You would be hard-pressed to find a AAA video game that graduates of the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy, or FIEA, have not worked on.
Spider Man 2.
All of the Maddens.
Diablo IV.
Last of Us.
The list goes on and on.
A new accolade announced this week gives an idea of why that is.
UCF’s graduate game design program has been named the top school of its kind in the world by Princeton Review and PC Gamer. It is the fourth time in five years that the 20-year-old program has nabbed the top spot.
Another Orlando school, Full Sail University, landed at No. 17 on the list.
The Madden series has been built in Orlando since the 1990s – with FIEA graduates contributing tremenously.
FIEA “has been good four our community,” said Benjamin Noel, FIEA’s executive director since its inception, in a press release. “We are positioned for the brightest game development future of any global media hub.”
The creation of FIEA came at a time when gaming was on the cusp of major growth in 2004.
“We envisioned an environment where students, faculty and industry practitioners explored, learned and developed the world’s best video games,” Noel said.
The program has become a source for talent of Electronic Arts’ Orlando operation, which handles the bulk of development on popular titles like the Madden series.
“We have been fortunate to benefit from that thriving talent pipeline since the program’s inception,” said Daryl Holt, EA’s senior vice president and group general manager, Tiburon Studios & American Football, in the release.
FIEA has graduated 1,000 students since its first classes in 2006. The graduates have been hired by major studios like Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard, Iron Galaxy, Microsoft, Universal and others.
“We’re pleased that The Princeton Review and PC Gamer recognize our exceptional faculty and how our talented graduates thrive as innovators and leaders, often right here in Central Florida, home to many of the nation’s leading gaming, film and animation companies,” said Michael D. Johnson, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.
A tech firm that counts more than 500 hotel properties as customers will move its headquarters to Lake Nona from Brazil.
The move aims to bring Erbon Hospitality Solutions closer to one of the more-thriving hotel communities in the world.
Orlando’s tourism industry helps support nearly 500 hotels located in the Orlando metro region.
Erbon’s clients include facilities in eight countries: the U.S., Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Panama, Curaçao and Colômbia.
The company previously received investment from Central Florida-based venVelo and Molayem Capital. CEO and Founder Diogo Nobre Rocha did not disclose the size of that investment.
“Orlando is the city of hospitality,” Rocha said in a brief interview with Orlando Tech News. “The investment from venVelo helped us decide on Orlando. Personally, I love it and moved my residence to Lake Nona.”
Erbon has relocated two people to Florida, including Rocha, and plans to open a physical office in the Lake Nona region in short order.
Erbon’s management platform can handle a hotel’s reservation process, food and beverage ordering and other back-end functions hotels need on a daily basis.
An Orlando augmented reality tech firm that has been on a roll announced Friday a contract with the U.S. Air Force’s innovation arm AFWERX that will allow it to further develop an AR system that trains pilots in real fighter jets, in real-time.
Red 6, which has partnered and been backed by large firms like Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Disney, has been developing a synthetic air combat training system.
The selection for AFWERX will result in $30 million in funding that will be matched by $30 million of private investment money.
The money will help Red 6 pursue further two of its main programs: the Advanced Tactical Augmented Reality System (ATARS) and the Augmented Reality Command and Analytic Data Environment (ARCADE). The technology has been praised as a potential game changer in U.S. Air Force pilot training.
Red 6 CEO Daniel Robinson, in the press release: “Being chosen as a recipient of the STRATFI award is not just an honor, but a testament to the unwavering dedication and innovation of our team at Red 6. This recognition fuels our commitment to pushing boundaries in the aerospace industry and continuing to redefine what’s possible in air combat training.”
Robinson served as a fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force.
The funding comes thanks to a program called STRATFI, which was established in 2020 and helps government partners bridge a gap between what is known as Phase II and Phase III funding stages.
A brother-sister duo who created one of Central Florida’s most successful tech businesses in recent history has returned with a platform that could grow access to capital for small and medium-sized businesses.
Sal Rehmetullah and Suneera Madhani, who famously built Stax in Orlando to unicorn status, announced Worth AI.
They announced the new fintech platform on LinkedIn on Tuesday morning.
Worth AI is a platform that uses artificial intelligence to scan data in real time for more accurate risk assessments, quicker decisions and more standardized business credit scores when assessing underwriting and risk management.
The platform could benefit small and medium-sized businesses, in particular.
‘A desperate need’
“There is a desperate need for data transparency and accurate financial profiling of businesses,” said Madhani, co-founder and co-CEO of Worth AI, in a news release. “The credit score has been standardized from a consumer lens, but the business credit score has not – and every financial institution, lender, bank, and fintech is assessing SMBs uniquely, with outdated human decisions and risk engines causing biases in decision making and massive risk of loss.”
