Résumé

Dylan Matthias | dylan_matthias[AT]thecdm.ca | Twitter: @dy_matthias

I want to find the best way to tell stories. That means collaborating with others, studying new writing craft, and exploring innovative ways of developing IP. I work with video games, transmedia, and books and am as comfortable writing backstory and barks as I am leading story brainstorms and managing editing pipelines.

You can find out more about why I’m interested in games here.

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Experience:

Colchester – Musq. Valley Electoral District Assoc. | April 2017 – August 2021

Campaign Manager and Digital Consultant

• Increased party vote share in target polls 3.9% despite 3.1% drop in overall share during this election
• Created and managed $15,000+ campaign budget, and set goals and targets based on local strengths and weaknesses in coordination with party office and local team
• Conducted analysis of the riding’s past three elections to inform future planning
• Planned local messaging and outreach, built campaign team, and managed office and schedule; maintained multiple databases and recorded canvassing data

Independent Game Developer | March 2015 – present

Incl. narrative design for Particle Rush, a light-speed arcade game by Red Tea Games

• Integrated narrative into existing game design that attracted interest from major publishers
• Wrote backstory for the game’s protagonist and antagonist, and created a narrative outline for the game progression
• Managed production tasks for the team and tracked sprint goals, ran remote meetings
• Built and tested level prototypes in Unreal Engine; have also worked in Unity

Centre for Digital Media | September 2014 – December 2014

Instructional assistant for Dr. Kim Voll’s “Foundations of Game Design” course

Crystal CG | May 2014 – August 2014 (Centre for Digital Media industry project)

Writer for “Bridge”, a short film for the Youth Olympic Museum in Nanjing

• Wrote initial screenplay and story treatment for film, which premiered positively to the president of China at the opening of the Youth Olympic Museum
• Researched and developed story concept based on local Nanjing history
• Pitched story outline and weekly storyboards to Crystal-CG producers and directors via translation, helped manage clients through several iterations on storyboard concepts
• Led CDM IDEA-X cohort to produce a tie-in game concept

String Theory Entertainment | January 2014 – April 2014 (Centre for Digital Media industry project)

Project Manager on “Anthymn” project, a music-based MMORPG by String Theory Entertainment

• Managed a seven-person on-site team and several off-site client-side contractors to rapidly prototype a first playable proof-of-concept in 12 weeks
• Led most daily Scrums, tracked sprints, and maintained project schedule
• Created and maintained project TDD and tracked pitch and team feedback, adapting milestones and working within team to scope according to evolving client needs
• Facilitated client brainstorming sessions to help integrate music, RPG combat, and existing lore

The Dalhousie Gazette | May 2010 – April 2012

Editor-in-chief & Sports Editor at one of Canada’s largest campus papers

• Led 15 employees to produce weekly print and daily web editions reaching 3,000+ readers
• Set company’s $100,000+ annual budget, setting priorities and negotiating contracts
• Produced 25 issues of content for student and local audiences, beating competitor publications to several major stories, including Occupy and a faculty strike vote
• Overhauled publication’s web strategy and oversaw launch of a new website (since retired)
• Hired and mentored writing personnel and rebuilt company’s internal culture to be collaborative and professional, more than doubling student volunteers year-over-year

The Musquodoboit Valley Bicentennial Theatre | January 2009 – September 2011

Head Writer for Musquodoboit Valley Script Project and Office Assistant for theatre

• Pitched a response to a grant agency RFP to the board of directors and local stakeholders
• Led a team of student writers in developing, iterating on, and producing a story concept and stageplay about rural employment, LGBTQ+ issues, and local culture
• Assisted with production planning, writing reports and pitch documents
• Helped run front-of-house for weekly productions; organized, supervised, and cleaned  the theatre for various other events

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Skills

• Managing content using tools including Excel, Confluence, Asana, and others
• Designing play consistent with game and story worlds
• Writing clear prose to deadline and style; also comfortable with collaborative story development
• Managing Agile, Scrum and Waterfall pipelines in journalism, transmedia, and games
• Building team culture in collaborative settings; leading interdisciplinary and international teams
• Editing prose in non-fiction, fiction, screen and interactive form
• Articulating creative vision in oral and written pitches, presentations, and proposals
• Turning complex research into relatable story
• Comfortable with audio workstations, familiar with basic voice direction and foley recording
• Capable with basic Apple and Microsoft products, WordPress, basic Unity and Unreal design tools, basic SVN/Git, database interfaces, and social media platforms; quick technical learner

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Education and Courses

Master’s of Digital Media at The Centre for Digital Media (Simon Fraser University, Univ. British Columbia, Emily Carr Univ. of Art+Design, BCIT)

Graduated April 2015 with a cumulative GPA of 4.03 (A).

• • Advanced Game Design | Dr. Kim Voll and Prof. Andy Moore | Grade: A+
    • Applied design principles in a high-paced game pipeline, focusing heavily on publication processes for indie developers. The expectation is that students develop and publish a game.
    • Projects: Spin Your Way Home and Snake and Bun

• • Advanced Narrative | Prof. George Johnson and Dr. Krystina Madej | Grade: Audit
    • An intensive examination of storytelling techniques in almost every medium, focusing on genre structures and narrative analysis to interactive storytelling.

• • Foundations of Game Design | Dr. Kim Voll | Grade: A+
    • Examining game design principles through a cognitive perspective to determine how users are affected at play.
    • Projects: Garden

• • The Visual Story | Prof. George Johnson | Grade: A
    • Rapid prototyping and collaborative development of interactive narrative
    • Projects: Awake and Apples.

• • Foundations of Digital Media | Dr. Richard Smith, Dr. Jon Festinger and Prof. Rory Holland | Grade: B+
    • A general analysis of trends in digital media production, business, and law focusing on communications and legal history.
    • Projects: ChowTime

• • Interdisciplinary Improvisation | Prof. Patrick Pennefather | Grade: A+
    • Developing collaborative and team best practices through play and instinctual learning.

• • Projects 1, 2 and 3 | Profs. Larry Bafia, Patrick Pennefather and Dr. Kim Voll | Grade: A
    • Applying and deconstructing Agile and Scrum-based best practices to design a course learning tool. Students create the company and team culture.
    • Projects: ENSŌ

Bachelor of Journalism (Honours) at The University of King’s College

Graduated April 2012 with a cumulative GPA of 3.73 (A-)

• • Online Journalism Workshop | Prof. Tim Currie | Grade: A-
    • Practical application of journalism skills in a daily online publication environment; team management.
    • Projects: AUS Hockey’s Headshot Problem and Dal Instructor Shares the Student Experience

• • Honours Project | Prof. David Swick | Grade: A-
    • Research, writing and production of a professional-level feature on Canadian media issues.
    • Projects: The Many Suits of the Herald’s New Uncle

• • Advanced Fiction | Prof. Shashi Bhat | Grade: A
    • Critique and development of written stories with weekly deadlines and feedback sessions.

• • Narrative Non-Fiction Workshop | Prof. Stephen Kimber | Grade: B+
    • Analysis and development of long and short-form documentary and non-fiction narratives.

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References

References available upon request. Additional project notes at dylanmatthias.net