Dan Paladin

Daniel Paladin
Paladin at the 2007 Game Developers Conference
Born	1979 (age 37–38) Ohio, United States
Nationality	American
Other names	Synj
Occupation	Video game art designer, developer
Years active	2001—present
Employer	The Behemoth
Known for	Alien Hominid, Castle Crashers, BattleBlock Theater
Website	www.synj.net

Daniel "Dan" Paladin (born in 1979 in Ohio), also known as "Synj", is an American video game artist and designer.

He collaborated with Newgrounds creator Tom Fulp and designed Flash-based browser games: Sack Smash 2001, Chainsaw the Children, Dad n' Me, and, most notably, Alien Hominid. In 2002, he, Fulp, John Baez, and Brandon LaCava created the video game company the Behemoth. Paladin designed the critically acclaimed remake of Alien Hominid, as well as the beat 'em up game Castle Crashers, with his 2D style becoming signature for these games. His latest work is a new Behemoth game, BattleBlock Theater.

Aside from working for the Behemoth, Paladin has also worked for Gratuitous Games and Presto Studios. He also composed the polka-style closing credits tune for the Cyanide & Happiness animated shorts.

Paladin lives in San Diego, California, where the Behemoth is located. He is an active member of Newgrounds.

Paladin has won 35 awards, including 14 Daily Features, four Weekly Users' Choice Awards, and a Review Crew Pick.Castle Crashers, a game Paladin is credited as the art director of, won two awards in Independent Games Festival 2007: "Excellence In Visual Art" and "Audience Award".