MATTHEW  TOBIAS  WOODLE

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

When I was a kid video games were not a part of my world, but I had books, blocks, plastic dinosaurs, and a thousand other scavenged pieces of miscellaneous junk to build my own stories and worlds out of. Seeking direction and meaning in my life, an early education in the fine arts granted me a way to build better worlds and tell better stories.

 

Purely by accident, I discovered that video games provided the perfect synthesis of expressive media in a single burgeoning art form with explosive potential. Attending the Savannah College of Art & Design’s undergraduate program in Interactive Design & Game Development gave me the skills and knowledge to build and share understanding of games as a societal medium, a topic of criticism, and as a developing art form.

 

Since graduating, I have worked to promote a broader understanding of this medium. As a designer and educator I place strong emphasis on the diverse roles that games of all types play in the human experience, as well as their potential to open new realms of discovery and possibility for their participants. On this path I have encountered profound  moments that have shaped my perspective and made me a true believer in the power that games hold to change the world for good or for ill. Knowledge and facility are key in making wise choices in how that power is used,  and essential to my own endeavors and aiding those of my students. I am singularly devoted to the goal of discovering ways that I can contribute to the advancement of this art.