About TapSkill

Josh Maines

Hi! My name is Josh. I run TapSkill Web Services.

I enjoy programming, illustration, and storytelling as well as UX design. I have made games (web-based and apps), websites, and cartoons! I also contribute to open source projects. My freelance work history consists mostly of website development. TapSkill was/is my company presence in the web development industry, but nowadays, I work full-time for retail companies, so I don't actively pursue work, it comes to me.

My web design experience dates back to when Geocities was a thing and AOL's dial-up signal noise was music to my ears. Before developing the Inspivia social platform (Facebook-like site powered by Drupal 6) in 2014, I taught programming as a tutor at Technical Lead and developed a mildly successful game reviews site, titled GetLives, just for fun. Check out my web dev portfolio for work samples.

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I started game development as a hobby way back in the early 2000s. I was messing around with Macromedia/Adobe Flash and ActionScript and found out I could make money with this tech, so I pursued it for a short time before college. Unfortunately, I didn't make enough from this pursuit to keep focused on it. Later, during college, I picked up a Unity Pro license and toyed with that as a hobby. I became quite good at making prototypes but didn't find time to finish anything in Unity since I was more focused on web development pursuits and Twitch streaming and VR.

I purchased my HTC Vive VR headset on October 19th, 2016 (tweet), and I've not once stopped having fun with it. When my VR games were kind of dull or uninteresting, I kept myself interested in my Vive through game development in Unity. Some of my favorite VR experiences so far are Accounting, AltSpace, Rec Room, Sairento, and Tilt Brush.

I am happily married to Sarah Gardner Maines. Our wedding was something interesting: an outdoor party with video games and tacos! Sarah and I share a lot of interests, including an appreciation for history and storytelling and a general enthusiasm for video games, specifically the Zelda franchise. We're the light of each other's world. She is my moon and I am her sun and stars.

The future is coming, and now my watch begins. It shall not end even after my death. I shall take her as my wife, hold her hand, father her children. I pledge my life and honor to the joined house of Gardner-Maines, for this night and all nights to come.

Care to learn more?

You can read a slightly more personal about page on my personal website. I also run a blog (syrsly.com/blog) to document and share some interesting stuff in the works. I also talk a lot about technical things there. I may post a few nice pictures of my hikes and travels soon after they happen. I also have a Facebook account where I share funny and awesome videos and a Twitter account where I keep up with interesting discussion and news. The blog has an RSS feed if that's something you're into. Contact me anytime if you're interested in hiring me for a project.