She continued to say that Worth will set a standard for business credit scores.
“I couldn’t be more excited for businesses to know their worth,” she said.
The patent-pending platform “fundamentally changes how enterprises underwrite the financial credit worth of small- and medium-sized businesses through one single score,” Rehmettulah explained.
The launch once again brings Rehmetullah and Madhani together to build a financial technology company in Central Florida. They successfully launched Stax Payments in 2014 as Fattmerchant .
The company found consistent success and grew to occupy three floors of a downtown Orlando building, employing hundreds.
Over time, they became one of the more-recognizable businesses in the community, frequently supporting small businesses at pitch competitions after essentially sweeping them during the early years of Stax.
Madhani and Rehmetullah left the company about a year ago. Madhani has since established CEO School, an effort to support female entrepreneurs.
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – For LEGOLAND rides engineer Carl Hughes, the work doesn’t end when an installation he helps develop opens.
Real-time feedback from guests helps shape an experience even after it has undergone hours of controlled pre-launch testing.
So, as he wandered the 3,300-square-foot building that houses a new Ferrari Build & Race exhibit that launched Friday, he was watching. Listening. Observing.
Hoping to overhear guests’ thoughts at the packed exhibit that might help further shape the tech experience.
“Just like building a car, we are always fine-tuning,” Hughes told Orlando Tech News. “We take a look at it constantly and figure out how we can make it that much better.”
LEGOLAND Florida debuted a new experience that allows visitors to build a car using on-site LEGO bricks.
An educational experience
They can then run the car through a handful of tests of the car’s physics and use a scanner to create a digital version and race it on a digital replication of Ferrari’s 1.8-mile Pista di Fiorano, the iconic Italian company’s development and test track in Maranello, about two hours north of Florence.
“As they go through the exhibit, they learn how key things like speed, weight and physics play into their design,” Hughes said.
The trials include a handful of tests, including jumping from one ramp to another and building up speed in a pinewood derby-like downward ramp.
Once a creator is satisfied with their car, the car is scanned and a digital version is created.
The scanner outlines and detects the shape of the car, provides calculations that would affect the racecar’s physics, including aerodynamics, weight, speed and downforce, Hughes said.
Add in weather elements and it becomes more than just a playground.
“They get to understand and learn that the choices they make will impact design and performance,” he said. “There is a lot of education going on.”
LEGOLAND’s niche in Central Florida
LEGOLAND Florida has consistently looked to carve out a niche in a crowded Central Florida market.
In the past several years, the location has opened three onsite hotels and a theme park area that revolves around Peppa the Pig.
By targeting families with small children, the park has managed to grow consistently.
“We have these popular brands that no one else has,” said Julie Estrada, public relations director for the park’s parent company, Merlin Entertainments. “LEGOLAND is especially geared toward families and we never deter from that.”
For the fourth time, LEGOLAND partnered with Kansas-based Dimensional Innovations to create the Build & Race experience.
The firm has worked with iconic franchises like the Chicago Cubs, the Amelia Earhart Museum and the Denver Zoo.
Dimensional Innovations Practice Director Spencer Farley said one element that the LEGOLAND installation’s partnership with Ferrari does is appeal to people of all ages.
“Maybe someone’s grandfather is a big Ferrari fan and they can bring a grandson or granddaughter in here to build it and kind of have that excitement, as well,” said Farley, who spends time building with LEGOs with his 2-year-old. “Obviously, there is excitement for a 2- or a 4-year-old but you also have people 40 and 60 years old, right? It kind of brings everyone together.”
424,000 bricks of Ferrari
Courtesy of LEGOLAND Florida
As they walk into the exhibit hall – even before they get their hands on the LEGO bricks – visitors are greeted with a life-size, 424,000-brick model of a Ferrari 296 GTS that took 1,850 hours to build.
They are encouraged to take pictures behind the wheel and post on social media – it is 2024, after all.
The 85-year-old Italian car company remains one of the more-recognizable in the automotive industry with a rich history and tremendous following.
“We are pulling from that history,” said Ryan Wood, LEGOLAND Florida model shop manager and Master Builder. “There is a natural story to tell there.”
A ‘fun’ opportunity
Hughes and his engineering team worked closely with Merlin to gather ideas before creating the digital experience.
The challenge, he said, was taking a physical product and building an engaging experience that would help them learn while also being entertained.
“It was a challenge,” he said. “But it was also a fun opportunity.”
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – LEGOLAND Florida on Friday debuted a partnership that allows visitors to build their own LEGO Ferraris before being able to test them out on a digital racetrack.
“It celebrates the global popularity of Ferrari and F1 racing while challenging everyone to imagine, build, and race the LEGO Ferrari-themed car of their dreams,” said Rex Jackson, LEGOLAND Parks’ managing director for North America, in a press release.
