David Banner MBE (born November 1972) is a Welsh

video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

and interactive film designer, producer, director and entrepreneur. Also known in the video games and interactive film industries as “Dai”. He is the co-founder and CEO of video game and interactive film developer and publisher

Wales Interactive Wales Interactive Limited is a Welsh independent video game developer and publisher established in 2011 and based in Penarth, Wales. The studio, best known for ''Maid of Sker'', '' The Bunker'', '' Five Dates'' and '' The Complex'', have published ...

Biography

Banner was born on 1 November 1972 in Rhondda,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. He attended

Treorchy Comprehensive School Treorchy Comprehensive School is an English language, comprehensive school in the village of Treorchy, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. The school is situated on the southern side of the valley, and is 500 metres in length from the main gate on Conwa ...

and Tonypandy Comprehensive School, then Mid Glamorgan Centre for Art, Design and Technology. He then received a Graphic Design degree at De Montfort University, Leicester, where he graduated in 1995 with a first-class honour. After graduating, Banner started his professional video game career in London as an artist and designer for video game developer and publisher Domark, which later became

Eidos Interactive Square Enix Limited (formerly Domark Limited and Eidos Interactive Limited) is a British subsidiary of the Japanese video game company Square Enix, acting as their European publishing arm. The company formerly owned ''Tomb Raider'', which was in ...

. In 2007 Banner became a visiting lecturer at University of Glamorgan (now University of South Wales). With his participation at the University of South Wales, a separate course for a degree in game art was created. Banner established the company

in 2012 with his business partner Richard Pring. The company develops video games across PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo platforms. In 2017, he won the

St David Awards The Saint David Awards (Welsh: ''Gwobrau Dewi Sant'') are an annual government awards scheme which recognizes exceptional achievements by Welsh citizens within Wales, the UK and globally. They are the highest accolades that the Welsh Governmen ...

for Enterprise. In 2018, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for service to the video game industry. In 2018, Banner won Digital Ambassador of the Year at the Wales Online Awards and the Pride of De Montfort University Alumni Award. In 2020 Banner was awarded the title of Honorary Doctor of Technology from De Montfort University. Banner was appointed by

Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( cy, Llywodraeth Cymru) is the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of ministers and Minister (government), deputy ministers, and also of a Counsel General for Wales, counsel general. Minist ...

as Creative Wales Non-Executive Board Member in 2020. His combined portfolio of games has achieved in excess of 10 million downloads worldwide. He is co-Creator and co-Director of Sker Ritual and

Maid of Sker ''The Maid of Sker'' is a three-volume novel that was written by R. D. Blackmore and published in 1872. The novel is set in the late 18th century and is about an elderly fisherman who unravels the mysterious origins of a foundling child who is ...

games, both global hits based on Welsh folklore. Banner has contributed to the re-invention of the interactive film genre with titles such as

Late Shift ''Late Shift'' is an interactive FMV video game written and directed by Tobias Weber. The participation film technology behind the title was developed by CtrlMovie. The title was screened at many international film festivals, including The N ...

, which won the BAFTA Cymru game award in 2018 and, The Complex, which received 7 nominations in the British Film Festival Awards, going on to win in two categories.

Games

Interactive films

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banner, David 1972 births Alumni of De Montfort University Living people People from Rhondda Video game designers Welsh company founders