Calgary’s Kyle Nissen is no stranger to competing at the highest levels.
“I used to do freestyle skiing,” Nissen said Monday. “I competed in the Vancouver Olympics, and in Torino in 2006.”
Now the Winter Games athlete is putting the finishing touches on a new puzzle game to be played on phones and tablets.
“I’ve always been interested in gaming and so being able to actually do this is so much fun,” Nissen said.
After retiring from skiing, Nisse went on to study computer sciences at the University of Calgary.
That’s where he met his partner in game development, Stephen Huang, who went on to work for a couple of years at Microsoft headquarters in Seattle.
“I quit my job,” Huang said, “moved back to Calgary, and I’m now doing this full-time.”
Nissen and Huang have spent months creating the game “Disjoint.”
“Our two main characters are the hobo and then Lucky the pig who washes up on shore after his boat was shipwrecked,” Nissen said.
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“Coding it and building it and stuff took a lot longer than we anticipated, but it’s been a pretty cool journey the whole way.”
He credits his experience as an Olympian as an extra advantage in the creation process.
“Probably the biggest thing I learned through sport was just kind of the work ethic, and I think that’s helping a lot in this game.”
Huang also values Nissen’s background on the slopes.
“You’ve really got to go in with a winner’s attitude,” Huang said. “So it’s nice to have Kyle with that athlete’s mentality.”
They’re planning on releasing “Disjoint” on Nov. 3, with the game to be available through the App Store.