by Brandon Drenikow, Founder of Tool Belt Technologies
Tool Belt Technologies is a software company that strives to help emerging game developers enhance their user’s experience. Tool Belt Tech is currently in the process of releasing its first analytics tool, Vixen, which helps developers optimize the playtesting process, saving developers precious time and money.
The analytics tool, Vixen, has been in development since June 2014, beginning as a research project at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), started under the supervision of assistant professor Dr. Pejman Mirza-Babaei and associate professor Dr. Andrew Hogue. During this time, the proof of concept and earliest prototype was researched and developed. Vixen development was continued through UOIT’s incubator program during the final year of Brandon’s undergraduate Game Development & Entrepreneurship program under the supervision of Morden Shapiro. This allowed the company to begin designing the initial concepts of the business model and further iterate on the designs of Vixen with the help from two former developers, Thomas Galati, and James Simpson.
Tool Belt Technologies founder Brandon Drenikow began to pursue his masters to develop Vixen with the intention to advance the field of computer science and the games industry. During his first year of grad school, Brandon teamed up with four experienced software developers, Chris Carmichael, Liam Svirk, Derek Chong, and Tucker Alban to continue iterating on Vixen. Since then, our team remains to be these five members as they join Spark Centre’s Youth Incubator Program for the summer of 2016.
With our strong skill set for innovative technology we joined Spark Centre seeking help with the business aspects of our company, as we understood our need for assistance with key business sections such as marketing, finance, and legal. Our members have taken away high value from Spark’s presentations such as Marketing that STICKs, Finding and Compensating Partners, Startup Fundraising, along with many others! We have taken advantage of the Spark Centre’s experience and services to further and refine the development of our business.
Our main goals for the remainder of the summer are to launch our product on the Unity Asset Store, a platform similar to the Apple App Store but for game developers, and to begin the building of a loyal customer base from our potential business clientele. This will provide Tool Belt Tech with the opportunity down the road, to provide playtesting services for our customers as well as provide a sustainable revenue stream for our business. To aid with marketing our new product, Tool Belt Tech has acquired initial startup capital to help cover some of the expenses, receiving $3,000 in assistance funding from the Firefly Grant.
For more information and visuals on the technical aspects of the product, or to register for our monthly newsletter; please visit our website. Our newsletter will provide information on the current status of the product and company.
Thanks for taking your time to read about Tool Belt Technologies product, Vixen, Unity’s first Games User Research tool!
