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Projects

"????????????"

As head of "DANG STUDIOS",
published by Devolver Digital 2021
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Game Design 3D Art Music
Game/Level Design 3D Art/Animation Music/Sound

As head of "DANG STUDIOS",
unreleased
Game/Level Design 3D Art/Animation Music/Sound

Games Saxophome Honking

I do...
Game Design Music and Sound 3D Art and Animation Design consultation
about.
SERVICES
Over the course of shipping two games and the many projects in between I've worn a lot of hats...
- I have experience in many aspects of design from systems to level to scenario, with an emphasis on iterating quickly to arrive at the juiciest ideas. I have experience breaking in design at the start and in problem solving existing designs, with my aim being to help create interactions that don't feel top shelf and that can support a unique mechanical identity
"I can't get over how good the boomerang feels to use. I'm genuinely worried it's ruined FPS games for me. Play Boomerang X and I promise you'll be awakened to a post-trigger world."
- Rock Paper Shotgun on 'Boomerang X'
"Slingshot is that rare, transformative game mechanic that changes everything once you master it. "
- Polygon on 'Boomerang X'
Design
- Much of my life is spent in music, whether it's doing game scores or playing shows as a solo musician (saxophone and electroacoustics). I've done the scores for the two games I've helped ship as well as authored their dynamic components in FMOD and Wwise. I have a focus on textural soundscapes counterbalanced with highly authored melodic moments to help tell the story from many angles
Music
Boomerang X soundtrack sample
00:00 / 00:39
Unannounced Game soundtrack sample
00:00 / 00:34
Live Improv Performance
00:00 / 01:00
"The game's incredible soundtrack does some heavy lifting to get your heart beating with each wave..."
- Video Games are Good on 'Boomerang X'
3D Art
- I'm experienced as a 3D character and environment artist, able to produce fleshed out art and animation with minimal instruction while maintaining cohesion with a project's given style, or even helping to define that style! I have experience with Maya, Substance Painter and Photoshop
- "From the striking art style to the environmental, minimalistic storytelling, all the non-gameplay elements have been designed to embellish a formula that moves at breakneck speed."
- Movie News Net on 'Boomerang X'
Design Consultation
- Are players saying your game is too hard when you know it's not? Not sure how to tutorialize that really weird mechanic that requires an understanding of the meta too? Want to realize an action-cinema fantasy but aren't sure how to translate it mechanically without it being too unwieldy? Hit me up, let's chat about your game, let's find the problem, diagnose it and iterate solutions.
Rates
- I handle most pricing on a case by case basis but generally charge by the hour for consultation and design, and per deliverable for music and art
About


Coming from a music improv background means I'm always trying to explore, finding the dirt roads away from the highways. Games is an industry that can feel risk averse at times, and my aim is to always push ideas, while keeping them digestible and balanced with limitations like time and production.
I'm a solo game developer, currently juggling contracting with my music practice. You can catch me at some basement or bar venue in New York playing noises on my saxophone or keyboards as 'Karen Dazzler'. Formerly I ran my own little game studio, DANG!, with an amazing gang of cool cats and friends who all came together to just make the weird stuff we wanted to make. Now I'm helping Rami Ismail and the rest of 00000 000000000 design a game about 0000000 0000 0000000000 , along with providing the music and some art.
TLDR
If you enjoy strange food and hidden roads, I want to meet you, I want to help make your game. I want to help you find the narrow windy path that new ideas hide on the other end of, and explore all the interesting detours along the way. Lets take a hamburger and put jelly and ham and a weird sauce on it, my diet is the strange and the beautiful... within scope, that is.
-Max
contact.
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