Dan Dixon | about me

Biography

Dan Dixon is the creator of Universe Sandbox, an interactive, educational gravity simulator that feels and looks like a game. Drop Neptune in next to Saturn and rip apart its rings via the force of gravity, turn the Earth into a star and unleash mass chaos, or create your own realistic solar system with just a few clicks.

After three years of solo development he formed Giant Army and released Universe Sandbox on Steam in 2011. He now employs three talented developers and an astronomer who are working to make interacting with our universe easier, more realistic, and more awesome. They will release the next major update (and Mac support) to Universe Sandbox in late 2012.

Dan got his start in video games at Surreal Software in 2005, a leading video game developer then owned by Midway Games, where he was the producer of the Central FX group. This group was responsible for creating many of the effects (fire, smoke, water) in Midway's upcoming next-generation titles including John Woo's Stranglehold and Area 51: BlackSite.

After leaving Surreal he produced the Wii/DS game Daring Game for Girls at WXP Games.

Prior to his entrance into video games, Dan produced, photographed, and edited several independent digital films. In 2001 he produced the digital features Boy in the Making and Three Animals, One Stuffed. In 2003 he produced The Day Joe Left.

Dan began his college education at Purdue University, where in 1996 he successfully spearheaded an effort to bring a major presidential candidate before a crowd of five thousand on the university campus.

After transferring to Indiana University in 1997, Dan continued using his talent in a variety of ways. He worked as producer, technical director, and lead computer modeler on the animated DarWest. He also wrote and performed original music for IU's theatrical production of Steve Martin's Picasso at the Lapin Agile and edited the Department of Religious Studies' The Millennium Project. Both Millennium and a preview of DarWest were finalists in the 2000 Hometown Film Festival.

In late October of 2004 Dan moved to Chicago to pursue his goal of working in the video game industry. In July of 2005 he moved to Seattle and joined the production team at Surreal Software.

Throughout the years his interest in computer games has led to various personal projects in computer animation & simulations. Dan has also developed a number of software utilities.

Dan Dixon graduated from Indiana University, Bloomington with a Bachelor of General Studies and a minor in Studio Art. He has an awesome younger brother and loving, supporting parents. He currently resides in Seattle, Washington, a wonderful city in the northwest corner of the continental United States.



	about me Dan Dixon Biography Dan Dixon is the creator of Universe Sandbox, an interactive, educational gravity simulator that feels and looks like a game. Drop Neptune in next to Saturn and rip apart its rings via the force of gravity, turn the Earth into a star and unleash mass chaos, or create your own realistic solar system with just a few clicks. After three years of solo development he formed Giant Army and released Universe Sandbox on Steam in 2011. He now employs three talented developers and an astronomer who are working to make interacting with our universe easier, more realistic, and more awesome. They will release the next major update (and Mac support) to Universe Sandbox in late 2012. Dan got his start in video games at Surreal Software in 2005, a leading video game developer then owned by Midway Games, where he was the producer of the Central FX group. This group was responsible for creating many of the effects (fire, smoke, water) in Midway's upcoming next-generation titles including John Woo's Stranglehold and Area 51: BlackSite. After leaving Surreal he produced the Wii/DS game Daring Game for Girls at WXP Games. Prior to his entrance into video games, Dan produced, photographed, and edited several independent digital films. In 2001 he produced the digital features Boy in the Making and Three Animals, One Stuffed. In 2003 he produced The Day Joe Left. Dan began his college education at Purdue University, where in 1996 he successfully spearheaded an effort to bring a major presidential candidate before a crowd of five thousand on the university campus. After transferring to Indiana University in 1997, Dan continued using his talent in a variety of ways. He worked as producer, technical director, and lead computer modeler on the animated DarWest. He also wrote and performed original music for IU's theatrical production of Steve Martin's Picasso at the Lapin Agile and edited the Department of Religious Studies' The Millennium Project. Both Millennium and a preview of DarWest were finalists in the 2000 Hometown Film Festival. In late October of 2004 Dan moved to Chicago to pursue his goal of working in the video game industry. In July of 2005 he moved to Seattle and joined the production team at Surreal Software. Throughout the years his interest in computer games has led to various personal projects in computer animation & simulations. Dan has also developed a number of software utilities. Dan Dixon graduated from Indiana University, Bloomington with a Bachelor of General Studies and a minor in Studio Art. He has an awesome younger brother and loving, supporting parents. He currently resides in Seattle, Washington, a wonderful city in the northwest corner of the continental United States. Interests \| pseudo-random order Running \| Photography \| Technology \| Film Scores Computer & Video Games \| Programming \| Cooking Music Composition \| Filmmaking \| Graphic.Design
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