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Orlando Tech News has many thanks to give this season

Marco Santana
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Orlando Tech News has many thanks to give this season

One thing I am certain of is that success rarely happens in a straight line. I know this because I often look back at my own previous accomplishments.

  • A fruitful career in formal journalism.
  • Enshrinement in my alma mater’s Journalism Hall of Fame.
  • Launching Orlando Tech News and landing support to sustain it.

None of those things happened in, as I said, a straight line. They all came after overcoming unforeseen obstacles and pushing when things looked grim.

But that’s where the appreciation of the journey comes from.

As I sit here, in the middle of another journey, trying to push Orlando Tech News to further success, I wanted to begin a tradition and, well, you can’t start a tradition without Year 1.

So, with that in mind, let’s kick off a new feature.

On this, the day after Thanksgiving, I present to you Orlando Tech News’ first-ever “10 Things We Are Thankful For,” in no particular order.

  • We’ll start with the journey and the lessons I have learned along the way, which have made me a much better professional who is constantly evolving. Despite speaking with entrepreneurs for a decade who told me this, I still didn’t realize the extent to which you have to learn from mistakes as well as successes to build a business. The journey, of course, is not over. But I’m thankful that I’m learning along the way.
  • All of our subscribers, sponsors, collaborators, without whom Orlando Tech News would be impossible and, frankly, might have meant a relocation back to Chicago. That’s not me being dramatic. It’s honesty.
  • People in the community who continue to think big and believe in Orlando tech’s ability to be leaders in industry. I am plugged in to some dreamers and I cannot wait to help push some of those dreams. I’m excited for next year.
  • My inner circle of informal advisers (I call them friends), who have helped me learn on the fly how to build the business side of my effort.
  • The medical team at AdventHealth, who nursed me back to health after a scare in the early part of the summer of this year. Without them, well, I don’t even want to think about it.
  • My family in the Chicago suburbs. As someone who comes from a family of 9-to-5ers (parents were more like midnight to 8 a.m.), it’s not easy to go out on your own. But part of my drive to push this entrepreneurial journey into success is to serve as an example to nieces and nephews that it’s OK to go your own way. I’m thankful for their unwavering support and their sometimes-tough-love form of advice.
  • Location. Location. Location. Living in Orlando, I am at the nexus of so many technology-driven industries that lend themselves to making sure my storytelling journey is as interesting and diverse as it can be.
  • I’m not sure where it came from but one thing I’m thankful for is my genuine curiosity about the world, which manifests itself in a number of content ideas, some of which will be unveiled in early 2025.
  • Listen, no joke: I’m a sports geek and I am thankful for a diversion that takes my mind off of the bad days. As a former athlete from waaaay back, I am thankful my father and brother passed along their love of sports and competition to me. It manifests sometimes in my work but not in a damaging way.
  • Finally, the last entry in my inaugural list of things I’m thankful for is technology. In 2025, nothing is impossible because technology puts it within reach. I have seen plenty of blogs, website, YouTube channels, etc., succeed and become life-changing income streams for so many and it’s great to be able to dream it but in a realistic way. Will that happen with one of my ventures? That remains to be seen but I’m thankful for the ability to dream because technology is the great equalizer.

So there you have it. The first-ever list of giving thanks.

I wish you all a safe and happy holiday season. I hope to see you around!

Chuck E. Cheese debuts new small arcade concept in Orlando

Marco Santana
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0
Chuck E. Cheese debuts new small arcade concept in Orlando

Just in time for IAAPA, Chuck E. Cheese last week rolled out one of its newest concepts for the first time in Orlando.

The venerable brand has been launching a series of smaller arcades set within hotels across the country. The Orlando debut for the Chuck E. Cheese Fun Spot Arcade will be at Marriott Village in Lake Buena Vista.

It joins other locations in Oklahoma, Texas, New York and Connecticut.

The space has been branded along one wall with the well known cast of characters from the Chuck E. Cheese universe. The idea is to give hotel guests another option for their recreational time while on vacation.

