A.J. Russo on winning at Photo Hunt, proposing through Megatouch [Friday Q&A]

The new ML-1 MegaTouch machines

AMI Entertainment Creative Director A.J. Russo

AMI Entertainment creative director A.J. Russo says he knows the secret to always winning at Photo Hunt.

“The best people cross their eyes and the two photos come together and it makes the differences pop,” he says. “I can’t do it, but I’ve seen people do it at our trade shows and they just go round after round.”

Perched on bars everywhere, the ubiquitous Megatouch touch screen game system has been entertaining pub-goers for over a decade, yet few know of the company’s Philadelphia origins. Best known for the aforementioned Photo Hunt game that has players scrambling to find all of the differences in two photos before the time expires, AMI Entertainment is based in Bristol and often uses Philadelphia as a guenea pig for its latest games and market research.

The company is working on its latest product line: a brand new machine that is best described as a combination of Megatouch and Xbox Live-like features, adding scoreboards, an in-game currency and social features. And with the company’s latest push on iOS, players are now able to practice at home with its free Photo Hunt iPad game.

“Before you go to the bar you can have a drink at home and play a little Megatouch and then go show off in front of your date,” says Russo.

We chatted with Russo, an AMI employee since 1999, about the next generation of touch screen games, how Philadelphia impacts its newest games and the time he helped a customer propose using one of his company’s games.

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Play Eternal waiting on major release to become first AAA video game studio in Philadelphia, VGI update

The following is a report done in partnership with Temple University’s Philadelphia Neighborhoods program, the capstone class for the Temple’s Department of Journalism.

Mike Worth and Lou Tranchitella realized the need for a big-budget video game studio in Philadelphia, and in February, co-founded Play Eternal.

Now they’re just waiting for their big break.

The duo, along with more than a dozen other members of their team, have a prototype in the hands of major publishers to fund what could be on Xbox Live Arcade or the Sony Playstation Network. If that, or another of a handful of major projects come through, a nearly three year effort to build out the city’s video game development culture will reach another height.

There are steps to go, but the movement has inched forward since early 2009.

With the growth of Worth’s Videogame Growth Initiative movement and a local technology community here, along with excellent video game development programs at Drexel and Penn, the absence of a “Hollywood-level quality” shop, called a AAA studio, seemed unwarranted to Worth and Tranchitella.

“There are studios in lots of different states, there’s no reason for it not to happen here. Philadelphia seemed like a great place to do this,” Tranchitella said. “The technology is here.”

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AWeber Communications Raises $5,700 for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in video game marathon

This event coverage was written by Liz Cies, a spokeswoman for Huntingdon Valley-based email marketing firm AWeber, and edited by Technically Philly.

For the second year in a row, the staff at AWeber Communications put down the keyboards and picked up the gamepads to participate in the nationwide Extra Life video game marathon.

This past Saturday at 12 p.m., the AWeber game changers team locked themselves in AWeber’s game room to play video games in support of kids at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

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Gamification is best for ‘influencing and impacting behaviors:’ Wharton panel event

Gamification panel, from L to R: Frank Lee of Drexel Game Program, Margaret Wallace of Playmatics, Ethan Mollick of Wharton Management Department, Jesper Juul of NYU and Eric Goldberg of Crossover Technologies. The first Gamification event at UPenn's Wharton School on October 3. The panel talked about the issue of gamification and what it means for the future of businesses. Photo by Theresa Regan

The following is a report done in partnership with Temple University’s Philadelphia Neighborhoods program, the capstone class for the Temple’s Department of Journalism.

Gamification has become a topic of much discussion when it comes to the meaning of the word and its existence outside of video games. So much that it commanded the attention of an engaged audience at the Wharton School Monday.

“[Gamification is] basically the idea of adding gameplay elements, including badges, levels and points, to business websites, marketing and other initiatives that aren’t really about games,” said Nathan Solomon, the founder of Philadelphia Game Lab, a nonprofit group in the works that is aimed at creating a collaborative space for local creative minds.

This Gamification event, co-organized by Solomon and celebrated Wharton Professor Kevin Werbach, welcomed students, game developers and those who are interested in gamification to discuss the issue with talks led by a panel of five who gave some insight to whether or not gamification will work, or if it will hinder the productivity of businesses.

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Eric Smith as Master Chief from Halo visits Rittenhouse

Eric Smith of Quirk Books and Geekadelphia fame was traipsing around Rittenhouse in yesterday’s sunshine dressed as Halo’s Master Chief. He made good on a pledge to shake things up a bit in Center City with the costume from one of his favorite video games, as Technically Philly first told you in the fall.

