I managed the Chopping Block Studios team of eight from the very start of concept development. We started with a big brainstorm for a base semester-long project, with the larger prospect of being able to continue development for another semester. All we had to do was develop a demo and bring as an official pitch to Champlain College's Greenlight event! Through thrice-weekly in-person meetings, 13 hours of development time each per sprint, we created Pick Some Axe!
During this time, my role was to ensure the usage of Agile and Scrum practices through Jira and Confluence (Atlassian Suite). Facilitating communication and accountability in and outside of meeting times and co-working sessions through virtual calls. During this time, I additionally managed communication with industry professionals at Velan Studios for external review. Beyond that, I was the primary scriptwriter for the pitch deck as well as the primary creator behind the slide deck, with help from both the strong presenters we had represent us at the show.
See the entire 3.5-hour show here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1JXeiSyOeoqN-lcuFHi03dFgd8Yh1mIEU?usp=sharing
Being greenlit means we not only continue development for another semester, but additionally we will be onboarding five new members to bolster our team! We are excited for our future prospects and at the end of our adventure we will be publishing the full game to Steam. Please keep an eye out in May 2026 for the Champlain College's Senior Show, where Pick Some Axe will review it's continued development alongside nine other teams who made it through selection! Otherwise, keep an eye out for the free release of the completed game on Steam also in May 2026.
For now, the Demo can be accessed by clicking the images to the right.
Please note that this game is best played with a controller!
Chopping Block Studios:
Elara Spiller (Producer), Steven Bruns (General Design + Sound), Dylan Wilcox (Level Design), Isaac Roy (Systems Design + Faux-grammer), Bobby Hicks (Camera & General Design + Faux-grammer), Harrison Green (Product Owner, Animator, VFX Artist, Trailer Creator), Jason Richter (Environment Artist, Character Artist, Animator), Ryan Boehm (Lead Programmer)