“We want to give them a little bit of that small slice of an arcade where guests can do this, enjoy it and then enjoy the rest of their trip,” said Tony Barron, Chuck E. Cheese’s national VP of purchasing and games.

The challenge was that most spaces the arcades have popped up have had limited space, meaning the chosen games had to be specific to each location.

“If they only see it one time and get a taste of what we have, maybe they’re only in this area one time, but there’s another one nearby, right?” Barron said.

Chuck E. Cheese launched in a 5,000-square-foot location in 1977 in San Jose, Calif. It was the first restaurant of its kind, offering kids and families pizza, animatronics and indoor arcades.

The company’s path has been littered with ups and downs, including a bankruptcy in the mid-1980s. Chuck E. Cheese emerged as the name that stuck during that time.

In recent years, the company struggled through the pandemic and went through another bankruptcy in December of 2020.

The Orlando announcement, however, is another part of its post-pandemic emergence, Barron said. Several locations are set to debut next year.

“We experienced that demand for things to do (post pandemic),” he said. “When you come out, you want to see new games, new technology and new offerings.”

The company spent part of its pandemic cementing in place token-less options and e-tickets, among other technologies.

The timing and location of the announcement debut of the arcades was intentional, Barron said, seeing as how Orlando is home to more than 500 hotels and IAAPA was in town.

 “The hotels want to give different offerings to guests and we are here to support that,” he said. “At trade shows, you see a lot of business that comes in and it’s not just people representing the businesses but it’s their families, too.”

As Chuck E. Cheese finishes a remodeling project of all of its sites, the company has turned to focus on its near future by putting high-tech features alongside its lower-tech classics like trampoline parks.

“All of these things we have been doing have been a step ladder to what we hope will bring people out to Chuck E. Cheese,” Barron said.

The goal is to bring some of the people who have been longtime patrons back to the stores while also attracting a new generation.

“The Chuck E. of 5 years ago was very different,” Barron said. “It’s newer now. Fresher. It looks better.”

As I/ITSEC approaches, Orlando defense firm honored for vet hiring

Marco Santana
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0
As I/ITSEC approaches, Orlando defense firm honored for vet hiring

Nathaniel and Seth Wade’s Orlando defense company has earned awards in the past.

But a recent honor for their IT company Nighthawk Cyber just hits a little bit different for the two U.S. military veterans.

The company recently landed a 2024 Gold HIRE Vets Medallion Award from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Nathaniel Wade said the award affirmed the company’s identity as a firm focused on helping those who dedicate their lives to service.

“There is a deeper meaning,” said Wade, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. “Veterans write a blank check for the nation through sacrifice and service that includes their families. We are blessed to be recognized.”

It’s the first time that Nighthawk has won the award but Wade says there is still work to do.

The Department of Labor has a platinum-level award he hopes to pursue next year.

“I have already tasked our folks to learn what is required to achieve that level every year,” he said. “We will achieve this through consistency and remaining committed to our ethos and company values. 

Nighthawk also recently was awarded an Employer Award for its level of veteran employment.

The company recently expanded its footprint, hiring workers in Maryland in support of U.S. Cybercommand. The company launched in 2021 and is headquartered at UCF’s Business Incubation Program.

All defense-industry stories on Orlando Tech News supported generously by:

Madden NFL doc on Prime sparks nostalgia, highlights Orlando

Marco Santana
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0
Madden NFL doc on Prime sparks nostalgia, highlights Orlando

From the opening scene of former NFL lineman Clint Oldenburg leading a team meeting at Electronic Arts in downtown Orlando, the new documentary series, “It’s in the Game: Madden NFL,” about the history of one of the video game industry’s most beloved franchises makes clear its connection to our region.

In fact, after a series of NFL players yell the game’s tagline – “It’s in the Game” – into the screen, the site shifts immediately to Electronic Arts’ downtown Orlando headquarters.

“Look, feel, play like an NFL superstar,” Oldenburg says to a room full of Electronic Artists. “That is the experience that we want our Madden players to have across the entire game.”

