About
About Me
A short summary of life so far! Further academic details can be found on my CV, which can be provided upon request.
My name is Matthew Churchyard. I was born in 1996, live in East Sussex just outside Eastbourne and my favourite colour is blue! I am the eldest of three and am currently living at home following the completion of my Masters degree.
The serious stuff
College
- I studied A levels in maths, physics and computing in my hometown of Eastbourne. From this point, I decided to combine my creative interests into one all-encompassing subject and pursued game design at higher levels of education.
University
- I completed a 3 year BA(Hons) in Independent Games Production in July 2018. Following this, I undertook a MSc in Commercial Games Development which I completed in November 2019. Over the course of these degrees, I have gained an understanding of the development cycle from design to final release as well as experience in various elements of game design. This includes coding, character creation, colour and lighting, audio, 3D modelling, project management and advertising.
Work Experience
- Outside of industry-focused work, I spent a year working at Sainsbury's while writing my BA Dissertation. This was mostly solo work but occasionally included helping customers and working with colleagues on multi-personnel tasks.
Within the scope of technology, I helped staff an internal conference at the BBC in 2017 centred around how gaming is portrayed by the media and seeking ways of improving the general public's opinion of the gaming industry.
As part of my Master's, I was required to take on an external client and work on a project of their choosing related to their own field. My project sought to combine Leap Motion's hand tracking technology with a molecular visualiser to allow the Chemistry Department to view and interact with the molecules they were producing in their labs. This expanded further to include The Looking Glass as the output source; a specialised screen for viewing in 3D without the need for glasses. I eventually flew out to Nantes to meet with the lecturer in person and demonstrate the project to him and his colleagues.
During the final months of my MSc, I worked with the university's games studio PlayWest on various projects as a 3D modeller and provided creative input for level design when required.
In my own time, I like to do 3D modelling and also take part in the Global Game Jam early in the year. I participate as part of a team made of course-mates from my MSc and we have attended two GGJ events thus far.
The fun stuff
My love of games is (naturally!) not limited to the academic side of the gaming world. I enjoy playing a wide variety of games both alone and with friends including FPS, racers, RPGs and mobile games. While I would not consider myself adept enough to be competitive, I still enjoy the thrill of competition, though more often than not I'm playing for fun rather than the victory screen!
Outside of games, I enjoy listening to and playing music. I've been playing the piano for 17 years, which has afforded me the freedom to take songs and soundtracks I enjoy and learn them to play myself. I particularly enjoy tunes which use very simple notes in powerful arrangements to evoke strong emotions with only a few notes. My family is also very musical, and singing/playing together is something I am very grateful for.
I like exploring, both in games and in the world around me. Together with family and friends, I have visited many beautiful parts of the world and intend to keep exploring in the future. My exploits took me as far afield as Japan in 2019, a one-man holiday I intend to take again, but this time with friends to experience it alongside me.
I like exploring, both in games and in the world around me. Together with family and friends, I have visited many beautiful parts of the world and intend to keep exploring in the future. My exploits took me as far afield as Japan in 2019, a one-man holiday I intend to take again, but this time with friends to experience it alongside me.
