{"id":147,"date":"2025-11-30T23:29:21","date_gmt":"2025-11-30T23:29:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/et4g23-yr3\/?p=147"},"modified":"2026-01-09T03:05:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T03:05:22","slug":"megan-matthews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/et4g23-yr3\/2025\/11\/30\/megan-matthews\/","title":{"rendered":"Megan Matthews"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

Game Designer at ustwo games
Alumni at University of Southampton
Games Design and Art<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[LinkedIn Link]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This week\u2019s speaker was Megan Matthews<\/strong>, a multidisciplinary game designer at ustwo games<\/strong>, currently working on Monument Valley 3<\/em>. Her background is a mix of level design, accessibility, and general game design, and she walked us through her route into the industry, what her day-to-day looks like, and how she built a portfolio that actually got her noticed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personal Story<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Megan didn\u2019t start with some hyper-professional setup\u2014she just made things at home. Flash games, Minecraft maps, game jams\u2026 all the usual early tinkering that slowly turns into \u201coh wait, this is actually what I want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She originally thought she wanted to become a concept artist, but somewhere along the line realised design was where she felt at home. She joined Code Coven, landed a junior level design job at Playtra Games, and after a few rejections eventually got referred to ustwo. She said what helped her stand out was having a strong portfolio, showing she understood their genre, and being able to clearly explain her design decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Insight<\/strong> as a Game Designer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Her day-to-day changes depending on what stage the project is in. Sometimes it\u2019s grey-boxing levels or building maps in-engine, other times it\u2019s prototyping new mechanics, giving feedback, or watching playtests. When she\u2019s between projects, she spends a lot of time learning new tools or trying new ideas\u2014which honestly sounds pretty fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One thing she stressed was the importance of thinking about what players need to learn in each level and how to guide them without hand-holding. Level design isn\u2019t just about cool ideas; it\u2019s about clarity, pacing, and making sure players actually understand where they\u2019re going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also talked about the importance of shutting up during playtests\u2014no nudging, no hints. Just let people struggle and learn from how they struggle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Design Tools & Collaboration<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Megan walked us through some of the collaboration methods ustwo uses, like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Crazy 8s brainstorming<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Paper prototyping<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Sticky-note feedback sessions<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Regular check-ins and show-and-tell moments<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    It all sounded very hands-on and very team-oriented. She made it clear that design is never a solo job, even if you’re the one writing the docs or prototyping the level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    Portfolio Advice<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    This was probably the most useful section. Her biggest tip was to \u201clevel design your portfolio<\/strong>.\u201d Think about where the viewer starts, the path they take, and what you want them to see first. Don\u2019t make them dig.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A few things she suggested including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Greybox \/ whitebox screenshots<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Diagrams<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Short gameplay clips (with actual explanations, not just vibes)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Bullet points about what you did<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Retrospectives<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Clear breakdowns of problems you solved<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      She also rearranged her portfolio depending on the job she applied for, which is something I probably need to start doing too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Networking<\/strong> Advice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      She talked a lot about networking in a way that didn\u2019t feel weird. Her advice basically boiled down to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • Be genuinely curious when talking to people<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Ask questions<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Don\u2019t approach professionals like you\u2019re trying to \u201cuse\u201d them<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Talk to other students, not just devs<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Practise talking about your work so you don\u2019t freeze at events<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • And it\u2019s fine to say, \u201cHey, I know you from Twitter\/LinkedIn\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        It made networking sound much more natural and less like a chore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n\n\n\n

        Reflection<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        Even though Megan is more design-focused, a lot of what she said hit home. I\u2019m someone who loves both the programming and the artistic\/design side of game dev, and I haven\u2019t fully committed to one yet. Hearing about someone who also bounced around between disciplines early on was actually reassuring. Her path showed that you don\u2019t need everything figured out immediately\u2014your direction can shift as you try things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        The emphasis on clarity, communication, and designing with intention is something I want to apply more in my own work, especially as someone who sits between design and tech. And the idea of reshaping my portfolio depending on the studio makes much more sense now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Key Takeaways<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
          \n
        • No one follows the same path into games<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Build projects that show how you think, not just what you made<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Tailor your portfolio to the role<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Network in a way that\u2019s human, not transactional<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Stay open-minded\u2014your goals might change<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Look after yourself; the industry can be tough<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          Overall, it was a really grounded and encouraging talk, and it left me with a clearer idea of how to present my work and how to approach the industry while I\u2019m still figuring out where exactly I fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
          These were the notes I took during the talk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Game Designer at ustwo gamesAlumni at University of SouthamptonGames Design and Art [LinkedIn Link] Introduction This week\u2019s speaker was Megan Matthews, a multidisciplinary game designer at ustwo games, currently working on Monument Valley 3. Her background is a mix of level design, accessibility, and general game design, and she walked us through her route into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-professional-contexts","category-semester-1"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/et4g23-yr3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/et4g23-yr3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/et4g23-yr3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/et4g23-yr3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/et4g23-yr3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/et4g23-yr3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":299,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/et4g23-yr3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147\/revisions\/299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/et4g23-yr3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/et4g23-yr3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/et4g23-yr3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}