Who is 3DFilmmaker?

Ken Thain.

Game Creator, Creative Leader & Studio Founder

Storytelling · Technology · Interactive Entertainment

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01About

About

Ken Thain is a Canadian game creator, creative leader, and studio founder whose career has been shaped by a fascination with the intersection of storytelling and technology.

From pioneering real-time filmmaking through machinima to helping shape the interactive cinematic identity of Mass Effect and Dragon Age, directing narrative experiences in the Star Wars universe, and producing award-winning virtual reality games, Ken has spent more than two decades exploring new ways for people to experience stories.

Today, as Co-Founder and President of Broadcast Games, his focus has evolved toward a new generation of social entertainment: games where players create the stories, audiences become part of the experience, and the boundaries between playing and watching begin to disappear.

02Career Journey

Career Journey

CHAPTER 01

Pioneering Real-Time Storytelling

Ken began his creative journey as 3DFilmmaker, emerging as an early pioneer in machinima—the art of filmmaking within real-time game engines.

His award-winning productions, including Rebel vs Thug, created for Fine Arts Militia featuring Chuck D, demonstrated the emerging potential of game technology as a new storytelling medium.

These early experiments established a creative philosophy that would define his career: exploring what becomes possible when technology changes the rules of traditional entertainment.

CHAPTER 02

Bringing Cinematic Storytelling to AAA Games

Recognition for his work in machinima led to Ken being approached and recruited by BioWare, where Ken helped pioneer the integration of cinematic storytelling into large-scale interactive role-playing games.

Progressing from Lead Cinematic Designer to Cinematic Director, he contributed to defining the storytelling experience of landmark franchises including Mass Effect and Dragon Age.

He later joined EA Motive as Narrative Director on Star Wars Battlefront II, collaborating with Lucasfilm to bring an original single player narrative campaign into the Star Wars universe.

Throughout this period, his work increasingly combined creative direction, technical innovation, and the leadership of multidisciplinary development teams.

CHAPTER 03

Expanding into Immersive Entertainment

As virtual reality emerged, Ken moved into broader production and executive leadership, helping develop a portfolio of immersive experiences at Archiact and Dark Slope.

His credits include FREEDIVER: Triton Down, DOOM 3: VR Edition, and Journey to Foundation, an ambitious adaptation of Isaac Asimov's science-fiction universe.

His immersive production work received multiple VR Game of the Year nominations, culminating in a win for Dino Hab at the 2024 Polys Immersive Awards.

These projects further expanded his interest in player agency, embodied interaction, and the opportunities emerging at the intersection of creative ambition and new technology.

CHAPTER 04

Founding Broadcast Games — A New Model of Entertainment

In 2026, Ken co-founded Broadcast Games with Emmalyn Rynard and Dimitri Mitchell, bringing together experienced developers around a shared ambition to rethink how games are created, experienced, and discovered.

As President, Ken is helping build an independent entertainment studio focused on short-form, affordable cooperative games designed to be as much fun to watch as they are to play.

Inspired by the emergence of social multiplayer and streamer-driven entertainment, Broadcast Games is exploring a television-like production model for games: accessible, highly social experiences built around the unpredictable stories that emerge when people play together.

The ambition extends beyond developing individual games. It is about creating a sustainable, people-first entertainment company that recognizes players, creators, and audiences as interconnected parts of the experience.

03Looking Forward

Looking Forward — The Future of Participatory Entertainment

Ken continues to explore emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, real-time simulation, and connected multiplayer worlds, with particular interest in how individuals and audiences can collectively share and influence interactive experiences.

Across the different chapters of his career, one idea has remained constant: technology is most exciting when it creates new opportunities for human creativity and connection.

A continuing creative journey

From making films inside games, to telling stories through games, to building games where people create their own stories—that evolution continues to shape his work today.

04Contact & Media

Get in touch.

For professional inquiries, collaborations, press, or speaking engagements, reach out directly or connect through the profiles below.