Dan Hett
Dan Hett | |
|---|---|
 Hett speaking at an online event in 2022. | |
| Occupation(s) | digital artist and writer |
| Website | danhett |
Dan Hett is a digital artist, writer and games designer from Manchester, UK.[1] He is also a member of the Algorave live coding electronic music and visuals movement, performing under the name Rituals.[2]
Career
Hett’s writing is influenced by the death of his younger brother Martyn Hett in the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing.[3] He is known for short introspective autobiographical narrative games and interactive fiction, which explore radicalisation, extremism and identity politics in the UK.[4][5] His work The Loss Levels has been exhibited at Now Play This festival in London and Sheffield DocFest.[6][7]
Until 2016 Hett worked in the BBC Children’s and R&D departments, where he developed apps and digital games across a range of languages and platforms. He was technical lead on the CBeebies Storytime app, he also designed and built the core of the BBC’s first cross-platform multiplayer games API.[8]
He founded a small independent games studio PASSENGER GAMES in 2018, which produced the game Closed Hands.[9]
In 2021 Hett became Creative Technologist at the School of Digital Arts, Manchester Metropolitan University.[10]
Awards
- 2015, Broadcast Digital Awards Winner of Best Digital Children’s Content for CBeebies Storytime[11]
- 2015 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Winner of Children’s Interactive award for The Dumping Ground[12]
- 2020 New Media Writing Prize winner for c ya laterrrr[13][14][15]
Works
Interactive Fiction
- c ya laterrrr, 2017
- The Loss Levels, 2018
- Sorry To Bother You, 2018
- Closed Hands, 2021
Non-fiction
- My Brother Martyn Seized Every Moment - This Christmas, We All Should Too, 2017, Huffington Post
- More games should be truly honest about death, 2018, Rock, Paper, Shotgun
- Show, Don't Tell, 2019, FutureEverything
- Dreams becomes reality: the game that can make an artist out of anyone, 2019, The Guardian
- Online hate threatens us all. Platforms can and must do more to eradicate it, 2019, The Guardian
- Love, loss, and virtual memorials, 2020, Observer
Reviews
- Alan Wen (5 March 2021). "Closed Hands Review". TheSixthAxis.
- Mostyn Jones (22 March 2021). "Review: Closed Hands at HOME, Manchester (online)". Exeunt Magazine.
References
- ^ "Dan Hett | ELMCIP". elmcip.net. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "Rituals". Algorave. 5 July 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "Games console: Dan Hett, the indie game designer pouring his grief into interactive art". the Guardian. 26 April 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "Dan Hett's video games take on grief, radicalisation and ethical journalism". The Big Issue. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ Purchese, Robert (8 May 2021). "Understanding Closed Hands, a game about reactions to a terrible event". Eurogamer. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "Exploring virtual worlds together: Alternate Realities at Sheffield Doc/Fest 2018 | Sight & Sound". British Film Institute. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "My brother Martyn Hett died in the Manchester bombing - this is why I made a video game about it". inews.co.uk. 18 June 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "Dan Hett - BBC R&D". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "Closed Hands: the novel-sized game exploring extremism". The Face. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "Manchester writer, artist and games developer joins School of Digital Arts - School of Digital Arts (SODA) – Manchester Metropolitan University". 23 September 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "Winners 2015". Broadcast Digital Awards. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "British Academy Children's Awards Winners Announced". www.bafta.org. 22 November 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "Archive". New Media Writing Prize. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "Interview with Main Prize winner Dan Hett". New Media Writing Prize. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "New Media Writing Prize 2020 | ELMCIP". elmcip.net. Retrieved 29 January 2022.