Hi, My name is Daniel Clayton, and welcome to RantBox.

So who am I?

I am a recently graduated game design and computer science student from Melbourne, Australia, with artistic background and technical education.
I have worked on academic and local industry game and software projects, as both a manager and developer.

While I can program if I need to, I am a visionary; my true passion is in art and design, the pinnacle of which I consider concept art. I believe concept art explores more than just aesthetics. It is used to visualize functionality. It communicates lore, and history. It builds character, and sets mood. The appeal for me has always been exploring ideas at a low cost, and concept art provides this value to any creative production. And I love it.

Well, that’s all about my work life; there has to be another, right?

Luckily, there is, although the two are not that far separated. I grew up playing PC games, predominantly shooters, before expanding my horizons in role-playing, strategy, puzzle and indie games.

After thousands of hours invested in multiplayer gaming, what may seem to most as a complete waste of time, I see as essential character building to my social skills, analytic processing, problem solving, team work and self-confidence. Coupled with my love of tabletop war-gaming, I have found games are more than an influential part of my life; they are my life.

It only seemed fitting then to pursue a career in developing games, as I hope to apply my history, education, creativity and ambition into innovative, immersive and well polished gaming experiences.

So what is a RantBox?

Right now, just a portfolio host and developer’s blog. It was originally intended as a platform for complaining about things, venting general frustrations, and talking about games and the games industry. However, the future of RantBox depends on the future of Dan, so perhaps just watch this space?

So any last words?

For me, life’s journey is fluid and unpredictable, one of constant learning and improvement. I feel that humility and respect are essential for teamwork, and that confidence and empathy are essential for all human interaction. I believe that the one absolute is that change is inevitable, and that which does not adapt to change will not survive.

But I’m still young, and going with the flow, trying to bank every experience possible, so that as the years move on, I’ll have something to give back to a person on the cusp of life’s forking paths, a place I feel I’m at right now.

Still feel a need to contact me?

That’s cool, I love to talk. Hit me up on my casually maintained Twitter or shoot an email to dclayton@rantbox.com.au and I’ll get back to you ASAP.