Tag Archives: Orlando

Big Week in Orlando Game Development

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If you’ve followed this blog at all, you’ve probably figured out by now that I live in Orlando.  It’s not often that there’s a flurry of activity in the local community, but this week has defnitely been the exception.  It’s exciting to see a little bit of game development buzz in the city, so I wanted to highlight some of the big news.

  • Madden NFL 10 released- Everyone knows Madden, but not everyone knows that it’s developed by Orlando’s largest developer, EA Tiburon.
  • Snood ReDood released – The Dreamhive recently partnered with Monkey Gods to release an old classic on Facebook and iPhone.  Snood just launched, and is already quickly claiming the App Store sales charts!  I sampled the online version with one of the creators tonight, and am proud to say I left with a 1-1 split. ;)
  • KIL.A.TON released – Dot Matrix Interactive is made up of several EA vets, and they’ve now released 2 titles for the iPhone.  They just released KIL.A.TON, and it looks very slick!  It’s already getting solid press from sites like TouchArcade.
  • Brenda Brathwaite (follow her on Twitter) speaking at IGDA Orlando on 08/18- Brenda is a well known industry vet who currently teaches game design at SCAD, and it should be an interesting experience to hear her thoughts on design.  The meeting will be held at Full Sail, so stop by if you can!

Local Video Game Companies – Orlando

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Orlando was once primarily known for being home to EA Tiburon, but that reality has changed over the last few years.  Several new developers have set up shop in Central Florida, and those studios benefit from a study influx of talent thanks to game development programs at schools like Full Sail and FIEA.

COMPANYNOTABLE PROJECTSFOCUSSTUDIO SIZE
360EdSiTi, Conspiracy CodeEducational11-50
Bad PilcrowVanessa Saint-Pierre Delacroix and Her NightmareMobile, Downloadable?
Dot Matrix InteractiveDominion, KIL.A.TONMobile1-10
EA TiburonMadden NFL, NCAA Football, Tiger WoodsConsoles, Handheld, PC200+
Firebrand Games (Merritt Island)NASCAR Unleashed, Cars 2Consoles, Handheld?
Frontline Studios (Ormond Beach)Chicken Jumper, Duke Nukem: Critical MassHandheld, Web?
n-SpaceTron, Call of Duty, GoldeneyeConsoles, Handheld, Nintendo Development51-200
ootiiRelic BallSocial1-10
Row Sham BowWoodland HeroesSocial11-50
Sky Parlor StudiosFire and Dice, FORTUNEITMobile11-50
Werd! InteractiveTiles Extreme, I Am SodukuWeb, Social Causes11-50
ZeeGee GamesMy Tiny Planets, ZeeGee ReaderMobile, Web11-50

Game Development Schools

Other Organizations

  • IGDA - the local chapter meets about once a month.  It’s a fun group, with people from all over the industry

 

IGDA Orlando

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I’ve mentioned networking before as an essential element of a video game job hunt.  IGDA meetings are a fantastic place to meet people from all over the gaming industry.  I live in Orlando, and I’ve been attending our local chapter’s meetings for about 2 years now.  Even in a game company market as small as Orlando, I’ve met people from some very interesting companies – small casual game developers, military sim and serious game companies, MMO creators, students – you get the picture.  It’s an eclectic group, and I’m sure it’s an even bigger mix in cities with a greater concentration of companies.

Anyways, if you happen to be in or around the Orlando area, there is a meeting this week downtown.  Check out the Facebook event page:  http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=55380245631&ref=ts

Welcome Zeitgeist Games!

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Zeitgeist is a studio in Orlando that’s working on all kinds of stuff.  They’re a licensed WiiWare developer, and have recently put out their first DS title.    They’ve also done a few casual Flash titles over the years.  They’re cool guys – I’ve met them at several IGDA meetings.  They’re looking for a few engineers, so head on over to GameJobHunter.com and check out their ads.  They’ve also recently updated their own site – check it out at www.zeitgeistgames.com.