Orlando, Fla.: Interactive Hollywood East

By Randy Shepherd

For many years, Orlando has been known for being one of the top tourist destinations in the world. Now a new entertainment culture is emerging in the form of gaming. With the help of the local IDGA chapter, independent developers and larger companies are getting together to shape Orlando into one of the top cities to launch a new company. Like any other city, Orlando has its benefits and shortcomings. I asked four of the top players in the industry their perspectives on what it is like running a gaming/entertainment company:

Phillip Holt, CEO at Row Sham Bow Inc. — A former VP at EA, Holt now runs Row Sham Bow Inc., a new game development studio focused on developing for social networks.

Pamela Tuscany, vice president at Universal Studios Florida Production Group — NBC Universal operates in all businesses that are key to the digital communications, and Tuscany provides unique insight to the entertainment production side of Orlando.

Dustin Clingman, CEO at ZeeGee Games — Started in 2002, ZeeGee Games has developed games and applications on such platforms as PC, Nintendo DS and iPhone.

Dennis Crosby, COO at Werd Interactive Inc. — Started in 1998, Werd Interactive Inc. was a pioneer in mobile gaming. It is now paving the way as a transmedia production studio and strategically using Orlando as its headquarters.

What is it like being a game developer in your area?

Holt: Orlando is an ideal place to live and work. The quality of life is very high, housing is affordable and varied, there are tons to do if you are younger and just starting out or older with a family, and the weather and beaches are fantastic. Living a stone’s throw away from one of the largest tourist destinations in the world is great.

Clingman: There’s a small but great community of folks who are passionate about improving opportunities in the area.

Crosby: It’s challenging but exciting. We have a small community here, but everyone is passionate and committed to growing. We have a rare opportunity to shape and build the gaming ecosystem while bringing attention to an amazing area.

What is great about it?

Holt: First, the business community is relatively small and accessible. Within a few years of relocating to Orlando, I know civic and business leaders at most major companies and in local government. The business community is very welcoming and collaborative and recognizes that we all need to help each other to help the local economy.

Second, there is a deep and broad talent pool in Central Florida. Between the Space Coast and Orlando’s modeling, simulation and training cluster, there are tens of thousands of engineers working locally with very transferrable skill sets. With the University of Central Florida’s master’s program at the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy in downtown Orlando, Full Sail University in Winter Park, and the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, there is a constant influx of talented graduates specifically trained for digital media industries. Additionally, with the University of Central Florida, University of South Florida and University of Florida all within a couple hours drive of Orlando, we have access to top technical graduates, research departments and professors.

Finally, the last ingredient that makes Orlando a great place to build games is a progressive tax environment. Florida’s Digital Media incentive, a 25 percent transferrable tax credit on labor, hardware and software, allows companies to develop games at very competitive rates relative to other states and provinces in North America with similar incentive structures. This represents a deep discount on operating costs that allow Florida companies to build great games without the same capital requirements as other places in the country, particularly the West Coast.

Tuscany: Since we are not creators of content but rather the experts to facilitate a practical production, once the creative is set, we have the joy of making each and every production the very best it can be.

Crosby: From the business side, we have an untapped pool of raw talent, a government eager to work with us, an entertainment industry that is about to boom and a supportive community. Being in one of the alleys is great, but sometimes to be truly innovative, you have to break away from the pack. Many great Internet companies were founded outside of traditional areas — take Zappos and Groupon for example.

As a transmedia company we have the unique benefit of drawing from the entertainment pool along with the gaming community. Having companies like NBC Universal Studios, Comcast and Disney at our back door makes every day a blast.

What are some of the challenges?

Holt: One of the biggest challenges to working in the games industry from Florida is our geographic remoteness from the rest of the industry. We don’t have the same sized talent pool as LA or San Francisco, and the thought of relocating from those cities to Orlando is a pretty hard sell. Usually, the biggest problem is getting candidates to look past Orlando as only the home of Disney World and seeing the area as a great place to live.

Clingman: We are out of the way of mainstream game development hotbeds making recruitment a different problem.

Tuscany: As with most projects, we often hear budget, budget, budget. That said, we figure out how to work with each company to turn their vision into a reality.

Crosby: The same challenges you see with any growing area, investment and top-level talent. Florida was hit hard by the real estate crash and the Madoff madness. Since then, local investors have been slow to transition to the technology train. Although we have a large pool of raw talent, the area is lacking alley-level skills. It takes a bit of charm to convince them that Orlando is more than just the home of the Mouse.

Moving forward, it is clear to see what Orlando offers to the gaming and entertainment industry, and these four are paving the way in gold with the support of the IGDA. Having once been known as the next “Hollywood East,” it is not too ambitious to say that history is going to repeat itself, and soon many people will be calling Orlando “Interactive Hollywood East!”