Jake The Reaper's Touchstone Origins
Climbing is a great way to exercise after work and find much needed relief from the office grind. “The escape, the physical and mental challenge, constantly finding new ways to tweak my body just-so, and doing it with friends who share my passion for it—all add up to a complete package for me,” said Kenneth Woodruff, a Bay Area designer, animator, and developer.
For the past 8 months, in between climbing trips, Woodruff has been working on Jake the Reaper, an iOS Game that he built entirely on his own. "Jake the Reaper is a huge personal project, an iOS game that I made from scratch. The idea is that you're the Grim Reaper, and you need a vacation, but Corporate won't let you have your vacation without training a temp to replace you." Climbing at GWPC and Ironworks helped him significantly with the game. Not only did the climbing help him blow off stress but it also helped him with the development.
“I spent countless hours staring at bouldering problems and thinking about technical issues, blowing off steam and just giving my brain a rest. More often than not, I'd go to Ironworks for a hardcore break, then get back to work until the wee hours,” said Woodruff, who thanked the Touchstone gyms in the credits of his game. “The desk staff even let me roll in with some iPads and catch unsuspecting victims for some stranger-on-the-street testing. Ironworks was an important resource for me (in many ways) during the whole project.”
Woodruff plans on building more games. “I've got another game in the works, and have 4 more on the drawing board. Maintaining a balance is important, so I'm also planning more adventures. Of course, that includes more climbing.
Tags: Jake the Reaper, Kenneth Woodruff
Past blog entries can be found at http://touchstoneclimbing.blogspot.com/