And, just like that, we embark on a 202-minute journey through the history of the classic video game series Madden NFL.

The narrative shifts from early stage discussions using archival footage and interviews from the people who were there to present-day development of the most recent entry into the series.

As a longtime gamer who cut his teeth way back in the late 1980s on the first Madden game, the documentary hit its mark for me.

Frankly, it checks so many boxes.

I’m a sucker for nostalgia, a huge video game nerd, a football enthusiast and an interview geek. So it was a thrill to get a peek behind the scenes of the development and production of the game.

Let me backtrack for a scene-setter here for a second.

When I first arrived in Orlando, I became the Orlando Sentinel’s technology reporter. Little did I know when I accepted the gig, I inherited the beat that covers Electronic Arts.

So, I have had some level of “behind the scenes” and have always had a good level of access for both good news and perhaps less-than-ideal news. But I love how this documentary was shot.

The real appreciation that pours out of some of the NFL players was really cool to see. Even as a kid, I wondered what it would be like to be in a video game so hearing from them provided a good amount of heft to the production.

Also, if I’m not mistaken, this might be the first time I’ve ever seen behind-the-scenes footage of recording sessions for tackles and dropbacks. Seeing the director call “Action!” reinforced something we don’t get to see too often, unless, like me, you are also addicted to “The Making of … ” videos on YouTube.

That is, the games we play today have some of the more advanced technologies at their disposal.

They showed, to a controlled extent, how the sausage was made without revealing too much.

The first episode of the documentary, which launched on Amazon Prime this morning, does a great job of introducing this four-act documentary.

It blends a narrative surrounding the early days of Electronic Arts and the Madden franchise with the story of how the latest video game, Madden NFL ’25, was built during the early part of this year.

Decades later, it confirmed something I suspected even as a kid: The Joe Montana football game was little more than a watered-down, inferior version of Madden. Although I will admit I never knew it was deliberate.

That said, I enjoyed both games for different reasons: Montana for the simplicity of its gameplay and Madden for its complex simulator.

I love realism in my sports video games so it is no surprise that I think Madden blew Joe Montana out of the water.

The documentary follows an exciting trend of video productions that wax nostalgic about some of the fun things we grew up with.

Let me be as upfront as I can be: this isn’t meant as a hard news column meticulously investigating and breaking down the story of Madden and its development. There have been many general video game documentaries and books written about crunch time in the industry, the ups and downs of huge studios like EA and other not-so-flattering aspects of the game industry.

No, it’s a personal column about how the things I once considered majestic and almost mythological – that is, video games and their developers – have become subject material for what I consider really cool, peeled back storytelling of some of the great milestones of my life.

It helps that a couple of the main players in the documentary – Oldenburg and EA executive Daryl Holt – are folks I have interviewed myself.

With aerials of downtown peppered throughout, this one hit home as much if not more than all the others.

And I mean that literally: you can see my old apartment in some of the aerials!

VEI accelerator selects its initial cohort of 9 veteran-led firms

Marco Santana
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VEI accelerator selects its initial cohort of 9 veteran-led firms

An Orlando-based incubator program geared toward veteran-led or supported tech companies has named its inaugural cohort.

Among the nine businesses set to take part are those in robotics automation, asset management, brain health tracking, AI-driven insights for patient care and more.

SPEAR Accelerator, a program of the Veterans Entrepreneurship Initiative, launches formally in early 2025.

Among the nine businesses selected are two based in Orlando, one in Satellite Beach and Punta Gorda and five others from across the country.

The first version of the no-cost, no-equity SPEAR will focus on businesses in the health industry.

Here are the businesses that will navigate the first cohort:

The accelerator’s stated goal is to help veteran-led businesses scale. More than 30 companies applied.

“The response to this program was more than we had anticipated, as there are so many veterans supporting innovation in so many incredible ways,” said Ricardo Garcia, VEI co-founder and director of programs. “Selecting this group of companies was not easy considering the types of businesses who submitted.”

SPEAR represents a collaboration of the VEI and Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Bioengineering, Innovation and Design. It will provide curriculum, mentorship and resources.

