Dean Ball - Full Stack Developer & Founder

About Me

From military aircraft engineer to award-winning blockchain developer

Former aircraft engineer turned self-taught full-stack developer with a proven track record of rapid learning and execution. Founded DD Gaming, a gaming and venture studio building custom games and innovative Web3 experiences across multiple blockchain platforms. Won Solana Mobile Hackathon with Scrolly - teaching myself Next.js and TypeScript from scratch to build the entire platform solo in 8 weeks. Recently been shipping 4-12 hour MVPs live on-chain to test my limits - taking ideas from concept to production while other devs are still in Figma. Scrolly reached 200k games played and 3k verified users in 14 weeks with no token or retention system - just solid game mechanics and UIs that users enjoy. I thrive in fast-paced, high-pressure environments and don't need hand-holding. Live coded full projects in front of 4k people on X, proving I can build under pressure. Active member of Superteam UK, working to grow blockchain gaming in the United Kingdom. Highly proactive and always looking to contribute to innovative projects.

Experience

From high-pressure operations to high-performance UI engineering

Lead Mechanical Engineer

2009 - 2019

Commando Helicopter Force | British Royal Navy

Served as Lead Mechanical Engineer for Commando Helicopter Force for 10 years
Deployed worldwide in high-pressure military operations
Awarded medals for acts of service and received distinctions in engineering qualifications
Demonstrated exceptional ability to adapt and learn quickly in fast-paced environments

Shift Production Manager

2019 - Present

Railway Operations | London

Manage and oversee all engineering and operations across London for day-to-day railway running
Thrive in high-stress, fast-paced environment making critical decisions
Lead teams in a highly competitive and demanding operational setting
Developed strong leadership and crisis management skills

Founder & Lead Developer

2024 - Present

DD Gaming | Gaming & Venture Studio

Built Scrolly from scratch - taught myself Next.js and TypeScript using AI, GitHub, and YouTube to ship a working product in 8 weeks
Developed full-stack Web3 games handling everything: smart contracts, backend servers, and player-ready UIs built with React and TypeScript
Won Solana Mobile Hackathon by building a product users actually wanted - 200k games played, 3k verified users in 14 weeks with zero retention gimmicks
Ship 4-12 hour MVPs live on-chain to test my limits and prove you can build fast without sacrificing quality - live playable products instead of Figma mockups
Live code full projects in 8-12 hour streams on X with up to 4k viewers - building under pressure and figuring things out in real-time
Focus on user interaction and game mechanics that keep people coming back - building experiences, not just features

Skills

Front-end expertise with performance, polish, and pixel-perfect precision

Frontend & UI

React TypeScript Next.js Tailwind CSS React Native Expo Responsive Design Mobile-First

Performance & Polish

60fps Animations Real-Time Data Infinite Scroll Micro-Interactions Performance Optimization Design Systems

Blockchain & Web3

Solana Web3.js Anchor Ethereum AVAX MONAD Metaplex On-Chain Integration

Languages & Tools

JavaScript Rust C++ Python Git Vercel

Backend & Infrastructure

Node.js PostgreSQL MongoDB AWS Docker REST APIs

Projects

Sleek interfaces for real-time blockchain applications

Scrolly

Solana Mobile Hackathon Winner - TikTok for games didn't exist, so I built it. Taught myself Next.js and TypeScript from scratch using AI, GitHub, and YouTube. Went from zero knowledge to a working product in 8 weeks. Built it because users wanted it, and the numbers prove it - 200k games played with no tokens or retention tricks, just solid game mechanics and a UI people actually enjoy using.

200k+

Games Played

3k+

Verified Users

14 Weeks

Organic Growth

8 Weeks

Build Time

Next.js TypeScript React Solana Tailwind CSS

View Project

Card Crush

Match-3 game launching on Solana Mobile with full Web3 integration. Creating educational Magic Block series on YouTube to help developers learn Web3 game development.

Unity Solana Web3 Gaming Mobile

View Demo