Matt Sorensen

Passionate about all things relating to multimedia, interactive design and storytelling. Working as a video editor and live stream operator while learning to program and make video games in my downtime. Detail-oriented with an insatiable desire to learn more from those around me.

• Sundance NEXT Festival Finalist for my animated short film "DOG JR".
• Paper Team teaser contest winner with my horror script, "Duende".
• Level Designer on 2D platformer game Slime Up!(Mini Jam 129 submission)
• Game Designer/Graphic Designer for 2p tabletop game Polygraph
• Game Designer/Graphic Designer for 2-4p tabletop game Shoot High Aim Low

I'm the game designer for two unpublished tabletop games - Polygraph and Shoot High Aim Low. With each of these games, I set out to design them within in a well defined scope with specific gameplay intentions. Scope for me is not just in the gameplay or rules overhead, but also in the finished physical product of a tangible tabletop game. Each of these games were designed with small footprint boxes in mind that could be manufactured and shipped inexpensively. 

For Polygraph, my design intention was to recreate a similar experience to the classic board game Mastermind but with more interaction and misdirection. I felt that Mastermind is at it's core a single player experience with the other person merely confirming whether or not the player has won. In Polygraph, the design is entirely asymmetrical with one person acting as a guilty suspect and the other player taking the role as a detective trying to prove that guilt. It's a game of deduction, bluffing and misdirection. 

The goal with Shoot High Aim Low was to design a highly interactive card game with a simple rule set for 2-4 players. The core gameplay concept of this game is that players are essentially playing chicken with their cards. Players each have access to the same hand of 10 cards. Higher value cards are more beneficial to play, but if more than one player uses the same high value card then it does nothing for any of them. So, the goal of the game is to try and play a card that you suspect nobody else will be playing. Because previously played cards are displayed face up,  players have some idea of what their opponents will play next. This mechanic was taken from games such as Mission Red Planet and Not Alone. I wanted to capture the feeling of this card play in a simpler, smaller package. 

I have also begun getting my feet wet with video game design as a supplement to my time spent designing for tabletop. My younger brother and I collaborated recently on a super tough platformer game for Mini Jam 129 called Slime Up! We worked within the open source Godot game engine. My brother took on most of the programming and art while I was tasked with the level design. I designed three unique levels with increasing difficulty and hazards, though admittedly, the third level's design was cut short due to the game jam's time constraints. Slime Up! was truly an eye opening experience for me as I had never felt so ecstatic to repeatedly play something that I had designed myself - and still fail at it! The game was incredibly difficult to the point that it took several hours for me to complete the short game in one run without dying. This provided me with quite a lot of entertainment, but was by far the biggest source of criticism from players. This game taught me a valuable lesson about respecting player's time and knowing when to set aside some of your my own gameplay preferences in favor of making something more appealing to a wider audience of gamers. It was an incredibly gratifying experience and a game that we plan on revisiting in the future.