LEGOLAND Florida sits about 40 miles southwest of downtown Orlando.
With a “Vroom, vroom, GO!” and the popping of confetti, the attraction opened on Friday at about 10:45 a.m.
The walkway into the hands-on interactive attraction includes a 15-foot-long, 7.5-foot wide Ferrari 296 GTS model. The build took a team of six master builders more than 1,850 combined hours to finish and included more than 424,000 LEGO bricks – and a steering wheel.
Working headlights, four tires and a roaring engine added some life to the model, as well. The site represents the fourth installation of a LEGO Ferrari at LEGOLAND sites worldwide.
Inside the attraction, young racers and their parents build models, test their dimensions and capabilities then scan them. An on-site scanner produces a virtual model that then races on a digital racetrack.
LEGO Ferrari Build and Race is included in the price of admission to LEGOLAND Florida Resort. For ticket prices, annual passes, and additional information, visit LEGOLAND.com or check out their social media @LEGOLANDFlorida.
Coming Monday to OTN. How the engineering team created the tool that scans visitors’ creations and brings them to life instantly
Photos below include a mix of submitted photos from LEGOLAND and photos shot by Orlando Tech News.
Arizona rapper Mega Ran, who has built a strong following nationwide by creating songs that enhance storylines of popular video games like Mega Man and Final Fantasy VII, credits Orlando with inspiring one of the more energetic portion of his show.
As he raps about the freedom-fighting protagonist group Avalanche of Square Enix’s iconic video game, he asks the crowd to lift their arms in support and pump their fists to the music.
That happened organically at a show in Orlando years ago, said Mega Ran, whose real name is Rahim Jarbo.
“I’m always trying to think of something I can have the crowd do so that they will remember it and do it during that song,” he said. “So when I just saw everybody put their fist up, I thought, ‘Man, that looks awesome. That looks great. That’s the thing I’m going to do now.'”
You can find out more about his Orlando show in January at the YouTube video above!
A crucial deadline for local ecosystem support groups to receive funding from a grant program administered by City of Orlando, Innovate Orlando and Orlando Tech Community is fast approaching.
Applications for the Orlando Technology Support Grant are due at 11:59 p.m., Friday, March 15.
The grant program will make available a total of $65,000 to be split equally among four organizations.
Organizations that are awarded the $16,250 grants would be required to match 10 percent of those funds.
Judges for the effort have not been announced.
The investment in the community represents an investment into the future of Orlando’s innovation community, said David Adelson, Innovate Orlando’s CEO.
“By supporting these ventures, we amplify the heartbeat of progress, ensuring that transformative ideas are not just conceived but cultivated,” he said. “The grant becomes a catalyst, a bridge to possibilities, enabling organizations to push boundaries, enriching our tech landscape and ultimately sculpting a vibrant future for Orlando’s technological evolution. In backing these applicants, we not only endorse innovation but also pave the way for a dynamic ecosystem that thrives on the ingenuity fostered by the Orlando Tech Grant.”
The Orlando Technology Support Grant has been supporting tech-based organizations for five years, having bolstered the efforts of community staples like Black Orlando Tech, Indienomicon, Tech Sassy Girlz and Seed Funders Orlando, among others.
A software engineer with Orlando-based Engineering & Computer Simulations has been promoted into a leadership role for Serious Games Showcase & Challenge at this year’s I/ITSEC.
Matthew Becchio, who first worked with SGS&C as an intern, will now lead the effort to make sure submissions hit milestones and pre-I/ITSEC preparation runs smoothly.
“When you work your way up, you get to see how all the bricks are laid,” Becchio said. “As I go into subcommittees now as the [integrated product team] industry lead, I understand where certain puzzle pieces need to be placed.”
Becchio has been involved in Orlando’s tech and video game development scene for years.
In 2017, he led a team that built a video game for the local group Indienomicon’s game jam called “Tootin’ Pooches.”
The concept was dogs who moved using speed bursts generated by passing gas playing soccer.
The game, while silly in nature, was later awarded best student-developed game at SGS&C that year.
Becchio credits a good portion of his professional success to his involvement with SGS&C.
He had recently graduated college when he met ECS’ current chief technology officer, Shane Taber, who was serving on the same SGS&C committee. While working together, Becchio learned of a vacancy that ECS was looking to fill.
“Shane gave me his card, and within a couple weeks an interview was set up and I was hired,” Becchio said. “I’ve been working at ECS for the past five years.”
Taber, who is ECS’ chief technology officer, said he has seen Becchio evolve in a really short time.