“We’re honored to support these remarkable veteran-led startups as they push the boundaries of health technology,” said Adler Archer, principal investigator of ARCHER Lab at Johns Hopkins University. “Through this partnership, we’re not only giving back to veterans but also advancing healthcare by supporting pioneering ideas in AI, neurotechnology, and digital health.”

The first cohort has representation from veterans of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marine Corps.

The program will kick off with a two-day bootcamp in Orlando on Feb. 6 and 7. A 12-week run of virtual workshops will lead into a two-day demo event on May 7 and 8.

Orlando Tech News will be covering the group closely as the cohort moves forward.

IAAPA vets to newbies: Wear good shoes. Be decisive. Enjoy it.

Marco Santana
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0
IAAPA vets to newbies: Wear good shoes. Be decisive. Enjoy it.

James Connolly has one word for what his first-ever IAAPA experience was like last year: “Hell.”

It’s not that he is not a fan of the weeklong convention, the world’s largest in the industry which this week is in Orlando; he enjoys IAAPA.

But he said he was ill-prepared last year for the hectic pace, throngs of visitors and quick-pitch nature of the convention.

“It’s just really busy, but it’s very interesting,” said Connolly, in Orlando on behalf of Bumper Boats Inc. from Newport, R.I.

This year, he said, he arrived a little bit more prepared.

As the convention center filled with an expected constant stream of foot traffic for four days, IAAPA veterans had some advice for those who were experiencing it for the first time.

They mentioned everything from proper footwear to being intentional in every conversation you have.

Jake Swegle of Paragon Commercial Concession Equipoment in Ames, Iowa, said the company previously made the mistake of trying to pack too much into their booth.

That left visitors with little room to maneuver to check out product or find a company rep.

“We had it all filled out and it was terrible,” said Swegle, whose company makes concession equipment like cotton candy machines and other gear you would see at state fairs. “We couldn’t move it anywhere. Now that we are a little bit opened up, we get more serious people who come over to talk.”

In LaGrange, Ky., the Cold River Mining Corp. provides family parks a chance to add a hands-on educational feature that lets visitors pan through stones and gravel.

As he slings the product alongside his family at IAAPA, Ryan Houchens offers newcomers some practical advice: Bring plenty of water and comfortable shoes.

“It was overwhelming,” he said of his first time attending seven years ago. “You’re just trying to take it all in.”

The IAAPA floor includes more than 550,000 square feet of exhibition space, so it can be a heavy lift to see it all, especially if you’re trying to do it in a day.

That’s why Space Coast-based Ken Brace has a system.

“There is a lot to see,” said Brace of Rapid Prototyping Services, which can turn a 3D model into a physical product within 24 hours. “I like to concentrate on the different pavilions one at a time before moving on to the next one.”

The sectioned-off pavilions do increase the massive floor’s flow.

On the surface, that sounds like a good thing.

However, if you take the advice of Tamar Kelly, international sales director for Light Up Toys, it’s also OK to take your time, if you are fortunate enough to have any.

“You need to enjoy every single moment,” she said. “Take it in. For me, IAAPA opened up my eyes on how everything works and it was awesome to see how big our industry is.”

As Connolly worked his magic on visitors to the Bumper Boats booth, much more comfortable than he was in Year 1, his boss across the aisle at Aardvark Antiques made stayed within his own system, honed from more than 30 years attending IAAPA.

Arthur Grover has advice for both buyers and sellers: manage your time by being decisive.

“You can’t spend too much time in one booth because you won’t see everything,” he offered to buyers.

On the flip side, Grover, whose business creates custom architectural structures like mirrors, bronze sculptures and fountains, said vendors need to decide quickly whether someone is a buyer or not.

“Within four or five minutes, you should know if they are interested,” he said.

Falcon’s Beyond could grow rides industry through acquisition

Marco Santana
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Falcon’s Beyond could grow rides industry through acquisition

A major stockholder in Orlando-based Falcon’s Beyond has announced that it intends to acquire a company that specializes in ride and show systems.

