others at Xceed and NickandPaul

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From 2001 I have lived and worked in Australia. I have produced dozens of projects for games consoles, feature films, installations and mobile.

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  • Produced PS2 game Saturday Night Speedway for Atari

  • Produced PS2, PSP and Wii game Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes for Lucasfilm

  • Senior Producer then Business Development at development studio Mighty Kingdom for Disney and LEGO projects

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