Dan Arey, former creative director of Naughty Dog, has signed up with Ready at Dawn to work on the company's first original, yet to be named, title. Arey was the "lead creative force" behind Jak&Daxter as well as the upcoming PS3 title Uncharted: Drake's Fortune.

"It was actually a very easy decision to make," said Dan Arey, "because when I first got the chance to hear about this new property, I immediately knew I had to be a part of it and get a chance to join forces with the incredible talent over at Ready At Dawn Studios®. These guys have taken the time to mature their team, their technology and this new concept. Believe me, this is going to be something special."

With Daxter under their belt and what is shaping up to be a pretty damn hot God of War PSP title, I can't wait to see what sort of original franchise Ready at Dawn is brewing up.

DAN AREY JOINS READY AT DAWN STUDIOS.
SANTA ANA, Calif. - August 3rd, 2007 - Ready At Dawn Studios® today announced that Dan Arey, former Creative Director of the US's premier Playstation team Naughty Dog®, has joined the company to work on a new original intellectual property already in development.
"Getting someone of Dan's caliber is obviously a huge deal for us," said Didier Malenfant, President and co-founder, "having spent the last 4 years slowly putting together the best console development team we've ever had the chance to work with, and Dan being one of the industry's most acclaimed designer and creative talent, this is further proof that we have now become a force to be reckoned with."
Known for his early involvement in the Crash Bandicoot® series at Naughty Dog®, Dan was also the lead creative force behind the Jak&Daxter® franchise as well as, more recently, the Playstation® 3 exclusive title Uncharted™: Drake's Fortune. With over 17 years of experience, Dan has worked with publishers and developers ranging from Electronic Arts, Accolade, Sega of America, Crystal Dynamics, Sony, Pandemic, among others. As a Senior Designer and Creative Director at Naughty Dog-Sony for ten years, he helped develop and design 7 platinum best selling game titles, totaling more than 35 million units sold.
"It was actually a very easy decision to make," said Dan Arey, "because when I first got the chance to hear about this new property, I immediately knew I had to be a part of it and get a chance to join forces with the incredible talent over at Ready At Dawn Studios®. These guys have taken the time to mature their team, their technology and this new concept. Believe me, this is going to be something special."
An early proponent of interactive and convergent media, Dan designed games using film content and stronger narrative techniques as early as 1992 and has been an industry leader in story enhanced gaming for more than a decade. Dan has been a contributor to Game Developer Magazine, Creativity Magazine. and a frequent lecturer at the Game Developers Conference, E3, DICE, SIGGRAPH, and the Writer's Guild of America. He is also an adjunct Professor at USC's School of Cinematic Arts.
Dan Arey will take the title of Creative Director for Ready At Dawn Studios® and is now hard at work, together with Ru Weerasuriya, co-founder and Vice-President of Creative Development, on the company's first original IP, details of which will be announced at a later date.
About Ready At Dawn Studios LLC
Founded in 2003, Ready At Dawn Studios LLC is a creator of cutting-edge console video-games based in Santa Ana, California. In 2006, Ready At Dawn Studios® became an instant sensation by releasing the #1 selling award-winning BAFTA nominated PSP® title "Daxter®". The game has since become part of the exclusive "Greatest Hits" collection and continues to be one of the platform's top sellers over a year after its release. Ready At Dawn Studios® is currently putting the finishing touches to the most anticipated PSP® game of 2007 "God of War®: Chains of Olympus". More information about the company can be found on the company's World Wide Web site, which is located at www.readyatdawn.com.
"Ready At Dawn®" and "Ready At Dawn Studios®" are registered trademarks of Ready At Dawn Studios LLC. All rights reserved. "Crash Bandicoot®" is a property of Universal Interactive, Inc. All rights reserved. "Jak & Daxter®", "Daxter®", "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune™" and "God of War®: Chains of Olympus" are property of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.