The deal sets an expectation that Falcon’s would operate Oceanic Entertainment Systems, though the company plans to continue to employ “key OES staff” for the operations.

The announcement came on the second day of the industry’s behemoth trade show, International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, or IAAPA.

Infinite Acquisitions Partner LLC is the lead agency for this acquisition of assets.

The deal is an effort to grow OES, said Lucas Demerau, president of Infinite.

“We believe that Falcon’s expertise in experiential themed entertainment and technology makes them a great fit and they’ll be able to operate and further amplify the OES brand,” he said in a release announcing the news.

OES and Falcon’s have been collaborators on themed entertainment for more than two decades. OES develops and supports trackless ride vehicles, flying theaters and other features.

The deal has not been finalized, with the companies saying in the release that there remain “ongoing discussions, due diligence and the execution of binding agreements,” with no guarantee of the deal moving forward.

“We are thrilled to pursue the opportunity to operate OES and to build upon OES’ legacy of innovation powered by world-class employees,” said Cecil D. Magpuri, CEO of Falcon’s Beyond. “This strategic move would further bolster Falcon’s Beyond’s platform as a world-class entertainment provider.”

Merlin announces collaboration with Minecraft developers at IAAPA

Marco Santana
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Merlin announces collaboration with Minecraft developers at IAAPA

For the first time ever, Merlin Entertainments will partner with a gaming brand, as the company announced a collaboration with the creators of Minecraft.

The company will partner with Swedish-based Mojang Studios to develop location-based attractions based on the ultra-popular video game.

The announcement comes as the world’s largest theme park and attractions convention, IAAPA, returns to Orlando’s convention center.

Merlin has a handful of theme parks and attractions in Central Florida, including Legoland and Madame Tussaud’s wax figure museum.

The “Adventures Made Real” project will include a $110 million investment in attractions on both sides of the Atlantic.

“This world first will see fans experience (Minecraft’s) thrill and creativity in real life, at theme parks and city-centre attractions in leading tourist destinations,” said Scott O’Neil, Merlin Entertainments CEO.

O’Neil called it a “significant milestone” for the behemoth theme park company.

The partnership with Mojang Studios will bring virtual Minecraft adventures into real-world settings through immersive and interactive entertainment.

Launch in the U.S. and U.K. is expected in 2026 and 2027.

“Partnering with Merlin Entertainments is an incredibly exciting step for us at Mojang Studios, said Kayleen Walters, Microsoft’s VP of franchise development for gaming. “Merlin’s expertise in creating world-class attractions makes them the perfect partner to help us bring Minecraft to life in new and immersive ways in permanent locations around the globe.”

With a little flair, space jam returns to build video games in a weekend

Marco Santana
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With a little flair, space jam returns to build video games in a weekend

It all started with a Time Machine.

As a crowd gathered on Day 1 of the Indie galactic Space Jam on Friday, the buzz quieted as the bay door rose slowly.

The Vu Studios space in South Orlando seemed made for a spectacle like this.

As the door opened, curious attendees looked on, took their phones out and waited.

Soon, they were to document the moment as Kunal Patel, the co-organizer and face of Indienomicon, rode in on a rebuilt replica of the car made famous in the movie “Back to the Future.”

The stunt was meant to kick off what has become a 10-year-old event in a memorable way.

“It’s important to do big things that make memories,” Patel said. “For Indienomicon, we care about relationships. We care about highlighting our region. To establish a core memory or create a little landmark in your memories was really important. So we did something big, something fun.”

The strategy seemed to work, as the crowd kept its attention on Patel as he launched the weekend-long hackathon.

Hackathons: explained

Across three days, nine teams created games and other tech products that could help space industry businesses in their training methods.

One small team worked on a virtual reality trainer that gamified education.

In another, the player controlled a small astronaut who was tasked to build a facility on Mars.

Still another built a game called “Canaveral, We Have A Problem,” a couch co-op experience that put two players together to avert disaster by landing on the surface of an asteroid in VR and shutting it down.