“Matt’s love for serious games is clear in all his work,” said Shane Taber. “We’re really proud of what he’s done and how hard he’s worked to raise the standards and awareness for serious game development in our community.”
Becchio’s noted that his goal as IPT industry lead this year is to get more submissions from beyond the “government bubble.”
“A lot of the most interesting games come from the general public,” Becchio said. “The biggest thing I’d like to see is just getting the word out that if [any organization] has an educational game, then submit it. It could win multiple awards.”
It has been more than a year since longtime Orlando tech figure Rupert Meghnot launched a meetup group that looked to capture and enhance some of the energy surrounding the city’s entrepreneurial scene.
Ever since, Orlandopreneur has seen more than 1,000 people sign up for updates through its meetup page and routinely draws more than 100 to its monthly gatherings.
The timing could not have been more perfect for Orlandopreneur’s emergence, as a post-pandemic buzz about the city’s entrepreneurs has carried for some time now.
Although his realistic outlook stops short of saying that the city’s tech ecosystem sits in a “strong” position, he does admit there has been progress made.
“We wouldn’t consider it ‘strong;’ more like ‘inexorable,'” he said. “That, in and of itself, is a good thing. Our goal is to make it strong.”
We talked to Meghnot about entrepreneurship and Orlandopreneur’s role within the community.
AS ALWAYS, EDITED FOR CLARITY AND LENGTH
Where do you see entrepreneurship today vs. 10 years ago?
Honestly, I don’t see much change between today versus 10 years ago concerning entrepreneurship. The failure rate is still appallingly high at 95 percent. Yes, we have new tools, more influencers, and more effort. However, none of them seem to be helping. Of course, anything is better than nothing, but the entrepreneur remains their own biggest obstacle to success.
What do you think when you see young people being familiarized, even generally, with entrepreneurship?
The younger the better. Our world, particularly the United States, suffers from a profound lack of leadership. As a project management professional, I seek out the root causes of problems to solve. I consider deficient parenting (as many studies support) to be a cause. And we know that leadership and entrepreneurship go hand-in-hand.
Both are characterized by four things: initiative, creativity, resilience, and risk tolerance. Those who possess the highest amounts of these things tend to become our greatest leaders and entrepreneurs. Therefore, it behooves all parents – and teachers – to expose their kids to entrepreneurship as early as possible. Even if you as a parent don’t understand entrepreneurship, there are many people and organizations that do. And, they would be delighted to take your children onto a safe and enlightening journey of creativity, cognitive thinking, problem-solving, and calculated risktaking. Once we have a sufficient number of children exposed to entrepreneurship, we will definitely begin to see an increase in the quantity and quality of those willing to serve as our leaders. Make it so.
How does Orlandopreneur contribute to the city’s ecosystem?
We bring new stakeholders to the ecosystem. Nearly 50 percent of our event attendees are new. Ecosystem regulars consistently say that they’re always seeing new people at our events. Of our soon-to-be 2000 members, most aren’t involved in our ecosystem. They will be. We bring people together. Our monthly Startup Happy Hour events see a majority being entrepreneurs and startup founders. The other half are a good mix of small business owners, mentors, professional service providers, and investors. We also address the causes of startup failure like nobody else. As you have seen, every event we hold includes a learning component, in which we present to our attendees an issue that contributes to their failure, and offer a solution (or two, or 10).
The lesson is from a point of view that they haven’t heard before, and it deals with it in a manner that’s supposed to increase their chances of success. When a majority of our attendees say that we “made an impact,” we know we’re fulfilling our purpose. Finally, we practice collaboration in a manner that gives new meaning to the word (well, at least compared to how it’s been practiced). There are 300+ entrepreneurial and business service organizations in the area, all providing various services to help entrepreneurs, startup founders, and small business owners succeed. They all offer value to the ecosystem. Typically, however, they are non-profits, with little to no marketing budget. The result is that precious few of the aforementioned stakeholders even know of their existence. So, our form of collaboration begins with informing our members about these other organizations, and the value they provide. As a for-profit, we have a budget set aside to market for them. We also partner with them, showcasing them directly to the hundreds of people who attend each event. We help them get the word out.
Assess where we are in the city’s entrepreneurial community.
Our tech ecosystem is again seeing some progress, some of which is due to the efforts of other (tech-focused) organizations. We have been seeing some joint (collaborative) events and programs, which is a good sign. Consider what we have on our table: widespread recognition of our startup ecosystem in the press; 12 world-class tech sectors; half a million college students within 100 miles – 150k in Orange County, alone; 300-plus organizations to help startups and small businesses; the list goes on. However, our tech sectors aren’t really collaborating. Are we moving forward? Yes. Though we wouldn’t consider it “strong”. More like “inexorable”, which is a good thing in itself. Our goal is to help make it strong.
