PENDLETON — The new math department chair at Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton is taking a leap into the world of tech startups with his new company focused around virtual reality gaming and artificial intelligence-assisted development.

Christopher Nagel has spent most of his professional life educating the young minds of tomorrow at the collegiate level. However, with the foundation of his new startup, Bells and Whistles Studios, he’s plunging headfirst into a new professional endeavor — game development — out of a personal reason.

“There are some game ideas that I have where it basically comes down to, I want to play this game so bad, and if no one else is going to make it, then I’d better do it,” he said.

Utilizing his extensive education in computer science and mathematics, as well as his background in independent film and music development, Nagel’s startup is focused on the development of casual games for virtual reality consoles.

In the realm of virtual reality, game concepts that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to bring to reality become exciting possibilities, as developers are given new ways to handle space and player interaction. Nagel said he and his compatriots at Bells and Whistles plan to take full advantage of such a fact, with plans for games such as mini golf with a few fun twists.

“We want to do VR mini golf,” Nagel said, “Like, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like mini golf, and to be able to open up that world with virtual reality and to be able to add on zany antics. Like, why not have a rocket-powered putter?”

Along with mini golf and propulsion-powered putting implements, Bells and Whistles Studios also has plans to give back to the community.

“So one of the other game projects we want to do is like a prison fight club kind of thing, and I want the proceeds of that to go towards rehabilitation for former convicted felons and people trying to make their lives right again,” he said. “It’s really hard for people like that. And so this could also be just a project that also gives attention to that.”

Moreover, Nagel and the rest of the people with Bells and Whistles are integrating new applications for AI tools in their development process. One tool Nagel is working on takes performances from certain instruments and translates the audio into other instruments with a high degree of accuracy.

“I’m working on putting together an AI tool that would help transfer a person’s performance from one instrument to another,” he said,“I’m calling it Performance Transfer. The main goal is that how you played is recreated accurately note by note.”

Such software could have a great impact on the music development process, as it would allow a creator to transfer performance from a familiar instrument to one with which they are less familiar, opening new possibilities for instrumentation in their songs.

As exciting as these projects are, Nagel said, it will be at least two years until Bells and Whistles Studios gets a product on the market.

“We just set the legal framework down in Oregon,” he said. “So we are at the very start of our startup. So our timetable of starting to push stuff out is a good two years away.”

Overall, the future looks bright for Bells and Whistles Studios, with Nagel saying he feels excited to finally see his plans and thoughts put into motion. Until then, he is eager to take a new position at Blue Mountain.

“They have a great math department, great faculty, just all-around nice people,” he said. “They acknowledge that I’m new here, but knowing everyone’s supportive nature, it’s one of those things where if I do have questions, I am totally unencumbered to ask.”