The “Canaveral” team certainly had its obstacles.

However, the team made up of mostly Indienomicon veterans worked to build a solution, which pushed them to the weekend’s top prize of $2,500.

“You have to rally together,” said Juan Rivera, who is a media design instructor at Orange County Library System. “We figure out the challenges and have to work together.”

Starlight Sweetheart, a puzzle game that uses constellations to guide a lost traveler home, finished in third to take home $500.

The facility-building game above, “Martian Mania,” took home second place and $1,500.

‘Tech to build community’

“They are using tech to build community,” said Robert Katz, one of the event’s judges. “There are people here that build friendships here. They build teams, they build companies here.”

Typical of a game jam, teams have a specific period of time – in this case, 48 hours – to build a team, build a game and present it to judges.

Nicholas Drobes’ pitched his game, “Daring Descent,” an arcade-style space landing mission game he then built with his nine-person team.

The space jam was his second in-person jam.

Drobes said the tight window during which you need to build the game almost by nature enhances your skillsets.

“There’s no better way to network and hone your skills,” he said. “If necessity is the mother of invention, a 48-hour timeframe is the mother of all necessities. It inspires you to concrete your solutions and get things done.”

Willow Rachels has pretty much made it a hobby to hit up game jams in Orlando.

After attending her first about a year ago, she has returned constantly, with the space jam being her sixth.

For Rachels, it was about continued growth in her career and game-building expertise. She attended her first because she wanted to learn how to make a game.

She returned because she could not learn everything in one weekend, she said.

“I kept coming back and learning more,” she said. “There is no better way than learning on the fly in a weekend how to make something.”

As the doors of the DeLorean flopped open, Kunal Patel stepped out to meet the people who would build for the weekend.

He had in his hand a hot-pink hoverboard, another timeless relic from the hit classic movie.

 After a frantic moment of searching for the microphone, Patel settled in and playfully acknowledged that his customary tardiness to show openings required him to hire a time machine, just in case.

But after some playful opening remarks, he turned his attention to the weekend ahead and took a more serious tone.

“We are here with a very vibrant community here in Orlando now,” he said. “We have had studios form. We have had friendships form. We have had a lot of successes happen.”

After a quick shift back into time-traveler mode, Patel finished it with a quick logistics check. Patel has become quite adept at balancing technical skills with fun, sometimes borderline over-the-top presentation skills.

He said that is an important element in making sure people of all levels are comfortable at game jams.

“When you’re in technology, you’re not always the most bubbly, you’re not always the person on stage,” said Patel, who admitted he was once “painfully shy.” “It only happened through putting myself through situations where I had to speak. Through that, things changed and opportunities came.”

New tech hub to be centerpiece for groups as pitch event debuts

Marco Santana
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0
New tech hub to be centerpiece for groups as pitch event debuts

Just days after the pomp and circumstance of its ribbon cutting, a new downtown Orlando innovation space will welcome a community group for an important event.

The recently formed Future Funders will host a pitch competition for early stage startups to bring their wares to the community.

You can find more information for the event, which will take place at the newly christened Tech Hub Orlando, AT THIS LINK.

Future Funders goal has been to connect venture capitalists and angel investors with Florida-based startups.

Among the companies waiting to pitch is ROI Finder, a platform that aims to simplify decision making in real estate investments.

The mostly bootstrapped company has turned its attention to raising money.

Beyond that, however, CEO Husain Jaffer said the company wants to spread the word.

“I have put a team together that will get the ball moving forward,” he said.

Jaffer has been in real estate for a decade, as an investor and now as a founder on the tech side.

In his career, he said he has flipped dozens of properties in and around both Tampa and Orlando. ROI Finder represents his first startup.

“This platform came to be because of my experience,” he said. “When I first got the idea, I was dealing with investors and realized that it was tedious to even find rental properties.”

Even traditionally high-profile sites like Zillow can turn some people off of the experience, Husain said.

“Our goal is to make the full process doable on one platform,” Jaffer said. “Whether you are brand new or experienced, the information is there to get the ball rolling.”


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