See more photos of Smith causing hijinks in the suit, in addition to the assembly process on his Flickr photostream here, or read Smith’s recap here.

His favorite experience in the suit?: “Little kids running up thinking I’m a robot or a Transformer. It’s freaking adorable. I love seeing them smile. As lame as that sounds.”

He has two upcoming plans for the suit, in addition to any other impulse needs to wear a video game-inspired suit of armor. First, Smith hopes to visit kids at the Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania and in November, following the Halo remake. Second, he plans to get a video of him going to FYE to buy the game wearing the armor.

Smith previously tried the outfit on a smaller trip along a couple blocks of his house and in the fitting setting of Philadelphia Comic Con.

Event Highlights: July 11 – July 17, 2011

Before we begin, a reminder dear reader. We have lots of email newsletters, including our weekly Event Highlights newsletter that gives you our top events every Monday at lunch time. Sign up for Event Highlights and other newsletters here.

There’s lots going on this week, but we hope you consider Philly Merge. We’re a media sponsor of the conference which combines hackers and business folk. Read more about it here.

In events this week Philly tech gets social. BBQ with gamers, hang with hackers (twice) and brush up on your Scala.

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Philadelphia Game Development meetup group hosts small May meetup, serves as ‘beginning’

Drexel student and aspiring game developer Tom Rodriguez discusses game development with other attendees of Mays meeting of the Philadelphia Game Development Meetup group.

The following is a report done in partnership with Temple University’s Philadelphia Neighborhoods Program, the capstone class for the Temple Journalism Department.

The Philadelphia Game Development meetup group held their monthly meeting Saturday at Cosi on 9^th and Chestnut streets.

The group, which was established in 2003, is an informal network of professional and amateur game developers from the Philadelphia region. The group has 200 members, according to its site, ranging from established developers to hobbyists.

There is no strict attendance policy, as members can RSVP for the meetups at the group’s website or just show up. The informality leads to fluctuating attendance numbers and topic discussions. Saturdays meeting covered topics ranging from 3D modeling applications to animation programs among only three attendees, though the group has had dozens at other events.

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GameLoop Philly: video game development convention draws 80 first year to UArts

The following is a report done in partnership with Temple University’s Philadelphia Neighborhoods Program, the capstone class for the Temple Journalism Department.

The number of groups, businesses, organizations and conversations around Philadelphia’s video game development scene is slowly growing. Add now: an annual showcase convention.

This Saturday, more than 80 game developers, designers and programmers gathered at the Corzo Center at the University of the Arts in Center City for GameLoop Philly. The convention, which organizers are aiming to make an annual event, is based on the success of GameLoop Boston, which began in 2008.

“Philly was the next natural choice. The founders in Boston knew a lot of people here and know the game development community here is starting to get some footing,” said Ray Merkler, an independent game developer in Philadelphia who was one of the events co-organizers.

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Penn’s new billionaires, @FakeAPStylebook from South Philly and more Links

DEFINITE READS

• Fake out: Twitter group writes the book on its grammar spoof [Inquirer] — South Philly resident RJ White is a contributor to the @FakeAPStylebook that is now publishing a book
• Study asks well-to-do Philadelphians how they’re investing [Philadelphia Business Journal]
• Penn’s new billionaires: FarmVille creator, Groupon backer [Inquirer] — Mark Pincus of Zynga and Russian investor Yuri Milner
• Philly’s Food in Jars a finalist in Saveur Magazine’s best food blog awards [Geekadelphia] Marisa McClellan

Below, see what Philly startup is moving into a church, big startup perks in Pittsburgh and more.

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IGDA connects gamers and developers during Philly Tech Week

Gamers play Jamestown at the IGDA Showcase | Photo credit: IGDA's Flickr Page

This wrap up of the IGDA Philly Game Showcase was written by IGDA Chapter Secretary, Allison Berman. The showcase was part of Philly Tech Week.

The IGDA Philly Game Showcase 2011 brought together designers and programmers from across every major media platform: from mobile video games to game consoles to mobile apps for smartpads and smartphones, to computer games.  One adventurous presenter even created a unique motion-sensitive joystick to go with his game.

While the event was organized by the IGDA Philadelphia Chapter, it was open to any local game makers, regardless of affiliation or membership. Some studios have been very involved with the chapter over the last few years, offering help to up-and-coming students and first time developers.

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