Dec 15, 2015 StepPets, a new fitness app, created with the help of a Marriott Library employee

It’s called multi-tasking… You work full time at the library, you’re completing your graduate degree, and you’re a co-founder of a mobile gaming company, with a game on the Apple App Store.

This is the story of our very own Topher Nadauld, Systems Administrator in the library’s Mac Group and a recent graduate (master’s degree) of the University’s number-one ranked program, Entertainment Arts, and Engineering. In the midst of all this activity, Topher and his team, with help from the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute at the David Eccles School of Business, created a video game with the objective of increasing physical activity while having fun.

The name of the game is StepPets and the parent company is Random Breakfast. Funded by the U’s Get Seeded and Bench-to-Bedside programs, as well Zions Bank, StepPets is a unique mobile game that combines physical activity with game play.

The participant’s steps are accessed through the Apple Health App. In the game, release in early December, the user plays a unique runner, where their steps create the levels. New pets can be unlocked with step coins, which are earned by reaching their walking goals. The more you walk, the more you unlock!

When asked how it feels to have created a mobile game that encourages healthy habits, Topher says,

“It feels great to have a game out on the Apple App Store that encourages the player to walk more. Games are a powerful tool to teach new behaviors and habits. By taking a game and adding health components, we can provide incentives for the player to become more active. The player is in control of how hard or easy the game is.”

You can download StepPets today for free on the Apple App Store. It’s available on iTunes. The Android version will be available in January.

We congratulate Topher on this incredible success and wish him all the best in future innovations!