Our city is a hot bed of video game development companies. These include small startups and large developers alike.
Rockstar Games, a large studio on Faraday Avenue, won game of the year at last year's Game Developers Conference ceremony for its hit console game "Red Dead Redemption," a Wild West action-adventure game.
Another Carlsbad- based company, Razer, made headlines in December when it landed $50 million in venture capital from IDG-Accel China Capital Fund. Razer manufactures high-performance hardware for gaming applications.
"People don't think of Carlsbad the way they think of Silicon Valley, but there is a lot of high tech down here," said Paul O'Connor, brand director for Appy Entertainment.
Appy exemplifies the newest dimension of video game developers. It makes apps, or programs, for Apple's iPhone and iPad in a second-floor suite in an unexpected location, the Old World Center in Carlsbad Village.
Appy's team has brought a number of innovative games to market, including "Trucks and Skulls," "SpellCraft School of Magic" and "Face Fighter Ultimate," in which players upload pictures of themselves into the game and fight each other.
Asked why his company chose the Village over the city's business parks, O'Connor said the company was looking for a location with character, "and the Village has character to burn."
We can walk to the beach, we can walk to lunch," O'Connor said. "We like it that we're close to the beach. We've never been, but at least we can claim we were close to the beach."
Peter Della Penna is president of High Moon Studios, a large developer of games for PlayStation 3, Xbox and personal computers.
"Historically there have been a lot of game developers in Carlsbad, more than I've seen concentrated in many places," Della Penna said.
Founded in 2002, High Moon had undergone a series of ownership changes and is today a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, a large gaming publisher. High Moon's titles include "Transformers: War for Cybertron," "Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy" and "Darkwatch." The studio is hard at work on "Transformers: Fall of Cybertron," which it plans to release in the fall.
"These studios started out with passionate people wanting cool things, so you got a lot of new startups early," Della Penna said.
Della Penna said that Carlsbad's natural setting attracts creative people. One of the studio's amenities is a surfboard rack.
"Creativity isn't something you turn on at 9 in the morning and turn off at 6 at night," Della Penna said. "Carlsbad makes it real convenient for that. We've got the beach, we've got the weather, sports, outdoors things, those are built within our lifestyle. When there are good waves during the day, some of our people will take a longer lunch, surf, come back and get back to work."
Other developers include PlayDek, on Faraday Avenue, which makes games for tablets and smart phones and Snappy Touch. THQ, Hammerhead Games and Zynga, the creator of Farmville, also have offices in Carlsbad.
Noel Llopis owns Snappy Touch and is its sole employee. He operates out of an office in Carlsbad Village. He said he has lived up and down the California coast, "but Carlsbad hits the sweet spot for me as far as resources, location, access to nature, cycling conditions …"
"What I do is a very creative activity, so it’s very important for me to have an office in a location I’m excited about," said Llopis. "Being in Carlsbad means I can grab a bite to eat at Yoshino’s, get a coffee at Vinaka, or even walk over to the beach, in just a few minutes."
Yes, working in Carlsbad is pretty sweet.
Rockstar Games, a large studio on Faraday Avenue, won game of the year at last year's Game Developers Conference ceremony for its hit console game "Red Dead Redemption," a Wild West action-adventure game.
Another Carlsbad- based company, Razer, made headlines in December when it landed $50 million in venture capital from IDG-Accel China Capital Fund. Razer manufactures high-performance hardware for gaming applications.
"People don't think of Carlsbad the way they think of Silicon Valley, but there is a lot of high tech down here," said Paul O'Connor, brand director for Appy Entertainment.
Appy exemplifies the newest dimension of video game developers. It makes apps, or programs, for Apple's iPhone and iPad in a second-floor suite in an unexpected location, the Old World Center in Carlsbad Village.
Appy's team has brought a number of innovative games to market, including "Trucks and Skulls," "SpellCraft School of Magic" and "Face Fighter Ultimate," in which players upload pictures of themselves into the game and fight each other.
Asked why his company chose the Village over the city's business parks, O'Connor said the company was looking for a location with character, "and the Village has character to burn."
We can walk to the beach, we can walk to lunch," O'Connor said. "We like it that we're close to the beach. We've never been, but at least we can claim we were close to the beach."
Peter Della Penna is president of High Moon Studios, a large developer of games for PlayStation 3, Xbox and personal computers.
"Historically there have been a lot of game developers in Carlsbad, more than I've seen concentrated in many places," Della Penna said.
Founded in 2002, High Moon had undergone a series of ownership changes and is today a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, a large gaming publisher. High Moon's titles include "Transformers: War for Cybertron," "Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy" and "Darkwatch." The studio is hard at work on "Transformers: Fall of Cybertron," which it plans to release in the fall.
"These studios started out with passionate people wanting cool things, so you got a lot of new startups early," Della Penna said.
Della Penna said that Carlsbad's natural setting attracts creative people. One of the studio's amenities is a surfboard rack.
"Creativity isn't something you turn on at 9 in the morning and turn off at 6 at night," Della Penna said. "Carlsbad makes it real convenient for that. We've got the beach, we've got the weather, sports, outdoors things, those are built within our lifestyle. When there are good waves during the day, some of our people will take a longer lunch, surf, come back and get back to work."
Other developers include PlayDek, on Faraday Avenue, which makes games for tablets and smart phones and Snappy Touch. THQ, Hammerhead Games and Zynga, the creator of Farmville, also have offices in Carlsbad.
Noel Llopis owns Snappy Touch and is its sole employee. He operates out of an office in Carlsbad Village. He said he has lived up and down the California coast, "but Carlsbad hits the sweet spot for me as far as resources, location, access to nature, cycling conditions …"
"What I do is a very creative activity, so it’s very important for me to have an office in a location I’m excited about," said Llopis. "Being in Carlsbad means I can grab a bite to eat at Yoshino’s, get a coffee at Vinaka, or even walk over to the beach, in just a few minutes."
Yes, working in Carlsbad is pretty sweet.