If you have listened to past episodes of My Take Radio, then you will surely recognize Haydn’s name as he has worked on quite a few games including the Darksiders series, which is how we connected. Haydn has always been a huge supporter of MTR and I am honored to share the Toys & Tech of the Trade he uses for work and play. So let’s turn it over to Haydn!
Who are you and what do you do?: I’m Haydn Dalton and I’m a Lead Designer at 5TH Cell, who create video games.
Base of operations a/k/a home: I live in Redmond, just outside of Seattle.
Current mobile device: iPhone 6s
What do you like/dislike the most about your current mobile device?: Like – Accessibility, not just to apps/social, but the Camera & Video components are great.
Dislike – Battery life
Three mobile apps you can’t live without: Outside of the default things I need on the go (email/calendar/Facebook) these are my three most used apps:
Forza – because I love football (soccer) and my team Manchester United, this is the best app I’ve found for tracking games live, fixtures, team formations etc. Very slick.
Flipbook – App that is such a simple and easy way to navigate news, collated with articles I’m interested in. It’s a win-win.
Yelp– My go to app for finding good places to eat, drink and be merry.
Show us your mobile home screen:
Current Laptop or desktop: 2012 iMac
Most used program/programs on laptop/desktop: My most used programs, outside of the normal Office suite (Word, Excel etc) would be Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator. I find these programs great for creating visuals to design concepts.
Show us your desktop/laptop home screen:
First place you go when you open your phone or computer: Usually Facebook is my first port-of-call, to check up on my family and friends and what they’ve been sharing.
One website you recommend to people often: Pinterest – I like seeing such a huge range of design inspiration, irrelevant of where it has come from. It would be clothing, product, car or human design…so much material to ingest.
Favorite piece of tech besides your phone/computer: Probably my PS4, but that’d also be useless without my TV, so I guess it’s a combo.
What’s playing in the background while you work?: I go through phases, sometimes I just hit Spotify’s current playlist, play my own collection of faves or listen to great game music, such as Austin Wintory’s “Journey”, which is amazing.
We know you love a good soccer match so who is your team and where do you watch them play? YES! Manchester United are my team and seeing that I can no longer get to Old Trafford and watch them play live anymore, I get to watch all their matches live via cable. This does mean the odd 4:45 am game, but they’re worth it.
Gamer?: Yes, but not as much as I use to be, although I’m always playing something.
What are you playing?: I’m playing a mix of Bloodborne, League of Legends (aram) and a scattering of mobile titles.
Last gaming purchase: Bloodborne PS4
What is one piece of hardware or software that you loved using while working on a game?: Adobe Illustrator has been great for me on the current project, gotta go with that.
What item have you purchased recently that is less than $100 that has made your life easier or more enjoyable: I finally bought myself a cell phone mount for my car for $25…best money I’ve spent in a long time.
If you were to purchase a book, comic book or graphic novel would you consume the content digitally or do you prefer physical books?: I’d purchase it digitally. Initially, I found it hard to shake the idea of not physically having an item in my possession, so I could share it with friends etc. but now it’s so easy to purchase and access the materials I want, when I want, I don’t see I reason I’d need a physical version.
If you could pick the next person for this feature who would you nominate?: LeSean Thomas. He’s working on a new anime called Canon Busters. I follow him on Twitter and he has started a great sharing environment for animators and other up-and-coming directors and creatives on Facebook. I’d be interested in hearing about his digital go-to apps.
Where can people find your work and connect with you?: They could play Darksiders & Darksiders II, which are my last two games and I have another project coming early next year. I also post occasionally on Twitter @haydndalton or Instagram @haydnd – for ease of access, you can also check out my about me page: about.me/haydndalton
Nice! Thanks for sharing, and can’t wait to see what you’re working on next. I had the pleasure of watching Austin Wintory conduct the Journey soundtrack live at Red Rocks of all places and it was AMAZING.
Thanks for checking it out HB. I’ll be in touch to hopefully feature you soon.